attend the public ordinances, or take up the blessed word of God, he has new eyes, new ears, new feelings altogether. There is an unction of the Spirit upon his soul, that enables him to derive edification from every thing", and to diffuse, wherever he goes, " a sweet savour of the knowledge of Christ." His love is like " the ointment of the right-hand which bewrayeth itself," refreshing both himself and all around him with its sweet odours. In a word, there is no limit to the communications which such an one may expect from " God, who doth already dwell in him, and whose love is, and shall be, perfected within him0."]
Seeing then that love is of such fundamental im- portance, let us notice,
II. The attention due to it under this particular con- sideration—
Love, for its own sake, should be cultivated to the uttermost : but when we consider its vast influence both on our present and eternal welfare, we should seek it with all our might. This appears from the solicitude which the Apostle expressed for the growth of the Thessalonians in this heavenly virtue. In re- ference then to his expressions, we say,
I. Let us seek to abound in it —
[Whatever advancement any persons may have made in this virtue, they should still press forward for higher attain- ments in it, desiring to " increase and abound in it more and more." The Thessalonians were eminently distinguished in this respect, so as not to need from the Apostle any instruc- tions on the subject : yet even them did he exhort to " increase more and morep," imitating and emulating his love to themq. Consider for a moment the Apostle's love to them, the ardour, the tenderness, the efficiency of it : he compares his feelings with those of a father, yea, and of a nursing mother towards
" Herein is our love perfected ; so that we have boldness in [reference to] the day of judgment ; because as he is, so are we in this world, [we bearing his image, who is love itself.] ' This makes a clear and important sense of'the passage. For such a construction of tva Eywjiev, see 1 John i. 9. 'iva dfrj. See also Mark iv. ] 2. 'iva (3\iir<ocri, com- pared with Matt. xiii. 13. where the word used is on. See also how oVwc dV (a yet stronger expression) is used, Rom. iii. 4 ; and see a precisely similar construction, Rev. xiii. 13. 'Ira ecu trip 7ro«^.
n 1 John ii. 20, 27. ° 1 John iv. 12.
P 1 Thess. iv. 9, 10. i The text.