My text this evening will be found in John chapter 21. John chapter 21.

A long, long, long time ago, there was a very popular British preacher by the name of Robert Hall. He was traveling one evening to a preaching engagement in a large city where a large group of people were assembled to hear him preach the gospel, but along the way he was having terrible struggles in his own soul, battling with his hardness of heart, his carnality, his indifference to the very things that he was going to preach to others.

And he was stopped in his journey because of a terrible rainstorm. He couldn't proceed any further. And he stopped by a home, he was near a home of a man he knew out in the country, a farmer. And they spent the evening together, chatted, had dinner, and then they went to bed.

Late in the evening, the farmer heard something downstairs and he got up and he saw Robert Hall standing just staring out the window of his house. And he could sense something was wrong and he asked him, And he said, my brother, what is troubling you? And this preacher said to him, what is the evidence? Really, what's the evidence? That a man has a saving interest in Christ. That's what's troubling me.

And the farmer answered after a brief pause. I suppose if a man loves Christ, he has a saving interest in Christ. And the preacher immediately gained comfort and courage and he said, bless God, that's it. That's it. And I do love him because he first loved me.

Now in our text this evening, you're familiar with the passage. Peter has denied the Lord three times. Though the Lord declared that all his disciples would forsake him, Peter said, they might, but not me. Though all men forsake you, I'll not forsake you. I'm prepared to die with you. And he was. Eventually, he did die with him.

And the Lord said to Peter, Satan has desired to have you, that he may shift you as wheat. And I'm going to let him. I would have let him run you through his sin. But I prayed for you that your faith fail not." And then Peter, during the time of our Lord's trial, denied him. He denied him again. And the third time he took up an oath and cussed and said, I don't know that man. Virtually, in fear and terror, Fear for what the consequences might be. Fear for the circumstances.

The Apostle Peter, that great spokesman of God's church and kingdom, that great disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ, cussed and denied that Jesus Christ is God. He said, I don't know the man. I don't know the man. What a horrible, horrible thought. And immediately, as our Lord had told him, a rooster crowed, and the Lord turned and looked on Peter, and Peter's heart was smitten. He went out and wept bitterly. He was convinced of his guilt.

Here in John 21, we've come now to sometime after the Lord's resurrection, and the disciples were come together at Sea of Tiberias. And when they came together, Peter said to the others, fellas, I'm going fishing. I'm going fishing. And he didn't mean by that I'm going to go over here and have a little weekend excursion. He said, fellas, it's all over. I'm going back to where I was three years ago when I first left my nets. I'm going back to fishing.

And they said, hang on, we'll go with you. And so they're out fishing and they toiled all night and caught nothing. And then the next morning, Early in the morning, the Lord Jesus spoke to them from the shore and said, children, have you caught anything? They didn't know it was him. And they said nothing. He said, cast your nets on the right side of the ship. And they took up great fish, 153 of them. And this disciple whom the Lord Jesus is described here as loving, John the Beloved, he said, it's the Lord. It's the Lord. And they made haste and came to the came to the Lord on the shore, but Peter seems to linger.

And Peter recognizes what he's done. And Peter understands his guilt. He understands his sin. And rather than immediately going up to be with the Lord Jesus and the other disciples, Peter lingers to pull the net in with the fishes. As if to say, this is all I've got left, I may as well hang on to it. And he pulls in the net of 153 fish. all alone, and the net was not broken.

And the Lord Jesus speaks to Peter, beginning in verse 50. They've already had their breakfast, they had already dined, and Jesus saith unto Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? Now, I don't really know exactly what those words more than these refer to. I have an idea. Perhaps our Lord is saying, Peter, do you love me more than these things, these things that have so attracted your attention?

And though our Lord would do nothing to raise a spirit of competition in the love of his people with one another and their love for him, I suspect that our Lord is raising this question to remind Peter of what he'd said. Peter made the horrible presumption that when others would deny him, he wouldn't. When others would forsake the master, he wouldn't. And in his pride and arrogant sinfulness, Peter said, though they forsake you, I'll die with you. And so the Lord looks at Peter and James and John, and he says, now, Peter, do you love me? more than these.

