BY S. RIDOUT. (Luke 15:3-7 ; Song of Solomon 2:10-15.)

I just want to speak a moment about the love of Christ to His people in a little different view. We have seen how precious we are to the Lord Jesus, in spite of our utter insignificance and worthlessness, in spite of every thing we are, because we are the gift of the Father,-that setting the worth of the most worthless saint beyond price to the Lord Jesus. In Luke, we see how precious we are to Him, not only because we have been given by the Father, but because, like the good shepherd, He has gone out and sought us. We were "dead in trespasses and sins," and the Lord Jesus, in order that He might reach those who were dead, died Himself; in order that He might reconcile us, He took such a distance that He said, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" He could go no further than that, and that is the love He has to every one of us. He loved us so that He could go that distance to save you and me. How precious we must be in His sight when He speaks of us as a "pearl," as a "precious jewel"! Those whom He has rescued from the power of death He has made a jewel that He will wear forever. That is how dear the weakest believer is to the Lord Jesus. In the Song of Solomon, we find that He not only loved us, and gave Himself for us, but that He wants to have communion with us. " Oh, my dove," etc. The Lord Jesus wants to hear your voice and mine speaking to Him,-wants us to have communion with Himself. Dear brethren, if you have nothing to tell the Lord but that you are away from Him, that will be sweet to Him; no matter what it may be, He says, "Sweet is thy voice." The father surely would have been glad to have seen his son in a different plight, but was it not a joy to the father's heart to see him when he was a great-way off? Is it not a joy to the Lord even if we say, " I have wandered from Thee:I have been out of communion " ? We are dear to the Lord, so dear that He is going to have us very near Himself. We are so dear to Him that He wants us to be talking to Him while we are here. The love that Christ has to His people leads Him to long and ask each one of us to have communion with Himself. How can we show our praises to the Lord Jesus more than by saying we want to have communion with Him,-letting Him hear that voice, whether in praise or in confession ? It is sweet to Him, if it is real. This is the way He shows His wonderful love to us, which we will never realize until we see Him face to face. To the honest Christian, beloved, there is no other walk than to walk with God.