September 18

Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases.—Psalms 103:3.

DO I estimate as I ought the boundless privileges which Christ confers on all who come to him in penitence and faith? Do I realize the greatness of the sins he forgives; the extent of the impurity he cleanses; the infinite glory and blessedness to which he entitles, and for which by his grace he prepares us? Do I endeavor prayerfully and earnestly to fall in with his designs of mercy, and to live for the great ends which he sought by his own death to accomplish in and for me?

How little of the sea can a child carry in his hand! As little do I take away of the great sea of the boundless love of Christ.—RUTHERFORD.

Paul, says Luther, had three wishes: that he might be found in Christ; that he might magnify Christ; that he might be with Christ. If we come to him for pardon and cleansing, all these ends are ours. We are accepted in him by faith; we shall magnify him by holy living; we shall be with him for ever in glory.

Every virtue I possess, Every conquest I have won, Every thought of holiness, Is from thee, O Christ, alone! May thy grace, with loving power, Freely pardon all my sin; May thy Spirit, every hour, Make and keep me pure within!