And Peter doesn't answer the latter part of the question, but simply says, He saith unto him, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, feed my lambs. He saith unto him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things. What a word of faith from a sinful man. Lord, you know who I am. You know what I've done. You know how I've behaved. You know why. You know everything. Nothing's hidden from you. Matthew, Mark, and Luke may not know, but you know. Others may not perceive anything, but you know. You know that I love thee.

Our Lord asked Peter the question three times, Lovest thou me? The occasion is remarkable. It seems to me that our Lord's intention here is not in the least to scold or upbraid Peter. I don't see a tinge of that there, do you? I don't see one word of abrading. I don't see one word of scolding. But rather his intention was to comfort and assure his fallen disciple. He is calling for Peter now to publicly acknowledge in the teeth of his personal character, in the teeth of his personal sin, he's calling for Peter to publicly acknowledge his love for him.

Secondly, he is assuring Peter that though he has fallen, his love toward his erring disciple is not in the least broken or diminished. If we could get a hold of that, that'd be enough saying. Though Peter cussed and swore he didn't know the man whom he had earlier confessed to be Jesus Christ, the son of the living God. The Lord Jesus speaks to him, so as to assure him, Peter, my love for you, my acceptance of you, my attitude toward you, my embracing of you, my hold upon you has not in any way been altered. by your sin. And thirdly, he wants Peter to be assured of his love for the Savior. His purpose here is not to make Peter doubt his love for him, but rather it is to make Peter have assurance that indeed he loves his Redeemer.

And my purpose this evening is to assure you who are the Lords of His love for you. And my purpose this evening is to assure you who are the Lords of your love for Him by talking to you about this test, this test of real Christianity.

You see, now Peter is given a publicly announced commission from the Lord Jesus so that now The Lord says, feed my sheep, feed my sheep, feed my lambs. Everyone understands that the Lord's hand is upon Peter in spite of what he had done.

Now, there are many, many questions which the Lord might have asked Peter. He might have said to him, do you believe on me? And Peter would have frankly probably had to say, Lord, I don't know. I just don't know. He might have asked Peter, Peter, have you truly repented? And being honest, Peter would have had to say, Lord, I just don't know. I just don't know. He might have said to him, now, Peter, are you ready to confess me before men? And again, Peter would have had to say, Lord, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know what I'll do if I'm faced with the same thing again. I don't know what I'll do if I'm in the same circumstances again. He might have said, Peter, are you now ready to obey me and follow me? And Peter would have had to answer, Lord, I don't know.

But instead of asking those questions, the Lord Jesus gently probes Peter's heart with this question, lovest thou me? You see, our Lord would have us to know that which is the true test of Christianity. The question is very simple, but it's a searching and revealing question. If a man or a woman truly loves Christ, all is well. He is a true-born child of God. She is indeed an heir of heaven. But if you do not love Christ, all is wrong, no matter what else you have.

Now, do not misunderstand me. I am not suggesting for a moment that love for Christ is the means of our salvation, not in the least. I am not suggesting for a moment that love for Christ is the cause of our salvation, but I am saying that love for Christ is the sure, inevitable result of God's saving grace. Our salvation is accomplished by the grace of God alone. We are saved because of God's electing grace. We are saved because Jesus Christ redeemed us with his precious blood, put away our sins, satisfied the justice of God for us, and has secured for us an entrance into glory. We are saved by the regenerating grace and power of God the Holy Spirit who gives us life and faith in Christ. And we have received all the benefits of grace and salvation, all the benefits of Christ's atonement, all the benefits of God's covenant only by faith. So that as you believe on Christ, everything God Almighty has to give to sinners is freely bestowed upon you and indeed has been bestowed upon you from eternity.

We are saved by grace. Where there is grace in the heart, where there is faith toward God, there is true love for Jesus Christ the Lord.

Now here's a question. I want you to hear it. Lovest thou me? This is not at all a matter of fanaticism. It's not a matter of emotionalism, enthusiasm. none of those things. This question deserves my careful attention and yours. Our Lord Jesus Christ asked this question as he asked it of Peter and caused it by his spirit to be recorded here in his word for our learning and our admonition. He asked it of Don Fortner, Bobby Estes, Lindsay Campbell. Love us to have faith. The question sent Oh, how profound. Do you love the Lord Jesus Christ? Do I? Let me make three statements, and I trust that God the Holy Spirit will speak through his word and through his service.

