preventing, restraining from sin. He keeps us back from _sinning_. He "makes us more than conquerors" over sin; and in this so blessed sense "prevention is better than cure." How often does a mother say to her child when putting on a clean snow-white pinafore in the morning, "Now, my darling, do keep it clean!" "Yes, mother," and she intends to do so; but alas for her intentions! At dinner-time she comes home with her pinafore about as dirty as she can make it. Now, the mother can wash it and make it clean again, as white as ever; but it is weary, wearing work, this everlasting washing. So the Blood of Jesus can cleanse from all sin the garments that are brought to it for cleansing, and what a deal of cleansing it has to do for some of us! But wouldn't it be just splendid for many a hardworking mother if she could put some power or other into her child--her own self, for instance--by which the child would be kept from making the pinafore dirty at all, so that it would not need washing? Wouldn't this be a vast improvement, even on making it clean after it has been made dirty? This is just what Jesus does. He puts a power within the child that trusts Him--that power is Himself, by which the believer is kept from defiling his garments by any known sin, so that they do not need washing. This is to be "cleansed from all unrighteousness." But there are whole battalions of God's saved, forgiven, and "cleansed" people ("cleansed" in the sense of verse 7), who are not "cleansed" in this sense ("cleansed" in the sense of verse 9), who are not yet saved from the power of some besetting (that is, upsetting) sin or other. Have we not known some Christian men who, as has been well said, are like well-supplied cruet-stands? take them which side you like, you will get something either hot or sour, peppery or vinegarish from them! And yet one can scarcely doubt their conversion to God! What are we to say of these cross-grained or fretful, or worldly-minded, or covetous, or pleasure-loving professors of religion? One would fear to judge some of them and say they were utter strangers to God's regenerating grace; no, but one will say that what they sorely need is the "clean" heart. _What is a Clean Heart_?