convictions of sin, when labouring under dis- Jesus, my Saviour and my Lord, Thy power, thy faithfulness, and love, Weak as I am, yet through thy grace 2 A 370 THE SPIRIT OF LOVE. 2 TIMOTHY i. 7. THE fall has stripped human nature of all that is really excellent, so that whatever is good in man comes from God. It is his free gift. Man has nothing good. Man can produce nothing good He is become altogether filthy. He is totally and entirely depraved. The Law may require, but he heeds not. The Gospel may invite, but he regards not. Judgments and mercies are alike powerless, because he is dead in trespasses and sins. The Holy Spirit alone can change the heart, and he does so, not by baptism, but by the direct putting forth of his power within us. The operation is secret, but a visible change in the course and conduct, makes it known. He imparts a power that will work, a life that will ap pear, a light that will shine, a nature that will show itself. He brings us to the Law which convinces and condemns us, he leads us to the Gos pel which acquits and comforts ns. He reveals Christ to us, forms Christ in us, and sets Christ before us; and then we live upon Christ, live for Christ, and strive to live like Christ. He sheds abroad the love of God in our hearts, and then we love God and his adorable Son, we love the people of God, and have only benevolent feelings toward the whole human race. Love is the un questionable proof and evidence of real religion, and this love is from the Holy Spirit, who is "the Spirit of love." He is THE LOVING SPIRIT. He loves all the Lord's people. His love runs in the same channel as the love of the Father and the Son, it has the same objects, and aims at the same end. The love of the Spirit is free. He loves us without any thing in us to induce him to do so, just because he will love us. His eye saw no good thing in us, and yet his heart glowed with infinite love to us. He loved us and determined to make us holy, not because he foresaw that we should be holy. All the difference that there is between us and others, or between what we are now and what we were once, is to be traced up to the love of the Spirit. His free and sovereign love. The love of the Spirit is fixed. It has its specific objects, and those objects are the Lord's people, all who are chosen by the Father, and redeemed by the precious blood of the Son. The love of the Godhead is one, and the love of each of the Divine Persons is fixed upon the same objects, and aims at the same ends. As there is unity of nature, there must also be unity in the exercise of the Divine perfections, and unity in the purposes, plans, and operations of the Divine mind. The love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is the love of one infinitely pure, perfect, and divine nature; but it is the love of three distinct perK sons in that nature. As the nature is one, and the persons are united, the love of each person must be the same in reference to its objects, energy, and end. The Father loved and chose us to everlasting life, the Son loved and died to redeem us from death, and the Holy Spirit loved and quickened us from a death in sin to a life of righteousness. The love of the Spirit is faithful. It never changes. It never can change. "He is in one mind and who can turn him?" Whom he loveth he loveth unto the end. There is not one in hell to-day, that was ever the object of his sovereign love; nor will there be one missing among the glorified at last, whom he loved with his everlasting love. His love was free to fix upon its objects; but being fixed, it is settled for ever. He engaged in covenant to save, he gave his word of promise that he would save; and his covenant will he not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of his mouth. "It is impossible for God to lie." As the Son faithfully fulfilled his engagement to lay down his life for his sheep, so, the holy and everblessed Spirit, will faithfully fulfil his engagement to quicken, sanctify, and guide to glory, the whole Church. The love of the Spirit is fervent. It is glowing love. There is an omnipotent power, a divine intensity in it. It is love that never cools, that never can cool. Love stronger than death, than any thing out of God. Loving Spirit, shine upon my poor dark soul, strengthen my poor feeble powers, that I may take in clear, correct, and honourable views of thy divine, infinite, and eternal love! He is THE LOVE-PRODUCING SPIRIT. All spiri tual love is from the Holy Spirit. It is a supernatural production. He reveals God to us in the person of his Son, exhibits him before us in his lovely attributes, perfections, and characters, causes his love to flow into our hearts, and thus produces love to him in return. "We love him, because he first loved us." And we never love him, until we realize that he has loved us. The love that rises from our hearts to him, is the effect of the love that flows from his heart to us. He reveals Jesus to us in his glorious person, finished work, and tender sympathy; shows us how he has loved us, and whispers, "He loves you now;" this enflames our hearts with love to him. We see him living for us, dying for us, interceeding for us, coming in glory to receive us to himself, and we cannot but love him. He reveals to us the true excellency, dignity, and privileges of the saints; sets them before us as the excellent of the earth, as the objects of the Father's love, the purchase of the Son's blood, and the appointed heirs of heaven; and we feel love rising up in our hearts to them: we love them for Christ's sake, and for what we perceive to be excellent and lovely in them. Thus we come to "know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren." He shows us the miserable, dangerous, and pitiable state of sinners; reminds us that they are our brethren by nature, and that we were once involved in the same misery, and exposed to the same condemnation; and pity, compassion, and |