I know this. Number one, every true believer genuinely loves Christ. The true Christian is a man or a woman whose religion is a matter of heart and of life. He feels his sinfulness, his guilt, and his corruption, and he repents. He sees that Jesus Christ is the divine Savior whom he needs, and he trusts He recognizes that Christ is his Lord, his rightful master, and he submits to him willingly as his Lord and master. What is a true believer? He's a man or a woman, a person who knows Christ, trusts Christ, submits to Christ, obeys Christ, and follows Christ. All of those things are true. But he's something more than all that. A true believer is a person who genuinely loves Jesus Christ the Lord.

Now let's look in the scripture and see if that's so. Turn to John chapter 8. The Jews, these Pharisees in our Lord's day, loudly boasted, we're the children of God, we have God to our father. And in John chapter 8 in verse 42, Jesus said unto them, if God were your father, you would love me. That means if God's your Father, you love Him. If God's your Father, you love this man who is God our Savior. If God is your Father, you love Jesus Christ, our Master and our Redeemer. The Lord Jesus makes it plain here that there is no true faith where there is no love for Him. If it does not produce love for Christ, the faith you have is a fake. It's a phony. It's a spurious faith. It's the faith of devils. He lays it down as a matter of fact, that no man is a child of God who does not love God's only begotten son. No man has a right to call God his father who does not love Christ. If there's no love for Christ, there's no acceptance with God.

Again, look in 1 Corinthians 16. 1 Corinthians chapter 16. The Apostle Paul is concluding his epistle to the Corinthians, and he insists that anyone who does not love Christ is presently under the sentence of eternal damnation. Look at verse 22. If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, Let him be anathema maranatha. That is to say, let him be damned, the Lord's coming. If any man loved not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be damned, the Lord is coming. Paul allows no way to escape to that man who does not truly love Christ. He leaves no loophole, no excuse. You may lack a clear knowledge of Bible doctrine and yet be saved. I may lack real courage and be overcome by fear of man on occasion or often, like Peter was, and yet be a child of God. A person may fall into grievous sin, like David, and yet be an heir of eternal life. But if a person does not love Christ, he's not in the way of life. He is yet in the gall of bitterness. and in the bond of iniquity.

Now turn to Galatians 5 for a moment. I'm trying to show you from the scriptures, not in any philosophical manner, just from the word of God, that if a person is born of God, a person has faith in Christ, he loves Christ. In Galatians chapter 5 and verse 6, the apostle says, in Jesus Christ, Neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision.

That is, it'll do you no good to say I'm a Jew and I've been circumcised like Abraham's sons, or to say I'm a Gentile and I've never been circumcised. It'll do you no good to boast of your baptism or your lack of baptism, your church attendance or your lack of church attendance. Those outward things Whether you're talking about that which is considered spiritual or that which is considered carnal. Outward things are totally irrelevant insofar as this issue is concerned.

Circumcision will avail you nothing. Uncircumcision will avail you nothing. But this will. Faith which worketh by law. Faith is not an idle speculation. Faith is not a confession from your lips. Faith is not an experience you cling to. Faith is that confidence in Christ that causes you to work to serve Him and causes you to do so from a heart that loves Him.

Saving faith in Christ is always accompanied by true heart love for Christ. This is the one distinguishing mark of God's elect. They all love the Lord Jesus. The person who is really forgiven by Christ truly loves him. You remember the incident in Simon the Pharisee's house. A woman who was a sinner who had been forgiven of her sin. She came in with an alabaster box of ointment, and she broke it and washed the Savior's feet, wiped them with her hair, and knelt down and kissed his feet. And this pompous Pharisee, he said that this man was really a prophet. He didn't know what kind of woman that was. And so the Lord gave him a parable. And at the end of the parable, this is what he said.

those to whom much is forgiven, the same love much.

And those who have experienced, I mean really experienced, the forgiveness of sin, those who have known themselves and know themselves to be justly condemned, vile, worthless sinners before God Almighty and freely, freely forgiven of all sin. They loved the Master. That's what he said. You can read it for yourself in Luke 7, 47.

