Rom 6:4, 8:1, 2Cor 5:7, Gal 6:16, Eph 4:1 | Barnes | STEP | Verse 4. Therefore we are buried , etc. It is altogether probable that the apostle in this place had allusion to the custom of baptizing by immersion. This cannot, indeed, be proved , so as to be liable to no objection; but I presume that this is the idea which would strike the great mass of unprejudiced readers. But while this is admitted, it is also certain that his main scope and intention was not to describe the mode of baptism; nor to affirm that that mode was to be universal. The design was very different. It was to show that by the solemn profession made at our baptism, we had become dead to sin, as Christ was dead to the living world around him when he was buried ; and that as he was raised up to life, so we should also rise to a new life. A similar expression occurs in , "Buried with him in baptism," etc. Into death , (εις). Unto death; i.e. with a solemn purpose to be dead to sin and to the world. Grotius and Doddrdge, however, understand this as referring to the death of Christ--in order to represent the death of Christ, or to bring us into a kind of fellowship with his death. That like as . In a similar manner. Christ rose from death in the sepulchre; and so we are bound by our vows at baptism to rise to a holy life. By the glory of the Father . Perhaps this means, amidst the glory, the majesty and wonders, evinced by the Father when he raised him up, . Or possibly the word glory is here used to denote simply his power, as the resurrection was a signal and glorious display of his omnipotence. Even so . As he rose to new life, so should we. As he rose from death , so we, being made dead to sin and the world by that religion whose profession is expressed by baptism, should rise to a new life, a life of holiness. Should walk . Should live, or conduct. The word walk is often used to express the course of a man's life, or the tenor of his conduct. ; ; ; ; . In newness of life . This is a Hebraism to denote new life . We should rise with Christ to a new life; and having been made dead to sin, as he was dead in the grave, so should we rise to a holy life, as he rose from the grave. The argument in this verse is, therefore, drawn from the nature of the Christian profession. By our very baptism, by our very profession, we have become dead to sin, as Christ became dead; and being devoted to him by that baptism, we are bound to rise as he did to a new life. While it is admitted that the allusion here was probably to the custom of immersion in baptism, yet the passage cannot be adduced as an argument that that is the only mode, or that it is binding on all Christians in all places and ages, for the following reasons: (1.) The scope or design of the apostle is not to discuss the mode of baptism, or to state any doctrine on the subject. It is an incidental allusion in the course of an argument, without stating or implying that this was the universal mode even then, still less that it was the only possible mode. His main design was to state the obligation of Christians to be holy, from the nature of their profession at baptism-- an obligation just as impressive, and as forcible, from the application of water in any other mode as by immersion. It arises from the fact of baptism, not from the mode. It is just as true that they who are baptized by affusion, or by sprinkling, are baptized into his death; become professedly dead to sin and the world, and under obligations to live to God, as those who are immersed. It results from the nature of the ordinance, not from the mode . (2.) If this was the mode commonly, it does not follow that it was the only mode, nor that it was to be universally observed. There is no command that this should be the only mode . And the simple fact that it was usually practised in a warm climate, where ablutions were common, does not prove that it is to be observed amidst polar snows and ice, and in infancy, and age, and feebleness, and sickness. . (3.) If this is to be pressed literally as a matter of obligation, why should not also the following expression, "If we have been planted together ," etc., be pressed literally, and it be demanded that Christians should somehow be "planted" as well as "buried?" Such an interpretation only shows the absurdity of insisting on a literal interpretation of the Scriptures in cases of simple allusion, or where the main scope is illustration by figurative language. (i) "buried with him" (k) "like as Christ" (l) "by the glory of the Father" (m) "newness of life"

Romans 6:4

Verse 4. Therefore we are buried, etc. It is altogether probable that the apostle in this place had allusion to the custom of baptizing by immersion. This cannot, indeed, be proved, so as to be liable to no objection; but I presume that this is the idea which would strike the great mass of unprejudiced readers. But while this is admitted, it is also certain that his main scope and intention was not to describe the mode of baptism; nor to affirm that that mode was to be universal. The design was very different. It was to show that by the solemn profession made at our baptism, we had become dead to sin, as Christ was dead to the living world around him when he was buried; and that as he was raised up to life, so we should also rise to a new life. A similar expression occurs in Col 2:12, "Buried with him in baptism," etc.

Into death, (εις). Unto death; i.e. with a solemn purpose to be dead to sin and to the world. Grotius and Doddrdge, however, understand this as referring to the death of Christ--in order to represent the death of Christ, or to bring us into a kind of fellowship with his death.

