Love to Jesus

Christ rightly known is most surely Christ beloved. No sooner do we discern his excellencies, behold his glories, and partake of his bounties, than our heart is at once moved with love towards him. Let him but speak pardon to our guilty souls, we shall not long delay to speak words of love to his most adorable person. It is utterly impossible for a man to know himself to be complete in Christ, and to be destitute of love towards Christ Jesus. A believer may be in Christ, and yet, from a holy jealousy, he may doubt his own affection to his Lord; but love is most assuredly in his bosom, for that breast which has never heaved with love to Jesus, is yet a stranger to the blood of sprinkling. He that loveth not, hath not seen Christ, neither known him. As the seed expands in the moisture and the heat, and sends forth its green blade—so when the soul becomes affected with the mercy of the Saviour, it puts forth its shoots of love to him and desire after him.

S i aa ede ABE TE Na i 3 cata io “a eo a ne. 0 otha eta SNe ie lire i RS ete aml a 4 inland Dati; A This love is no mere heat of excitement, nor does it end in a flow of naptarous words; but it causes the soul to bring forth the fruits of to its own joy and the Lord’s glery. It is a p-inciple, active aad and strong, which exercises itself unto godliness, and produces abundantly th'19s which are lovely and of good repute. Some of thess we intend to mention, eafnestly desiring that all of us may exhibit them in our lives. Dr. Owen very concisely suins up the effects of true love in the two words, adherence and assimilation: the one knitting the heart to Jesus, and the other conforming us to hisimage. Thisisan excellent summary; but as our design is to be more explicit, we shallin detail review the more usual and pleasing of the displays of the power of grace, afforded by the soul which ‘is under the influence of love to Christ.

1. One of the earliest and most important signs of love to Jesus is the deed of solenvn dedication of ourselves, with all we have and are, most unreservedly to the Lord’s service.

Dr, Doddridge has recommended «solemn covenant between the soul and God, to be signed and sealed with due deliberation and most fervent prayer. Many of the most eminent of the saints have adopted this excellent method of devoting themselves in very deed unto the Lord, and have reaped no little benefit from the re-perusal of that solemn document when they have afresh renewed the act of dedication. The writer of the present volume conceives that burial with Christ in Baptism is a far more scriptural and expressive sign of dedication; but is not inclined to deny his brethren ‘the liberty of confirming that act by the other, if it seem good unto them. The remarks of John Newton upon this subject are so cautious and sententious,* that we cannot forbear quoting them at length:— " Many judicious persons have differed in their se ntiments 2 ee oe Co er ce a ene ape = ae wm eee meen we = ep me ee * See “‘ Life of Grimshaw,” p. 18, Pc PT with respect to the propriety or utility of such written encagements. They are usually entered into, if at all, in an carly stage of profession, ‘when, though the heart is warm, there has been little actual experience of its deceitfulness. In the day when the Lord turns our mouring into joy, and speaks peace, by the blood of his cross, to the conscience burdened by guilt and fear, resolutions are formed which, though honest and sincere, prove, like Peter’s promise to our Lord, too weak to withstand me force of subse ere nt unforeseen temptation. Such vows made in too much dependence upon our own strength, not occasion a farther Teaneety of our weakness, but frequently give the enemy advantage to terrify and distress the mind, Therefore, some e persons, of more mature experience, discountenance the é practice as legal and improper. But, as ascaffold, though no part of an edifice, and designed to be taken down when the building is finished, 18 yet useful for a time in carrying on the work—so many young converts have been helped by expedients which, when their judgments are more ripened, and their faith more confirmed, are no longer necessary. Every true believer, of course, ought to devote himself to the service of the R edeemer; yea, he must and will, for he is constrained by love. He will do it not once only, but bs And many who have done it in writing can look back upon the transaction with thankfulness to the end of life, recollecting it as a season of peculiar solemnity and impression, accompanied with emotions of heart neither to be forgotten nor recalled,; And the Lord, who does not despise the day of small things, nor break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking’ flax, accepts and ratities the desire; and mercifully pardons the mistake S whieh they discover, as they attain to more knowledge of him and of themselves. And they are encouraged, if not warranted, to make their surrender in this manner, by the words of the prophet Isaiah:—‘ One shall say, [am the 186 THE SAINT AND HYS SAVIOUR.

