gives great things to sinners, whereby He shows the strength of his love to them; for He gives grace and glory, and no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly; for He saith, ’Father, I will that they also whom Thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which Thou hast given me.’  Christ gives the believer union with himself and communion in glory with the Father, even a share of that glory which the Father giveth Him, He giveth them.  He gives them a crown of righteousness which shall never fade away; and He gives them to drink of the rivers of his pleasures, that are at his right hand for evermore.  Oh, my friends, Christ doth not prig with His spouse:  He will keep nothing back from them, that He sees to be for her profit.—­Oh, but His love is strong.  He requires no more for all that He has done, and all that He hath given, but that He see the travail of His soul.  He will think but little of all that He hath done, if we will but accept of His love, and lay our love upon Him.  Yea, so may be said of Him, as was said of Jacob,—­the seven years that he served for Rachel seemed but a few days, for the love that He bare unto her.  His love is so strong, that although thou shouldest run away from Him never so fast, yet His love will overtake thee, and bring thee back again.  Paul ran very fast in opposition to His love, when he was going to Damascus to persecute the Church.  But Christ’s love overtook him suddenly.  Manasseh ran very fast from Christ, when he made the streets of Jerusalem to run with innocent blood, and set up an abomination in the house of God, and used witchcraft; and yet Christ’s love overtook him, and brought him back again from the pit.  If thou art one of those that the Father hath given to the Son, though thou shouldest run to the brink of hell, He will bring thee back again from thence.

“Christ’s love is pure and sincere love.  ’Herein is love, not that we loved Him, but that He loved us;” not for any advantage that He can have by us, for He is infinite in all perfections without us; therefore we can neither enrich Him, nor add any more glory to Him.  We may well magnify His power; that is all we can do, and all the advantage is our own.  Christ’s love is not a base love; He loves us not for His good or advantage, but for our real good and advantage.  It is pure and sincere love, for all the advantage is ours.

“Christ’s love is an enriching love, for those upon whom His love is bestowed are no more poor.  How can they be poor who have Christ for their riches? for, saith the Apostle, ’All things are yours, and ye are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.’  If ye have this love bestowed on you, then all other things are made to serve for your good—­ye shall lack nothing.