
OW University of Cblcago 



E S SAY 



ON 



THE HABITUAL EXERCISE 

s 

OF 

LOYE TO GOD, 

CONSIDERED 

AS A PREPARATION- FOR HEAVEN 

'" \ 

BY 

JOSEPH JOHN G.URNEY. 



WE LOVE HIM BECAUSE HE FIKST LOVED US." 1 John iv. 19. 



Revised under the Sanction of the Author. 



PUBLISHED BY THE 

AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 

ISO NASSAU-STREET, NEW-YORK. 




I X 





1395610 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

SECTION 1. General Remarks on Meetness for the 

Heavenly State 5 

SECTION 2. On the Contemplation of God, in Na- 
ture and Providence 22 

SECTION 3. On the Contemplation of God, in Re- 
demption. The Father 45 

SECTION 4. On the Contemplation of God, in Re- 
demption. The Son. 65 

SECTION 5. On the Contemplation of God, in Re- 
demption. The Spirit 94 

SECTION 6. On Communion with God 116 

SECTION 7. On Submission to the Will of God.. 1 39 

SECTION 8. On Conformity with the Attributes 

of God 170 

SECTION 9. On Love towards Man 187 

Conclusion 233 



E S S A-Y. 



SECTION I. 

GENERAL REMARKS ON MEETNESS FOR THE 
HEAVENLY STATE. 

MUCH of the happiness which is here per- 
mitted to man, arises from the exercise of 
kindly feelings. When benevolence leads us 
to seek the welfare of others, and our hearts 
are enlarged in good-will and charity, our con- 
dition of mind is unquestionably one of plea- 
sure to ourselves. Again, when the objects 
of our purest and warmest affections are grant- 
ed to us when we enjoy their company and 
conversation, and when our kindness towards 
them is met by an equal return this is a 
source of unrivalled temporal joy. Nor can 
it be denied, that the purity and height of this 
joy are just in proportion to the moral excel- 
lence of the objects of our love. 



6 REMARKS ON MEETNESS 

These remarks may, perhaps, afford us some 
faint glimpse of the happiness of those purified 
spirits in whom love is forever fixed as a pre- 
dominant principle. The Being to whom 
their affections are supremely directed is infi- 
nitely lovely, showing forth the glorious per- 
fection of every moral beauty ; and he now 
rewards them with the fulness of his favour. 
While they are brought unspeakably near to 
him, and enjoy an unclouded view of his 
righteousness, they know that he is their 
eternal portion : they can say in truth, " This 
God is our God forever and ever." Well, 
therefore, might the sacred writers exclaim, 
" Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither 
have entered into the heart of man, the things 
which God hath prepared for them that LOVE 
HIM."* 

Heaven is the abode of perfect purity and 
peace. Nothing is there left to separate the 
soul of man from God, the fountain of his hap- 
piness ; the promise of pardon has already 
been realized by its inhabitants ; their sins are 
abolished ; Satan tempts and buffets them no 
longer ; the pure affections of the regenerate 

* 1 Cor. ii. 9 ; comp. Isa. Ixiv. 4. 



FOR THE HEAVENLY STATE. 7 

mind are triumphant in the saints ; and, under 
the unrestricted influences of the Holy Ghost, 
they are made partakers of the most exalted 
communion with the Father and with the Son. 
If such is the nature of the joys of heaven, 
it plainly follows that the wicked are abso- 
lutely destitute of a capacity to receive them 
the enemies of God cannot breathe that pure 
and delightful element ! To suppose that a 
rebel spirit, impregnated with bitterness, and 
long accustomed to worship self, in preference 
to the Creator and Redeemer, should find its 
happiness in the full sunshine of the Divine 
Presence, is to suppose, not only the subver- 
sion of retributive justice, but a moral, and 
even physical impossibility. Whatever may 
have been the intellectual creed or high pro- 
fession of such a person, his false confidence 
must forever fail him ; under the influence of 
awful terror, he must descend into regions of 
darkness. In heaven, assuredly, he can have 
no life, much less enjoyment ; for there all is 
light, and in that light all is love.* 

* " My chief conception of heaven," said Robert Hall 
to Wilberforce, "is rest" "Mine," replied Wilber- 
force, " is love love to God, and love to every bright 