Lorl’s end another shall call himself by the name of Jacob, and another shall subscribe with his hand to the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel.’ ”* Whatever view we may take of the form ot consecration, we must all agree that the deed itself is absolutely necessary as a firstfruit of the Spirit, and that where it is absent there is none of the love of which we are treating. We are also all of us in union upon the point that the surrender must be sincere, entire, unconditional, and deliberate; and that it must be accompanied by deep humility, from a sense of our unworthiness, simple faith in the blood of Jesus as the only medium of acceptance, and constant reliance on the Holy Spirit for the fulfilment of our vows. We must give ourselves to Jesus, to be his, to honour and to obey, if necessary, even unto death.

We must be ready with Mary to break the alabaster box, with Abraham to offer up our Isaac, with the apostles to renounce our worldly wealth at the bidding of Christ, with Moses to despise the riches of Egypt, with Daniel to enter the lion’s den, and with the three holy children to tread the furnace. We cannot retain a portion of the price, like Ananias, nor love this present world with Demas, if we be the genuine followers of the Lamb. We conseciate our all when we receive Christ as all.

The professing Church has many in its midst who, if they have ever given themselves tc Christ, appear to be very oblivious of their solemn obligation. They can scarce afford a fragment of their wealth for the Master's cause; their time is wasted, or employed in any service but that of Jesus; their talents are absorbed in worldly pursuits; and the veriest refuse of their influence is thought to be an abundant satisfaction of all the claims of heaven, Can such men be honest in their professions of attachme mt to the Lamb?? Was their de dication é a sincere — —w wanes 2.

* Tan, die. 5.

ne ae ee, * LOV?t! TO JESUS, 181 te nen — one? Do they not atiord us grave suspicions a ve ee Could they live in sucha fashion if their Na Sige right with God’ Can they have any just idea 0? Are their hearts really aohctib: We leave them to answer for themselves; | but we me entreat them also to ponder the following ena they shall have one day to render an Cara oa _ Judge. Doth not God abhor the lying lip 7 mn eS lying against God to profess that which " do ie he out? Doth not the Saviour loathe those + igs “ uu cold nor hot?- And are not those most truly in a ie who serve God with half a heart? What et e si doom of those who have insulted Heaven a pat vows? Will not a false profession entail a fear: isle ment upon the soul for ever? ane a8 he hbo an serves not the Lord with all his might 2 Is it fe. ung to be branded as a robber of God ¢ Is it a trifle to i se our vows with the Almighty? Shall a ita a aC Maker, and go mata yce es? And how shall he abide ay of the wreth of God? Sat Pas ~ God make us ever careful that, by his [ He aoe aid, we may be able to live unto him as those _. se alive froin the dead; and since in many things: ‘: short of is perfeet will, let us humble ourselves, a nt 8 voutly seek the moulding of his hand to renew - cay y day. "We ought ever to desire a perfect lif as the rest of full consecration, even though we shall often groan that “it is not yet attained.” Our prayer should be— * Take my soul and body’s powers t. ‘fake my memory, mind, and will; All my goods, and all my hours: All [ know, and all I feel; Al! | think, or speak, or do; ‘ Take my heart—but make it new,” * - * OC, Wesley, ee eee ne te a RE EES RE eR RN CSN RE EE Oe Le eS EE A 2. Love to Christ will make us “coy and tender to offend.’—We shall be most careful lest the Saviour should be grieved by our ill manners. When some much-loved friend is visiting our house, we are ever fearful lest he should be ill at ease; we therefcre watch every movement in the family, that nothing may disturb the quiet we desire him to enjoy. How frequently do we apologise for the homeliness of our fare, our own apparent inattention, the forgetfulness of our servants, or the radeness of our children. If we suppose him to be uncomfortable, how readily will we disatrange our household to give him pleasure, and how disturbed are we at the least symptom that he is not satisfiel with our hosjitality. We are grieved if car words appear cold towards him, or our acts unkind. We would sooner that he should grieve us than that we should displease him, Surely we should not treat our heavenly Friend werse thaa our earthly acquaintance; but we should sedulously endeavour to please him in all things who pleased not himself. Such is the influence of real devotion to our precious Redeemer, that the more the mind is pervaded with affection to him, the more watchful shall we be to give no offence in anything, and the more sorrow shall we suffer because our nature is yet so imperfect that in many things we come short of his glory. A believer, in a healthy state of mind, will be extremely sensitive; he will avoid the appearance of evil, and guard against the beginnings of sin. He will often be afraid to put one foot before s:other, lest he should tread upon forbidden ground; Le will tremble to speak, lest his words should not be ordered aright; he will be timid in the world, lest he should be surprised into transgression; and even in his holy deeds he will be watchful over his heart, lest he should mock his Lord. This feeling of fear lest we should “slip with our feet,” is a precious feature of true spiritual life. It is much to be regretted that it is so lightly prized by many, in comparison with the more martial virtues; for, despite its - warent insignificance, it is one of the choicest fruits of hic 3pirit, and its absence is one of the most deplorable evidences of spiritual decay. <A heedless spirit is a curse to the soul; a rash, presumptuous conversation will eat as doth a canker. “ ‘Too-bold” was never Too-wise nor Too-loving. Careful walking is one of the best securities of safe and happy standing. It is solemn cause for doubting when we are indifferent in our behaviour to our best Friend. When the new creature is active, it will be indignant at the very name of sin; it will condemn it as the murderer of the Redeemer, and wage as fierce a war against it as the Lord did with Amalek. Christ’s foes are our foes when we ave Christ’s friends. Love of Christ and love of sin are elements too hostile to reign in the same heart. We shall hate iniquity simply because Jesus hates it. A good divine * writes;—‘ If any pretend unto an assurance of forgiveness through the merits of Jesus, without any experience of shame, sorrow, and hatred of sin, on account of its vile nature, I dare boldly pronounce such a pretension to be no other than a vain presumption, that is likely to be followed by an eternal loss of their immortal souls.”

