deeds are the gushinga of its fountain ; it is a giant
it heapeth mountains upon mountains, and thinks
the pile but little ; it is a mighty mystery, for it
changes bitter into sweet ; it calls death life, and
life death, and it makes pain less painful than en
joyment. Love has a clear eye, but it can see only
one thing it is blind to every interest but that of
its 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 king
dom ; its end sweetens all its means ; its object
lightens its toil, and removes its weariness. Love,
with refreshing influence, girds up the loins of the
pilgrim, so that he forgets fatigue ; it casts a shad
ow for the wayfaring man, so that he feels not the
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 prepared by the
Spirit s sacred aid to do or suffer all that thought
can suggest, as being likely to promote his hon
our?

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.

v

We wish prosperity in estate and household to all
those in whom we delight ; and if we take pleasure



260 THE SAINT AND HIS SAVIOUR.

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.

6. It is a 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 his will runs in such
a channel. Ay, should he smite us very sorely, we
shall turn to his hand and 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 noble
man 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



LOVE TO JESUS. 261

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 favour
ites increased in beauty. To his surprise, he found
one of his choicest beauties rent from its stem, and,
looking around him, he missed from every bed the
pride of his garden, the most precious of his bloom
ing 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 re
marked : < 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 endear
ment 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 re
moved the tender mother, the affectionate wife,



262 THE SAINT AND HIS SAVIOUR.

the inestimable friend. I say again, remember
your own Lord has done it ; therefore do
not murmur, 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
all times of bereavement and affliction.

Our favourite master of quaint conceits * has
singularly 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 our earthly joys. Thou art thy
self more than sufficient recompence for all that
thou canst take away. Come in, thou brother of
our souls, even though thy rod come with thee.
We would rather have thee, and trials with thee,
than lament thine absence even though surrounded
with all the wealth the universe 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 hath now
let me see how good the wheat of Christ is, which

* Herbert.



LOVE TO JESUS. 263

goeth through 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, wisdom, 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 a crop
Oh, that this white, withered 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 !) grieved that He
put his garland and his rose upon my head the
glory and honour of his faithful witnesses ? I de
sire now to make no more pleas with Christ. Ver
ily, He hath not put me to a loss by what I suffer
ed ; He oweth me nothing ; for in my bonds how
sweet and comfortable have the thoughts of Him
been to me, wherein 1 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 " of
love, we will sum up all in the last remark that
the gracious soul will labour after an entire anni
hilation of selfishness, and a complete absorption
into Christ of its aims, joys, desires, and hopes.
The highest conceivable state of spirituality is pro
duced by a concentration of all the powers and pas
sions of the soul upon the person of Christ. We



264 THE SAINT AND HIS SAVIOUR.

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 mis
ery, were sweet for Christ to feel that it matters
nothing what becomes 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 dia
mond, 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 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." To him the praise or
the censure of men is alike contemptible, for he has
learned to look upon the one as unworthy of his



LOVE TO JE8TT8. 265

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 be
ing with the cause and person of the Redeemer.
As long as there is a particle of selfishness remain
ing in us, it will mar 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 sur
render, and will riot content itself until it has thor
oughly 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 immea
surably 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 himself in the glories of his
sovereign and Saviour. Proud men hope that the

12



266 THE SAINT AND HIS SAVIOUR.

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.

Heaven is a state of entire acquiescence in the
will of God, and perfect sympathy with his pur
poses ; it is, therefore, easy to discern that the desires
we have just been describing are true earnests of
the inheritance, and sure 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 con
fess 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 affection 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 sus-



LOVE TC JESUS. 267

picion ? 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 be
lieve 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 com
mit ; 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 its temporary violence,
we fear there is not one among the saints who has
not at some time or other had an excessive 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
affection is rather to be measured by the hold it has
upon the heart, than by the heat it displays at casu
al times and seasons. Flavel very wisely observes,
" As rooted malice argues a stronger hatred than a
sudden 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 con-



268 THE 8AJNT AND HIS SAVIOUR.

stancy of its actings. Because David was so pas
sionately 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 not therefore
doubt the truthfulness of your attachment to your
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 while
it is in action." Fire may be in the flint, and yet
be unseen except .when occasion shall bring it out.
As Dr. 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 circum
stance shall lead to its discovery. The eminent Pu
ritan pertinently remarks : " You may go seeking
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 ac
tion, so long, for the most part, he is assured of them.
How can you doubt whether you love God in the



LOYE TO JESUS. 269

act of loving ? Or whether you believe in the very
act of believing ? If, therefore, you would be as
sured whether this sacred fire be kindled in your
hearts, blow it up, get it into a flame, and then you
will know ; believe till you feel that you do believe ;
and love till you feel that you love." Seek to keep
your graces 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 be
come more deep and fervent.

