THE FAMILY ALTAR

August 30.

"There is, therefore, now no condemnation to them which are

in Christ Jesus." Rom. 8:1.

"I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me," is the confession

of every true Christian. Like Paul, he no longer lives for self,

nor for this vain world, nor does he seek to establish his own

righteousness by keeping the Law; for his heart's delight is that

Jesus, his Savior, has fulfilled all the demands of the Law for him

and through His precious blood has made him, the unworthy

sinner, a pardoned, free, and blessed child of God. Jesus and

His adorable love now become the ruling passion of the Christian's

heart. Nothing, nothing is dearer, sweeter, holier to him than the

name above all names, the name of Jesus. He lives in Jesus and

for Jesus and has but one regret — that he cannot love his Savior

more and serve Him better. But like Paul, the earnest Christian

continually finds a different law warring in him with his love for

Jesus and divine things. The good that he would do he so often

fails to do, whereas the evil that he would not do he so often

does through the weakness of his sin-corrupted flesh. With Paul

he complains: "0 wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver

me from the body of this death?" To such complaining Christian

hearts the apostle addresses the glorious comfort of our text.

Though they are often disturbed by the fear that God is displeased

with them and must condemn them on account of their continual

sinful weakness, they are to know and believe, and rejoice in, the

fact that God sees nothing in them to condemn. All their sinful

weakness is covered by the robe of Christ's righteousness ; and the

good they do, though so feeble and insufficient in itself, pleases

and delights the heavenly Father, even as a kind human father

is delighted with the first feeble attempts of his little child at

walking or learning its lesson. May we all ever abide in the love

of our Savior, then we can say when assailed by the fear of our sin,

in all affliction, and even in the hour of death: "There is no con-

demnation to me; for Jesus is mine."

Jesus, my Lord, my God, my all,

Hear me, blest Savior, when I call;

Hear me, and from Thy dwelling-place

Pour down the riches of Thy grace.

Jesus, my Lord, I Thee adore;

Oh, make me love Thee more and more!