He that is not afraid of sinning has good need to be afraid of damning. ‘Truth hates error, holiness abhoreth guilt, and grace cannot but detest sin. If we do not desire to be cautious to avoid offending our Lord, we may rest confident that we have no part in him, for true love to Christ will rather die than wound him. Hence love to Christ is “ the best antidote to idolatry;”-+ for it prevents any object from occupying the rightful throne of the Saviour. The believer dares not admit a rival into his heart, kmowing that this would grievously offend the King. The simplest way of preventing an excessive love of the creature is to set all our affection upon the Creator. Give *J ohn Brine. +James Hamilton.

ceeceeseeseememneeeneeee GaN cement thy whole heart to thy Lord, and thou canst not idolize the things of earth, for thou wilt have nothing left wherewith to worship them.

3. If we love the Lord Jesus we shall be obedient to his commands.—False, vain, and boasting pretenders to friendship with Christ think it enough to talk fluently of him; but humble, sincere, and faithful lovers of the Lord are not content with words—they must be doing the will of their Master. As the affectionate wife obeys because she loves her husband, so does the redeemed soul delight in keeping the commands of Jesus, although compelled by no force but that of love. This divine principle will render every duty pleasant; yea, when the labour is in itself irksome, this heavenly grace will quicken us in its performance by reminding us that it is honourable to suffer for our Lord. It will induce an universal obedience to all known commands, and overcome that captious spirit of rebellion which takes exception to many precepts, and obeys only as far as it chooses to do so. It infuses not the mere act, but the very spirit of obedience, inclining the inmost heart to feel that its new-born nature cannot but obey. True, old corruption is still there; but this does but prove the hearty willingness of the soul to be faithful to the laws of its King, seeing that it is the cause of a perpetual and violent contest—the flesh lusting against the spirit, and the spirit striving against the flesh. We are willing to serve God when we love his Son; there may be obstacles, but no unwillingness. We would be holy even as God is holy, and perfect even as our Father which is in heaven is perfect. And to proceed yet further, love not only removes all unwillingness, but inspires the soul with a delight in the service of God, by making the lowest act of service to appear honourable. A heathen * once exclaimed, “Deo servire est regnare”—to serve God is to reign;” so does the renewed heart joy- §& * Seneca, nst not idolize > nothing left ee fully acknowledge the high honour which it receives by obedience to its Lord. He counts it not only his reasonable, but his delightful service, to be a humble and _ sub-missive disciple of his gracious Friend. He would be un-happy ifhe had no opportunity of obedience—his love requires channels for its fulness; he would pray for work if there were none, for he includes his duties among his privileges. In the young dawn of true religion this is very observable—would that it were equally so ever after! Oh! how jealous we were lest one divine ordinance should be neglected, or one rule violated. Nothing pained us more than our own too frequent wanderings, and nothing gratified us more than to be allowed to hew wood or draw water at his bidding. Why is it notso now with us all? Why are those wings, once outstretched for speedy flight, now folded in sloth? Is our Redeemer less deserving? or is it not that we are less loving? Let us seek by greater meditation upon the work and love of our Saviour, by the help of the Holy Spirit, to renew our love to him; otherwise our lamentation will soon be— “ How is the much fine gold become dim! How has the glory departed!”

