April 9

Faith without works is dead. — JAMES ii 26.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. — MATT. vii. 21.

THEY are false disciples who cry, "Lord, Lord," but who bear no fruit, who hold an orthodox creed and profess faith in Christ and attachment to him, while they fail to partake of his spirit or keep his commandments. They shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. They may be outwardly in the membership of Christ's Church, but they are not of it; they do not understand its spirit; they are ignorant of its sacred joy; they have no part in its glorious destiny.

The true disciple is one who not only cries, "Lord, Lord," but also doeth the will of his Father which is in heaven. He is one who makes grateful and joyous confession of his dependence on and devotion to Christ, and who is entitled thus to do in virtue of the consistency between his profession and his experience and practice.

Obedience to the Father's will is the imperative condition of entrance into the kingdom of heaven. If eternal life is to be had, it must be had according to the principles of the divine law, and in no other way. Keeping God's commandments is the only life of the human soul. There is no opposition between the law and the gospel; they are two sides of the same thing, which is Love. The law prescribes duty, and the gospel brings light to see and strength to discharge that duty. The law urges obedience on penalty of death: the gospel comes, not to save us from that penalty without obedience, but to fill us with love, which is the spirit of obedience and the essence of eternal life.

R. R. Meredith

Up, then, with speed, and work;

Fling ease and self away!

This is no time for thee to sleep,

Up, watch, and work, and pray! H. BONAR.