You see, love for Christ is the motive and the mainstream of all Christian service. You folks here know well. I just don't prod and push. I don't prime and talk. I'm concerned for your soul, but I'm not going to try to get you to act like you're saved when you're not. And I'm not going to try to get you to act religious when you have no interest in religion. I recognize you have difficulties and sometimes need a little encouragement along the way, and I'll offer it. But if men and women get in the habit of absenting themselves from the house of God, I'm not going to badger them. And you're not going to do it. Because coming back to the house of God is not going to do you any good. What you've got to do is come to know the Savior. You've got to know Him.

Those who know Christ, worship and serve Him, motivated by love for Him. As Ron read, they say, oh, how amiable are thy tabernacles, oh God. Just one day in your house worth a thousand. I'd rather be a doorkeeper in your house than have anything on this earth just to be accepted.

Examine the characters of those men who have been mightily used of God through history and in the Word of God. You will find that they were men not only who held a creed that was sound, but they were men in love with a person, in love with the Son of God. Love for Christ is the common meeting point of all believers. All who love the Lord Jesus in sincerity are my brethren. God give me grace to treat them as such. We may have differences, and we do. My good friend Brother Ian and I have talked a good bit over the years about differences. Don't spend much time talking about them, but we're aware of them. We have differences with many, many men. But those who know the Son of God and love Him, those are my brethren. They're my brethren. And they are to be embraced and treated as our brethren.

At this, the most essential point, all true believers are in perfect agreement. And love for Christ That's the distinguishing feature by which God's saints in heaven are known. In that blessed glory land, everybody is in love with the same person. I recall my good friend, Brother Darrell McClung, who's now with the Lord. He used to say concerning Shelby and I, we get along so good, he said, because we both love the same person. And years ago, before he knew me so well, he was talking about the Savior. Later on, he said they both love him, not talking about me. But I tell you what, if you love the same person, two people love the same person, I mean really, love the same person, oh, they'll get along. All the saints in heaven are perfectly united, for they're perfectly united to Christ. They love Him.

Not only does every believer love the Lord Jesus Christ, But the true believer loves Christ. Now listen to me, and listen carefully. The true believer loves Christ as he is revealed in Scripture. That's the secret. It is not a matter of loving some imaginary Christ. It's not a matter of loving your idea of Christ. The believer knows Christ by the revelation of Scripture, by the Holy Spirit giving him eyes to see Christ in the book of God, and he loves Christ as he is revealed in the book of God. That simply means we love Jesus Christ as God our Savior in human flesh. We love Jesus Christ in all his glorious sovereignty, who has dominion over all things, who does what he will with whom he will at all times, who has mercy on whom he will. We love Jesus Christ as our effectual redeemer, that one who by his blood has actually obtained eternal redemption for us. We love Christ as the exalted king of glory. over whom, or who sits in dominion over all things, both the living and the dead, both heaven, earth, and hell, so that he does his will everywhere at all times.

Now, secondly, I want you to see that love for Christ is the most reasonable, most reasonable thing in the world. Love for Christ is the most reasonable thing in the world. Turn to 1 John chapter 4 and verse 19. 1 John chapter 4. We love him. Now that's a matter of fact. If we're his, we love him. We don't love him like we ought to. We don't love him like we want to. We don't love him like we're going to. But we love him. And here's the reason. Because. And you need to underscore that word because. We love him because he first loved us. His love precedes our love for him. His love for us infinitely exceeds our love for him. And his love for us is the cause of our love for him.

The believer loves Christ because of all that I know about him. Now God let me speak the truth or let me not speak. All that I know about him I love. All that I know about him as God All that I know about him as man, all that I know about him as the surety of the covenant, all that I know about him as the Lord of Providence, all that I know about him and all the revelation of his being, oh, I love him. You've heard me quote many times a poem written by John Newton.

Newton wrote, amazing grace, how sweet to sound, that saved a wretch like me, he wrote, In evil long I took delight in all by shame or fear. So many good, good hymns. And then he wrote this. Tis a point I long to know. Oft it causes anxious thought. Do I love the Lord or no? Am I his or am I not?

And I'll be honest with you. After many years looking at that, considering that, I got a problem with that. Just imagine me going to bed tonight, snuggling up to that blonde-headed lady there, laying down, saying, "'Tis the point I long to know, do I long shall be I know." I suspect I'd have trouble. I suspect I'd have some trouble.

