Not by temporal bondage and temporal suffering, because these would lead men to desire a temporal deliverance. The only possible way by which man could be made to hope for and appreciate spiritual mercies, and to love a spiritual deliverer, would be to produce a conviction in the soul itself of its evil condition, its danger as a spiritual being, and its inability, unaided, to satisfy the requirements of a spiritual law, or to escape its just and spiritual penalty. If man could be made to perceive that he was guilty and needy, that his soul was under the condemnation of the holy law of a holy God, he would then necessarily feel the need of a deliverance from sin and its consequences; and in this way only could the soul of man be led to appreciate spiritual mercies or love a spiritual benefactor. Mark another fact, in connection with the foregoing, which is to be especially noticed, and which will be developed fully in subsequent pages--The greater the kindness and self-denial of a benefactor manifested in our behalf, the warmer and the stronger will be the affection which his goodness will produce in the human heart. Here, then, are two facts growing out of the constitution of human nature--First, the soul must feel its evil and lost state, as the pre-requisite condition upon which alone it can love a deliverer; Secondly, the degree of kindness and self-denial in a benefactor, temporal or spiritual, graduates the degree of affection and gratitude that will be awakened for him. Now, in view of these necessary conditions, mark the means which God has used, and the manifestations which he has made of himself, in order to secure the supreme love of the human soul. In the first place, _The soul is brought to see and feel its evil and lost condition, and its need of deliverance_.