SERMON XIV.

THE TEST OF LOVE.

"He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father; and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him." (John 14: 21.)

An important lesson is here presented for study. Its instruction is clear; its facts are evident; its conclusions unavoidable. It makes action, earnest and vigorous action, the test of genuine love to the Savior. He, who has the commandments of Jesus, who keeps or observes them, who adopts them as the actual rule of his conduct, and strives to live up to their divine His obe. holiness, has true love for the Savior. dience to Christ, is the evidence of his sinceri. ty, and of the fact that his soul glows with af fection for Jesus as the Son of God, the appointed One to proclaim the grandest forms of spiritual truth to the world. Hence his virtue becomes the outward language of his inward love-the seal of the soundness of his Christian character.

What a searching truth is this. How it cuts off all unjust claims to Christian profession, and repudiates that hollow-hearted love which deals

with words but not with deeds, and has neither

sincerity, purity, nor virtue. It has no com. promises, no contingencies. It is direct and simple. It has one great, leading principle, and that it applies to all lives, all pretensions, all conduct. And whenever it finds wickedness in the professed follower of Christ, it exposes his corruption. But whenever it finds holiness, it makes that holiness glow with the divine light of genuine, Christian love.

In the directness of this fact, there is no eva. sion. It admits of none. An individual may claim to have love for Jesus-but his claim amounts to nothing, if it be not founded upon Christian action. For if he be governed by a selfish spirit-if he have no sympathy for humanity-if he be bigoted and censorious-if he depart from the precepts of Christianity, and in the business of life, adopt the corrupt princi. ples of grasping, overreaching desire for riches -if his hand be not open for benevolence, his heart beat not with sympathy for the suffering man, and his tongue have no words for freedom of thought and an earnest search after truth-it matters not with what eloquent prayers, what precision of ceremonies, what fervent attention to the external forms of religious worship, he may claim to love the Redeemer; for with all these, he lacks sincerity of profession, and is wanting in the real jewels of the Christian life, when tried by the searching words of Jesus"he that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me." As in this instance, so is it in all others. Wherever action, earnest, vigorous action in the discharge of duty. is wanting, no true love for the Savior can exist, because his commandments are not obeyed.

Nor can there be any manifestation of Jesus in the soul, because that soul is not quickened into the spiritual life of truth by the elevating influences of holiness, and of the application of religion to its moral wants.

With these plain landmarks to guide us aright, we may well and truly say, that the professedly Christian world is sadly lacking in love of the Savior. There is great want of that affection, which the text unfolds as being the real health of spiritual life. This conclusion is sustained by the test which Jesus has himself given.— This test is a trying, a searching one. It penetrates the soul, and drives men to a severe self. examination. It takes a powerful grasp upon man's consciousness, and compels him to compare his religious spirit and conduct with the rule which the Master has given. Such a process shows that society and individuals are greatly deficient in the love which manifests itself in an earnest devotion to those great principles of moral action which Christianity presents, and without which there can be no heart-binding fellowship with that life of Jesus which glows with unspotted virtue and incorruptible integrity.

Let not the position here taken, be misunderstood. By affirming that there is a great lack, in the world, of that perfection of love which embodies moral devotion to the Savior, we do not mean that Christianity is a lifeless system; that it has no direct and powerful efficiency in the souls of men; that, like a desert parched by drought and intense heat, it has been and still is barren of results; that it is like a splendid statue, of perfect form and symmetry, yet without breathing, acting, and animating existence; that it has dwelt among ignorant people without

enlightening them, and among sinful men with out reforming them in a great degree. Nothing of this kind is intended. On the contrary, Jesus is loved and practiced to a vast extent. It may be, and undoubtedly is so, that in general, he is unconsciously loved and practiced; that men, while dwelling amid the glorious results of his reign, do not see them radiating from the cross as their real source. Nevertheless the Son of God has made the civilized world what it is.The adoption of his truth, has overturned the heathen altar, quenched the funeral pile that would consume the widow, and saved infants from cruel sacrifice. All that is better in our legislation, than that which belonged to barbarian nations—the generous principles which have secured more kindly treatment of the insane, the criminal, and the intemperate-have flowed from the diffusion of the divine religion of Jesus. The elevation of women to their true station, and the power which is gradually gaining for them their rights-the increase of affection and knowledge in the home-circle, cheering families with rays of happiness from heaven itself, and rendering them blessed schools for preparing children for the duties and cares of mature years are among the cheering consequences of the Christian system. The extension of the spirit of benevolence and human brotherhood from mass to mass of people and to nations, until, like the free air, they are becoming world-wide -the advance of those noble truths which are developing the moral and spiritual nature of man-find their power and vigor in Christianity. It is the soul of civilization. It is the pure fountain from whence the waters of reform flow.And when we consider the vast contrast between

Christian and heathen people-the great advance of our condition over theirs-the superior grandeur of our faith, as a developer of the powers of the soul, as the influence to subdue sinners, and the heavenly medicine which heals the severest wounds of grief-we cannot avoid the fact, that these are the results of believing and practicing Christ, however imperfect that practice and belief may be. Indeed, could Jesus and his truth be stricken from existence, and obliter. ated from the soul; could the consequences of the practical love which has glowed in the minds and actions of men for the Son of God, be annihilated; it would be but driving the race back eighteen centuries, into that superstition and barbarism which existed previous to the period when improvement commenced at the cross, to advance with its irresistible, moral forces, until the world shall be filled with its divine glory.

But notwithstanding these evident facts, yet, in many respects, there is every where a sad want of practical love for the Savior. Both national powers and individuals are guilty of those acts, which, if tried by this rule "he that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me"-would show them to be far removed from the genuine spirit of the Master. Lament it as we may, still it is not the less true. Let us east a passing glance at some of the stern realities of life, and then mark the conclusion which grows out of them.

Observe two collections of men, extending their compact and regular lines as far as the eye can reach. They glitter in scarlet and gold.The wind gives beauty to their nodding plumes. Banners are unfolded to the breeze. Each footman grasps the deadly musket. Each cannon