love to the Saviour is valuable, because it is only such love which leads to practical results.

One reason more, why keeping the commandments is the best way of expressing love to Jesus Christ, is, that it is the only way, which is likely to be permanent. Other expedients may endure for a while; but having no root in themselves, they will wither away. Between those quick and warm agitations of feeling, which vanish as hastily as they were at first excited, and that lasting sentiment of affection for the character and services of Jesus, which results in persevering obedience to his commands, there is as much difference as between the gourd of Jonah which came up in a night and perished in a night, and the noble oak of the forest, whose roots have struck deeper year after year, and which stands alike in sunshine and in storm firm and unyielding. That sort of love, which has an enduring character, which wears the same through all the changes of the world, and ever goes on to perform duties faithfully, as the best offering it can render,--you cannot doubt,—is more highly prized by our Lord, than that fickle, ever-varying love, which like the flickering light of a dying lamp blazes high, and then expires. Be assured, our Master will pronounce his sentence of approbation only on that kind of affection for him, which has not merely fair leaves, but a vigorous root, a solid trunk, and mature fruit.

Here, Christians, we have a plain and practical exhibition of a subject, on which a great deal is continually said and written, and concerning which imagination has taken many a wild flight. Love to our Saviour thus appears to be both a feeling, and a principle of duty. As a feeling, it grows out of the most solemn and affecting views of his exalted character, and of the purposes of his divine mission it touches the spring of all that is holy and heavenly in our thoughts and emotions; it kindles at the contemplation of his labors, his benevolence, and his sufferings, and burns up through the heart with a steady warmth and radiance. As a principle of duty, it leaves us to keep the commandments, and by this alone can the existence of the feeling be satisfactorily evinced; it carries out in the life the consequences of the inward affection, and makes us obedient just as far as we have the true spirit of love. All this may seem

to some minds quite too practical and unvarnished an account of the subject, savouring not at all of those transports and outpourings of love to the Saviour, which they conceive to belong essentially to a state of grace. But let us remember, that the question is, whether it does not conform to the instructions of Jesus himself on this point? We have nothing to do with human passions or human inventions on the momentous topic we have considered. Let us, in the simplicity of an honest heart, go back from what men tell us to the scriptures, and search them, whether these things be so or not.

And what are the consequences of such a practical love to Christ, as has been described?-Listen to the other part of the text: "He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him."Upon the affectionate disciple of the Saviour, God from on high looks down with the smile of approbation ;—yes, upon such a disciple, that eye, whose awful glance measures the universe and pierces through all the folds in which hypocrisy shrouds itself, is turned beaming with love. And such an one Jesus too will love; for his affection embraced all, who should ever be directed by his instructions, or elevated and warned by the hopes of his Gospel. He saw that the light of his religion would go down through the path of ages, and that it would be the joy and strength of man. Wherever the weary and heavy laden were to be relieved, wherever the sorrowful were to be comforted, wherever the ignorant were to be enlightened, wherever there was a trembling sinner, whose heart had been wrung with contrition,-there Christianity would appear, an angel of light, bringing comfort, direction, solace, and pardon,-and to such the love of him, who brought this word of life to man, would extend. To such, likewise, he "will manifest himself,"-not by that kind of communication, which is sometimes represented to be a direct, personal intercourse on the part of our Lord, vouchsafed as a peculiar and mysterious favor to the individual,--a sort of rapturous infusion, which imparts an almost miraculous illumination to the understanding, and bestows joys upon the heart the more ecstatic for being exclusive. The manifestation, which our Saviour promises, is to be made, you will observe, in consequence of keeping the commandments; and

doubtless the meaning is, that the obedient, practical Chris tian will derive from the spirit of truth and holiness more and more of support and encouragement in the good path, which he has chosen. From the Gospel he will derive continually increasing light and power, and thus, in a noble sense, will Jesus "manifest himself unto him." This agrees perfectly with what our Lord said on other occasions; and nothing can be more important and animating, than the truth wrapped up in this principle. In proportion as we obey the precepts and imbibe the spirit of Jesus Christ, we shall become prepared for larger and brighter manifestations of the truth and loveliness of his religion ;-the more we practise, the better we shall know; and thus a docile and obedient heart is the best qualification for penetrating further and further into the spiritual brightness of Christianity. In religion at least, if not in other things, we cannot be wise without being good and amidst all our pride of speculation, our warm controversies, and our uncharitable divisions, it is delightful to know that the heart of the humble, obedient, practical Christian is the favorite residence of spiritual light, and there the Saviour may be said to manifest himself with peculiar brightness.