That like as. In a similar manner. Christ rose from death in the sepulchre; and so we are bound by our vows at baptism to rise to a holy life.

By the glory of the Father. Perhaps this means, amidst the glory, the majesty and wonders, evinced by the Father when he raised him up, Mt 28:2,3. Or possibly the word glory is here used to denote simply his power, as the resurrection was a signal and glorious display of his omnipotence.

Even so. As he rose to new life, so should we. As he rose from death, so we, being made dead to sin and the world by that religion whose profession is expressed by baptism, should rise to a new life, a life of holiness.

Should walk. Should live, or conduct. The word walk is often used to express the course of a man's life, or the tenor of his conduct. Rom 4:12; 2Cor 5:7; 2Cor 10:3; Eph 2:10; Eph 4:1.

In newness of life. This is a Hebraism to denote new life. We should rise with Christ to a new life; and having been made dead to sin, as he was dead in the grave, so should we rise to a holy life, as he rose from the grave. The argument in this verse is, therefore, drawn from the nature of the Christian profession. By our very baptism, by our very profession, we have become dead to sin, as Christ became dead; and being devoted to him by that baptism, we are bound to rise as he did to a new life.

While it is admitted that the allusion here was probably to the custom of immersion in baptism, yet the passage cannot be adduced as an argument that that is the only mode, or that it is binding on all Christians in all places and ages, for the following reasons:

(1.) The scope or design of the apostle is not to discuss the mode of baptism, or to state any doctrine on the subject. It is an incidental allusion in the course of an argument, without stating or implying that this was the universal mode even then, still less that it was the only possible mode. His main design was to state the obligation of Christians to be holy, from the nature of their profession at baptism-- an obligation just as impressive, and as forcible, from the application of water in any other mode as by immersion. It arises from the fact of baptism, not from the mode. It is just as true that they who are baptized by affusion, or by sprinkling, are baptized into his death; become professedly dead to sin and the world, and under obligations to live to God, as those who are immersed. It results from the nature of the ordinance, not from the mode.

(2.) If this was the mode commonly, it does not follow that it was the only mode, nor that it was to be universally observed. There is no command that this should be the only mode. And the simple fact that it was usually practised in a warm climate, where ablutions were common, does not prove that it is to be observed amidst polar snows and ice, and in infancy, and age, and feebleness, and sickness. Acts 8:38, 39.

(3.) If this is to be pressed literally as a matter of obligation, why should not also the following expression, "If we have been planted together," etc., be pressed literally, and it be demanded that Christians should somehow be "planted" as well as "buried?" Such an interpretation only shows the absurdity of insisting on a literal interpretation of the Scriptures in cases of simple allusion, or where the main scope is illustration by figurative language.

(i) "buried with him" Col 2:12, 1Pet 3:21 (k) "like as Christ" Rom 8:2, 2Cor 13:4 (l) "by the glory of the Father" Mt 28:2,3 (m) "newness of life" 1Jn 2:6

Romans 8:1

ROMANS CHAPTER 8

INTRODUCTION

THIS chapter is one of the most interesting and precious portions of the sacred Scriptures. Some parts of it are attended with great difficulties; but its main scope and design is apparent to all. It is a continuation of the subject discussed in the previous chapter, and is intended mainly to show that the gospel could effect what the law was incapable of doing. In that chapter the apostle had shown that the law was incapable of producing sanctification or peace of mind. He had traced its influence on the mind in different conditions, and shown that, equally before regeneration and afterwards, it was incapable of producing peace and holiness. Such was man, such were his propensities, that the application of law only tended to excite, to irritate, to produce conflict. The conscience, indeed, testified to the law that it was good; but still it had shown that it was not adapted to produce holiness of heart and peace, but agitation, conflict, and a state of excited sin. In opposition to this, he proceeds to show in this chapter the power of the gospel to produce that which the law could not. In doing this, he illustrates the subject by several considerations.

(1.) The gospel does what the law could not do in giving life, and delivering from condemnation, Rom 8:1-13.

(2.) It produces a spirit of adoption, and all the blessings which result from the filial confidence with which we can address God as our Father, in opposition to the law which produced only terror and alarm, Rom 8:14-17.

(3.) It sustains the soul amidst its captivity to sin, and its trials, with the hope of a future deliverance--a complete and final redemption of the body from all the evils of this life, Rom 8:18-25.

