Canst thou not love? look till thou canst; look up to thy God, send up thy thoughts thither; let thy meditations be of him; these will not be long before the throne ere they fetch up thy heart.  Look on thy Jesus, behold his hands and his feet, come and put thy finger into the print of the nails, and thrust thy heart into his side, and there let it lie till thou feel it warm.  Look up to thy Jesus; lift up a prayer:  "Lord, let me love thee:  if thou lovest, let me love thee:  I will seek, till I can see; let me see, till I can love.  What have I here, Lord?  My all is with thee, my help, my hope, my treasure, my life is hid with Christ in God.  And yet behold, this all is nothing to me, while my heart is no more with thee; take it, Lord, take it up; where my treasure is, there let my heart be also."
     Doubting Christian, who, because thou lovest so little, fearest thou lovest not at all, cry for more, but be thankful for what thou hast; be ashamed thou lovest no more, but be not dismayed.  Thou cornplainest thou canst not love God; but dost thou love his image, his saints, his word, his works, his ways?  While thou sayest thou lovest not God, dost thou love godliness?  If thou canst not love, canst thou grieve, canst thou lament after him?  Hast thou chosen, dost thou hang upon, and trust in the Lord?  If thou canst not love, canst thou fear and follow the Lord?  If he be not sensibly in thy affection, is he in thy thoughts, in thy mouth, in thine eye?  Is he thine aim and thy scope?  Does thy course bend towards him?  If so, comfort thy heart in these things; thou mayest see, though thou canst not feel, that thou lovest.
                                                                                                                                 Rev. Richard Alleine