4. Love to Christ will vmpel us to defend him against his any touch my friend, or his good name, It is my honour and my love to free his blasted fame From the least spot or thought of blame.” * Good men are more tender over the reputation of Christ than over their own good name; for they are willing to lose the world’s favourable opinion rather than that Christ should be dishonoured. This is no more than Jesus has a right to expect. Would not he be a sorry brother who should hear me insulted and slandered, and yet be dumb? Would not he be destitute of affection who would allow x * Herbert,; ee the character of his nearest relative to be trampled in the dust, without a struggle on his behalf? And is not he a poor style of Christian who would calmly submit to hear his Lord abused? We could bear to be trampled in the very mire that he might be exalted; but to see our glorious Head dishonoured is a sight we cannot tame ly behold. We would not, like Peter, smite his enemies with the sword of man; but we would use the sword of the Spirit as well as we are enabled. Oh! how has our blood boiled when the name of Jesus has been the theme of scornful jest? how have we been ready to invoke the fire of Elias upon the guilty blasphemers! or when our more carnal heat has subsided, how have we wept, even to the sobbing of a child, at the reproach cast upon his most,hallowed name! Many a time we have been ready to burst with anguish when we have been speechless before the scoffer, because the Lord had shut us up, that we could not come forth; but at other seasons, with courage more than we had considered to be within the range of our capability, we have boldly reproved the wicked, and sent them back abashed.

It is a lovely spectacle to behold the timid and feeble defending the citadel of truth; not with hard blows of logic, or sounding cannonade of rhetoric—but with that tearful earnestness, and implicit confidence, against which the attacks of revilers are utterly powerless. Overthrown in argument, they overcome by faith; covered with contempt, they think it all joy if they may but avert a solitary stain from the escutcheon of their Lord. “Call me what thou wilt,” says the believer, “but speak not ill of my Beloved. He: re, plough these shoulders with your lashes, but spare yourselves the sin of cursing him! Ay, let me die; I am all too happy to be slain, if my Lord's most glorious cause shall live!”

Ask every regenerate child of God whether he does not count it his privilege to maintain the honour of his ether he does onour of his ae Master’s name; and though his answer may be worded with holy caution, you will not fail to discover in it enough of the determined resolution which, by the blessing of the Holy Spirit, will enable him to stand fast in the evil day. He may be careful to reply to such a question, lest he should be presumptuous; but should he stand like the three holy children before an enraged tyrant, in the very mouth of a burning fiery furnace, his answer, like theirs, would be, “ We are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us out of the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thy hand, O king! But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”

In some circles it is believed that in the event of another reign of persecution, there are very few in our churches who would endure the fiery trial; nothing, we think, is more unfounded. It is our firm opinion that the feeblest saint in our midst would receive grace for the struggle, and come off more than a conqueror. God’s children are the same now as ever. Real piety will as well endure the fire in one century as another. There is the same love to impel the martyrdom, the same grace to sustain the sufferer, the same promises to cheer his heart, and the same crown to adorn his head. We believe that those followers of Jesus who may perhaps one day be called to the stake, will die as readily as any one who have gone before. Love is still as strong as death, and grace is still made perfect in weakness.

