"led by the Spirit :" for as many as have been led by Him, began to follow holiness, because, "without" it, 66 no man shall see the Lord."

It is, however, worthy of special attention, that all who have ever made any great progress in following holiness, have had to try the force of other motives. Indeed, they have found it necessary to do so; on finding that this one did not carry them far enough, or not so far as it did at first.

This is only what might be expected. No single motive, however sweet or solemn, can be equally influential at all times, or in all duties. Our circumstances change; and we change with them, not a little. Our best frames of mind too, are not permanent. Even our first love," although it has not "waxed cold" exactly, has lost much of its original simplicity and tenderness. We are not so susceptible or watchful in all things now, as when we first

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said to ourselves, whilst weeping at the foot of the Cross, "Without holiness I shall not see the Lord." Then, all our old regrets, and all our new desires, and all our hopes and fears for Eternity, threw light upon the meaning of Holiness, and warmth into the resolution to follow it, through good report and bad report. Thus the maxim was mighty, whilst we were melted with the wonders of redeeming love, and awed by the solemnities of eternity.

Now, we recollect this well. We cannot forget it. Accordingly, whenever we so fall off from the rule or the spirit of holiness, as to be startled at the declension, or to become afraid of consequences, we naturally say to ourselves, "Ah, this is the sad effect of losing my first love. Could I only recall the days of old, when my heart was all tenderness, and my conscience all timidity, I should find my old maxim as powerful and sufficient as ever.

We have not a doubt of this. We are quite sure, that we should soon act as well as ever, if we could only feel again as we did at first. And there can be no doubt, that a renewed sense of redeeming love and of eternal things, would give great practical power to the command, "Follow holiness; without which no one shall see the Lord." The real question is, however, how to get back that state of mind? It does not return of itself, nor is it always found even when sought for with tears. Something good is, indeed, always found in answer to fervent prayer: but it is not often that even such prayer brings back all the light and love of the days of old. Even when it does, they are not such long days as they were at first, nor do they follow each other in such close succession.

You have observed and deplored all this. Did it ever occur to you, that there is no small

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danger of grieving the Holy Spirit, by thus making "the days of old," the standard for our present piety? The " good work" in the heart, of which He is the author and finisher, he "carries on in its goodness, as well as keeps up in its being. Its mere preservation from utter extinction is not His great object. His care over "the root of the matter," is for the sake of the fruit it is capable of bearing. Accordingly, whenever we become less fruitful, or even cease trying to bring forth more fruit than we began with, He soon makes us to feel somewhat doubtful as to the very life of the root itself. Indeed, we are any thing but sure that the root of the matter is in us at all, when the branches of our profession become very barren. They will not, and cannot, be very fruitful, however, if we grieve the Holy Spirit, by neglecting or overlooking any of the great motives which he employs for sanctification.

Now, although the solemn consideration which I have been commending so strongly, is one of them, and a motive never to be laid aside or lost sight of, it is not the chief motive by which the Spirit works. He generally begins with it; but He never ends with it. And this is only what might be expected: for His special office is to glorify Christ. He will not, therefore, keep up the sanctifying power of any motive, however good, which is allowed to take that place in our attention, which belongs to the Saviour. Now, it is by the glory of Christ, as that shines in the glass of Revelation, that the Holy Spirit changes believers into the image of Christ. They are all predestinated to be conformed to the image of the Saviour: and as the Spirit will not depart from that model, neither will he deviate from this mode of sanctification. It will be just as true until the end of time, as it was at the beginning of