The Cabinet. THE SPIRIT OF LOVE. 2 TIM. i. 7. By James Smith, Cheltenham. THE fall has stripped human nature of all that is really excellent, so that whatever is good in man comes from God. It is his free gift. Man has nothing good. Man can produce nothing good. He has become altogether filthy. He is totally and entirely depraved. The law may require, but he heeds not. The Gospel may invite, but he regards not. Judgments and mercies are alike powerless, because he is dead in trespasses and sins. The Holy Spirit alone can change the heart, and he does so, not by baptism, but by the direct putting forth of his power within us. The operation is secret, but a visible change in the course and conduct makes it known. He imparts a power that will work, a life that will appear, a light that will shine, a nature that will show itself. He brings us to the law, which convinces and condemns us; he leads us to the Gospel, which acquits and comforts us. He reveals Christ to us, forms Christ in us, and sets Christ before us; and then we live upon Christ, live for Christ, and strive to live like Christ. He sheds abroad the love of God in our hearts, and then we love God and his adorable Son, we love the people of God, and have only benevolent feelings toward the whole human race. Love is the unquestionable proof and evidence of real religion, and this love is from the Holy Spirit, who is "the Spirit of love." He is THE LOVING SPIRIT. He loves all the Lord's people. His love runs in the same channel as the love of the Father and the Son; it has the same objects, and aims at the same end. The love of the Spirit is free. He loves us without anything in us to induce him to do so, just because he will love us. His eye saw no good thing in us, and yet his heart glowed with infinite love to us. He loved us and determined to make us holy, not because he foresaw that we should be holy. All the difference that there is between us and others, or between what we are now and what we were once, is to be traced up to the love of the Spirit, his free and sovereign love. The love of the Spirit is fixed. It has its specific objects, and those objects are the Lord's people, all who are chosen by the Father, and redeemed by the precious blood of the Son. The love of the God head is one, and the love of each of the Divine persons is fixed upon the same objects, and aims at the same ends. As there is unity of nature, there must also be unity in the exercise of the Divine perfections, and unity in the purposes, plans, and operations of the Divine mind. The love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is the love of one infinitely pure, perfect, and Divine nature; but it is the love of three distinct persons in that nature. As the nature is one, and the persons are united, the love of each person must be the same in reference to its objects, energy, and end. The Father loved and chose us to everlasting life, the Son loved and died to redeem us from death, and the Holy Spirit loved and quickened us from a death in sin to a life of righteousness. The love of the Spirit is faithful. It never changes. It never can change. "He is in one mind, and who can turn him?" "Whom he loveth he loveth unto the end." There is not one in hell to-day that was ever the object of his sovereign love, nor will there be one missing among the glorified at last, whom he loved with his everlasting love. His love was free to fix upon its objects; but being fixed, it is settled for ever. He engaged in covenant to save, he gave his word of promise that he would save, and his covenant will he not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of his mouth. "It is impossible for God to lie." As the Son faithfully fulfilled his engagement to lay down his life for his sheep, so the Holy and ever-blessed Spirit will faithfully fulfil his engagement to quicken, sanctify, and guide to glory, the whole Church. The love of the Spirit is fervent. It is glowing love. There is an omnipotent power, a Divine intensity in it. It is love that never cools, that never can cool,-love stronger than death, than anything out of God. Loving Spirit! shine upon my poor dull soul, strengthen my poor feeble powers, that I may take in clear, correct, and honourable views of thy Divine, infinite, and eternal love! He is THE LOVE-PRODUCING SPIRIT. All spiritual love is from the Holy Spirit. It is a supernatural production. He reveals God to us in the person of his Son, exhibits him before us in his lovely attributes, perfections, and characters, causes his love to flow into our hearts, and thus produces love to him in return. "We love him, because he first loved us." And we never love him until we realize that he has loved us. The love that rises from our hearts to him is the effect of the love that flows from his heart to us. He reveals Jesus to us in his glorious person, finished work, and tender sympathy; shows us how he has loved us, and whispers, "He loves you now;" this influences our hearts with love to him. We see him living for us, dying for us, interceding for us, coming in glory to receive us to himself, and we cannot but love him. He reveals to us the true excellency, dignity, and privileges of the saints; sets them before us as the excellent of the earth, as the objects of the Father's love, the purchase of the Son's blood, and the appointed heirs of heaven; and we feel love rising up in our hearts to them, we love them for Christ's sake, and for what we perceive to be excellent and lovely in them. Thus we come to "know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren." He shows us the miserable, dangerous, and pitiable state of sinners; reminds us that they are our brethren by nature, and that we were once involved in the same misery, and exposed to the same condemnation; and pity, compassion, and love arise in our hearts toward them, and we long to do them good, endeavour to bring them to the Gospel, or send the Gospel to them, that they may taste, see, and enjoy the privileges that we do ourselves. Thus what is presented to the sanctified and enlightened understanding affects the heart; the affections become influenced and changed; we, who were once "hateful and hating one another," are filled with love to all, and are concerned to do them good. By humbling views of ourselves, by realizing views of the cross of Christ, of the throne of glory, and of the horrors of hell, as our desert, and the sinner's doom, love is excited, strengthened, and drawn forth; and we love God supremely, his people with a love of complacency, and sinners with a love of pity and compassion. See, then, how true Christians are known. Not by correct views of doctrine, not by mere moral behaviour, not by the observance of certain religious rites; but by love. Have