sent time, that he might be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus." (Rom. iii. 25, 26.)

It was on this foundation the publican took his stand. It was not, by any means, with him, a question of coming before God, in the credit of his prayers, as some would teach us. He had no more confidence in his prayers than in fastings or tithes. He simply took refuge in "the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all them that believe." All this is fully involved in the beautiful word which he uses. No doubt, we may cry to God, we may pray without ceasing. It is the believer's highest and sweetest privilege to pray to his heavenly Father, continually. But the publican did not come before God depending upon prayers, but upon blood. The blood of Jesus is the resting place for all who stand on the same platform with the publican. Fastings, tithes, and prayers are the resting-place for all who occupy the same platform with the pharisee. The publican took his stand just where Abel, Isaiah, Peter, and Paul took theirs, namely, on the finished work of Christ.

And what was the result. It was precisely what might be expected. "This man went down to his house JUSTIFIED." Observe, he went down, not merely pardoned or forgiven; but "justified"-made righteous. "He," like. Abel, "obtained witness that he was righteous." (Heb. xi. 4.) There was nothing against him. The atonement of Christ, in which he took refuge, made him a perfectly justified man. He had nothing to do with it. Jesus is the propitiation. Fastings could not propitiate-tithes could not propitiate-prayers could not propitiate, but the precious blood of Christ can propitiate; and all who believe in that are justified from all things, from which they could not. be justified by the law of Moses." (Acts xiii. 39.) Such is the infinite value of the sacrifice of Christ, that all who put their trust in it, are looked at by God as perfectly righteous. Being a perfect work, it makes all who confide in it perfect,

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likewise. The sacrifices under the law could not make any one perfect as to his conscience, because they were not themselves perfect; but Christ's sacrifice is perfect, and therefore it can give a perfectly purged conscience. (Heb. ix. and x.)

Hence, therefore, anyone who professes to be depending upon Christ, and yet has no peace, is not perfectly justified, is denying the value of Christ's blood. This is the true state of the case. Has Christ finished His work, or has He not? Has He perfectly put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself? Has He left part of His work undone? Has He left something to be added thereto? Is there not a divine atonement in His blood? Has not Jehovah declared, "I HAVE FOUND A RANSOM ?" To these inquiries, the word affords but one reply. Well, then, ought not every one who, like the publican, depends upon the blood, be assured that he, like the publican, is "justified ?" Unquestionably. Let my reader put the two words together, and see the striking connexion. The publican says, "make reconciliation for me a sinner." Christ says, "this man went down to his house justified." The publican put the entire work of making reconciliation into God's hands, and God gave him the full benefit, and pronounced him a justified man. The publican, as a sinner, met God, as a Saviour, and the entire question was settled, once and for ever. Thus it is in every case. The reason why people do not see the simplicity of God's way of salvation, is because they are occupied with what they are not, rather than with what they are. It is as I am that God meets me, in the cross. He has made provision for all the guilt that He Himself knows to be upon me, and all the sin that He knows to be in me.

The belief of this must give settled peace. The more I grow in the knowledge of the extent and depth of my guilt and ruin, the more I grow in the knowledge of the extent and depth of the atonement. I never can see my guilt as God sees it; but He has put it away according to

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His own sense of it, and He tells me He has done so, and when I believe this, I have sweet peace. Being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Rom. v. 1.)

I would only observe, in conclusion, that the word "rather," in verse 14, is introduced, and tends to obscure the truth of the entire passage. We are not to suppose that there is any comparison as to the measure of justification. By no means. The simple truth is that the publican was perfectly justified, but the pharisee was not justified at all. And why? Because the publican put his trust in divinelymade atonement, while the pharisee put his trust in fastings and tithes. The former rested in the blood; the latter rested in his own doings. In short, we have before us Abel and Cain, over again. "There is nothing new under the sun." There were the two classes in the fourth of Genesis-there were the two classes in the eighteenth of Luke; and there are the two classes, now.

Reader, to which of the two do you now belong? Are you trusting in yourself that you are righteous ? or are you divinely "justified" by simple faith in the precious blood of Christ? Which? Oh! which? Remember, if you see yourself to be a lost sinner, and that your trust is in the blood, you are as justified as that blood can make you. The question no longer is, what kind of a sinner are you? but what kind of a Saviour is Jesus? May God give you to see this!

ONENESS WITH CHRIST.

THE security of a believer consists in this, that he is one with Christ; and his peace, his joy, his fruitfulness, are all proportioned to the clearness with which he sees, and the constancy with which he realizes this. Now, it is by faith we know, by faith we realize, this all-important fact. God's word declares it to be a fact; and God's word is that in

which faith rests. Faith simply credits, or receives as true, whatever God has spoken, however contrary it may appear to be to reason, to sense, to experience, to frames, feelings, doubts, and fears. Faith hearkens not to these; it regards not fears or doubts, frames or feelings; it considers not experience, sense, or reason; it simply hearkens to God's voice, speaking to us in God's word. What that word says— what God Himself thus declares-faith receives and God declares in His word that the believer is one with Christ. "He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit." (1 Cor. vi. 17.) "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit." 1 Cor. xii. 13.

It is not merely that Christ is full of grace, and that the guiltiest are welcome to His embraces. This is true, blessed be His name! It was true when He was here in humiliation. It is not merely that now He is exalted, we have the assurance that the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him; that whosoever calleth upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. All this is true, and is revealed in the word of God for the comfort and encouragement of any poor, doubting, fearing, trembling soul-saint or sinner-who may read these pages. His own words assure us, and apply equally whether He speaks on earth or speaks from heaven, "Him that cometh to me I will in nowise cast out." All this is precious encouragement to the weakest, the vilest, the most desponding, to look to Christ, to come to Christ, to cling to Christ. But God's word further gives us God's judgment of those who do so look, or come, or cling. It tells us in what light He looks on such-what He reckons or accounts them to be. "To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works." (Rom. iv. 5, 6.) "Now it was not written for his (Abraham's) sake alone, that it was imputed

to him, but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Rom. iv. 23, 25-v. i.

But even this is not the whole. The word of God instructs us, that the very weakest believer, the one who most feebly and tremblingly clings to Christ, is one with the Christ to whom he clings. It gives us to understand that the faith by which he does thus cling to Christ is the first pulsation, as it were, of Christ's own life in his soul. It speaks of the exceeding greatness of God's power, towards those who believe, according to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead. It declares how "God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved), and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ." It speaks to believers as "buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God who hath raised him from the dead. And you," it says, "being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses." Mark, it is through the faith of the operation of God, that we are risen with Christ. The life we thus possess is a life we possess in common with Christ-risen with Him. God raised Him from the dead→→ the faith by which we cling to Him is a faith of the operation of God-and it is through this faith that we are risen with Christ. He died for sins-our sins; we were dead in sins. God raised Him; God has quickened us, who have this faith of His operation; and the life we thus possess we possess with Christ-in common with Him. "You being dead in your sins, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses." In what a position are