stored, much of your deformity removed, and spiritual beauty imparted, you think you now possess something which attracts the love of God, and that it is not so much self-moving love as in the former case. In this, however, you cannot fail to discover your mistake. Unite the case of the holy angels, who never sinned, together with your own case, and you will see the two to be exactly parallel, and that the divine love to both is equally self-moving, and in the highest sense too. What induced God to impart his moral image to the angels? Was it not love to his own infinite moral excellence. While he loved this in himself, he loved to see the expression or likeness of it in creatures, and therefore imparted it. Thus it is purely the fruit of his self-moving love, and his continuing to love it in them, is purely on account of the relation and resemblance which it has to himself. Now, have the angels any ground to boast of their moral beauty, as attracting the love of God? No: They possess only what they have received, and why should they glory as if they had not received it? Did not God act on the same ground when he made man at first after his own image? And on what other account has he again renewed the same impression on your souls? He loves you because you are his own workmanship, assimilated to himself, in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness. It is on this account that he says to eve ry believing soul, "Behold thou art all fair, my love, there is no spot in thee." Still then you see that your ground of humility and self-denial remains, as no part of your beauty is your own work, but purely the fruit of God's self-moving love.

BUT in this work you have very good reason to glory. All your beauty and excellence lie here, and all

of it is the work of grace-all the fruit of self-moving love. This renders your beauty permanent, and secures for you higher degrees of advancement in it; because God will have you perfectly conformed to the image of his Son, that is to himself. Be it your study, then, to cultivate, with much assiduity, a humble self-denied spirit; this will highly magnify divine grace; and in this grace 'God is willing that you should glory as much as you will. "He that glorieth, let him glory in the

Lord."

3. THIS subject farther suggests to us that much love is due from believers to God. In the greatness and sovereignty of his love he has discriminated them, by a glorious and eternal mark of distinction, from the wicked of the world, the children of the wicked one. He enrolled their names in the Lamb's book of life, from everlasting; he hath adopted them into his own family in time, and he hath fixed upon them an indelible mark of distinction, in assimilating them to himself. Believers, this is a work which may well astonish you. Do you not account that love wonderful, which has selected you from among many others, while you had no better claim than they? All your glory, and all your felicity proceed from this: Returns of love will be expected from you, and you cannot conceive any thing

, more reasonable.

GOD's chief work is in your hearts, where he hath shed abroad his love. This then you should devote wholly to himself. He requires it. "Son give me thine heart." Copy the example of the Apostle, "We love him, because he first loved us." 1 John iv. 19. You will beware of allowing sin any place in your hearts; and instead of making provision for the flesh, you will be careful to crucify it. God has given you

his heart, and will allow no object to exclude you from it; it must, therefore, be proper that you should give him the supreme place in yours. Let the remains of indwelling sin be your burden, from which you anxi ously wish deliverance, and aspire after higher degrees of conformity to God, and you will love him the more. The children of the wicked one sometimes put on the external character or appearance of the people of God, while they continue his implacable enemies at heart, by encouraging lust and indulging secret sins. These are branches that seem to be in Christ, yet having no vital union they shall be removed and burnt. You will beware of following that path. Come not ye into their secret, neither let your honour be united unto them. Let that be bitter to you, which they roll as a sweet morsel under their tongue.

BUT to act a different part towards God, in heart, from that which is acted by the men of the world, is not enough; you are required to discriminate yourselves from them in practice, throughout the whole of your life. God has blessed you with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ; according as he hath chosen you in him, before the foundation of the world; that ye should be holy and without blame before him in love. You must consider for what purpose God made choice of you, and not of others; it was not to indulge you in the gratification of your sinful appetites, and to live still in the practice of iniquity; but to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and holy, in this present evil world. Stu. dy that deportment, which will be the evidence of a new heart, which will establish the truth of your love to God, and will be a practical condemnation of the conduct of the world. In this way you will be as the

gar.

"Few names in Sardis who had not defiled their ments, and will be honoured to walk with God in white."

4. THIS love affords believers much ground of encouragement, in every case of depression and dejection. They are sometimes much disquieted and broken on account of the motions of lust in their hearts, and when they are brought to an affecting discovery of their own deformity and vileness. Desertion, when deprived of their usual sense of the divine love, fills them with distress. The arrows of the Almighty, and the empoisoned darts of Satan, produce much pain. In such cases their tranquillity is disturbed, their enjoyments are interrupted, and their minds are agitated with various doubts and fears. In such cases their expostulations with God are those of the afflicted Psalmist. "How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? Consider and hear me, O Lord my God." Psalm xiii. 1, 2, 3. The love of God is the sovereign remedy in these cases, and in all others. There is so much condescension in it, that it rejoices in manifesting itself in a manner adapted to every condition. Remember, ye dejected souls, that this love reached you when your condition was much worse than now, or than it can ever again be. When nothing but death, and deformity, poverty and wretchedness composed your character, your time was the time of love, and you obtained & happy deliverance. Have you any good reason, then, to question the interposition of it in your present case? Is God less disposed to compassionate you now than before? Is the strength of his love abated? Has he forgotten to be faithful to his promises?

Has he no longer any regard to the work of his own hand? Has your Advocate lost all his influence in the court of heaven? You are the members of Christ; you are the friends of God, and you are assimilated to him. Beware of dejection in any case. Bring it unto God, and appeal to his love, as surpassing any thing you can conceive, in condescension. Put him to his word, and his love to the test; and you shall have all the relief When the church pored upon her you can desire. afflictions and magnified them, her God interposed, and held out to her the interest she had in his love and care. "Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me." Isaiah xlix. 14. To which unbelieving complaint he replies; " Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me." ver. 15, 16. In another case he expostu lates with his people on the same grounds. . Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God. Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary— He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength." Isaiah xl. 27-29. These declarations from God himself are more than sufficient to silence all your questionings, and to remove all your fears. If you value your own consolation, you will highly esteem this love, you will put the best construction on his procedure in manifesting it, and you will cast yourselves, in all cases, wholly upon it. If you act otherwise, you will cast much unfair reflection

66