August 10

7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.

8 When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand

9 Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul.

10 Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?

11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

12 Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the

children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness, neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he spuneth.

13 When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live, if he thus to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousness shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it

14 Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right.

15 If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die

16 None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him; he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live

"If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?" If this burden is upon us, we cannot walk in newness of life, we cannot run in the way of His commandments, we cannot arise and shine. But it is written, "The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all." On Jesus it has been laid, on Him who alone could bear the intolerable burden; therefore it is not upon His justified ones who accept Him as their sinbearer.

"This burden is never divided. He took it all, every item, every detail of it. The scapegoat bore 'upon Him all their iniquities.' Think of every separate sin, each that has weighed down our conscience, every separate transgression of our most careless moments, added to the unknown weight of all the unknown or forgotten sins of our whole life, and all this laid on Jesus instead of upon us! The sins of a day are often a burden indeed, but we are told in another type, 'I have laid upon Thee the years of their iniquity.' Think of the years of our iniquity being upon Jesus. Multiply this by the unknown but equally intolerable sin-burdens of all His people, and remember that the 'Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all,' and then think what the strength of His enduring love must be which thus bare 'the sins of many.'"—F. R. Havergal.

Closet Promise.—Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands.—Isa. xlix. 16.

"Sweet thought, my God, that on the palms Of Thy most holy hands Are graven all Thy people's names, Though countless as the sands.

"Not one too mean to have his place Amid that record bless'd;

And if but there our names are found, We'll share the heavenly rest.

"How can we then yield to distrust, Or think we are forgot, While ever thus the care of one Who loves and changes not?"