8 REMARKS ON MEETNESS 

" Heaven," said an eloquent and expe- 
rienced preacher, " can be no place of happi- 
ness to the wicked. Do we not learn from 
Scripture, that the pleasures of the heavenly 
state consist in the immediate presence of a 
holy God and Saviour in purity in wor- 
ship, and perpetual service in an entire con- 
formity of the will to that of the Deity in 
union with him ? But every one of these 
things is here a cross, yea, a cross unbearable 
to the wicked, who flies from the presence of 
God, refuses to come to Christ, delights in 
impure indulgences, shuns both private prayer 
and public worship, and rebels against the di- 
vine law written in Scripture, and engraven on 
the heart. To such a soul, when disembodied, 
the joys and exercises of heaven would be im- 
possible ; or, if possible, intolerable even the 
extremest misery, especially after a long course 
of degradation, in which the habit of ungod- 
liness has been fully formed.'" 

and happy inhabitant of that glorious place." Hall was 
an almost constant sufferer from acute bodily pain ; 
Wilberforce enjoyed life, and was all amiability and sun- 
shine ; so that it is easy to account for their respective 
conceptions on this subject. What a mercy that both 
these conceptions are true ! 



FOR THE HEAVENLY STATE. 9 

" If the tree fall toward the south, or 
toward the north, in the place where the tree 
falleth, there it shall 6e."* That there is a 
solemn meaning couched under this simple 
metaphor, no Christian can doubt. It seems 
to describe the change so rapidly coming upon 
us all, of probation for eternal fixedness, when 
the awful sentence will be heard, " He that is 
unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which 
is filthy, let him be filthy still ; and he that is 
righteous, let him be righteous still ; and he 
that is holy, let him be holy still "^ But the 
tree will not only lie as it falls ; it will also 
fall as it leans ; and the great question which 
every man ought to bring home to his own 
bosom, without a moment's delay, is this 
What is the inclination of my soul ? Does it, 
with all its affections, lean towards God, or 
from him ? 

* Eccl. xi. 3. f Rev. xxii. 11. 

t It is observed by a powerful anonymous writer of 
the present day, that the mixture of good and evil be- 
longs only to this probationary state; and that every 
spirit separated from the body must, by a sort of natural 
consequence or physical necessity, fly off on the one side 
or the other, according as it is affected towards God and 



10 REMARKS ON MEETNES8 

That the bent of all men, in their unre- 
generate state, is in the wrong direction, Scrip- 
ture, experience, and history unite in bearing 
testimony. Man by nature is the child of 

holiness ; for, in the world to come, there is no further 
amalgamation between good and evil ; but an irresistible 
avulsion of the one from the other. " Of every human 
spirit it may be said, that it possesses or not that affec- 
tion to God which, when freed from the embarrassments 
that here surround us, will spring up toward its object 
will break away exultant from every defilement and 
connect the created to the uncreated Spirit, between 
which a real alliance had already taken place. Has then 
the soul, at the moment when its active powers are 
broken up, and when it is launched upon the severed 
elements of good and evil, been quickened toward the 
moral perfections of the Supreme Being 1 Has it yet 
entertained or not the rudiment of love, of loyalty, and 
of submission to the divine government ? Is it affiliated 
to God, or is it estranged and in rebellion 1 Does it ab- 
hor the contamination of its present state ? Has it sym- 
pathy with the worship that encircles the throne of the 
Most High 1 Or is it destitute both of the emotions and 
of the habits of grateful and joyous adoration 1 * * * * Is 
the soul alive to God or not 1 Do tue look to him for 
our pleasures ? The answers to these questions must 
discriminate spirit from spirit, when each, in its moral 
element only, enters the world where moral elements 
are parted." Saturday Evening, p. 390. 



FOR THE HEAVENLY STATE. 11 

wrath ; lie has inherited from his first parents, 
in the fall, a proneness to sin ; and his distin- 
guishing characteristic is the absence of that 
love to God which is absolutely indispensable 
to true virtue and happiness, both here and 
hereafter. Hence it follows, beyond all doubt 
or question, that we must be " born again" 
that we must undergo a radical and inward 
change before we can live to the glory of 
God in this world, or -be fitted for the enjoy- 
ment of his presence in the world to come. 
" Except a man be born again, he cannot see 

the kingdom of God Except a man 

be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot 
enter into the -kingdom of God."* 

When, therefore, we speak of a meetness 
for the heavenly state, the main object which 
we must always keep in view, is the " washing 
of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy 
Ghost." When the apostle thanks God, " who 
has made us meet to be partakers of the in- 
heritance of the saints in light," he describes, 
in the parallel words, the true ground of that 
meetness " Who hath delivered us from the, 
power of darkness, and hath translated us into 

* John iii. 3. 5. 



