p. 106 | Love by E. B. SAUNDERS

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Mar 7, 1865

Love.

By E. B. SAUNDERS

"The Lord preserveth all them that love him." Here we have one of the sure promises of mercy, if we really love God. Our own hearts will tell us whether we love him, unless we are deceived in respect to ourselves, and know not our own hearts. If we love God our hearts will flow out toward him in gratitude and holy affection for mercies and blessings, while our inmost thoughts of him will cause us to delight in meditation of his goodness, mercy, tenderness, care and longsuffering: while his power, greatness and majesty will cause us to humble ourselves before him. Then like David we will say, "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God."

These are some of our inward feelings, and are the secret springs of our actions. We shall act out our love. If we truly love God we shall draw nourishment from the true vine, and will bear fruit to the glory of God. If no fruit is borne, we may judge ourselves to be deceived, and possibly our profession of love to proceed only from our lips: no matter how loud our shouts of praise and glory, or how high our profession.

The heart that does not yield to God a loving, cheerful, joyous obedience to his commandments, does not love God in sincerity. "This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments; and his commandments

are not grievous." They never seem burdensome to him who truly loves God. Nothing will hinder us from doing the will of God, and having respect to his law and ordinances, Sabbath and all, if we truly love him, unless it be a want of light. If we delight to serve the Lord he will graciously overlook a certain amount of error if it be not willful. In this way God can save those saints who left only some of the errors of popery. They joyfully obeyed the light that shone upon them. They were joyous in the truth sent to them, and if more had been granted them would obeyed it. Their hearts were perfect in the sight of God. But it was not in the order of God to let the whole truth in all its noonday brightness shine at once upon those in papal darkness; some has been reserved for us, to test our love; and if we willfully reject it or refuse to hear it when our minds are called to it, we may be assured that our love is not perfect, and our heart not right before God; no matter how loud our profession or how often we appeal to Heaven saying, "The Lord knows my heart." "The Lord knows I love him." &c.

The soul that delights in God will not scorn or trifle with one of God's holy precepts. If ignorant of any one of them, they will with fervent prayer, search the Bible to learn the will of God, and with deep penitence will implore him for pardon. How often we hear the Sabbath spoken of as not essential if our hearts are only right, just as though we could cry down the demands of justice by loud professions of love and holiness of heart; but let such remember that God is not deceived. He yet reigns, and will bring every work into judgment whether it be good or whether it be evil.

E. B. SAUNDERS.