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1、The Spirit of LovePart the FirstIn a Letter to a Friendby William Law, A.M.My Dear Friend,Love-1-1 You had no occasion to make any apology for the manner ofyour letter to me, for though you very well know that I have as utter anaversion to waste my time and thoughts in matters of theological debatea
2、s in any contentions merely of a worldly nature, as knowing that theformer are generally as much, if not more, hurtful to the heart of manthan the latter; yet as your objections rather tend to stir up thepowers of love than the wrangle of a rational debate, so I consider themonly as motives and occa
3、sions of edifying both you and myself with thetruth, the power and divine blessedness of the spirit of love.Love-1-2 You say there is nothing in all my writings that has moreaffected you than that spirit of love that breathes in them, and thatyou wish for nothing so much as to have a living sensibil
4、ity of thepower, life, and religion of love. But you have these two objectionsoften rising in your mind: First, that this doctrine of pure anduniversal love may be too refined and imaginary, because you find thathowever you like it, yet you cannot attain to it, or overcome all thatin your nature whi
5、ch is contrary to it, do what you can; and so are onlyable to be an admirer of that love which you cannot lay hold of.Secondly, because you find so much said in scripture of a righteousnessand justice, a wrath and vengeance of God that must be atoned andsatisfied, etc., that though you are in love w
6、ith that description ofthe Deity which I have given, as a being that is all love, yet you havesome doubt whether the scripture will allow of it.Love-1-3 Thus stand your objections, which will fall into nothing assoon as you look at them from a right point of view, which will then be,as soon as you h
7、ave found the true ground of the nature, power, andnecessity of the blessed spirit of love.Love-1-4 Now the spirit of love has this original. God, as consideredin himself in his holy being, before anything is brought forth by him orout of him, is only an eternal will to all goodness. This is the one
8、eternal immutable God, that from eternity to eternity changeth not, thatcan be neither more nor less nor anything else but an eternal will toall the goodness that is in himself, and can come from him. Thecreation of ever so many worlds or systems of creatures adds nothing to,nor takes anything from
9、this immutable God. He always was and alwayswill be the same immutable will to all goodness. So that as certainlyas he is the creator, so certainly is he the blesser of every createdthing, and can give nothing but blessing, goodness, and happiness fromhimself because he has in himself nothing else t
10、o give. It is much morepossible for the sun to give forth darkness than for God to do, or be,or give forth anything but blessing and goodness. Now this is theground and original of the spirit of love in the creature; it is andmust be a will to all goodness, and you have not the spirit of love tillyo
11、u have this will to all goodness at all times and on all occasions.You may indeed do many works of love and delight in them, especially atsuch times as they are not inconvenient to you, or contradictory to yourstate or temper or occurrences in life. But the spirit of love is notin you till it is the
12、 spirit of your life, till you live freely,willingly, and universally according to it. For every spirit acts withfreedom and universality according to what it is. It needs no commandto live its own life, or be what it is, no more than you need bid wrathbe wrathful. And therefore when love is the spi
13、rit of your life, itwill have the freedom and universality of a spirit; it will always liveand work in love, not because of this or that, here or there, butbecause the spirit of love can only love, wherever it is or goes orwhatever is done to it. As the sparks know no motion but that of flyingupward
14、s, whether it be in the darkness of night or in the light of day,so the spirit of love is always in the same course; it knows nodifference of time, place, or persons, but whether it gives or forgives,bears or forbears, it is equally doing its own delightful work, equallyblessed from itself. For the
15、spirit of love, wherever it is, is its ownblessing and happiness because it is the truth and reality of God in thesoul, and therefore is in the same joy of life and is the same good toitself, everywhere and on every occasion.Love-1-5 Oh sir! Would you know the blessing of all blessings? It isthis Go
16、d of love dwelling in your soul and killing every root ofbitterness which is the pain and torment of every earthly, selfish love.For all wants are satisfied, all disorders of nature are removed, nolife is any longer a burden, every day is a day of peace, everything youmeet becomes a help to you because ev