12 REMARKS ON MEETNESS 

the kingdom of his dear Son?"* The Spirit 
of God alone can so rectify the natural dispo- 
sitions of the depraved heart of man, and so 
create him anew in Christ Jesus, as to render 
him capable of a participation in the joys of 
eternal purity. 

If, then, we would attain to a capacity for 
those pleasures which are at the right-hand of 
our God forever, we must yield up our souls 
in ready obedience to the visitations of the 
Holy Spirit ; that his enlightening and enliven- 
ing influence may assimilate all within us to its 
own nature. Now this divine influence this 
free gift of God through our Lord Jesus Christ 
springs from love, and leads to it. By teach- 
ing and enabling us to love God with all our 
heart, and all our soul, it will prepare us for 
that kingdom of which love is the joy forever .t 

* Col. i. 12, 13. 

f " The kingdom of heaven," said our Saviour, " is 
like unto leaven which a woman took, and hid in three 
measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." Matt, 
xiii. 33. I conceive that this parable has a double 
meaning ; that it relates first to the spread of the gospel 
In tile world, and secondly, to the growth of grace in 
the heart. " As the property of leaven is to change or 
assimilate to its own nature, the meal or dough with 



FOR THE HEAVENLY STATE. 13 

In effecting this blessed change in the affec- 
tions of fallen man, the Holy Spirit makes use 
of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, as his 
grand, appointed instrument. That gospel, 
written in the Holy Scriptures, and preached 
by the Lord's messengers, is a spiritual weapon 
of heavenly mould ; and, when wielded by a 
divine hand, it penetrates the heart, and be- 
comes " the power of God unto salvation." 
Convinced of sin, humbled under a feeling of 
its malignity, and broken down into repentance, 
the sinner often passes through a long and pain- 
ful season of inward conflict ; but at length he 
finds rest for his soul in the Lord Jesus Christ. 
His sins are freely forgiven him for the sake 
of that Redeemer who bore the penalty of 
them on the cross ; " the handwriting of ordi- 
nances" which was against him is washed out 
in the blood of the everlasting covenant ; and 
now, as a reconciled and adopted child, he is 

which, it is mixed, so the property of the grace of Christ, 
is to change the whole soul into its own likeness ; and 
God intends that this principle should continue in the 
soul till all is leavened ; till- the whole bear the image 
of the heavenly, as it before bore the image of the 
earthly. See Dr. A. Clarice, Com. in loc. 



14 REMARKS ON MEETNESS 

brought into a dispensation of peace and love 
towards God our Father. Himself the ohject 
of divine compassion, he loves God in return ; 
and, under the impulse of gratitude for all his 
mercies, and especially for the unspeakable gift 
of such a Saviour, he devotes himself without 
reserve to the service of his Creator. 

Such is the genuine character of conversion 
" from darkness to light, and from the power 
of Satan unto God," through faith in our Lord 
Jesus Christ. And here it may be well for us 
to remember, to the " praise of the glory" of 
divine " grace," that such a change sometimes 
takes place at the eleventh hour of the day. 
Such cases as those of the thief on the cross, 
and of the Earl of Rochester, afford an illus- 
trious evidence, that the sovereign mercy of 
God contains in itself the grand preparative 
for immortal glory. They show that it is the 
means of inspiring sometimes even at a late 
and unexpected moment that deep self-abase- 
ment on the one hand, and, on the other, that 
exalted love and gratitude towards God, by 
which the soul may be fitted even for the bliss 
of angels. 