Love is not something you have to guess about. Love is not something you have to guess about. If you know what love is, you know when you love somebody. Now, I don't sing about it, and I don't object to you singing. Please understand that. I have difficulty singing this hymn because my love for Christ is not worth singing about. But this is a far better hymn. My Jesus, I love thee. I know thou art mine.

Peter said, Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you. Well, what about my sin? What about my weakness? What about my inconsistencies? What about all these things that are contrary to love? Lord, you know.

Ron, his family. I don't ask for an answer one way or the other. I just use them for an illustration. I suspect that over the years, many times, Jennifer or Amanda may have said things sharply to one another, to their parents. They're so painful, so horribly painful. that in the immediate aftermath, you say, how on earth could I love my sister, love my mom, love my dad, and say something like that? How on earth can I do this if I love them? And yet, in the overall experience of life, you know in the depths of your soul, you love each other. Understand what I'm saying? These things, horrible as they are, are not the character of love, they're the character of sin and self-love.

And in Christ, we who are born of God's Spirit, have the blessed assurance that he has put away our sin. And our acceptance with God, and our being loved of God, does not depend upon or is not in any way affected by that sin for which the Son of God died. And Peter says, Lord, I love you. I love you. Inconsistent as my love is, I love you.

We love Christ not only because of who he is, but because of all that he's done. Look in 1 John 4 again. Verse 8. He that loveth not knoweth not God. Now, when we talk about loving each other, we're not talking about tolerating each other. There's a difference. We're talking about loving each other. And if you don't love each other, you don't know God. I started to say, I'm sorry, but I'm not sorry. That's the way it is. If you don't love each other, you don't know God. He that loveth not knoweth not God, because God is love.

In this was manifested the love of God toward us. Now, here's how you see it. Because that God sent his only begotten son into the world, that we might live through him. Want to know what love is? Herein is love. Not that we loved God. We couldn't if we wouldn't. But that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. The Lord Jesus Christ so loved us that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might be made rich. He so loved us that he who is God assumed human nature and came down here and dwelt among us as a man so that he took into himself an indescribable permanent union with human flesh. And our Lord Jesus so loved us that he obeyed God in all things. He obeyed the will of God, the law of God in all the details of his life as a man because we couldn't. and He obeyed Him for us to bring in everlasting righteousness.

He so loved us that He who knew no sin voluntarily, willingly assumed an infinite, indescribable union of our sin unto Himself. so that he was made to be sin for us. And for this reason, that we, the people he so loved, might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Years ago, there was an Indian who had been converted among the charities out in Oklahoma. and he was trying to witness to his tribesmen. They asked him why he so loved the Savior. They were astonished at his enthusiasm and his zeal. They were sitting around the fire talking, and this Indian, he made a circle, leaves and brush, and lit the fire. This circle's on fire. He took a worm and dropped it right in the middle. That worm ran this way and ran that way and ran this way. And finally, it just curled up and prepared to die right in the middle of the flames. And the Indian reached and picked it up, set it out here on the cool, damp ground, and the worm crawled off to safety. And he said, that's what my Savior did for me. That's why I love him. The only difference is he endured the fires of hell in his soul for me and set me free.

We love Christ because of all that he has done, because of all that he's doing. He rules the world in providence. We get a little bent out of shape reading the newspapers. Wonder what else is going to happen. As I get talking about it, I get a little excited, so I try not to talk about it much. What's next election going to be? What's coming down the road? I don't know. And there is a sense in which I don't care. That is, I'm not being careful about it. I'm not fretting about it. I'm not worried about it. Because I know whatever is coming down the road, my Savior's bringing it and bringing it for me. He sits on the throne of universal monarchy and he makes no mistakes. He intercedes as our advocate in heaven so that God will not impute sin to his redeemed. He provides for us everything we need spiritually and physically and eternally. He delivers us out of all our troubles and all our temptations. And our Lord Jesus, in his love and grace for us, is unchanging and immutable.

