remaining: he does not know the Saviour as the Almighty, the Infinite God, and how could that idol dwell with the Lord?

Therefore, my brethren, do pay attention to this; do consider this in your consciences. Are you certain in your hearts that you are empty; that there is no righteousness in you; that really you were under the sentence of the law, and under the curse? Do you grant this, that God is a perfect Saviour in his Son; and do you concede to the Holy Ghost this right, to give you life? Not to present to you, as it were, something you are entitled to; something in exchange only; do you feel yourself, as it were, before the Lord, saying, “Oh Lord my God, I know that I was, that I am in myself, a truly condemned sinner; that I could not present unto thee, my Creator, even one thought, even one emotion, even one desire, even one prayer, worthy thine acceptance. Therefore I part entirely with all pretensions to life and righteousness; and I do consider Jesus Christ as being the fulness of life. There is life in the Son of thy love, O Father; but it must be thy gift, thy free gift, to give us Jesus."

If you contemplate the Lord Jesus Christ in that light, you will find in your heart, that really you adore him; that you love Christ sincerely: you will see that he has come out from the Father, and that the Father hath sent him: you will find that the Lord Jesus is in you; that he is abiding in you; and therefore you will understand when the Spirit of God says to the Church, "Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves: know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you?" You will find Jesus Christ in you; you will not find a silence of Christ, but Christ himself-the Lord Jesus, the Son of the Living God: and, searching out your inner man, your soul, you will find that really you, in the inner man, being convinced of your sinful state, and your utter ruin; you, in your inner man, will see that really the Father hath sent his Son, and that Jesus Christ is revealed unto you as being the Son of the Living God incarnate in our nature, without sin, and that he is really that Christ promised from the beginning; that he is the great Saviour given by the Father to the Church.

Examine, therefore, yourself; is the Lord Jesus Christ revealed unto you as life? Do you see that in him is the righteousness of God? And having believed on him, do you understand, that that very faith you have in his name is the gift of the Father unto you; and that the Lord Jesus being revealed unto you, you come, not because you have accepted him as a Saviour, but because he was given to you, because you have received him, because he was created in you by the power of the Spirit, the Word of our God? This is the first manifestation that we are taught by the Spirit of God: Christ is revealed unto us as life; therefore we have this conclusion-whosoever does not find in himself Jesus Christ as life; whosoever pretends still to have in himself some good, some desert, some righteousness, is not taught by the Holy Ghost. And, whosoever is still kept far from Christ, not daily embracing Christ, not daily trusting upon him, is not yet taught by the Holy Ghost; because the very teaching of the Holy Ghost is an inward teaching; is a mighty teaching; is a believing teaching. Thus the believer sees Christ as life, when he has been taught by the Holy Ghost.

And then, secondly, CHRIST IS REVEALED AS PRECIOUS.

Here we begin

to unfold the secret of conscience. Here we begin to discern the difference between the Antinomian and the real Christian. Here we begin to touch with the finger the very conscience of the hypocrite. Here we begin to look to the oil in the vessels of the wise virgins: that is to say-Christ precious; Christ revealed; Christ known as he is—the Saviour; the beloved Bridegroom of his Church; the good Shepherd of his flock; the best brother of the family; the most tender friend of his redeemed ones. Here Jesus Christ is revealed as love; and therefore, the second question is this-Do you love Jesus Christ? "Ah, do I love Jesus Christ?" Now if any man be only an external Christian, be only in the habit of some performance of Christianity, he does not mind about loving Jesus Christ. He rises in the morning; he has, perhaps, his private prayers, and his prayers with the family; he goes to his office, to the business of this world, or to his own pleasure; he passes through the day, and he terminates it also in some exercise of worship: but Christ was not love; even the person of Christ was not introduced in the thoughts of that kind of Christian. He has some science of the Bible; some habit of prayer; some repetition of words was really in his mouth; and as he was with all this, perhaps, habituated to some correctness of manners, he has flattered himself as being a true disciple, a true observer of the institutes of Christ's law. But Jesus Christ was not in his heart; the Lord himself was not thought of; his person was not precious: therefore the poor (that is to say the external) disciple has passed through his duties, as it were, but with the dead letter of Christianity: but the Friend, the Lord, the great Head of the Church, the Bridegroom of the bride, was not in his thoughts; he has not loved, he has only performed. But now, on the other hand, the true disciple, the man who indeed is married in his soul to Jesus, that soul which is a wise virgin, has begun the day, being with the Lord; "Here am I, at the beginning of a new stage of my short life; one of the redeemed of the Lord Jesus Christ; here am I, kept by my good Shepherd during my sleep; and now, in his fellowship, awakened by my God, as a babe by the kiss of his mother. Here am I, in the sight of that Lord, who was given to me by the Father, and who has given himself for me, in the spirit of faith and in the spirit of love, desiring, O my God, now to be with thee from the beginning of this day, and to pass through this day with thyself, my Lord. Therefore draw near unto me, O God, for thou art precious unto me."