** Sweet is the cross, above all sweets, To souls enamoured with His smiles; The keenest woe life ever meets, Love strips of all its terrors, and beguiles.”’ * This j isas true to-day, as it was a thousand years ago, * Madame. Guion: lO TEST TARGET A ES We may be weak in grace, but grace is not weak; it ts still omnipotent, and able to endure the trying day.

There is one form of this jealousy for the honour of the cross, Which will ever distinguish the devout Christian.:— he will tremble lest ke himself, by word or deed, by omission of duty or commission of sin, should dishonour the holy religion which he has prefessed. He will hold perpetual controversy with “sinful self” on this account, and will loathe himself when he has iaadvertently given occasion to the enemy to blaspheme. The King’s favourite will be sad if, by mistake or carelessness, he has been the abettor of traitors; he desires to be beyond reproach, that his Monarch may suffer no disgrace from his courtier, Nothing has injured the cause of Christ more than the inconsistencies of his avowed friends. Jealousy for the honour of Christ is an admirable mark of grace.

5. A firm attachment to the person of Christ will create a constant anxiety to promote his cause—With some it has produced that burning zeal which enabled them to endure banishment, to brave dangers, and to forsake comforts, in order to evangelise an ungrateful people, among whom they were not unwilling to suffer persecution, or even death, so that they might but enlarge the borders of Immanuel’s land. This has inspired ihe laborious evangelist with inexhaustible strength to prcclaim the word of his Lord from place to place, amidst the slander of foes and the coldness of friends; this has moved the generous heart to devise liberal things, that the cause might not flag for lack of temporal supplies; and this, in a thousand ways, has stirred up the host of God, with various weapons and in divers fields, to fight the battles of their Lord. There is little or no love to Jesus in that man who is indifferent concerning the pro-gress of the truth. The man whose soul is saturated with grateful affection to his crucified Lord will weep when the enemy seems to get an advantage; he will water his ee couch with tears when he sees a declining church; he will li’t up his voice like a trumpet to arouse the slumbering, and with his own hand will labour day and night to build up the breaches of Zion; and should his efforts be successful, with what joyous gratitude will he lift up his heart unto the King of Israel, extolling him as much—yea, more—for mercies given to the Church than for bounties conferred upon himself. How diligently and indefatigably will he labour for his Lord, humbly conceiving that he cannot do too much, or even enough, for one who gave his heart’s blood as the price of our peace.

We lament that too many among us are like Issachar, who was described as “a strong ass crouching down between two burdens,’—too lazy to perform the worksof piety so imperatively demanded at our hands: but the reason of this sad condition is not that fervent love is unable to produce activity, but that such are deplorably destitute of that intense affection which grace begets in the soul.

Love to Christ smoothes the path of duty, and wings the feet to travel it: it is the bow which impels the arrow of obedience; it is the mainspring moving the wheels of duty; it is the strong arm tugging the oar of diligence. Love is the marrow of the bones of fidelity, the blood in the veins of piety, the sinew of spiritual strength—yea, the life of sincere devotion. He that hath love can no more be motionless than the aspen in the gale, the sere leaf in the hurricane, or the spray in the tempest. As well may hearts cease to beat, as love to labour. Love is instinct with activity, it cannot be idle; it is full of energy, it cannot content itself with little: it is the well-spring of heroism, and great deeds are the gushings of its fountain; it is a giant—it heapeth mountains upon mountains, and thinks the pile but little; it isa mighty mystery, for it changes bitter into sweet; it calls death life, and life death, and it makes pain less painful than enjoyment.

