ber cannot live without the body, nor can the branch live when divided from the tree.

So with Christians, Christ can live without us, but we cannot live without Christ.

How important, therefore, and necessary to us is our union with Christ.

2. Sonship.-A Child of God.

This privilege springs out of the previous one.

In a

general sense-viz., by creation-all men are sons of God-e.g., Adam is thus called the Son of God.-St. Luke iii., 38.

The heathen also understood this (Acts xvii., 28), but our Lord Jesus Christ only is the one true Son of God, as partaking of God's nature.

As, however, in baptism, we are made members of Christ, we share, in some sense, in what is his; and hence become, by adoption, sons of God. From being children of wrath, or of God's anger, through the sin of our first parents, we are made by adoption sons of God. "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus."-Gal. iii., 26.

"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father."-Rom. viii., 15.

3. Heirship -An Inheritor of the Kingdom of Heaven.

An heir or inheritor is one who has a title to some future possession or property.

He has not the possession yet, but the prospect of possession, and the contingent right to it.

By Kingdom of Heaven is here meant Christ's future kingdom of glory.

Heirship of heaven, therefore, is the right or title which Christians have to share in the glory and happiness of the new state of things which follows the second coming of Christ.

It follows from Sonship-e.g.:

"If children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."-Rom. viii., 17.

"Wherefore, thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ."-Gal. iv., 7 ; Gal. iii., 29.

III. The Obligations of the Covenant.

(A)-RENUNCIATION.
(B)-FAITH.

(C)-OBEDIENCE.

(A)-Renunciation.

To renounce the devil, the world, and the flesh.

To renounce is to declare against, to give up, or have nothing to do with.

We have promised to renounce

1. The Devil and all his Works.

The word "Devil" means the Evil One.

The devil is the chief of the wicked fallen angels. He
was created good, like all God's works, but fell from his
high estate through pride and rebellion, and was driven
out of heaven with all his numerous followers of evil
spirits.
He is our invisible enemy, going about like a roaring lion
seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter v., 8.) As good
soldiers of Christ we are called upon to resist him-

"Resist the devil and he will flee from you."-James iv., 7.
He is mentioned in the Bible under the following names:
Satan-i.e., Adversary or Accuser.-Job i., 6.
Lucifer.-Isa. xiv., 12.

Tempter.-St. Matt. iv., 3.

Beelzebub.-St. Matt. xii., 24.

Prince of this World.-St. John xii., 31; xiv., 30.
Ruler of the Darkness of this World.-Ephes. vi., 12.
God of this World.-2 Cor. iv., 4.

Belial-i.e., Extremely wicked.—2 Cor. vi., 15.
Apollyon, the Destroyer.-Rev. ix., 11.

Dragon-Rev. xii., 3.

The Old Serpent.-Rev. xii., 9.

Accuser.-Rev. xii., 10.

Deceiver.-Rev. xx., 10.

The works of the devil are such sins as belong to a

spiritual nature.

The expression must be contrasted

with "lusts of the flesh," which refer to sins of the animal nature.

All sins may be truly said to be the work of the devil, but the following may be termed peculiar to him :

·(1) Lying.

"He was a liar from the beginning and the Father of liars."— Gen. iii., 4; St. John viii., 44.

(2) Pride.

"Lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil."-1 Tim. iii., 6.

(3) Envy.-Gen. iii., 1-5.

(4) Hatred, Anger, and Dissension.—1 John iii., 8, 10, 15.

(5) Murder.-St. John viii., 44.

(6) Deceit and Hypocrisy.-Acts v., 1-4.

St. Paul tells us (Ephes. vi., 11-18) that ". we wrestle not against flesh and blood," but against a spiritual, an Invisible Foe; and, therefore, urges upon us the necessity of being always prepared-ready armed-" for the evil day." He then goes on to detail the necessary armour, which he calls "the whole armour of God," viz.: (a) The Girdle of Truth.

(b) The Breastplate of Righteousness.

(c) The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace.
(d) The Shield of Faith.

(e) The Helmet of the hope of Salvation.-1 Thess.
V., 8.

(f) The Sword of the Spirit.

And concludes with an exhortation to constant prayer and unceasing watchfulness.

2. The pomps and vanity of this wicked world.

The word "pomp" strictly means procession, and refers to the processions formerly associated with idolatrous worship. Hence it came to be applied to any grand display or public show. Lastly it was referred to the displays of fashion or folly.