Really, beloved brethren, is not that the language of the Church? How does the bride speak unto the Bridegroom? Is it not said of the Lord Jesus Christ that his favour upholds the children of men? Is it not said that his love is so precious, so sweet, that it is "as ointment poured forth?" Therefore he is loved by the souls which he has redeemed. It is said of the Lord Jesus Christ, that he is altogether lovely, and that he is the chief among ten thousand: and is he not described in the Book of God as being the fulness of life, the fulness of glory, the fulness of mercy and pity? Is not the Lord Christ evidently described in this Book as being indeed the precious gift of the Father, and the precious possession of the Church? Certainly. You know that if there be one thing stated there more frequently, from the first to the last page, it is this, that the Lord Jesus Christ is to be loved, and that he is really and truly manifested as love to the Church. You know how he is spoken of through all the prophets; that they are all confidently looking to him as the Beloved, and constantly drawing the

heart and eyes of the Church to that loving beloved Redeemer. Therefore what could we think of the Christian who does not love Christ entirely? What, you have known him, you say, for many years, and yet do not love him as you love the parents who gave you birth, or than the friend you have known, perhaps, but for one year! What, you know the Lord Jesus Christ as having redeemed you, and yet he is less precious than a benefactor of this world! You know the Son of God as being the fulness of God and of the Father, both for this world and for eternity, as being indeed yours, and yet he is of less value to you than your parents, your children, or your own life! Oh, are you really called by the Holy Ghost?

But I know that some of you sigh and groan, and you say, "Oh that I did more love my God; oh that I did love my Lord more fervently, and prefer him to all things, even to my wife, my children, my father, and my mother, and my own self." Certainly; and you ought to do so; this is the teaching of the Holy Ghost. Here we are certainly taught by God-that Christ is to be loved above all things. Therefore have we this conclusion, "I am not taught of the Holy Ghost since I do love the Lord so little!" Stop and consider, if really and sincerely you wish to love him more; consider if you are really dissatisfied with yourselves, because you do not love him enough. Consider if really in your private prayers and your secret meditations, you have, as it were, moved your heart to love the Lord more intensely, more habitually. Consider whether in your way you are desirous to speak unto him; to receive from him by his Spirit, a more powerful sense of his love unto you, and more also of power in you to love him. Ah, if you do that, certainly you shall obtain the blessing; because this is the teaching of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is manifesting the love of Jesus to the Church; and the grace of the Holy Ghost is moving the bride to love the Bridegroom by degrees; and this is proof of spiritual health, the wish to love more. Whosoever is satisfied with his love to Christ can certainly be no Christian; whosoever is dissatisfied with his love, and is desirous to love him more, that man is blessed. If you really wish in your heart to be more intimately acquainted with the Lord Jesus Christ, and desire secretly to know him, as being your Friend, as being your Teacher, as being your example, as being in you, in the inmost part of your hearts, the very relish of your thoughts and desires; that is the secret teaching of the Holy Ghost.

And that teaching is evident in your dealings with the people of God; it is evidenced in this especially, that you desire to love his redeemed ones. Hear, you who have not been taught by the Holy Ghost, who are only nominal Christians, who have got, it is true, a lamp, but without oil, that as you do not mind about loving Christians, as you do not mind being one with the redeemed people of God, as you do not mind about spiritual conversation with brethren in the sight of the Lord, as you do not mind about brotherly fellowship, and as you are filled only with your knowledge and science, then you must know this that Christ is not revealed unto you by his Spirit, because when Christ is revealed by his Spirit he is revealed as love; and when that love is revealed to the soul, that love desires to be united to love. This is the standing character of the true spiritual-minded Christian, that he loves his brethren; he loves the Church of his Lord; he does not merely love his own Church, his own society, his own form of Christianity, because to love his own form, his own faith, and

his own society, is found even among pagans in their state of idolatry; but the soul which is really taught by the Spirit, the soul which has really received Christ as love, and who loves Christ, loves him in all his beloved ones: and looks through the scaffolding of the Church, and goes to the Church itself: that soul looks to Jesus in the brethren and the sisters, and not to any particular form of the Church. Therefore we have this proof; that as long as there are divisions, and quarrels, and heart-burnings among any body of professing Christians, Jesus Christ is not known there by the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost teacheth love, and not strife; teacheth you to love, for Christ is entirely love himself.

My brethren, do consider this; do you know the Lord Jesus as he is-as love; as being the head of his own Church; as being the good Shepherd of his own flock? Oh, do you know the Lord Christ really, as being that love which manifests itself through all the members? Do you love him in your brethren? Do you love brotherly fellowship? Do you love, not only those who think as you, but as many as adore the Lord Jesus Christ, and desire to serve him in sincerity?

