t. It is the great magnet of His love which alone can draw any
heart to Him; but when our own are thoroughly yielded to its mighty
influence, they will be so magnetized that He will condescend to use them
in this way.

Is it not wonderful to think that the Lord Jesus will not only accept and
keep, but actually _use_ our love?

'Of Thine own have we given Thee,' for 'we love Him because He first
loved us.'

Set apart to love Him,
And His love to know;
Not to waste affection
On a passing show;
Called to give Him life and heart,
Called to pour the hidden treasure,
That none other claims to measure,
Into His beloved hand! thrice blessed 'set apart'!

Chapter XII.
Our Selves kept for Jesus.

_'Keep my self, that I may be_
_Ever, only, all for Thee.'_

'For Thee!' That is the beginning and the end of the whole matter of
consecration.

There was a prelude to its 'endless song,'--a prelude whose theme is
woven into every following harmony in the new anthem of consecrated life:
'The Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself _for me_.' Out of the
realized 'for me,' grows the practical 'for Thee!' If the former is a
living root, the latter will be its living fruit.

'For _Thee!_' This makes the difference between forced or formal, and
therefore unreasonable service, and the 'reasonable service' which is the
beginning of the perfect service where they see His face. This makes the
difference between slave work and free work. For Thee, my Redeemer; for
Thee who hast spoken to my heart; for Thee, who hast done for me--_what?_
Let us each pause, and fill up that blank with the great things the Lord
hath done for us. For Thee, who art to me--_what?_ Fill that up too,
before Him! For Thee, my Saviour Jesus, my Lord and my God!

And what is to be for Him? My self. We talk sometimes as if, whatever
else could be subdued unto Him, self could never be. Did St. Paul forget
to mention this important exception to the 'all things' in Phil. iii. 21?
David said: 'Bless the Lord, O my soul, _and all that is within me_,
bless His Holy Name.' Did he, too, unaccountably forget to mention that
he only meant all that was within him, _except_ self? If not, then self
must be among the 'all things' which the Lord Jesus Christ is able to
subdue unto Himself, and which are to 'bless Hi