itself is forced to be a blessing instead of a punishment to thy children. Teach us to remember in every sorrow that it was sin brought pain and grief, but that all comfort comes from thee, O God, for Christ's sake. Amen.

V.

Besides the promises which God, from time to time, gave in words, that He would save man from the power of Satan, by a Redeemer who should be born into the world, he from the beginning appointed a ceremony which was a sign, a sort of picture of the way in which man was to be saved. He commanded that when men confessed their sins, and prayed to him to forgive them, they should bring a young lamb, without any blemish or spot,* quite perfect of its sort; that they should shed its blood, and having thus killed it, that they should burn it with fire, offering it as a sacrifice to God. There are a great many things about this ceremony that must have made men think. They had sinned, and the innocent lamb must die for their sins. They were in this way, as well as in words, taught that "without shedding of blood there was no remission (or putting away) of sin." God at the same time repeatedly told them, that there was nothing, and could be nothing, in the blood of a beast that could do any good whatever; so that they were to sacrifice the lamb simply in obedience to his command, believing that it was a sign or picture of some BETTER THING not yet clearly shown to them.

The sacrifice of the lamb was full of meaning. Adam was told by God that if he sinned, death would be his punishment, and when the children of Adam saw the lamb die before their

* Various animals, besides lambs, were appointed to be sacrificed for the atonement of sins ;-young Bullocks and Kids, Turtle-doves and young Pigeons; but all of them were to be perfect of their sort.

eyes, killed for their sins, they saw as in a picture what sin had brought upon them. But the sacrifice of the innocent lamb was to teach them much more than this. A man can die but once, but he sins continually, and a lamb was slain in sacrifice continually,* for his sins, in his stead. He was shown by this, as in a picture, that the punishment he deserved could be borne for him. The lamb had done no sin, yet it was put to death instead of him. Now what was meant by this? Who did the lamb represent? Its blood when shed was sprinkled before the Lord for the sinner, and then his sin was forgiven him. This was a sign to him of the manner in which the promised Saviour, when He did come, was to save him, even by dying in his stead, and his blood being shed for him was to take away his sin. But what sort of Saviour was needed to bear the punishment of man by dying in his stead? No son of Adam would do, for each had sinned himself, and himself needed a Saviour. It must be some one who was as free from sin as Adam was when first created in the image of God. Some one, who keeping all God's commandments himself, would yet give himself up to die in the stead of those who break them. When Adam was first created it is said in the Bible that "God breathed into his nostrils, and he became a living soul." how near his relationship was to God, his of God, though his body was from the dust. ture there needed a Saviour, at once God and be God that He might have power to get the better of Satan the tempter; He must be man, because it was man that sinned, and man that must be punished; and "God so loved the world that He gave his only Son to die, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life." It was of this Saviour, God's only Son, even the Lord Jesus Christ, that the bleeding lamb was a sign or picture, and by it the people of old times were taught that by his blood their sins would be In the New Testament which we are now to + Leviticus iv. 35.

washed

away.
* Num. xxviii. 3.

From this we see soul was the breath

For such a creaman. He must

begin, we are taught that "as in Adam all died, so in Christ all may be made alive."

Prayer.

O God, we pray thee to make us always remember how precious our souls are. We live, and think, and feel, because thy breath, the breath of God is in us, therefore are we thy children as well as thy creatures, for our spirits are thy breath, and our bodies the work of thy hands. We thank thee and bless thee, O our Father, that thou didst so love us as to give thine only Son to bear the punishment of our sins, by dying in our stead, and in his name we thankfully say, Amen.*

VI.

This other

When the world had become full of inhabitants, God chose out a peculiar people for Himself. Among them He established his own religion, teaching them how He chose to be worshipped. These people had the care of the books of the Old Testament. They were generally called the Jews, though they had other names, as, the children of Israel, the Hebrews, but their best name was God's people. To them God taught the meaning of the sacrifice of the Lamb. He gave them also another sign or sort of picture of the Saviour who was to come. sign was, the High Priest who He appointed to blood of the sacrifice for the taking away of sin, year, into an inner place of the temple, which was called the Holy of Holies; into this none of the other priests might ever go. By this, was shewn us in a picture that, when God's time was come, Christ the Saviour should "enter into Heaven itself, to appear in the presence of God for us." Heb. xi. 24. "Once in the end of the world He would appear, to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." Verse 26.

* The meaning of the word Amen, is, So let it be.

bring the

once every

From the Old Testament we learn, that for sin "it was appointed unto men once to die ;" and we learn also the promise, which in the New Testament is fulfilled, and fully declared, "that Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him, shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation." Heb. ix. 27, 28.

The history of the world is found in the whole Bible, and it is this that " as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." Rom. v. 19. As the time came nearer, the promises of this Saviour were more and more clear and distinct, and a time was marked so that men might expect him. Many things were said about him by which they might know him when He should be born. It was said that his mother should be a virgin or maiden, of one particular family; the name of the place was given where He was to be born; (it was distinctly said that out of Bethlehem the Prince and the Saviour was to come,)* and God declared besides that He would send a messenger to prepare the way before him; and many things were also said about this messenger, by which men might know him when He did come.

Prayer.

We thank Thee, O Holy God, for the clearness of Thy promises, and for the many signs by which we know the Lord Jesus Christ, whose life and death we read in the New Testament, to be the Saviour Thou didst promise from the beginning. We thank Thee that he is the true sacrifice by which our sins are taken away, and we pray Thee for his sake, to teach us to know him, to love him, and to put our whole trust in him. Amen.

End of the Introduction, shewing, that in the Old Testament God gave the promises, which in the New Testament He fulfilled.

Micah v. 2.

BIBLE READINGS.

ETC.

ON THE GOSPEL HISTORY.

I.

EACH of the four Gospels in the New Testament gives the history of the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. They bear the names of the holy men who wrote them. The Spirit of God taught these men what they were to write, and they had themselves seen the things they describe.

The word Gospel, is old English; it was God's-spel or God's news, or Good news; and this is also the exact meaning of the word in the language in which it was first written.* It may be well called good tidings, for in each Gospel we read that God has saved his people. St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, and St. John, are the names of the four men who wrote them, and each of them relates the things which he had seen and thought about, as the Spirit of God guided him.

We will begin by the 1st Chap. of St. Luke, which tells of the birth of the messenger whom God had promised to send to prepare the way before the Saviour.

Every thing was now ready, the time was come, and all who

In the Hebrew, which is the language of the Jews, the same word which means God also means Good. The more we think of the name the better, for it is full of beautiful meaning.