The word "vanity" means literally emptiness-i.e., frivolity and folly.

It will apply to any kind of amusement that dissipates the mind and degrades the heart.

"This wicked world" does not refer to God's world, the world of Nature, but to man's world, the world of society.

St. Johu says (1 John v., 19) "that the whole world lieth in wickedness," meaning that there is a great deal that is sinful in the social life of mankind.

To renounce the pomps and vanity of this wicked world means, therefore, to declare against all the extravagances of fashion, all foolish parade and display, all frivolous and mischievous pursuits and amusements, all practices that tend to demoralise.

Particular illustrations would be:

(1) Devoting too much time to fashionable amusements. (2) Extravagance in dress and furniture.

(3) Love of finery.

(4) Tendency to frequent fairs, races, and other doubtful places.

(5) Gambling, &c.

"The friendship of the world is enmity with God."James iv., 4.

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world; for if any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him."-1 John ii., 15.

3. All the sinful lusts of the flesh.

"Lusts" literally means desires.
The flesh here means the bodily or animal nature. The
lusts of the flesh are, therefore, strictly speaking, the
desires or appetites of the bodily or animal nature.
These appetites are, of course, natural; they were
implanted by God, and there is no sin in having them;
the sin lies in not controlling them.

To renounce them, therefore, means to resist their power,
not to follow or be led by them, but to keep them in
proper subjection.-1 Cor. ix., 27.

The following are the chief sins of the flesh :

(1) Fornication, Adultery, Filthiness, Foolish Talking, and all Uncleanness.-Gal. v., 19; Ephes. v., 3-5.

(2) Gluttony and Drunkenness.

(3) Idleness.

"The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life are not of the Father."-1 John ii., 16.

"Flee youthful lusts."-2 Tim. ii., 22.

"They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts."-Gal. v., 24.

(B)-Faith.

To believe all the articles of the Christian Faith.

St. Paul says—

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."-Heb. xi., 1.

Faith is belief.

The word "article" means literally a little joint; and hence the term is used for any distinct or separate point or principle in a body of facts, rules, or truths.

Belief, therefore, in all the articles of the Christian Faith, means belief in all the distinct or separate points of doctrine, or of facts of Christianity.

These points or articles are all to be found in the Bible,
and are summed up in "The Creed."

An acknowledgment or confession of faith seems to have
been required of candidates for baptism from the earliest
times-e.g.. the Ethiopian Eunuch.-Acts viii., 37.
A true, living faith does not imply a cold assent to the
doctrines, nor the merely historical belief in the facts of
Christianity, for bad men, and even devils may possess
such a faith-e g., "Thou believest that there is one God:
thou doest well: the devils also believe and tremble."
(James ii., 19)-but it includes belief in the existence and
character of God as revealed to us in the Bible, with a
full and complete trust in Him.-Heb. xi., 1-6.

Faith is necessary :

1. To please God-e.g.:

"Without faith it is impossible to please God."-Heb. xi., 6. "And this is his commandment, That we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ."-1 John iii., 23.

2. To resist the assaults of the wicked-e.g.:

"Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."-Ephes, vi., 16. 3. To profit by God's word-e.g.:

"For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it."-Heb. iv., 2.

The following are eminent examples of faith:(1) Abraham.-Gen. xxii., 10-16.

(2) David.-1 Saml. xvii., 45-47.

(3) The Centurion.-St. Matt. viii., 8.

(4) The Canaanitish Woman.-St. Matt.

XV.,

22-28.

(5) Blind Bartimeus.-St. Mark x., 46-52.
(6) Stephen.-Acts vi., 5.

(7) Abel, Enoch, Noah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, &c.—
Heb. xi.

(C)-Obedience.

To keep God's holy will and commandments, and walk in
the same all the days of my life.

"Faith without works is dead" (St. James ii., 26), i.e., a
right belief without works is false and unfruitful.
Hence as well as believing, and abstaining from open sin
it is necessary to "do the will of God from the heart."-
Ephes. vi., 6.

The promise is :

1. To keep God's Holy Will and Commandments.

(1) God's Holy Will-or Wishes.

"For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in Heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother."-St. Matt. xii., 50.

"Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ."-Hebrews xiii., 21.

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of God, but he that doeth the will of my Father, which is in heaven."-St. Matt. vii., 21.

(2) God's Commandments.

These are rules which God has laid down for the direction of the Christian's conduct.

A summary of them is contained in the two Tables of the Law given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai.— Exodus xx.