what we may, without love we are nothing. Lack what we may, with this holy principle ruling and reigning in our hearts and lives, we are manifestly declared to be the epistles of Christ." See what the Church, what we all need, the Spirit of love; the love-producing Spirit. We have gifts, we have wealth, we have learning, we have numbers; but we want love,-pure, spiritual, holy love, such as the early Christians possessed, which caused their heathen persecutors to exclaim, "See how these Christians love one another." There is a mighty power in love; a convincing, a silencing, and winning power in love. Love conquers when nothing else will. It is mighty to conquer others, but is unconquerable itself. See what it is that we should daily pray for,-" the Spirit of love;" that the Holy Com forter would come down and fill every Christian's heart, regulate every professor's life, and make us all as remarkable for love as we have been for the want of it. Let but this blessing be granted, and our strifes would cease, our breaches would be healed, and our divisions would come to an end. Then we should be but one body, one flock, one army, one Church. Then each would not only be prepared, but anxious to help another; and if necessary, we should be ready to "lay down our lives for the brethren." See how we may know that we have received the Holy Ghost. If love to God, love to Jesus, love to saints, and love to the souls of sinners, rule in our hearts, there is the Holy Spirit. No one but a Divine agent could produce such a change, and the Divine agent that doth this is the Holy Spirit. Thus our regeneration is proved, our election is unquestionable, and our doubts and fears should die. We should have no slavish fear of God, for such "perfect love" would "cast out fear." The peace of God would rule in our hearts, the cross would lie easy on our shoulders, the prospect of glory would brighten before our eyes, and solid happiness would be our portion. If, therefore, we would honour God, if we would obey the Saviour, if we would silence gainsayers, if we would elevate the Church of God in the world, if we would constrain the world to believe that our religion is Divine, let us, with one heart, with one voice, as one man, unite to plead with God that he would pour out his Holy Spirit upon us as "the Spirit of love." Holy and ever-blessed Spirit! let it please thee to fill the writer's heart with thine own sweet love, and fill each reader's heart with it; fill the heart of every member of the ONE CHURCH with the same, that so Jesus may be glorified, Satan dethroned, the adversaries of the cross confounded, and Paradise be restored to earth! CONTENTMENT. DISCONTENT is a weed of rapid growth in the human heart. It mars the true enjoyment of life, and is the source of much bitterness and sorrow. Its origin springs from unbelief, a forgetfulness of God's character, and revelation of his righteous will. Man becomes his own enemy in the anxiety to secure future good, to the neglect of present mercies. His condition, what ever it may be, is fixed by Him who has determined the bounds of his habitation, and arranged the vicissitudes of his life. His privilege, wherever his lot is cast, is to glorify God, and enjoy with gratitude his unceasing blessings. Amid all the joys of life, and the manifold goodness which like a cloud overshadows his path, he is often the creature of discontent. He is keenly and sensibly alive to the attainment of satisfy, more is desired, and in the probenefits he may never realise, and in minence of this one feeling, arises all the longing and fervent desire to en- the disquietude and discontent within. joy future prosperity, he too often Is it wise to forfeit present usefulness, makes a sacrifice of present comfort. to mar present enjoyment, to surrenWhatever blessings may fall to his der present peace for an ideal future? portion, he seems not to regard them, Is anxious pursuit for an uncertainty simply because the future good concen- to destroy present advantages? Is trates his thoughts and absorbs his such a course to be reconciled to conimagination. Contentment is wanting, science, to duty, and to obligation? and not a gleam of sunshine lights on In seeking great things, or the posseshis mind, even when there is enough to sion of a boon which does not confer satisfy all his wants. What disquietude happiness, is it right to peril the peace of mind, what amount of anxiety, of mind, and plant a thorn within the what corroding care characterise his bosom? Whenever the desire has daily progress. He is full of the future, been ultimately realised, what a thought anticipating a change of circumstances, for reflection are the many unprofita tide of fortune to satisfy and gratify able years which have glided on as a the anxious desire. He is not happy be-by-gone tale! How many have drank cause he is not content. He seeks for of the cup of bitterness, because they more than is allotted to him, and in the were not content with their portion! search meets with disappointment and But "godliness with contentment is vexation of spirit. He has tried, it great gain," and secures peace and holy may be, various schemes to realise his calm to him who seeks it. To run bewishes, but has failed in the attempt fore providence is not safe, to abandon He has learnt by experience how un- a post where we have been placed in certain are the best conceived plans to order to secure advantages which apensure success, and how vain are spe- pear desirable, is to venture on an exculations to grasp the prize. How periment which is fraught with danger. many a year rolls on in this perplex- Many there are who, placed in a trying ing, harassing, disturbed condition of and difficult position, hastily come to mind, with a complete sacrifice of real the conclusion that a change is reenjoyment? How is the brain racked quired, and that another sphere must by night and by day? To secure be occupied. Instead of grappling what?—a certain amount of independ- with discouraging circumstances in the exercise of strong confidence in Him who has promised to supply every want, they are buoyed up with hope and assurance, that to leave one spot for another, to seek a new abode, is the very road to a successful issue. God promises a sufficiency, but nowhere does he warrant the expectation of an abundance. Dissatisfaction often leads to disappointment, and he who ence. What a loss of valuable time! -of talent misimproved!-of usefulness in the Church or in the world! of earnest endeavour to live for the good of others! The Spirit is in the deep, buried in itself, and fixed on one idea,-future provision. Shadow succeeds to shadow, dream to dream, until judgment is perverted and falters. A sufficiency for actual want does not |