(4.) It furnishes the aid of the Holy Spirit to sustain us in our trials and infirmities, Rom 8:26,27.

(5.) It gives the assurance that all things shall work together for good, since all things are connected with the purpose of God; and all that can occur to a Christian comes in as a part of the plan of him who has resolved to save him, Rom 8:28-30.

(6.) It ministers consolation from the fact that everything that can affect the happiness of man is on the side of the Christian, and will co-operate in his favour; as, e.g.

(a) God, in giving his Son, and in justifying the believer,

Rom 8:31-33.

(b) Christ, in dying, and rising, and interceding for Christians,

Rom 8:34.

that nothing can separate him from it, Rom 8:35-39. By all

these considerations the superiority of the gospel to the law

is shown, and assurance is given to the believer of his final

salvation. By this interesting and conclusive train of

reasoning, the apostle is prepared for the triumphant language

of exultation with which he closes this most precious portion

of the word of God.

Verse 1. There is, therefore, now. This is connected with the closing verses of chapter 7. The apostle had there shown that the law could not effect deliverance from sin, but that such deliverance was to be traced to the gospel alone, Rom 7:23-25. It is implied here that there was condemnation under the law, and would be still, but for the intervention of the gospel.

No condemnation. This does not mean that sin in believers is not to be condemned as much as anywhere, for the contrary is everywhere taught in the Scriptures; but it means,

(1.) that the gospel does not pronounce condemnation like the law. Its office is to pardon; the office of the law, to condemn. The one never affords deliverance, but always condemns; the object of the other is to free from condemnation, and to set the soul at liberty.

(2.) There is no final condemnation under the gospel. The office, design, and tendency of the gospel is to free from the condemning sentence of law. This is its first and its glorious announcement, that it frees lost and ruined men from a most fearful and terrible condemnation.

Which are in Christ Jesus. Who are united to Christ. To be in him is an expression not seldom used in the New Testament, denoting close and intimate union, Php 1:1, 3:9, 2Cor 5:17, Rom 16:7-11. The union between Christ and his people is compared to that between the vine and its branches, (Jn 15:1-6) and hence believers are said to be in him in a similar sense, as deriving their support from him, and as united in feeling, in purpose, and destiny.

Who walk. Who conduct, or live. Rom 4:12.

Not after the flesh. Who do not live to gratify the corrupt desires and passions of the flesh. Rom 7:18. This is a characteristic of a Christian. What it is to walk after the flesh may be seen in Gal 5:19-21. It follows, that a man whose purpose of life is to gratify his corrupt desires cannot be a Christian. Unless he lives not to gratify his flesh, he can have no evidence of piety. This is a test which is easily applied; and if every professor of religion were honest, there could be no danger of mistake, and there need be no doubts about his true character.

But after the Spirit. As the Holy Spirit would lead or prompt. What the Spirit produces may be seen in Gal 5:22,23. If a man has these fruits of the Spirit, he is a Christian; If not, he is a stranger to religion, whatever else he may possess. And this test also is easily applied.

(d) "no condemnation" Jn 3:18 (e) "walk not after" Gal 5:16

2 Corinthians 5:7

Verse 7. For we walk. To walk, in the Scriptures, often denotes to live, to act, to conduct [one's self] in a certain way. Rom 4:12; Rom 6:4. It has reference to the fact that life is a journey, or a pilgrimage, and that the Christian is travelling to another country. The sense here is, that we conduct ourselves in our course of life with reference to the things which are unseen, and not with reference to the things which are seen.