But for the most part the Christian's prepa- 



FOR THE HEAVENLY STATE. 15 

ration for heaven is slow and gradual ; and he 
ought never to forget that the fruits of the Spi- 
rit especially its most important fruit, love to 
God must not only be produced, but ripened 
for eternity. Through many a temptation, and 
many a conflict with the powers of darkness, 
the work of sanetincation must go forward 
unto the perfect day. The believer must 
never relax in his efforts : by watchfulness and 
prayer, by the " armour of righteousness, on 
the right hand and on the left," by the constant 
exercise of pure affections, he must work out 
his " own salvation with fear and trembling." 
" A man must be purified," said the preacher 
already cited, "before he can enjoy eternal 
purity. He must be accustomed to keep com- 
pany with Christ here, in order to enjoy, or 
even to bear, his immediate presence hereafter. 
He must have learned to draw very near to 
the throne of grace ; he must be trained by the 
Spirit to a devotional habit of soul, before he 
can endure the unveiled glory of God's perfect 
holiness" 

Well, indeed, is the Christian aware that he 
can contribute nothing to these purposes in hia 
own strength ; but he lives by " faith in the 



16 REMARKS ON MEETNESS 

Son- of God," and follows the guidance of the 
Holy Spirit: it is " God," that " worketh" 
in him, " to will and to do of his good plea- 
sure."* Thus it is that he gradually attains to 
the experience of the apostolic doctrine, that 
*' if any man be in Christ, it is a new crea- 
tion;"^ "old things are passed away; behold 
all things are become new" the " wilderness 
and the solitary place" are " glad" for him the 
" desert" rejoices and blossoms " as the rose!"J 
We may rest assured, that there is not a saint 
in heaven, who would not say, as the apostle 
did on earth, " By the grace of God I am what 
I am." But while our preparation for the hea- 
venty state must be explicitly ascribed to divine 
grace, we know that this saving influence finds 
us in a world of probation a scene of action 
and of suffering, in which it is the will of our 
all- wise Creator to educate us for eternity. The 
circumstances in which we are placed, the op- 
portunities afforded us of duty or improvement, 
our own capacities and faculties, the incitements 
to virtue and checks upon vice with which we are 
furnished in the moral government of God, our 

* Phil. ii. 12, 13. f **" wing, 2 Cor. v. 17. 

$ Isa. xxxv. 1. 



FOR THE HEAVENLY STATE. 17 

pleasures and our sorrows, the very taunts and 
temptations of this wicked world, must all be 
applied, with watchfulness and prayer, to the 
great ohject of our being. In constant de- 
pendence on divine grace, we must use them 
diligently, as so many talents committed to our 
stewardship : God is ever ready to sanctify 
them to his faithful and believing children. 

It is of especial importance to observe, that, 
while the believer in Jesus is graciously deli- 
vered from the dominion of sin, he continues 
to be subject, like other men, to those natural 
laws which regulate the movements, and 
form the constitution, of the human mind. 
Since these laws belong to the nature which 
God has given us, and cannot cease to ope- 
rate at least in our present state of being 
the Christian must not disregard them. On the 
contrary, he ought to be ever on the watch to 
maintain their right balance, and to direct their 
native influence to wise and holy purposes. 

It is one of the most remarkable of these 
laws, that our passive sensations are weaken- 
ed by the repetition of impressions, just as 
our active propensities are strengthened by 
the repetition of actions. This law, so uni- 

Guruey. 2 



18 REMARKS ON MEETNESS 

versal in its scope and operation, is a bountiful 
provision, by which our Heavenly Father al- 
leviates the pains, and facilitates the duties of 
his creature man. Those who are exposed to 
a frequent recurrence of pain or sorrow ; those 
who are reminded, by every surrounding ob 1 
ject, of relatives whom they have lost ; those 
whose callings in life are of an arduous nature ; 
those whose principles are put to the test by 
frequently repeated temptation have all abun- 
dant reason to be thankful for this law. of our 
nature. Yet is it a general law. It extends 
not only to our hurtful and painful impressions, 
but to others of a beneficial character; and 
here it requires to be checked or balanced by 
the gradual formation and habitual exercise of 
active principles. 

Important indeed is our Lord's precept 
" Take heed how ye hear."* In his charac- 
ter of a preacher of divine truth, Paul declared 
himself to be " a savour of death unto death" 
to some, as well as " of life unto life" to others. 

% 

The same may be said of that gospel of which 
he was a minister. If it be not cordially ac- 
cepted and imbibed if, time after time, it be 

* Luke viii. 18. 



