If there be so much delight in the very exercise of the affections in religion; and if, by their exercise, an influence so beneficial be produced on the mind and on the character, assuredly it is the dictate of enlightened reason, as well as the requirement of the word of God, to cultivate, with daily solicitude, the best affections of the soul. With this view, then, let us value those books which not only inform the mind, but are also adapted to excite the devotional aspirations of the heart, and the most heavenly affections of the soul. Let us daily read the Scriptures with this express design. Let us meditate much on those delightful subjects which have the most powerful tendency to awaken and to strengthen our best affections. Let us especially dwell much in our meditations on the love of Christ, and that will have the most direct tendency to kindle in our breasts "the flame of neverdying love." Above all, let us most earnestly implore the influences of the Holy Spirit, whose most gracious and condescending office it is, to take of the things which are Christ's, to show them unto us, and to shed abroad the love of God in our hearts. John xvi. 15. Rom. v. 5. May he ever dwell within us, consecrating our souls as his living temples, and filling them with all the fulness of God!

CHAPTER V.

THE PLEASURES OF OBEDIENCE TO THE WILL OF GOD.

HAPPY is the man who can say from his heart, "I delight to do thy will, O my God." Such might have been the language of the first of men, when, opening his eyes upon the enchanting beauties of Eden, he traced the diversified streams of pleasure by which he was surrounded, to the uncreated Source of all delight; and identified the bliss of his joyous existence with unreserved, obedience to the law written on his heart. Such was the language of "the Second Adam, the Lord from heaven," the Son of God incarnate, when, entering our world, then labouring under the curse, he anticipated the sorrows and the sufferings of his course of obedience unto death. In full accordance with the spirit of these words, although in reference to a less arduous and less elevated sphere of obedience, should every disciple of the Saviour be prepared to reiterate the sentiment, "I delight to do thy' will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart." Psa. xl. 8. To those who are disposed and qualified to adopt this language as their own, it will not be a difficult task to exhibit the pleasures of unreserved obedience to the will of God. Happy indeed will it be if, by the illuminating influences of the Spirit of God, others also should be led to discover

and to pursue the same substantial delights; and to learn, by experience, that the ways of obedience are the ways of pleasantness and the paths of peace. Let it then be observed,

I. That it is pleasurable to cherish the full persuasion, that the God whom we serve is supremely worthy of our most devoted obedience.

This is a persuasion which no idolater can perfectly entertain, even on his own principles, towards the object or objects of his worship. In the characters attributed to the heathen deities, there is so much that is defective, and so much that is unamiable, that only a partial and limited service can appear to be due, even in the estimation of their most devoted adherents; and the obedience rendered, being the tribute of fear rather than of attachment, is yielded not with delight but with reluctance. When in the presence of a company of idolaters, with what holy elevation. and complacency in the character of Jehovah, as the only living and true God, did the apostle of the Gentiles announce an immediate communication from heaven; when on his voyage to Italy, and during the unabated violence of the storm, he said, "There stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, saying, Fear not." xxvii. 23, 24. At that exulting moment, he felt that to belong to God, and to be the servant of the Most High, was the truest dignity of man: that it was an honour which he shared with the angel who had been despatched as

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the messenger of peace and safety; and that it was an honour, greater than which, the heaven of heavens has none to confer. Is it not a part of the description of the heavenly world, and of the happiness there enjoyed, that his servants serve him; that they see his face; that his name is in their foreheads;" and that they exclaim in rapturous adoration, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power; for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." Rev. iv. 11. With sentiments then, in harmony with theirs, let the servant of God upon earth say in sincerity and truth, "It is the joy and triumph of my heart, that I serve the blessed and only Potentate, who made heaven and earth, and all that in them is. Over all worlds he reigns with power unlimited and uncontrolled; and it is my daily joy that he acts according to his pleasure, in all places of his dominion. I rejoice that he is as good as he is great, and that his tender mercies are over all his works. I rejoice that justice and judgment are the basis of his throne; that mercy and truth go before his face, Psa. lxxxix. 14; and that wisdom and knowledge have in them a depth of unsearchable riches. To the service of such a Being it is equally my duty and my honour to be devoted. Adored be his goodness for an attractive revelation of his character and his claims. I rejoice in regarding every perfection of his character as a proof of the reasonableness of his claims, and a pledge of the

blessedness of obedience. To his service I consecrate myself without reserve. Less than unreserved obedience he could not require; less I would not yield."

II. It is pleasurable to indulge a deep sense of the obligations to obedience, arising from the redemption of the Son of God.

If you have ever found the feeling or the expression of gratitude to be painful rather than pleasurable, it must have been in some case in which you could take no complacency in the character of the individual from whom the favour was received. There was something in that individual which rendered the sense of obligation unwelcome and oppressive; and to owe much to one of such a character would be in a high degree distressing. The very reverse of this takes place when we receive benefits from the God of love. Since he delights in giving, well may we rejoice in receiving and acknowledging favours undeserved. Some of these mercies are so incalculably great, and are conveyed in a manner so unparalleled and amazing, that the gratitude inspired is of a nature which words are altogether inadequate to express. Such are the blessings to which the apostle adverts when he says, "I beseech you, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." Rom. xii. 1. What those mercies are, we learn from the cross of him who died for the ungodly. We are "not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver