apprehend, so unwilling to fulfil. Let us also consider, how easy, how natural, are the terms, on which we are permitted to claim the benefit of that dispensation, which his wisdom and goodness has devised, to reconcile us to himself. To renounce the sins, which required such an atonement; —to believe in the truth and efficacy of that sacrifice, by which we are redeemed from eternal misery ;—these, surely, are such conditions, as we might be expected to impose upon ourselves, of our own free will; such, indeed, as, in the very nature of the gift, are plainly implied.

Reflections like these, if we would often revive and earnestly dwell upon them, could not fail to raise and maintain in our souls that warmth of divine love, which is the animating and essential principle of a holy life: for it is love alone, that can cure the languor and heaviness of our worldly and reluctant hearts, and make a pleasure of those duties, which, without it, must be a burthen and a toil. The love of God, moreover, is the only motive, that can give a real value to our obedience: which, if it is prompted by fear alone, is no more voluntary, than that of the evil spirits, who then

only submit to the will of God, when they dare not oppose it.

But, if we would be secure from disappointment in our endeavours to raise this holy feeling in ourselves, and to make it the guide of our practice, let us look well that our conception of it be void of error. Let us remember, what we are, and how infinitely removed from that all-perfect Being, towards whom our thoughts are to be directed. Do we aim, or expect, to inspire ourselves with the same kind of affection towards our Maker, as that which we call love, or personal attachment, to beings like ourselves, whom we can see and hear, and with whom we can hold familiar intercourse? We are aspiring, then, to an exaltation of soul, of which, though, possibly, hereafter it may constitute our chief happiness, our very nature is at present incapable. The love of our supreme benefactor, when we regard him as clothed with the sublime attributes of the divine Essence, may best be described as veneration combined with gratitude. The temper of men's feelings, so long as they inhabit this vessel of clay, must, in some measure, depend upon the constitution of their bodily frame:

but, if we are so truly and deeply penetrated with a sense of the divine goodness and mercy towards ourselves, as to make it our first wish and constant endeavour, that our whole conduct may be acceptable in the sight of God, and to set no earthly object in competition with his favour; we may rest assured, that no higher affection is required of us. Let us but cherish and mature this feeling by habit, and by earnest prayer for the aid and direction of the holy Spirit, into a continued submission of our whole will to the will of God; and we shall then haVe attained to that love of him, which, because all are capable of it, is required from all, and which will prove itself genuine, by prompting us to love our brother also.

It is by far the best proof of our love even for an earthly parent, that we study to obey all his commands, and seize every occasion of rendering him essential service. In like manner will our heavenly Father be satisfied with the fervour of that love, which produces the solid fruits of justice, mercy, and temperance.

It must, however, be allowed, that the contemplation of our Redeemer, in every particular of

whose life and death we trace the most active and affectionate love towards mankind, should naturally give birth to a reciprocal love, not wholly distinct from that, which, on similar inducements, we should feel for a human benefactor. The virtues of the meek and humble Jesus were those of humanity, not only in its highest perfection, but in its most attractive and amiable form; as if they were expressly designed to invite our imitation, by commanding our love.

It is true, indeed, that, in these our days, we have neither beheld the blessed Jesus, nor been' admitted to any personal intercourse with him: but we know him through those clear, striking, and authentic narratives of his life and death, which have been written and preserved for our instruction. The writings of the holy Evangelists, supported as they are by a continued chain of evidence both from the professors and adversaries of Christianity, from the age of the Apostles themselves down to the present day, form a body of permanent and unchangeable testimony, such as no other history can boast; and fix our faith upon a basis, scarcely inferior in firmness to that of the first proselytes to the Gospel.

How, then, can it be possible, that, contemplating such a Being, thus voluntarily allying himself to our own nature, and submitting to a base and painful death for the salvation, if possible, of those very sinners, by whose hands he was nailed to the cross; conscious too, as we are, that ourselves are in the number of those, for whose redemption from death eternal that cross was endured;—how can it be possible—that we should refrain from mixing, with our admiration and gratitude, some feelings of affectionate love?

May that blessed Spirit, from whom alone we derive the will and the power, either to love God, or to serve him, as we ought to do, so enlighten our minds, and open our hearts, that the exceeding great love of our Lord and Saviour, thus dying for us, may be ever present to our thoughts, and so order our steps, as to ensure our entrance into everlasting salvation.