Before we bring this subject to a close, it is important to remark, that from the explanation which has been given, love to the Saviour does not appear to depend upon any peculiar speculative views respecting his metaphysical nature, or his rank among the beings in the universe. No we may love Jesus Christ without going into those wearisome and thorny disputes concerning him, which have divided, and perhaps always will divide the Christian world. Our love to him, if it be worthy and valuable, must be founded not upon theories and refinements about his nature, but upon those touching and subduing views, which are presented by his mission, his services, and his sufferings. Such views let us cherish with affectionate reverence; let us keep them close to our hearts, till every holy and tender association shall gather around the remembrance of Jesus, and till they produce the happy fruits of obedience to his commandments. Then shall we love him; then shall we be loved of the Father; then will the Saviour love us, and manifest himself unto us.

BY REV. F. W. P. GREENWOOD, BOSTON, MASS.

USES OF SOLITUDE.

PSALM XXXIX. 3.

WHILE I WAS MUSING THE FIRE BURNED.

THERE are sparks of heaven-born fire, living in the innermost sanctuary of the human bosom, which solitude kindles into flame-and that must be a cold and a dark stream, and long must it have been running over them, which has quenched these sparks so utterly that the spirit of solitude shall breathe on them in vain. A sad blight must have passed over the affections, and a heavy mildew must have gathered on the best feelings of the heart, when they are not invigorated and expanded by being left to themselves under the open sky, and the silent influences of heaven. The world must exercise a strong and a hard power over the mind of him, who does not sometimes throw off its yoke, and enjoy the full freedom of retirement, and the peaceful luxuries of meditation.

It is perfectly true that we were made for the duties and the enjoyments of society, and that the great sphere of exercise for our noblest faculties and virtues is upon the thronged theatre of the world-but who would wish to be always in a crowd? who would not dread to be perpetually jostled by the contending interests, the painted follies, the giddy pleasures, the petty and the mighty passions which swarm and rage wherever there are men? and who does not long to escape at times from all this confusion, and leave these

motley scenes far, far behind him. It was not intended that we should follow one eternal round of worldly cares or worldly pleasures. By such a course we cannot fail of being wearied, or degraded, or enslaved. Our usual thoughts and feelings, as well as our usual toils, require a Sabbath, an intervening day of rest, a kind of cessation from secular engagements and common anxieties; when the sounds of business and labor shall stop, the active employments of life be for a while suspended, and our every-day excitements and agitations be suffered to die away. When our six days work is over we may keep the seventh holy; and when we have performed the requisite share of social duty in our intercourse with our fellow men, we may always find a sufficient season remaining for contemplation and repose. The one is the Sabbath of ordinance and instruction and example and society; and the other is the Sabbath of nature and the heart; and both are sacred to Heaven.

I am aware that the subject of solitude has been a favorite theme for romantic declamation, and sentimental insipidity; and that, on this account, many sensible people are inclined to avoid it. It will but be doing justice to its real importance and dignity, to state its connexion with some of our highest duties, and its influence over our most spiritual affections; to speak of it in seriousness and simplicity, as a necessary discipline of the mental faculties, as a valuable monitor of our real situation and destiny, as a choice opportunity for impartial self examination, profitable reflection, and heavenly communion.

I. In discoursing on solitude, in these great relations, I shall consider it, in the first place, as a preparative for society and for action. It is so, in one respect, simply as it furnishes repose to weariness. Few are constituted in such a manner that they are not exhausted in body or mind by a long continued and constant attention to the common objects of interest and pursuit. In this state of fatigue, a due portion of undisturbed and silent rest is grateful and refreshing. We return to our work with more vigor when our flagging forces have had time to recover their spring, and our ebbing spirits have received a new supply of sustenance and force. The attractions of deserted things are renewed; a fresh im