Love has a clear eye, but it can see only one thing—it is blind to every interest but that ofits Lord; it seeth things in the light of his glory, and weigheth actions in the scales of his honour; it counts royalty but drudgery if it cannot reign for Christ, but it delights in servitude as much as in honour, if it can thereby advance the Master's kingdom; its end sweetens all its means; its object lightens its toil, and removes its weariness. Love, with re-freshing influence, girds up the loins of the pilgrim, 80 that he forgets fatigue; it casts a shadow for the wayfaring man, so that he feels not ihe burning heat; and it puts the bottle to the lip of thirst. Have not we found it so? And, under the influence of love, are we not pre-pared by the Spirit’s sacred aid to do ‘or suffer all that thought can suggest, as being likely to promote his honour?

He who desires not the good of the kingdom is no friend to the king; so he who forgets the interests of Zion can scarce be a favourite with her Prince. We wish prosperity in estate and household to all those in whom we delight; and if we take pleasure in Jesus, we shall pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and labour for her increase.

May “the Father of lights ” give unto his Church more love to her Head, then will she be zealous, valiant, and persevering, and then shall her Lord be glorified.

G. It is w notable fact that fervent love to Jesus will enable us to endure anything he is pleased to lay upon us.—Love is the mother of resignation; we gladly receive buffeting and blows from Jesus: when our heart ‘is fully occupied with his love. Even as a dearly-cherished friend does but delight us when he uses freedoms with us, or when he takes much liberty in our house—so Jesus, when we love him heartily, will never offend us by aught that he may do. Should he take our gold, we think his hand to be a noble coffer for our wealth; should he remove our joys, we reckon it a greater bliss to lose than gain, when OR.

—-_-—_ es.

— his will runs in such a channel. Ay, should he smite us very sorely, we shall turn to his hand end kiss the rod. To believe that Christ has done it, is to extract the sting of an affliction. We remember to have heard a preacher at a funeral most beautifully setting forth this truth in parable. He spoke thus:—“A certain nobleman had a spacious garden, which he left to the care of a faithful servant, whose delight it was to train the creepers along the trellis, to water the seeds in the time of drought, to support the stalks of the tender plants, and to do every work which could render the garden a Paradise of flowers. One morning he rose with joy, expecting to tend his beloved flowers, and hoping to find his favourites increased in beauty. To his surprise, he found one of his choicest beauties rent from its stem, and, leoking around him, he missed from every bed the pride of his garden, the most precious of his blooming flowers. Full of grief and anger, he hurried to his fellow-servants, and demanded who had thus robbed him of his treasures. They had not done it, and he did not charge them with it; but he found no solace for his grief till one of them remarked:— My lord was walking in the garden this morning, and I saw him pluck the flowers and carry them away. Then truly he found he had no cause for his trouble. He felt it was well that his master had been pleased to take his own, and he went away, smiling at his loss, because his lord had taken them. So,” said the preacher, turning to the mourners, “ you have lost one whom you regarded with much tender affection. The bonds of endearment have not availed for her retention upon earth. I know your wounded feelings when, instead of the lovely form which was the embodiment of all that is excellent and amiable, you behold nothing but ashes and corruption. But remember, my beloved, THE LoRD hath done it; HE hath removed the tender mother, the affectionate wife,tne inestimable friend. I say again, remember your own Lord has done it; there fore donot murmu., or yield yourselves to an excess of grief.” There was much force as well as beauty in the simple allegory; it were well if all the Lord’s family had grace to practise its heavenly lesson, in ali times of bereavement and afiliction.

Our favourite master of quaint conceits * has singular’ y said in his poem entitled “ Unkindness ”— ‘¢ My friend may spit upon my curious floor.”

True, most true, our Beloved may do as he pleases in our house, even should he break its ornaments and stain its glories. Come in, thou heavenly guest, even though each footstep on our floor should crush a thousand of cur earthly joys. Thou art thyself more than sufficient re-compense for all that thou canst take away. Come in, thou brother of our souls, even though thy rod come with thee, than lament thine absence even though surrounded with all the wealth the waiverse can bestow.

