THE SWIMMING, OR NATATORIAL GROUr. 191 



ap himself as a sacrifice for the guilt of the 

 world; — "he was wounded for our transgres- 

 sions, he was bruised for our iniquities : the 

 chastisement of our peace was upon him ; and 

 by his stripes we are healed. The Lord has laid 

 on him the iniquity of us all," Isa. hii. 5, 6. 

 It is through faith in the great atonement 

 which Jesus made when he gave up his life as 

 a ransom for sinners, that man can escape 

 the judgment of God. This faith must be a 

 lively principle implanted in him by the holy 

 Spirit, which God has promised to those who 

 ask in true sincerity. (See Luke xi. 13.) 

 "There is therefore now no condemnation to 

 them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not 

 after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Rom.viii. 1. 



It was on this atonement, promised to Adam, 

 after his fall, that the prophets and holy men 

 of old depended, — but they saw as through a 

 glass, darkly. To us a purer light is given, a 

 bright revelation full of hope and joy is made, 

 and while it humbles our pride, or self-suffi- 

 ciency, and shows us our guilt, it offers us 

 pardon and peace, and the bliss of heaven, 

 where the Redeemer, once rejected by men, 

 sits on a throne of glory. 



How trauscendently joyful are the pros- 



