June 15

Psalms 25:8. Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will he teach sinners in the way. 9. The meek will he guide in judgment; and the meek will he teach his way. 10. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies. 11. For thy name's sake, O Lord! pardon mine iniquity; for it is great. 12. What man is he that feareth the Lord? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose. 13. His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth. 14. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant. John 8:30. As he spake these words, many believed on him. 31. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 33. They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? 34. Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. 35. And the servant abideth not in the house forever; but the Son abideth ever.

36. If the Son, therefore, shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. 37. I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me because my word hath no place in you. 38. I speak that which I have seen with my Father; and ye do that which ye have seen with your father. 39. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. 40. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. 41. Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication: we have one Father, even God. 42. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. 43. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. 44. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do: he was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth; because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it. 45. And, because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

The test of discipleship is constancy in obedience. Truth itself is rendered intelligible by the spirit of obedience: the appreciative knowledge of truth dispels error, and, by showing the evil and the danger of sin, delivers the soul from its bondage and power. Sin is a hard taskmaster; and they who begin by yielding to its pleasures must end by paying its penalties. Christ alone can free us from such bondage; and to enter into union with him by faith is to receive that spirit of life which is the sense of true freedom. The Jews, who prided themselves upon being the children of God through the calling and covenant of Abraham, had enslaved themselves to formalism, to hypocrisy, to the spirit of darkness, to the powers of this world. Resciting the tyranny of the Romans

with a hatred that never died, they yet lived under bondage to a spiritual power more degrading and more unrelenting than this hated foreign yoke. Christ came to announce the year of jubilee, the day of redemption, the salvation of God, and, by striking at the root of sin in the heart, to deliver all who would hear him. His religion is not a yoke of rules, a bondage of forms, but the perfect law of liberty: for its life is truth; and its spirit, love.

Had the Jews kept the inner meaning of their own Scriptures, they would have known that meekness and obedience were the keys of divine knowledge, and that Jehovah would initiate the humble soul into the mysteries of his kingdom.

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 5, 39.

Oh! grant us grace, Father in heaven, to hear thy Word, and to obey it. We would make haste, and delay not, to keep thy commandments. Thou hast a right, O Lord! to our time, our gifts, our hearts, our persons; to all that we are, and all that we have: for thou hast created us, and hast redeemed us with the precious blood of thy Son.

We give thee thanks for the mercies of the night, and for all the mercies of our past lives, — for home and its blessings; for friends, and all the ministries of love; for health, knowledge, comfort, and prosperity; but, above all things, for thy grace in the

gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. May we ever be ready to acknowledge him the Son of God, the Saviour of the world! May men in the high places of power and influence consecrate themselves to him! may the poor and lowly trust in him! may children sing hosannas to the Son of David! How shall we praise thee, O God! for thy love and grace to us sinners? For all thy mercies, we bless and magnify thy glorious name; humbly beseeching thee to accept this our morning sacrifice of praise for His sake who died, and rose again, and who liveth evermore. Amen.