His eyes had seen the salvation of God. What he had really seen was the promised Messiah, that is, the Lord’s Christ. The little child was the promised Saviour, and to him the Saviour was salvation. The Person and the Gift were so bound together that they were as one. He could not know the Person without the Gift, or enjoy the Gift except through the Person. Thus our Lord, more than thirty years afterwards, spoke of Himself as “the Salvation,” {31b} when He said, as He entered into the house of Zacchæus, “This day is salvation come to this house.” Simeon had what we cannot have, something material that he could handle and look upon. His hand could handle and his eye could see the little child; and there cannot be a doubt that there is in the human mind a craving after something visible, tangible, and material. But we have nothing of the kind; we cannot hold our salvation in our hands. Neither do we want it there. It is safer in the hands of our Lord Himself. But though we cannot say, “Mine _eyes_ have seen,” we can say, thanks be to God, “Mine _heart_ hath seen,” and we can understand the words, “Whom having not seen, ye love.” {32a} There is exactly the same union in that passage between the Saviour and the salvation. Receiving Him we receive salvation, and beholding Him with the eye of faith we behold, as it were, our names written in the Book of Life. To behold the Saviour is a very personal matter. It is not merely to behold Him like a monument on a distant hill, which we can admire, but never enter; or as a harbour of refuge which we cannot reach. It must not be with us as it was with Balaam when he said, “I shall behold Him, but not nigh,” {32b} for the invitation to us is to draw near, and our privilege is in our inmost soul to pour out our heart before Him, as before One who knows all its secrets, and through His own most precious blood has blotted out all its guilt. This has thrown a gleam of sacred light into many a death-chamber. May God grant that it may be the same with each of us. Let none of us rest until we can say, “Mine eyes have seen Thy salvation,” till we not merely know that there is a Saviour, but can rest assured that He has saved us, and has made us—even us—heirs of God and joint-heirs with Himself in His kingdom. A PEACEFUL LIFE “To me to live is Christ.”—PHIL. i. 21. WE have studied the subject of a peaceful death-bed and I hope we learned how to die. Let us now turn our thoughts to a peaceful life and endeavour to learn how to live. The two things are bound fast together.