The Lord’s prisoner in the dungeon of Aberdeen thus penned his belief in the love of his “sweet Lord Jesus,” and his acquiescence in his Master’s will:—Oh, what owe I to the file, to the hammer, to the furnace, of my Lord Jesus! who ha‘h now let me see how good the wheat of Christ is, which goeth ‘hrough his mill, to be made bread for his own table. Grace tried is better than grace, and more than grace—it is glory in its infancy. When Christ blesses his own crosses with a tongue, they breathe out Christ’s love, wisdora, kindness, and care of us. Why should I start at the plough of my Lord, that maketh deep furrows upon my soul? I know that he is no idle husbandman; he purposeth acrop. Oh, that this white, whithered lea-ground were made fertile to bear a crop for him, by whom it is so painfully dressed, and that this fallow-ground were broken up! Why was I (a fool!) * Herbert.

UR, * * has singularly is floor,” LOVE TO JESUS. 1938 — crieved that he put his garland and his rose upon my head—the glory and honour of his faithful witnesses? 1 desire now to make no more pleas with Christ. Verily, he hath not put me to a loss by what I suffered; he oweth me nothing; for in my bonds how sweet and comfortable have the thoughts of him been to me, wherein I?

find a sufficient recompence of reward 7. To avoid tiring the reader with a longer list of “the precious fruits put forth by the Sun cf love,” we will sum up all in the last remark—that the gracious soul wi! labour after an entire annihilation of selfishness, and + complete absorption into Christ of its aims, joys, ‘desires and hopes. The highest conceivable state of spirituality is produced by a concentration of all the powers and passions of the soul upon the person of Christ. We have asked a great thing when we have begged to be wholly surrendered to be crucified. It is the highest stage of manhood to have no wish, no thought, no desire, but Christ—to feel that to die were bliss, if it were for Christ —that to live in penury, and woe, and scorn, and contempt, and misery, were sweet for Christ—to feel that it matters nothing what hecomes of one’s self, so that our Master is but exalted—to feel that though like a sear leaf, we are blown in the blast, we are quite careless whither we are going, so long as we feel that the Master’s hand is guiding us according to his will; or, rather, to feel that though like the diamond, we must be exercised with sharp tools, yet we care not how sharply we may be cut, so that we may be made fit brilliants to adorn his crown. If any of us have attained to this sweet feeling of self-annihilation, we shall look up to Christ as if he were the sun, and we shall say within ourselves, “O Lord, I see thy beams; I feel myself to be—not a beam from thee—but darkness, swallowed up in thy light. The most I ask is, that thou wouldst live in me,—that the life I live in the flesh may not be my life, but thy life in me; that en ee | ree ee ce EE cS I may say with emphasis, as Paul did, ‘ For me to live is Christ.’ ” A man who has attained this high position has indeed “entered into rest.” ‘'o him the praise or the censure of men is alike contemptible, for he has learned to look upon the one as unworthy of his pursuit, and the other as beneath his regard. He is no longer vulnerable, since he has in himself no separate sensitiveness, but has united his whole being with the cause and person of the Re. deemer. As long as there is a particle of selfishness re-maining in us, it will:aar our sweet enjoyment of Christ: and until we get a complete riddance of it, our joy will never be unmixed with grief. We must dig at the roots of our selfishness to find the worm which eats our happiness. The soul of the believer will always pant for this serene condition of passive surrender, and will not content itself until it has thoroughly plunged itself into the sea of divine love. Its normal condition is that of complete dedication, and it esteems every deviation from such a state as a plague-mark and a breaking forth of disease. Here, in the lowest valley of self-renunciation, the believer walks upon a very pinnacle of exaltation; bowing himself, he knows that he is rising immeasurably high when he is sinking into nothing, and, falling flat upon his face, he feels that he is thus mounting to the highest elevation of mental grandeur.

It is the ambition of most men to absorb others into their own life, that they may shine the more brightly by the stolen rays of other lights; but it is the Christian’s highest aspiration to be absorbed into another, and lose himseif in the glories of his sovereign and Saviour. Proud men hope that the names of others shall but be remembered as single words in their own long titles of honour; but loving children of God long for nothing more than to see their own names _ used as letters in the bright records of the doings of the Wonderful, the Councillor.

— ‘For me to live jg Heaven is a state of entire acquiescence in the will of God, and perfect sympathy with his purposes; it is, therefore, easy to discern that the desires we have just been describing are true earnests of the inheritance, and svre signs of preparation for it.