If so, then the third characteristic is found also in your heart, namely, that THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS Revealed as GLORIOUS. This last characteristic relates especially to the exercise of obedience and hope. Of obedience below; because the Lord Jesus is the Saviour of his Church; because he has redeemed us with a price, and we belong to him; “Because, O Lord Christ, thou art King in Zion, and thou art the Glorious One, and the Lord the Father hath clothed thee, O Lord, with majesty and honour." The Lord Christ, therefore, is really reigning, both by his love, his Spirit, and his truth, with authority over his beloved ones. Do you know the Lord Christ, brethren and sisters, by the power of his Spirit of Adoption? The Lord Christ is unknown to you, unless you desire to keep his laws, and prefer his will to your own will. This is a precious science indeed; this is the stem of that true faith, of that faith once given to the saints-holiness to the Lord: yea, my friends, holiness to the Lord. For during our stay here below, we do not belong to ourselves; we were formerly servants of sin; we are now in the bondage of grace-the sweet bondage of love to our God. The Lord Jesus Christ was given unto us by the Father as life; he is established over us now as King. The Lord Christ is now the Living One; he is overruling all things in heaven and upon earth; he has power over all flesh; but he has power over us to bless us, and to guide us, to defend and to protect his people; to direct us, that we may pass, not by our own ways, but through his own path, and that we may find there both his power and his blessing. The Lord Jesus, therefore, is adored by you who have his Spirit. And those who do not obey him, who do not yield obedience, who do not mind about the commandments of the King of Zion, who pass through this life without thinking that there are such things as laws of this King of Zion; do not presume that you are taught by the Holy Ghost. Oh, no: the Holy Ghost gives us to know, that we were bought by Christ, and that we belong to him, both in our bodies and spirits. The law of the Spirit of God teaches us, that if we belong to Christ, we do not belong to him only when we are engaged in the Church; there is no geography in our obedience; it is the same in the Church, in our closets, in our families, and among our fellow-creatures. The Spirit of

God teaches us, that our Lord is our Lord really, our Master really; that he is our King, and, therefore, all obedience is due unto him; and it teaches this by that very Spirit of love we have received from the Father, whereby we are stamped or sealed unto the day of redemption from our bondage.

And then the fruit of this Spirit evidences itself by the exercise of hope. Do you consider one thing, my beloved brethren, which is certainly striking, that if Christians exercise faith seldom when they believe the record written in the Book of God, if Christians exercise love among themselves very seldom, they exercise hope the hope of glory. When ye meet together, ye Christians, you speak willingly of the doctrines of the Bible; if ye be spiritually-minded people, and are speaking together, the Lord Jesus Christ is introduced much among you, and you speak of him present: also you speak of your mutual love; and you are happy together. But are you not struck with the fact, that very seldom you muse on the anticipations of your entrance into the house of your Father? Is not this a very striking fact, and is not this a shame upon us, that instead of speaking together of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the glory which is about to be displayed in us, when we shall see him as he is-is it not a shame, brethren, that instead of realizing this, instead of speaking with pleasure and with earnestness of that blessed day, in which we shall part with this world and enter into heaven-is it not a shame that we so seldom realize that blessed promise, where it is said, “It doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know, that when he shall appear, we shall be like him: for we shall see him as he is." Is not this, indeed, brethren, a shame? It is because our faith is so weak; or, rather, our faith is untrue, our faith is not real, our faith i snot single; we do not believe the Gospel as a fact-that we are saved by Christ, that we are risen with him, that we are one with him. We do not really believe that we are on our way to Zion; we have still doubts; or we have some idols; we look to Sodom and Gomorrah, instead of pressing forward to the mountain of our Lord. Surely, beloved brethren, you ought to feel this, as I wish you may feel it. Suppose that we were children of one family of this world, and were gathered together from various quarters; being all children of one family, how we should speak of our home, of our father, and of our father's house; and how we should speak together always of that blessed day in which we should arrive at our father's house! Oh, brethren, as one by one our brethren around us depart, we should not say mournfully, “Ah, they are gone;" but we should say with joy, "They are arrived! they are now in the house; they are now with our dear Father: let us take courage, and in a short time we also shall arrive." But instead of that, we quench the Spirit; we grieve it; and instead of taking hold of that blessed hope, and rejoicing in it, we are, as it were, constrained to the contemplation by force. We are not thinking of the time when we shall get there but of the time when we must part with the world. Beloved brethren, this is not the teaching of the Holy Ghost; this is to be carnally-minded in some way; this is still to drag with us, in our path to heaven, the nets of this world. You are far from realizing that glory of our Lord, far from anticipating the glory of that day in which you shall see him; you are averse from the thought of it. You certainly are not taught by the Spirit of Christ, because the Spirit of Christ is revealed not only as life and love, but also as glorious.