perfections will fill the soul with rapture, and constrain it to vie with all the hosts of heaven in singing, " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing : therefore bless- ing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever."]
4. His glory?
[We shall not be indifferent to this, if we love him in truth : we shall wish that his name may be known, his salva- tion enjoyed, and his glory be exalted, throughout all the earth. As those who preceded his advent longed for his appearance upon earth, so shall we long for his fuller manifestation to the world, that heaven itself may be brought down to earth, and all the kingdoms of the world be his undivided empire. It will grieve us to see that any of the human race are ignorant of him, and that he is dishonoured by so many of those who enjoy the light of his Gospel : and we shall be praying from our inmost souls, " Thy kingdom come ; thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." If we can do any thing for the conversion of Jews or Gentiles, we shall gladly exert ourselves to the utmost ; if by any means we may be the honoured instruments of ex- tending his dominion, even though it should be only over the soul of one single individual.
What now does conscience say to these things ? Have we indeed the love of Christ in us ; and does it extend thus to every thing relating to him, his person, his ways, his salvation, his glory?]
Address —
1. To those who can stand this test —
[Happy indeed are ye, who, when Christ puts the question to you, " Lovest thou me?" can answer, " Lord, thou knowest all things ; thou knowest that I love thee." Ye assuredly are children of God; and, "if children, then heirs; heirs of God,
and joint-heirs with Christ" Yet remember, that your
evidence of this relation exists only in proportion as the love of Christ reigns in your souls. If any sin whatever have dominion over you, your evidence is destroyed, or rather, it is evident you are not the Lord's. This is so strongly asserted by God himself, that we would wish you never for one moment to lose sight of it, lest your presumption be like that of the Jews, and issue, like theirs, in everlasting ruinc.]
2. To those who are condemned by it —
[These, alas ! are the great majority of the Christian world. If the love of self, or the love of the world, had been the test of
c 1 John iii. 6 — in.