Well, how can I know whether or not I love the Son of God? Let me show you in the last place that this love for Christ is manifest by many specific features. This is a matter of great importance. We must not be presumptuous. If there is no salvation without love for Christ, it's vital for me to know whether or not I love him. But at this point, it's not hard to settle. Love for Christ may be known just like love for anyone else is known. It's not ambiguous. It's one of those things the person knows. You ladies, your daughter will ask you, Mom, how do I know when I have met the right man? How do you really know when you love somebody You say, honey, you'll know, you'll know. Well, I'll tell you how you know. To love a person is to have a settled attachment to that person. Not passive, not in fits, not ups and downs, a settled attachment to that person. Love is an abiding affection. It's felt in the heart and it's firmly settled. I think probably the best synonym for love, might surprise some of you, but the best synonym for love that I've ever found is commitment. Commitment. I'll take a moment to speak plainly to you young ladies and you young men as well.

is animal lust, it's not love. And a person committed to you, a person who loves you, will honor you. They're committed to you, committed to you. And where there's no commitment, there's no love.

If we love someone, we like to think about him. Drive down the road and get to thinking about folks. Think about people you love. Think about what they're doing. Think about what they're experiencing. I saw on the news that a hurricane coming toward the North Carolina coast, and I just immediately began to think about Gary and God's saints down there, right in the path of that thing. I drive down the road. I think about my wife, my daughter. I think about you. I think about the redeemed.

If you love someone, you like to hear about it. If you're anxious to get news about it, or news from it, you like to read about it. You like to please it. You like to be with it. Just enjoy his company.

If you love somebody, if you love If you love someone, you like his prayers. You're jealous for his name, jealous for his honor, jealous that he be lifted up, that his name be honored among men.

If you love someone, you like to talk to him, and you like to talk about him. I recall when Shelby and I were dating, The year we were engaged, we were separated almost all year by a thousand miles and didn't have any money. But, you know, we would just head over heels in love with each other. I mean, just head over heels in love with each other. Kind of like we are now. And we like to talk to each other. I wrote her every day. Did I miss a day? Don't think so. Wrote her every day. Neither did she. Wrote me every day. Every night. Scratch together 75 cents and call on the phone. Talk for three minutes every night for a year.

Today, separate it. No matter where I am, she's not with me. You can bank on it. I'm talking to her sometime during the day. We love each other. Love each other. Love to talk to each other.

I got a picture hanging back there in my office. Sat on my desk right in front of me for a year. Looked at it all the time. I don't look at it much now. Don't have to. I've got her around, you know. But the picture was a representation of somebody I loved. And that picture was precious to me. Just as this ordinance is a representation of him whom we love, makes it precious to us.

If you love someone, now listen to me. If you love someone, you will do most anything. Sacrifice, most anything and patiently endure most anything for the person you love. If we love a person, if we love them, we're never ashamed of them. Never ashamed on our love for them. Never ashamed to identify ourselves with them.

Now here's a question then. It's a question for your heart and mine. Lovest thou me? Settle the matter today. Do you or do you not love the Lord Jesus Christ? If you don't love him, I mean love him. I know the reason why. you've never experienced His grace. And I urge you, children of God, to keep your hearts in the love of Christ. Do whatever it takes while you live in this world to keep your hearts in the love of Christ.

So, well, Pastor, I believe that God's given us love for Christ. He'll keep it. He will. But it's your responsibility to. You men, Bob and Santa sitting there, I guess y'all been married about as long as any of us. You work at keeping your hearts in love with each other. If you didn't, you'd soon get cold and just tolerate each other. You keep your heart in love with Christ. And anything that interferes with it, anybody who interferes with it, kiss them goodbye. Keep your heart in love with Christ.

I went back there a minute ago and looked up this hymn by Philip Doddridge. I think it expresses what I want to say. If I can see this print.

Do not I love thee, O my Lord, behold my heart and see,
and turn each odious idol out that dares to rival Thee.
Do not I love Thee from my soul? Then let me nothing love.
Dead be my heart to every joy when Jesus cannot move.

Is not thy name melodious still to mine attentive ear?
Doth not each pulse with pleasure bound my Savior's voice to hear?
Hast thou a lamb in all thy flock I would disdain to feed?
Hast thou a foe before whose face I fear thy calls to plead?

Would not my ardent spirit vie with angels round the throne
to execute thy sacred will and make thy glory known?
Would not my heart pour forth its blood in honor of thy name
and challenge the cold hand of death to damp the immortal flame?

Thou knowest I love thee, dearest Lord. But oh, I long to soar far from the sphere of mortal joys and learn to love thee more.