In that wonderful prayer of the apostle at the close of Eph. 3:, we have the knowledge of Christ's love linked with our being filled with (or rather unto,- the limit being, not the infinite resources, but our capacity,) all the fullness of God. In other words, that love is like God-infinite, inexhaustible. It is good to place the "breadth, length, depth, and height" here along side of the similar passage in Rom. 8:There, all creation is ransacked in vain to find any thing that is able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord :" neither height nor depth, nor any other creature." Here we have the love measured as far as possible, only to find it surpassing all measure-it " passeth knowledge." We look at the depths-of guilt, sin, Satan's power ; it seems like a fathomless abyss; surely something in those dark depths might succeed in separating us from God's love. Here is our answer :Deeper than our guilt, than our sin, than Satan's power, is the love of Christ. It sought us when we were engulfed in those awful depths. He entered the "horrible pit," and, passing through all the realities of wrath-bearing and Satan's rage, and the hatefulness of being "made sin"-His holiness linked even in name with it,-passing through all this, He has shown a love deeper than it all. Down at the bottom, at the cross, we find His love. So we can look calmly, though not without sorrow and shame, at our past, and say, His love is deeper than it all; and, led by that love, He has taken our guilt away through His blood, annulled sin and Satan's power. Looking upward then into the heights-the region where principalities and powers are, we find His love higher, " far above all principality and power." No room, then, for them to overcome us. Mount higher-into the "holiest of all," Love is before us, and the sprinkled mercy-seat tells us it has made a way for us to enter with boldness. Even look upon the throne, and we see Him seated there. Higher we cannot rise than the throne, the Father's house, the " city prepared as a bride." But all these only witness that the love of Christ is there. Surely the soul is well-nigh lost as we think of that love "which passeth knowledge."

" Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing."

His love for the Church is here set before us-from the time when He gave Himself for it, to that when He shall present it to Himself in glory. The effect is seen- "sanctify and cleanse it." For a holy Lord, nothing short of a holy Church would do. He gave Himself for it. This tells of His death-His wrath-bearing on the cross. In glory, we see the Church without spot or wrinkle. No defilement-all has been cleansed away, no wrinkle-nothing that speaks of age or care or decay. If of our blessed Lord it is said, " Thou hast the dew of thy youth" (Ps. 110:3), so also will it be true of His bride the Church. Think of the earthly history of the Church,-oppressed, divided, overcome by the world,-think of her thus, and then think what the love of Christ has in store for her-reigning, glorified, associated with Himself. As of God with Israel, so Christ with the Church; He will "joy over her with singing, He will rest in His love." His love will never rest till He has His Church with Himself, to share in that love the fullness of which it will not know till then.

But a third verse gives us another application of the love of Christ. " Who loved me, and gave Himself for me." (Gal. 2:20.) Here our attention is called, not to the infinite fullness of His love as in Eph. 3:, nor to the Church as the object of that love, but to the fact that it is to me individually. All will agree, of course, that His love passeth knowledge; but if this is merely owned as a doctrine, it will of course have no power in the life. Even where that love is realized, there may be a vagueness and indefiniteness about it. We may think of Him as an infinitely loving Person, and yet not realize that the fullness of this love is toward each of us individually. So too with regard to His loving the Church-most blessed it is to realize this. But we might think of the Church as a great whole, and ourselves overlooked, as it were. But when we say, with Paul, "Who loved me," there is no room for vagueness, no thought of being overlooked. The bright light of His face is for the time turned upon me alone. I am loved. Every day the Israelite could see the lamb offered up as a burnt-offering, and could say, " That is for the acceptance of the whole congregation;" but when he brought a lamb for his own offering, his thought was, "This is for my own acceptance." How good it is in our God thus to give us to know, not merely the ocean of the love of Christ, but to let us hold it fast to our hearts-just for ourselves-" He loved me, and gave Himself for me." In this connection, we are reminded of two things-our lost condition and our helplessness. "He gave Himself for me." This was because I was a sinner,-because I was guilty, condemned by the law. And by His death for me, I have been, not merely delivered from wrath, but set free from that law which brought me into bondage. Instead of being under law, I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me. Here Christ's love to me takes the place of the law; and, constrained by that love, we can do what under law we never could. Blessed exchange !-not under law, but able to say, "Who loved me." Now the love of Christ is something we can grasp; and with precious knowledge of it as a personal thing, we can look at the Church, realizing that we are members of that Church, each loved with the love to the whole. We look at that love which passeth knowledge, and as we search its height and depth, we can say, "For me." There is no selfishness in this. Where Christ's love fills the heart, selfishness can have no place. Have we not here, then, stepping-stones?-(i) Christ's love to me personally; (2) His love to His Church, His body; (3) The infiniteness of that love which is the fullness of God. May we mount on these stepping-stones to know more and more of that love !

But there is one step still lower for the one who is not yet a beginner. He may say, "I cannot say He loved me, for I am a sinner, and have never loved Him." Well, if you truly say you are a sinner, you can be sure of Christ's love to you if you will receive it; for He came into the world to save sinners, He died for the ungodly, and He was rightly called the Friend of sinners. Your sin, then, truly owned as such, is your first step-not a high one- into the knowledge of the love of Christ.

If these lines are read by any one still unsaved, will you not now test that love which, though it fills heaven, yearns over you, and knocks at your heart ?