Spirit of God, descend upon my heart;
    Wean it from earth, through all its pulses move;
    Stoop to my weakness, mighty as Thou art,
    And make me love Thee as I ought to love.

    I ask no dream, no prophet ecstasies,
    No sudden rending of the veil of clay,
    No angel visitant, no opening skies;
    But take the dimness of my soul away.

    Hast Thou not bid us love Thee, God and King?
    All, all Thine own, soul, heart, and strength, and mind;
    I see Thy cross-there teach my heart to cling:
    Oh, let me seek Thee, and oh, let me find.

    Teach me to feel that Thou art always nigh;
    Teach me the struggles of the soul to bear,
    To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh;
    Teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.

    Teach me to love Thee as Thine angels love,-
    One holy passion filling all my frame;
    The kindling of the Heaven-descended Dove,
    My heart an altar, and Thy love the flame.
                                                                   G. Croly


And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.  Deut 6:5

     "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might."  Here lies the secret of all true practical religion.  Without this all is valueless to God.....
.....Assuredly, He loved us in deed and in truth; and He cannot be satisfied with anything else, whether in our ways with Him or our ways one with another.  All must flow straight from the heart.  "And these words which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart" — at the very source of all the issues of life.  This is peculiarly precious.  Whatever is in the heart comes out through the lips, and in the life.  How important then, to have the heart full of the word of God, so full that we shall have no room for the vanities and follies of this present evil world.  Thus shall our conversation be always with grace, seasoned with salt.....
     In every part of the divine volume, we see how much importance God attaches to the attitude and state of the heart, with respect to Him or to His word, which is one and the same thing.  When the heart is true to Him, all is sure to come right; but, on the other hand, we shall find that, where the heart grows cold and careless as to God and His truth, there will, sooner or later, be open departure from the path of truth and righteousness.....
     How needful, then, now, always!  This "purpose of heart" is most precious to God.....The outward life may be very correct, and the creed may be very orthodox; but if the earnest purpose of heart be lacking — the affectionate cleaving of the whole moral being to God and His Christ, all is utterly worthless.                    
                                                                                                                                 C. H. Mackintosh