By faith. In the belief of those things which we do not see. We believe in the existence of objects which are invisible, and we are influenced by them. To walk by faith, is to live in the confident expectation of things that are to come; in the belief of the existence of unseen realities; and suffering them to influence us as if they were seen. The people of this world are influenced by the things that are seen. They live for wealth, honour, splendour, praise, for the objects which this world can furnish, and as if there were nothing which is unseen, or as if they ought not to be influenced by the things which are unseen. The Christian, on the contrary, has a firm conviction of the reality of the glories of heaven; of the fact that the Redeemer is there; of the fact that there is a crown of glory; and he lives and acts as if that were all real, and as if he saw it all. The simple account of faith, and of living by faith is, that we live and act as if these things were true, and suffer them to make an impression on our mind according to their real nature. Mk 16:16. It is contradistinguished from living simply under the influence of things that are seen. God is unseen--but the Christian lives, and thinks, and acts as if there were a God, and as if he saw him. Christ is unseen now by the bodily eye; but the Christian lives and acts as if he were seen; that is, as if his eye were known to be upon us, and as if he was now exalted to heaven, and was the only Saviour. The Holy Spirit is unseen; but he lives and acts as if there were such a Spirit, and as if his influences were needful to renew and purify the soul. Heaven is unseen; but the Christian lives, and thinks, and acts as if there were a heaven, and as if he now saw its glories. He has confidence in these and in kindred truths, and he acts as if they were real. Could man see all these--were they visible to the naked eye as they are to the eye of faith, no one would doubt the propriety of living and acting with reference to them. But if they exist, there is no more impropriety in acting with reference to them than if they were seen. Our seeing or not seeing them does not alter their nature or importance; and the fact that they are not seen does not make it improper to act with reference to them. There are many ways of being convinced of the existence and reality of objects besides seeing them; and it may be as rational to be influenced by the reason, the judgment, or by strong confidence, as it is to be influenced by sight. Besides, all men are influenced by things which they have not seen. They hope for objects that are future. They aspire to happiness which they have not yet beheld. They strive for honour and wealth which are unseen, and which are in the distant future. They live and act--influenced by strong faith and hope--as if these things were attainable; and they deny themselves, and labour, and cross oceans and deserts, and breathe in pestilential air, to obtain those things which they have not seen, and which to them are in the distant future. And why should not the Christian endure like labour, and be willing to suffer in like manner, to gain the unseen crown which is incorruptible, and to acquire the unseen wealth which the moth does not corrupt? And further still, the men of this world strive for those objects which they have not beheld, without any promise or any assurance that they shall obtain them. No being, able to grant them, has promised them; no one has assured them that their lives shall be lengthened out to obtain them. In a moment they may be cut off, and all their plans frustrated; or they may be utterly disappointed, and all their plans fail; or if they gain the object, it may be unsatisfactory, and may furnish no pleasure such as they had anticipated. But not so the Christian. He has

(1.) the promise of life.

(2.) He has the assurance that sudden death cannot deprive him of it. It at once removes him to the object of pursuit, not from it.

(3.) He has the assurance that when obtained, it shall not disgust, or satiate, or decay, but that it shall meet all the expectations of the soul, and shall be eternal.

Not by sight. This may mean either that we are not influenced by a sight of these future glories, or that we are not influenced by the things which we see. The main idea is, that we are not influenced and governed by the sight. We are not governed and controlled by the things which we see, and we do not see those things which actually influence and control us. In both it is faith that controls us, and not sight.

Galatians 6:16

Verse 16. And as many as walk. As many as live, for so the word walk is used in the Scriptures.

According to this rule. Gr., this canon. See the word explained 2Cor 10:13.

Peace be on them. Rom 15:33.

And upon the Israel of God. The true church of God; all who are his true worshippers. Rom 2:28; Rom 2:29; Rom 9:6.

Ephesians 4:1

Ephesians Chapter 4

Analysis of the Chapter

THIS chapter is the commencement of the practical part of the epistle, and is made up, like the remaining chapters, of various exhortations. It is in accordance with the usual habit of Paul to conduct an argument in his epistles, and, then to enforce various practical duties, either growing out of the argument which he had maintained, or, more commonly, adapted to some particular state of things in the church to which he wrote. The points of exhortation in this chapter are, in general, the following:--

I. An exhortation to unity, Eph 4:1-6. He entreats them to walk worthy of their vocation, Eph 4:1; shows them how it could be done, or what he meant; and that, in order to that, they should show meekness and kindness, Eph 4:2 and particularly exhorts them to unity, Eph 4:3 for they had one God, one Saviour, one baptism, one religion, Eph 4:4-6.

II. He shows them that God had made ample provision for his people, that they might be sound in the faith, and in unity of life and of doctrine, and need not be driven about with every wind of opinion, Eph 4:7-16. He assures them that to every Christian is given grace in the Redeemer adapted to his circumstances, Eph 4:7; that the Lord Jesus ascended to heaven to obtain gifts for his people, Eph 4:8-10; that he had given apostles, prophets, and evangelists, for the very purpose of imparting instruction, and confirming them in the faith of the gospel, Eph 4:11,12; that this was in order that they might attain to the highest elevation in Christian knowledge and piety, Eph 4:13; and particularly that they might not be driven to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, Eph 4:14-16.

