hould be the characteristics of
Christian love to God. We sometimes cherish such emotion; but, alas, how
rare it is for us to dwell in that calm home all the days of our lives!
We visit that serene sanctuary at intervals, and then for the rest of
our days we are hurried to and fro between contending affections, and
wander homeless amidst inadequate loves. But what Paul asked, and what
should be the conscious aim of the Christian life, is, that we should
'dwell all our days in the house of the Lord, to behold the beauty of
the Lord and to enquire in His temple.'

Alas, when we think of our own experiences, how fair and far seems that
other, contemplated as a possibility in my text, that our hearts should
'abide in the love of God'!

Let me remind you, too, that steadfastness of habitual love all round
our hearts, as it were, is the source and germ of all perfectness of
life and conduct. 'Love and do as Thou wilt,' is a bold saying, but not
too bold. For the very essence of love is the smelting of the will of
the lover into the will of the beloved. And there is nothing so certain
as that, in regard to all human relations, and in regard to the
relations to God which in many respects follow, and are moulded after
the pattern of, our earthly relations of love, to have the heart fixed
in pure affection is to have the whole life subordinated in glad
obedience. Nothing is so sweet as to do the beloved's will. The germ of
all righteousness, as well as the characteristic spirit of every
righteous deed, lies in love to God. This is the mother tincture which,
variously coloured and with various additions, makes all the different
precious liquids which we can pour as libations on His altar. The one
saving salt of all deeds in reference to Him is that they are the
outcome and expression of a loving heart. He who loves is righteous,
and doeth righteousness. So, 'love is the fulfilling of the law.'

That the heart should be fixed in its abode in love to God is the secret
of all blessedness, as it is the source of all righteousness. Love is
always joy in itself; it is the one deliverance from self-bondage to
which self is the one curse and misery of man. The emancipation from
care and sorrow and unrest lies in that going out of ourselves which we
call by the name of love. There be things masquerading about the world,
and profaning the sacred name of love by taking it to themselves, which
are only selfishness under a disguise. But true