We pause here, and pray the most gracious Fa
ther 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 be made perfect in love, and may glorify him
to whom we now present ourselves as living sacri
fices, holy, acceptable unto God, which is our rea
sonable service.

" Jesu, thy boundless love to me

No thought can reach, no tongue declare ;
knit my thankful heart to thee,

And reign without a rival there :
Thine wholly, thine alone I am ;
Be thou alone my constant flame

grant that nothing in my soul

May dwell, but thy pure love alone :

may thy love possess me whole,
My joy, my treasure, and my crown ;

Strange flames far from my heart imove ;

My every act, word, thought be love !



TO THE UNCONVERTED READER



Again we turn to thee ; and art thou still where
we left thee ? still without hope, still unforgiven ?
Surely, then, thou hast been condemning thyself
while reading these signs of grace in others. Such
experience is too high for thee, thou canst no more
attain unto it than a stone to sensibility ; but, re
member, it is not too high for the Lord. He can
renew thee, and make thee know the highest en-
j oyment of the saints. He alone can do it, therefore
despair of thine own strength ; but He can accom
plish it, therefore hope in omnipotent grace. Thou
art in a wrong state, and thou knowest it : how
fearful will it be if thou shouldst remain the same
until death ! Yet most assuredly thou wilt, unless
Divine love shall change thee. See, then, how ab
solutely thou art in the hands of God. Labour to
feel this. Seek to know the power of this dread
but certain fact that thou liest entirely at his
pleasure ; and there is nothing more likely to hum-

270



LOVE TO JESUS. 271

ble and subdue thee than the thoughts which it will
beget within thee.

Know and tremble, hear and be afraid. Bow
thyself before the Most High, and confess his jus
tice should He destroy thee, and admire his grace
which proclaims pardon to thee. Think not that
the works of believers are their salvation ; but seek
first the root of their graces, which lies in Christ,
not in themselves. This thou canst get nowhere
but at the footstool of mercy from the hand of Jesus.
Thou art shut up to one door of life, and that door
is Christ crucified. Receive him as God s free gift
and thine undeserved boon. Renounce every oth
er refuge, and embrace the Lord Jesus as thine only
hope. Venture thy soul in his hands. Sink or
swim, let Him be thine only support and he will
never fail thee.

BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND THOU
SHALT BE SAVED.



VIII.
LOVE S LOGIC.

" The upright love thee." SOL. SONG, i. 4.



THE motives of love are in a great degree the
measure of its growth. The advanced believer
loves his Lord for higher reasons than those which
move the heart of the young convert. His affec
tion is not more sincere or earnest, bnt it is, or
ought to be, more steadfast and unvarying, because
experience has enabled the understanding to ad
duce more abundant reasons for the soul s attach
ment. All true love to the Redeemer is acceptable
to him, and it is to us an infallible evidence of our
safety in him. We are far from depreciating the
value or suspecting the sincerity of the warm
emotions of the newly enlightened, although we
prefer the more intelligent and less interested
attachment of the well-instructed Christian. Let
none doubt the reality of their piety because they
are unable to mount to all the heights, or dive into



272



273



all the depths, of that love which passeth know
ledge. A babe s fondness of its mother is as
pleasing to her as the strong devotion of her full-
grown son. The graces of faith, hope, and love
are to be estimated more by their honesty than by
their degree, and less by their intellectual than
by their emotional characteristics. Yet, without
doubt, growth in grace is as much displayed in
the Christian s love as in any other fruit of the
Spirit; and it is our belief that this growth may
in some degree be traced by the motives which
cause it, just as we trace the motion of the shower
by the position of the cloud from which it falls.
It may be profitable to dwell upon the motives
of love for a brief season, hoping for instruction in
so doing. We do not pretend to enter fully into
the present subject; and, indeed, our space pre
vents us as much as our incapacity. Owen s
remark will be appropriate here : " Motives unto
the love of Christ are so great, so many, so dif
fused through the whole dispensation of God in
him unto us, as that they can by no hand be fully
expressed, let it be allowed ever so much to en
large in the declaration of them ; much less can
they be represented in this short discourse, whereof
but a very small part is allotted unto their con
sideration." *

* Christologia.