FOR THE HEAVENLY STATE. 19 

resisted, and sin and the world preferred to 
it our capacity for profiting from it, will be 
diminished by every repetition our death in 
trespasses and sins will be deepened and con- 
firmed ! 'Nor ought the religious man to for- 
get that he also has a part in these warnings. 
The discourses to which he loves to listen, and 
the passages which he delights to read, will 
produce less and less effect upon him, unless 
the lessons presented to him are steadily acted 
on, and are thus wrought into his mental 
constitution. His purest affections will soon 
wither, if they he not under the influence 
of the Spirit of God nurtured and matured 
by good habit. 

The highest affection of which mankind are 
'capable, is love to God; and this love cannot 
fail to be excited in our minds when we are 
quickened by the Spirit to a sense of his 
goodness. Yet even this affection will be 
sure to grow cold, if it be not cultivated. Our 
capacity of being impressed by the ever re- 
curring proofs of God's benevolence towards 
us will lessen as they are reiterated : and ex- 
cept this tendency to decay be counteracted by 
the working of a living principle within us, we 



20 REMARKS ON MEETNESS 

shall soon become liable to that awful rebuke 
" Nevertheless, I Kave somewhat against thee, 
because thou hast left thy first love."'* The 
soul of the believer must be habituated to ac- 
tion ; it must maintain a steady energy towards 
the sovereign object of its desire: no false rest 
must be taken up : it must always be moving 
forwards in that holy way which leads to God, 
and happiness, and heaven. Then, indeed, 
the work of religion will prosper in our expe- 
rience. Although the first blaze of fervour, 
which often distinguishes the new convert, 
may subside into a calm, the pure affection of 
love to God will be settled in our souls : it 
will imbue and characterize our new nature 
with a perpetual increase of true brightness, 
it will burn forever !"t " Away with these 

* Rev. ii. 4. 

j" The progressive work of religion in the soul may 
be illustrated by water as well as by fire. It is living 
water that Jesus Christ bestows on those who are athirst 
for God : see John iv. 10. " He calls the grace of the 
Holy Spirit water" says Theophylact on this. passage, 
" because it cleanses and affords great refreshment to 
those who drink it: not stagnant water, such as we 
find in a corrupt state, in pools and wells, but living ; 
that is, bubbling and leaping up : water in motion. For 



FOR THE HEAVENLY STATE. 21 

filthy garments," said the pious William Law, 
when very near his death, " I feel a fire kin- 
dled within me, which will consume every 
thing of a nature contrary to itself, and ascend 
as a flame of divine love to all eternity 1" 

the grace of the Spirit excites the soul to perpetual mo- 
tion towards that which is good ever disposing it to 
ascend. Paul had drunk of this living and ever-moving 
water, when he forgot the things which were behind- and 
reached forth towards those which were before^ 



SECTION II. 

ON THE CONTEMPLATION OF GOD IN NATURE 
AND PROVIDENCE. 

THE preceding remarks are by no means 
exclusively applicable to those overt acts of 
obedience and service, by which the Christian 
seeks to glorify the God whom he loves. 
These occupy their own province and that 
province an important one in the work of 
preparation for heaven; they react on him 
who performs them, and confirm the love 
from which they spring. But there are acts of 
the soul alone, known only to ourselves and 
to our Creator, which have a strong tendency 
to impart steadiness and brightness to that 
flame of affection and gratitude towards God, 
which burns in the bosom of the believer. The 
first of these is the contemplation of God. 

That love should excite love, is a principle 
which God has interwoven with our very na- 



CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, ETC. 23 

ture. This principle pervades all our family 
and social relations, and exercises a mighty 
influence over every department of human so- 
ciety : but it is called into its best and highest 
action by the beneficence of God himself. In 
contemplating Him as the supreme object of 
our love, our attention can scarcely fail to be 
directed to the precious doctrine, that "he first 
loved us :" a doctrine plainly manifested to us 
in the book of nature and providence. 

That this book, so far as relates to the attri- 
butes of God, is very imperfectly read without 
the aid of revelation, the history of mankind 
affords abundant evidence. We find that evi- 
dence in the works of the ancient heathen phi- 
losophers, whose views of the Supreme Being 
were, after all their researches, partial and in- 
complete. Still more perceptible and glaring 
is it, among a certain class of modern philo- 
sophers, who have disregarded Christianity : 
and who, in the midst of a wondrous develop- 
ment of nature's -secrets, have forgotten and 
even denied nature's God. But to contemplate 
God in his tuorks, "under the beaming light 
of the religion of the Bible, is one of the most 
profitable exercises of the human mind: it can- 



24 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

not fi.il to imbue us with filial love and grati- 
tude towards the Author of our being. 

