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(see verse 23). The spirit is the Lord's, the soul is the Lord's, and the body is the Lord's-all "to be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; " a present, personal sanctification, that abiding in Him, during which there is no sin. We are to be holy-the body holy, and what motives to keep it so! It is loved of God, redeemed by the precious blood of Christ; it is to stand before the Beama," and to be conformed in resurrection to the very body of Christ. The soul is holy, and the spirit holy. Paul puts the spirit first: "I pray God your whole spirit, etc." If our spirit be occupied with Christ, kept in His presence, free and happy, we need not fear as to the soul and body. May the Lord teach us and bless us in these meditations on His Word.

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SWEET RE-UNIONS.*

H for the songs of gladness,
Sweet sounding through the air,
Oh! for the no more sadness
Of all the ransomed there.

Oh! for the long, long meeting,
Of Jesus with His own;
Oh! for the loved, loved greeting
Of pilgrims in their home.

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Oh! for the sweet re-union'
Of friend restored to friend-
That loved and long communion
Which never more shall end.

Oh! for the life immortal,

For bodies like His own;

Oh! for within that portal

Which leads me to His throne.

Oh! for the no more dying,
The no more oft distrest,
The sweetness there of lying
For ever on His breast.

Oh! for the joy of being

"For ever with the Lord,"

The long, sweet joy of seeing
How perfect was His Word.

Suggested by the hymn, "Oh! for the robes of whiteness.

PRECIOUS THINGS.

OR GARMENTS FOR GLORY AND FOR BEAUTY.

Exodus xxviii. and xxxix.

B

VED,

ELOVE we are about to indulge in a few meditations upon the Holy Garments of Exodus xxviii., upon our Divine Aaron, the blessed Lord Himself. We shall dwell upon Him according to the shadows which are given to us in this chapter.

Verse 2. "And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, for glory and for beauty." And again, at the 4th verse: "And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother and his sons, that he may minister unto Me in the priest's office. And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen." And then at the 9th verse: "And

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the names of the children of Israel;" and so on to the 13th verse, and then follows the details of the breastplate of judgment, and after that the robe of the ephod, with the suspended bells and pomegranates alternating with each other, and after that the plate of pure gold upon the mitre, and then the embroidered coat of fine linen, and the girdle.

You will remark that these garments are expressly called holy garments; they are also said to be "garments for glory and for beauty;" but they could not have been garments" for glory and for beauty" if they had not been holy garments. For without holiness there could be no glory, no beauty; holiness lies at the basis of the Divine character; without it God would not be what He is. God's holiness is absolute. Mark the difference between holiness and innocence. Innocence is without the knowledge of evil; but holiness involves a knowledge of, but separation from evil. There is in absolute holiness the entire absence of sin. Such is God's holiness, and ours also in our standing before God in Christ. We are sanctified in Christ Jesus. These garments

express the holiness of Aaron, and of Israel in Him; they tell of the peerless excellence of our Divine Aaron, and of our own excellence in Him.

It is an interesting question-Where were these garments worn? Some have thought in the most holy place; but no, only the pure white linen garments were worn there. The garb for the holy of holies was pure white, indicating that He was intrinsically holy and pure. It was as the spotless One that Jesus offered Himself unto God. As such He became our Saviour, as such He died; and although having sin on Him, He had no taint of sin in Him. If the Lord in death had had any spot of sin of His own, He could not have stood as our Substitute; and if, on rising from the dead, He had our sin still on Him, IIe could not have ascended to the Father. His very presence in heaven, the holiest of all, shows that sin has been once and for ever completely put away.

I would that you should gaze this morning upon the spotless One! As Aaron on the great day of atonement was habited, as he entered into the most

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