Oh, what wonderful "kindness and love of God our Saviour!" Let the remembrance of it be like a silver bell, ringing softly and clearly whenever you are going to do, or letting yourself feel or think, something that is not right. "Put _that_ on mine account!" Yes, that sin that you were on the very edge of committing! that angry word, and the angry feeling that makes you want to say it; that untrue word, and the cowardliness which makes you afraid to speak the exact truth; that proud look and the naughty pride of heart that made it come into your eyes; Jesus stands by and says, patiently and lovingly, "Put _that_ on mine account!"
Can you bear that? does it not make you wish, ten times more than ever, to be kept from sinning against such a Saviour?
"Jesus, tender Saviour, Hast Thou died for me? Make me very thankful In my heart to Thee; When the sad, sad story Of Thy grief I read, Make me very sorry For my sins indeed."
9. Ninth Day.
White Garments.
"Let thy garments be always white."--Eccles. ix. 8.
"Always?" Oh, how can that be? They are soiled again directly after they have been washed clean! Yet God says, "Let them be _always_ white;" and He would not tell you to do what was impossible. Then how are you to help soiling them? Only in one way. Last night's "little pillow" told you how Jesus washes us "whiter than snow" in His own precious blood, that cleanseth from all sin. But will He only cleanse His little one just for the moment? is that all He is able and willing to do for you?
No; if you will only keep on trusting to that precious blood, and not turn away from it, He says that it cleanseth, that is, _goes on cleansing_. You could not keep your garments white for five minutes; careless thoughts would come like dust upon them, and wrong words would make great dark stains and before long some naughty deed would be like a sad fall in the mud, and you would feel sad and ashamed before the kind Saviour who still stands ready to cleanse you again. But why should all this happen over and over again, till anybody but our own loving, long-suffering Saviour would be tired of us, and give up doing any more for us? Why should it be, when His precious blood is meant to "_go on cleansing_," so that our garments may be always white? Perhaps you never thought of this; ask Him now this morning not only to wash you in the fountain of His precious blood, but _to keep you in it_, to _go on cleansing_ you all day long. _Trust_ Him to do this, and see if it is not the happiest day you ever spent!
"And He can do all this for me, Because in sorrow, on the tree, He once for sinners hung; And, having washed their sin away, He now rejoices, day by day, To cleanse His little one."
10. Tenth Day.
Made Beautiful.
"Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us."--Ps. xc. 17.
"How great is His beauty!" said Zechariah. How can His beauty be upon us? In two ways; try to understand them, and then ask that in both ways the beauty of the Lord our God may be upon you.
One way is by His covering you with the robe of Jesus Christ's righteousness, looking upon you not as you are in yourself, all sinful and unholy, but as if all the Saviour's beautiful and holy life were yours, reckoning it to you for His sake. In this way He can call us "perfect through my comeliness which I had put upon thee." The other way is by giving you the beauty of holiness, for that is His own beauty; and though we never can be quite like Him till we see Him as He is, He can begin to make us like Him even now. Look at a poor little colorless drop of water, hanging weakly on a blade of grass. It is not beautiful at all; why should you stop to look at it? Stay till the sun has risen, and now look. It is sparkling like a diamond; and if you look at it from another side, it will be glowing like a ruby, and presently gleaming like an emerald. The poor little drop has become one of the brightest and loveliest things you ever saw. But is it its own brightness and beauty? No; if it slipped down to the ground out of the sunshine, it would be only a poor little dirty drop of water. So, if the Sun of Righteousness, the glorious and lovely Saviour, shines upon you, a little ray of His own brightness and beauty will be seen upon you. Sometimes we can see by the happy light on a face that the Sun is shining there; but if the Sun is really shining, there are sure to be some of the beautiful rays of holiness, love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, making the life even of a little child very lovely.
"Jesus, Lord, I come to Thee, Thou hast said I may; Tell me what my life should be, Take my sins away.
"Jesus, Lord, I learn of Thee, In Thy word divine; Every promise there I see, May I call it mine!"
11. Eleventh Day.
Pleasant Gifts.
"Who giveth us richly all things to enjoy."--I Tim. vi. 17.