November 7

"But alive unto God, through Jesus Christ our Lord."—Romans 6:11.

THAT is a memorable saying of Paul's, "Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." In one sense the believer is dead, but in another he is alive. Let us now speak of

THE CHRISTIAN'S LIFE. Look at

The nature of it. By nature all are dead; sin is the moral murderer of man; it is a death to holiness, happiness, hope, and heaven. But the Christian is alive. His is a life of righteousness—a life of humility—a life of joy—a mysterious life. "Your life is hid." It is mysterious in its nature, in its commencement, in the means by which it is effected, in the manner in which it is maintained, and in the way by which it is consummated. By what unlikely means does the Almighty sometimes impart this principle of life! Where, inquires one, has he made the regeneration of his chosen entirely dependent on human instrumentality? Lo! in the midst of the desert he often plants with his own hands the loveliest roses; and from the rudest copse we often hear the sweetest notes of the nightingale.

The property ascribed to it. "Alive unto God." We live to good purpose when we live to God; when we are alive to his word, ordinances, ways, and glory. This life is according to the purpose of God, Romans 8:29, 30—by the exertion of his omnipotent power—and designed for the promotion of his glory.

The medium of it. "Through Jesus Christ our Lord." He is the procurer of it; "I am come that they might have life." He is the principle of it; he is emphatically designated "our life." He is the pattern of it; believers are only holy and happy as they conform themselves to Christ. He is the glory and crown of it; take Christ away, and you undermine the foundation, and leave the building in ruins. Can we say that he is "our life"?

"On thy dear cross I fix my eyes, Then raise them to thy seat; Till love dissolves my iminest soul, At my Redeemer's feet."