274: THE SAINT AND HIS SAVIOUR.

In enumerating some of the stages of spiritual
growth as indicated by higher standards of motive,
we pray the Holy spirit to guide our meditations,
giving us profitable wisdom and gracious enlight
enment. Let us commence in entire dependance
upon his aid, and so proceed from step to step as
he shall be pleased to guide us. "We commence
with the Alpha of Love, the first ripe fruit of
affection.

I. LOVE OF GRATITUDE. " We love him because
he first loved us." Here is the starting point
of love s race. This is the rippling rill which
afterwards swells into a river, the torch with which
the pile of piety is kindled. The emancipated
spirit loves the Saviour for the freedom which he
has conferred upon it ; it beholds the agony with
which the priceless gift was purchased, and it
adores the bleeding sufferer for the pains which he
so generously endured. Jesus is regarded as our
benefactor, arid the boons which we receive at his
hands constrain us to give him our hearts. If
enabled to receive all the doctrines of the Gospel,
we bless the name of our Kedeemer for his free
grace manifested in our election to eternal life;
for his efficacious grace exercised in calling us into
his kingdom ; for pardon and justification through
his blood and merits, and for everlasting security
by virtue of union with his divine person. Surely



275

here is enough to create love of the highest order
of fervency ; and if the soul should abide for ever
in contemplation of these mighty acts of grace,
without entering upon the glorious survey of the
character and perfections of Jesus, it need never
be in want of reasons for affection. Here are
coals enough to maintain the heavenly fire, if the
Holy Spirit be but present to fan the flame. This
order of affection is capable of producing the most
eminent virtues, and stimulating the most ardent
zeal. It is enough for every practical purpose
of the heavenly life. But nevertheless, there is a
"yet beyond." There are other motives which
are of a higher class in themselves, although very
seldom more potent in their influence. This, how
ever, is the beginning. " I love the Lord because
he has heard my voice and my supplication." It
is his kindness toward us, rather than the gracious-
ness of his nature, which primarily attracts us.

The deeds of the Saviour do not so much arouse
our early admiration from their intrinsic greatness
and graciousness as from the fact that we have
a share in them. This thought at first attracts all
our regard, and engrosses all our meditations.
Neither the person nor the offices of Christ have
as yet been fully presented to the soul, it knows
him only in his gifts, and loves him only for what
he has bestowed. Call this love selfish if you will,
but do not condemn it. The Saviour frowned not



276 THE SAINT AND HIS SAVIOUR.

on the woman who loved much, because much had
been forgiven, nor did he despise the offering of
that heart which was first moved with affection
at the casting out of its seven devils. Perhaps it
is from a selfish reason that the infant casts the
tendrils of its heart around its mother, but who
would therefore despise its fondness ? Base must
be the man who should wish to eradicate such a
heavenly germ because of the poverty of the soil
in which it grew. Our love to God may even
be heightened by due and wise self-love. " There
is a sinful self-love, when either we love that for a
self which is not ourself, when we love our flesh
and fleshly interest, or when we love ourselves
inordinately, more than God, and God only for
ourselves ; and there is a lawful self-love, when we
love ourselves in the Lord and for the Lord"*
This lawful self-love leads us to love Christ, and
to desire more and more of his grace, because we
feel that so we shall be the more happy in our
souls, and useful in our lives. This is in some
degree earthy, but in no degree sinful, or anything
but holy.

It is not needful that the foundation-stones should
be of polished marble, they will well enough sub
serve their purpose if they act as the underlying
ground- work of more excellent materials. If it be

* Allen s Riches of the Covenant.



LOVE S LOGIC. 277

a crime to be ungrateful, then thankfulness is a
virtue, and its issue cannot be contemptible.
Young beginners frequently doubt their piety,
because they feel but little disinterested affection
for the Lord Jesus ; let them remember that that
high and excellent gift is not one of the tender
grapes, but is only to be gathered beneath the
ripening skies of Christian experience. " Do you
love Christ ?" is the important question, and if the
answer be a firm avowal of attachment to him, it