their affections upon beings that are the objects of sense. God is invisible. To profess to love a being that is not perceptible to our senses, appears to some, to savour more of the ignorance and wildness of enthusiasm, than of the sober deductions of enlightened and sanctified reason. But though no eye hath seen, or can see the Infinite and Eternal Spirit, yet He hath not left himself without witness. There is a power in the human mind, which enables it to form just notions of persons and things that cannot be perceived by sense. We need no other method of ascertaining the nature of love to God, than the nature of love to man. The mode of reflection is in both cases

the same. The process of compounding, comparing, and abstracting, is the same. Seriously considered, there is precisely the same difficulty in conceiving of the nature of love to man, that there is in conceiving of the nature of love to God. You know what it is to love your friend. And yet it is not the mere external form, it is not the animal, unanimated by the living, acting spirit, that you love. But this is all that is perceptible to your senses. You see the motion, you hear the voice of your friend; and from the nature of what you see and hear, you form the idea of his character. The soul, that which is

characteristic both of the man and the friend, is invisible. What you see and hear, is not that which you love; though it discovers to you something which is lovely. That which is the object of your senses, suggests the existence and character of that invisible, thinking being, which is the object of your affections, and which you either love or hate, as it pleases or displeases

you.

You may as easily know what it is to love God, therefore, as you may know what it is to love your friend. The sensible signs by which He has communicated, and is every hour communicating His character, are vastly more significant than those which manifest the character of any other being in the universe, God is every where. The Infinite Mind is ever active. It is the great Agent throughout all worlds. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handy-work. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out throughout all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. God has expressed His divine excellence in the work of His hands, and has ex

hibited the lustre of His glory in the word of His truth. Every act that He has performed, together with every word that He has spoken, is an unequivocal declaration of His character. It is easy to conceive that this character must be loved or hated, and that the Invisible Being which this character unfolds, must be the object either of complacency or aversion; of benevolence or malignity.

Love to God involves complacency in His character, benevolence toward His interest, and gratitude for His favours.

It involves complacency in His character. You see something in the character of your friend, which to you appears pleasing and amiable. You see something which is lovely; and this loveliness is the foundation of your attachment. Thus the excellence of God is the foundation of all holy love. True love to God is a firm and steady principle, which draws its motive and its sanction from His own intrinsic loveliness. It is

delight in His excellence. Those who have put on the new man, which after God, is created in righteousness and true holiness, love God because He is just such a God as He is; because His power

is irresistible; His wisdom unerring; His purity spotless; His justice inflexible; His goodness universal; His grace infinite; His designs eternal and immutable. Here holy love begins.

Wicked men are apt to consider God altogether sach an one as themselves. They clothe the Di"vine Being with such attributes, and such only, "as suit their depraved taste; and then it is no "difficult thing to fall down and worship Him.” But it is not God that they worship; it is not God that they love. It is an image that bears no resemblance to that Glorious Being whom all heaven adores; it is a mere idol of their own imagination. Genuine complacency in God, therefore, is delight in His true character. The love which arises from delight in the character of a false god, is enmity toward the true God. The enemies of God may love Him for what they imagine Him to be; none but the real friends of God love Him for what He is.

Supreme attachment to the character of God for His own inherent excellence, draws the line of distinction between that love which is merely mercenary, and that which is disinterested. man may be supremely selfish in the exercise

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Such is not The enmity of He is reconciled God is the ob

of a certain kind of love to God. In all his love, he may have no ultimate regard, except to his own happiness. He may delight in God for what He is to him; while he takes no delight in Him for what He is in Himself. the love of the new-born soul. his heart toward God is slain. to the Divine Character as it is. ject of delightful contemplation to his devout mind. In his most favoured hours, his views are diverted from himself. As his eye glances at the varied excellence of the Deity, he does not stop to ask the question, whether God is a being who will at all events regard his interest; it is enough for him, that He will at all events regard His own glory. He beholds a dignity, a beauty in the Divine Character, that fills his soul with high devotion. All things else are atoms, motes, dust, and vanity. The feelings of the Prophet are his : The desire of my soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. The unchangeableness of the Divine Being, and the perfections of the Divine Nature excite the noblest views, and the most raised affections. The language of the Psalmist is his: Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And there is none on earth that I desire