III. Having these arrangements made for their knowledge and piety,he exhorts them not to live as the heathen around them lived, but to show that they were under a better influence, Eph 4:17-24. Their understanding was darkened, and they were alienated from the life of God, or true religion, Eph 4:18; they were past feeling, and were given over to every form of sensuality, Eph 4:19. The Ephesians, however, had been taught a different thing, Eph 4:20,21; and the apostle exhorts them to lay aside everything pertaining to their former course of life, and to become wholly conformed to the principles of the new man, Eph 4:22-24.

IV. He exhorts them to perform particular Christian duties, and to put away certain evils, of which they and all others were in danger, Eph 4:25. In particular, he entreats them to avoid lying, Eph 4:25; anger, Eph 4:26; theft, Eph 4:28; corrupt and corrupting conversation, Eph 4:29; grieving the Holy Spirit, Eph 4:30;) bitterness, evil-speaking, and malice, Eph 4:31; and entreats them to manifest, in their intercourse with each other, a spirit of kindness and forgiveness, Eph 4:32.

Verse 1. I therefore. In view of the great and glorious truths which God has revealed, and of the grace which he has manifested towards you who are Gentiles. See the previous chapters. The sense of the word "therefore"--ουν--in this place, is, "Such being your exalted privileges; since God has done so much for you; since he has revealed for you such a glorious system; since he has bestowed on you the honour of calling you into his kingdom, and making you partakers of his mercy, I entreat you to live in accordance with these elevated privileges, and to show your sense of his goodness by devoting your all to his service." The force of the word "I" they would all feel. It was the appeal and exhortation of the founder of their church--of their spiritual father--of one who had endured much for them, and who was now in bonds on account of his devotion to the welfare of the Gentile world.

The prisoner of the Lord. Marg., in. It means, that he was now a prisoner, or in confinement in the cause of the Lord; and he regarded himself as having been made a prisoner because the Lord had so willed and ordered it. He did not feel particularly that he was the prisoner of Nero; he was bound and kept because the Lord willed it, and because it was in his service. Eph 3:1.

Beseech you that ye walk worthy. That you live as becomes those who have been called in this manner into the kingdom of God. The word walk is often used to denote life, conduct, etc. Rom 4:12; Rom 6:4; 2Cor 5:7.

Of the vocation. Of the calling--τηςκλησεως. This word properly means a call, or an invitation--as to a banquet. Hence it means that Divine invitation or calling by which Christians are introduced into the privileges of the gospel. The word is translated calling in Rom 11:29, 1Cor 1:26, 7:20, Eph 1:18, 4:1,4, Php 3:14, 2Thes 1:11, 2Ti 1:9; Heb 3:1, 2Pet 1:10. It does not elsewhere occur. The sense of the word, and the agency employed in calling us, are well expressed in the Westminster Shorter Catechism: "Effectual calling is the work of God's Spirit, whereby convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ freely offered to us in the gospel." This calling or vocation is through the agency of the Holy Spirit, and is his appropriate work on the human heart. It consists essentially in influencing the mind to turn to God, or to enter into his kingdom. It is the exertion of so much influence on the mind as is necessary to secure the turning of the sinner to God. In this all Christians are agreed, though there have been almost endless disputes about the actual influence exerted, and the mode in which the Spirit acts on the mind. Some suppose it is by "moral suasion;" some by physical power; some by an act of creation; some by inclining the mind to exert its proper powers in right way, and to turn to God. What is the precise agency employed perhaps we are not to expect to be able to decide. See Jn 3:8. The great, the essential point is held, if it be maintained that it is by the agency of the Holy Spirit that the result is secured--and this I suppose to be held by all evangelical Christians. But though it is by the agency of the Holy Spirit, we are not to suppose that it is without the employment of means. It is not literally like the act of creation. It is preceded and attended with means adapted to the end; means which are almost as various as the individuals who are called into the kingdom of God. Among those means are the following.

(1.) Preaching. Probably more are called into the kingdom by this means than any other. It is "God's great ordinance for the salvation of men." It is eminently fitted for it. The pulpit has higher advantages for acting on the mind than any other means of affecting men. The truths that are dispensed; the sacredness of the place; the peace and quietness of the sanctuary; and the appeals to the reason, the conscience, and the heart--all are fitted to affect men, and to bring them to reflection. The Spirit makes use of the word preached, but in a great variety of ways. Sometimes many are impressed simultaneously; sometimes the same truth affects one mind, while others are unmoved; and sometimes truth reaches the heart of a sinner which he has heard a hundred times before, without being interested. The Spirit acts with sovereign power, and by laws which have never yet been traced out.

(2.) The events of Providence are used to call men into his kingdom. God appeals to men by laying them on a bed of pain, or by requiring them to follow a friend in the still and mournful procession to the grave. They feel that they must die, and they are led to ask the question whether they are prepared. Much fewer are affected in this way than we should suppose would be the case; but still there are many, in the aggregate, who can trace their hope of heaven to a fit of sickness, or to the death of a friend.

(3.) Conversation is one of the means by which sinners are called into the kingdom of God. In some states of mind, where the Spirit has prepared the soul like mellow ground prepared for the seed, a few moments' conversation, or a single remark, will do more to arrest the attention than much preaching.

(4.) Reading is often the means of calling men into the kingdom. The Bible is the great means--and if we can get men to read that, we have very cheering indications that they will be converted. The profligate Earl of Rochester was awakened and led to the Saviour by reading a chapter in Isaiah. And who can estimate the number of those who have been converted by reading Baxter's Call to the Unconverted; Alleine's Alarm; the Dairy-man's Daughter; or the Shepherd of Salisbury Plain? He does good who places a good book in the way of a sinner. That mother or sister is doing good, and making the conversion of a son or brother probable, who puts a Bible in his chest when he goes to sea, or in his trunk when he goes on a journey. Never should a son be allowed to go from home without one. The time will come when, far away from home, he will read it he will read it when his mind is pensive and tender, and the Spirit may bear the truth to his heart for his conversion.

(5.) The Spirit calls men into the kingdom of Christ by presiding over and directing, in some unseen manner, their own reflections, or the operations of their own minds. In some way, unknown to us, he turns the thoughts to the past life; recalls forgotten deeds and plans; makes long past sins rise to remembrance; and overwhelms the mind with conscious guilt from the memory of crime, he holds this power over the soul; and it is among the most mighty and mysterious of all the influences that he has on the heart. Sometimes--a man can hardly tell how--the mind will be pensive, sad, melancholy; then conscious of guilt; then alarmed at the future. Often, by sudden transitions, it will be changed from the gay to the grave, and from the pleasant to the sad; and often, unexpectedly to himself, and by associations which he cannot trace out, the sinner will find himself reflecting on death, judgment, and eternity. It is the Spirit of God that leads the mind along. It is not by force; not by the violation of its laws, but in accordance with those laws, that the mind is thus led along to the eternal world. In such ways, and by such means, are men "called" into the kingdom of God. To "walk worthy of that calling," is to live as becomes a Christian, an heir of glory; to live as Christ did. It is,

(1.) to bear our religion with us to all places, companies, employments. Not merely to be a Christian on the Sabbath, and at the communion-table, and in our own land; but every day, and everywhere, and in any land where we may be placed. We are to live religion, and not merely to profess it. We are to be Christians in the counting-room, as well as in the closet; on the farm, as well as at the communion-table; among strangers, and in a foreign land, as well as in our own country and in the sanctuary.

(2.) It is to do nothing inconsistent with the most elevated Christian character. In temper, feeling, plan, we are to give expression to no emotion, and use no language, and perform no deed, that shall be inconsistent with the most elevated Christian character.

(3.) It is to do right always: to be just to all; to tell the simple truth; to defraud no one; to maintain a correct standard of morals; to be known to be honest. There is a correct standard of character and conduct; and a Christian should be a man so living, that we may always know exactly where to find him. He should so live, that we shall have no doubts that, however others may act, we shall find him to be the unflinching advocate of temperance, chastity, honesty, and of every good work--of every plan that is really fitted to alleviate human woe, and benefit a dying world.

(4.) It is to live as one should who expects soon to be in heaven. Such a man will feel that the earth not his home; that he is a stranger and a pilgrim here; that riches, honours, and pleasures are of comparatively little importance; that he ought to watch and pray, and that he ought to be holy. A man who feels that he may die at any moment will watch and pray. A man who realizes that to-morrow he may be in heaven will feel that he ought to be holy. He who begins a day on earth, feeling that at its close he may be among the angels of God, and the spirits of just men made perfect; that before its close he may have seen the Saviour glorified, and the burning throne of God, will feel the importance of living a holy life, and of being wholly devoted to the service of God. Pure should be the eyes that are soon to look on the throne of God; pure the hands that are soon to strike the harps of praise in heaven; pure the feet that are to walk the "golden streets above."

(1) "prisoner of" "in (*) "of" "on account of"