“And now, how is it with the reader? Is he a lover of Jesus in verity and truth? or does he confess that these signs are not seen in him? If he be indeed without love to Jesus, he has good need to humble himself and turn unto the Lord, for his soul is in as evil a condition as it can be this side hell; and, alas! will soon be, unless grace prevent, in a plight so pitiable, that eternity will scarce be long enough for its regrets.

It is more than probable that some of our readers are troubled with doubts concerning the truth of their affeetion for Jesus, although they are indeed his faithful friends, Permit us to address such with a word of consolation.

You have some of the marks of true piety about you, —at least, you can join in some of the feelings to which we have been giving expression,—but still you fear that you are not right in heart towards Christ. What is then your reason for such a suspicion? You reply that your excess of attachment towards your friends and relatives is proof that you are not sincere, for if you loved Jesus truly, you would love him more than these. You word your complaint thus:—“I fear I love the creature more than Christ, and if so my love is hypocritical. I frequently feel more vehement and more. ardent motions of my heart to my beloved relatives than I do towards heavenly objects, and I therefore believe that I am still carnal, and the love of God doth not inhabit my heart,” Far be it from us to plead the cause of sin, or extenuate the undoubted fault which you thus commit; but at the same time it would be even further from our design to blot out at once the whole of the names of the living family of God, For if our love is to be measured by jts temporary violence, we fear there is not one among the saints who has not at some time or other had an exeessive love to the creature; and who has not, therefore, upon such reasoning, proved himself to be a hypocrite. Let it be remembered, therefore, that the strength of affeetion is rather to be measured by the hold it has upon the heart, than by the heat it displays at casual times and seasons, Klavel very wisely observes, “As rooted malice argues a stronger hatred than a suddea though more violent passion, so we must measure our love, not by a violent motion of it, now and then, but by the depth of the root, and the constancy of its actings, Beeause David was so passionately moved for Absalom, Joab concludes that if he had lived, and all the people died, it would have pleased him well; but that was argued more like a soldier than a logician.”

If your love be constant in its abidings, faithful in its actings, and honest in its character, you “need not distrust it on account of certain more burning heats, which temporarily and wickedly inflame the mind. Avoid these as sinful, but do net therefore doubt the truthfulness of your attachinent to vour Master. True grace may be in the soul without being apparent, for, as Baxter truly observes, “grace is never apparent and sensible to the soul but when it is in action.” Tire may be in the flint, and ret be unseen except when oceasion shall bring it out. As r. Sibbs observes in his Soul’s Conflict, “ There is sometimes grief for sin in us, when we think there is none;” so may it be with love which may be there, but not discoverable till some cireumstance shall lead to its discover y. The eminent Puritan pertinently remarks:—‘ You may go secking for the hare or partridge many hours, and never find them while they lie close and stir not; but when once the hare betakes himself to his legs and the bird to her wings, then you see them presently. So long as a Christian hath his graces in lively action, so long, for the most part, he is assured of them. How can you doubt whether you love God in the act of loving? Or whether you believe in the very act of believing? If, therefore, you would be assured whether this sacred fire be kindled in your hearts, blow it up, get it into a flame, and then ‘ou will know; believe till you feel that you do believe; and love till you feel that you do love.” Seek to keep your grace in action by living near to the author of them. Live very near to Jesus, and think much of his love to you: thus will your love to him become more deep and fervent,: We pause here, and pray the most gracious Father of all good to accept our love, as he has already accepted us, in the Beloved; and we humbly crave the benign influence of his Holy Spirit, that we may ve made perfect in love, and may glorify him to whom we now present ourselves as living sacrifices, holy, acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service.

“ Jesu, thy boundless love to me No thought can reach, no tongue declare; O knit my thankful heart to Thee, And reign without a rival there; Thine wholly, thine alone, [am; Be Thou alone my constant flame!

O grant that nothing in my soul May dwell, but thy pure love alone: O may Thy love possess me whole, My joy, my treasure, and my crown; Strange flames far from my heart remove 3 My every act, word, thought be luve |’ Se ee THE SAINT AND HIS SAVIOOR,