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the Scriptures indited by the Spirit of God. I would say this, Go

by Scripture. When you have exercises or disturbances, go by

the Scriptures. Certain things may seem to be right but go by

the Scriptures, because the tendency of men is either to take

away from the Scriptures, which destroys the authority of the

word of God in your soul, or else to add to the Scriptures. If

you add to the Scriptures you will lose the force of what the

Spirit of God is intending to teach you

by the very words which He has chosen. The world is trying to

alter the Scriptures to fit in with the ideas of men, whereas our

ideas have to be altered to fit in with what God is saying

through His word. So it goes on to say, “hope does not make

ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad, in our

hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us”. You

could not have a greater gift, could you, than God’s own

Spirit? The sinner, with all his failure, comes to Christ and

receives the forgiveness of sins and then the gift of the Holy

Spirit. Oh the magnificence of divine grace! There is no

frugality, shall I say, with God, no limiting of God’s grace from

His side; His love is shed abroad in your heart. God wants

your heart, because if. He secures your heart He has the

whole man. It may take a little time; your will needs to be

subdued; but this epistle goes right through till the whole man

is secured for God, his heart and his mind and finally his body.

Your body is wanted, dear friend. You young people, just

remember that, God wants you; He wants you in His testimony

here, and there is not much time left. If we just let the force of

these scriptures into our souls it will greatly strengthen us

against the tide of apostasy that is abroad in the world. It is the

best that God could give, His own Holy Spirit given to us; there

are no reserves; God is not holding back anything.

Now the test is, What about you? Could you hold back; could

you have reserves in your heart, or in your ways, or as to your

possessions, when God has given His best? He has given His

own blessed Son for us, and now “The love of God is shed

abroad in our hearts” because the Holy Spirit has been given.