freemen unto God, and may now as freemen have the joy of serving Him. But this is not all that is done for us, or nearly so, for the text does not merely refer to the bondage from which He died to deliver us, but leads us also to consider the new life to which He came to raise us. It takes the positive side as well as the negative. It looks forward as well as backward. It describes the new-master to whom being redeemed we belong, as well as the old master from whom by redemption we are delivered. Now you see this transfer very clearly in the text. The old master is lawlessness, the new master is Christ Himself. He came to redeem us from all iniquity, and ‘purify unto himself a peculiar people.’ ‘Peculiar’ does not mean odd, or eccentric; but special, and separated, as you may see by a comparison of Deut. vii. 6, and xiv. 2. In chap. vii. 6, we read, ‘The Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a _special_ people unto himself,’ and in chap. xiv. 2, ‘The Lord hath chosen thee to be a _peculiar_ people unto himself.’ You see that these words respecting Israel of old exactly correspond to those here spoken of the redeemed Church, and they completely explain what is here meant by the word ‘peculiar.’ As Israel was a peculiar people, delivered from Egypt, and set apart unto God, so those who are in Christ Jesus are redeemed from the old bondage of their past lawlessness, and set apart as a special people unto Him who has redeemed them by His blood. Observe then the three characteristics of this new service, the service of the redeemed. (1.) It is the service of the Redeemer Himself. In redeeming us from iniquity He makes us His own, and sets us apart unto Himself. If redeemed we belong to the Redeemer. We love Him, we follow Him, we serve Him, we are His. (2.) It is a pure service. He does not merely separate, but purifies us unto Himself. He carries on such a sacred work in the soul, and effects such a marvellous change that the words of St. John are realised, ‘Every one that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure,’ and that we even know something of the blessing which He described in the words, ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.’ (3.) It is a zealous and active service.