Gentiles, but also from real Christians. He knew how "to be abased." Difficult knowledge to attain; but when attained it led him to learn the depth of the wisdom, as well as the blessedness, of "He that humbleth himself shall be exalted." So long as the gospel is preached and received, so long will the name of Him, who was treated as the offscouring of all things, be revered. The divine order is, "Before honour is humility." May we be "clothed" with it, as our greatest adornment.

"TIS JESUS MAKES ME WHOLE.

LORD, at Thy feet I now lie down,

And pour out all my soul;
For there I find relief, and own
'Tis Jesus makes me whole.
This wayward, wilful, sinning heart,
Beyond my own control,

Is quieted as faith beholds,

'Tis Jesus makes me whole.

Thy blood I own-Thy precious blood,

And love so free and full,

Have met my need, and made me cry,
'Tis Jesus makes me whole.

Lord, I adore Thy blessed grace,
Which gave me faith to roll
The burden of my sins on Thee:
'Tis Jesus makes me whole.

ALL THINGS.-All things are of God. He worketh all things after the counsel of His own will. All things work together for good to them that love God. All things are yours.

Him are all things.

Of Him, to Him, and through

THE PURPOSE OF GOD, THE SALVATION OF GOD, AND THE GLORY OF GOD.

"According to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him."—Eph. iii. 11, 12.

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Is not the Lord Jesus Christ to be admired and adored for what He is in Himself? How emphatically He is the "Wonderful"-the great "Mystery of Godliness!" The "seed of Abraham," and yet "the Mighty God:" "the fruit of David's loins," and yet Jehovah's "Fellow:" "made of a woman," and yet the Maker of all things :" "like unto His brethren," yet" separate from sinners:" the "Child born," and yet the "Son given:" "found in fashion as a Man," yet "the Image of the invisible God,"-" the brightness of His glory:" "in the likeness of sinful flesh," yet" without sin." How glorious, infinitely glorious, He is! How exactly fitted for the work of eternal redemption! What a mighty Days-man to lay His hand both on God and us! How wise! How truly able to sympathize with us! for assuredly, as we sometimes sing, 'His heart is made of tenderness,

His bowels melt with love!'

And what a sacrifice that was, when He "offered Himself without spot to God!" What forgiveness, as well as consecration, the blood of that Lamb speaks to our consciences-the Offerer, One in whom the Father was well-pleased, the Fellow of the Lord of Hosts; the Offering that in which Jehovah could find both satisfaction and delight-sin was borne, judged, condemned, and put away, justice satisfied, and the holy Lord God glorified. How blessed also it is to consider

that "all the promises of God"-all His rich purposes of grace-are in Christ "yea, and in Him, Amen, unto the glory of God, by us;" so that our Lord could say, "I am glorified in them." Surely we must add, "How precious are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!"

But let us dive still deeper into these unsearchable realities, and we shall soon perceive,

'Twas love that brought Him down,

The purest, strongest love'

eternal, unchangeable, redeeming, faithful love. Mercy "from everlasting," according to the eternal counsel and purpose of Him, who gave us to Christ, chose us in Christ, and redeemed us by Christ; so that the divine declaration is, "I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee." God loved us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. How sweet it is thus to look back into the deep and eternal counsels of God, and see how the salvation which He wrought in Christ, exactly corresponds both with His own decree and our deep necessity. The eternal purpose of God being the glory of Christ in our salvation, redemption must therefore be "in Him." As guilty sinners could only be brought into God's presence without blame by a Saviour, one who, moreover, was capable of satisfying the stern requirements of divine justice, our Lord Jesus Christ undertook, and did, at the cost of His own guiltless life, obtain our entrance into that holy presence-He proved Himself capable of, and allsufficient for, this stupendous work. Thus "

we, who

sometime were far off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ." By virtue of the infinite perfections of the Offerer and the Offering, God's eternal purpose of salvation by grace is most blessedly effected, and an everlastingly-efficacious redemption accomplished for us; so that the decree of Jehovah, the security of the believer, and the glory of God, have all been met once and for ever in that "one offering," which Christ 'once offered." How gracious was the utterance of the loving heart of Jesus, when He said, "My goodness extendeth....to the saints which are in the earth, and to the excellent in whom is ALL MY DELIGHT." (Ps. xvi.)

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But do we not further see in the "finished" work of the Son of God, that the perfection of love displayed in the perfect work of this spotless One, makes us "meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light?" Surely it was as our "Surety" that He died upon the cross; and there we see not only the Son "forsaken" and "spared not," but also an offering brought to God in which He is infinitely glorified, in which He takes ineffable delight, and in which He finds, too, "a savour of rest." And was it not for us? Most assuredly, "He gave Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour." Thus we are "righteous," by His "obedience"-"accepted in the Beloved"-“ complete in Him;" not only ransomed from hell by His blood, but fitted for His presence, by "the righteousness of God which is unto all and upon all them that believe." How precious it is to be occupied with God's estimate of the worth and work of His

beloved Son, and thus find, by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, that His glory is great in our salvation, and that it is a salvation worthy of Him who doeth great things and unsearchable! And does not the contemplation of these glorious realities make Christ Himself more precious to our souls? and necessarily, therefore, more constantly and unfeignedly the Object of our affections and worship? Do we not thus realize the blessed liberty of His yoke? and are we not constrained to yield to Him our willing and obedient service? Surely, these things are so; and when the Holy Ghost thus reveals to us the wondrous mystery of Emmanuel's cross, how worthless and insignificant the world appears! How transient! How rapidly it "passeth away" to make room for that full power of redemption that will be connected with the Lord's return! To the spiritual eye the world now appears a dark spot which God has consigned to judgment, but men are spending all their time and energy in seeking happiness in it apart from God and Christ.

But there is another thought in connection with the perfect work of Jesus, and it is this:-If we are "justified from all things," and "perfected for ever," through His being "made of God unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption," necessarily our hope and prospect must be correspondingly perfect, and pregnant with glory and bliss. And, blessed be God, they are; and that, too, in strict keeping with God's eternal purpose "in Christ;" for, "the mystery of His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself" being "to gather together in one all things IN CHRIST," we are taught by the Holy Ghost,