If we would love God sincerely and fer- 
vently, let us first contemplate him as our 
Father by creation ; let us call to mind, that 
a few years since we were not, but now are ; 
that we possess not only animal life, but a ra- 
tional and imperishable soul : and that both 
are his gift, the spontaneous results of his wis- 
dom, power, and love. 

On the gift of our being, all his other gifts 
to us are obviously contingent ; but let us re- 
flect on the manner in which he has formed 
us on the capacities of body and mind with 
which we are endowed. " I will praise thee," 
said David, "for I am fearfully and wonder- 
fully made; marvellous are thy works, and 
that my soul knoweth right well."* 

These words of inspired thanksgiving are 
in full agreement with the wonders of modern 
anatomy. What Christian, who knows any 
thing of these wonders, can consider his own 
bodily frame, without being astonished at the 
wisdom and goodness of God? The com- 
plexity and nicety of the machine ; the perfect 

* Ps. cxxxix. ]4 16. 



IN NATURE AND PROVIDENCE. 25 

ease with which it works, every part being 
made for use and comfort, and no part for 
pain; the various joints, each of that peculiar 
mechanism which suits it to its place ; the 
muscles, with their power of contraction for 
the purpose of motion, and pulling against 
each other, to keep the body even; the heart, 
a forcing pump, beating a hundred thousand 
times in a day, but never growing weary ; the 
blood, forever circulating, fed with chyle in 
one part of its passage, and enlivened with 
'pure air in another; the conversion of that 
blood, by some mysterious action, into all the 
other fluids of the body ; the chemistry of the 
stomach ; the sensibility and sightliness of the 
skin ; the organs of sense, each furnished with 
its own class of nerves, and fitted with the 
most consummate skill to its peculiar objects ; 
the scientifically formed cavities and tight 
drum of the ear ; the refracting lenses, the 
directing muscles, the cleansing tears, the pro- 
tecting lids and lashes, and the pictured retina 
of the eye all these, and a multitude of other 
particulars, are worthy of our grateful medita- 
tion, and ought surely to excite both our won- 
der and our praise. 



26 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

But how much more admirable is the con- 
stitution of the mind, with all its subtle powers 
of sensation, consciousness, reflection, reason- 
ing, memory, invention, and imagination ! 
Shall we mark these powers and enjoy their 
action ; shall we delight ourselves in the fa- 
cility with which our thoughts range the uni- 
verse, and not learn to love that bounteous 
Being 1 who made us what we are ? 

But our capacities would be of little worth 
without corresponding objects; and we must 
contemplate the Deity, not only as our Creator, 
but as the gracious Author of those provisions 
by which our faculties are excited to action, 
and all our wants supplied. External nature 
teems' with such provisions ; and the exactness 
of their suitability to us, affords sufficient evi- 
dence, that if man is made for the world, the 
world is also made for man. Here we may 
freely mingle the most obvious and familiar 
observations with the discoveries of modern 
science ; all combine to multiply our proofs 
of the benevolence of our heavenly Father. It 
seems almost needless to advert to particulars : 
but the religious man will find abundant cause 
for gratitude towards his Creator, when lie 



IN NATURE AND PROVIDENCE. 27 

meditates on the existence and properties of 
light and heat; on the alternations of day and 
night ; on the arrangement of the seasons ; on 
the nature of the atmosphere ; on the magnetic 
influence directing the mariner's compass ; on 
the even and moderate temperature of the 
earth's surface; on the universal law of gravi- 
tation; on the endless supplies, and multiplied 
uses, of water ; on the ocean, with its faculty of 
evaporation ; on the mighty agency of steam ; 
on the gradual detrition of rocks into fertile 
soils ; on the vast provisions of animal and 
vegetable food, each zone of the earth pro- 
ducing the kind of aliment which its inhabit- 
ants require ; on the green carpeting of nature ; 
on the profusion of her flowers ; on all her 
glorious scenery ! 

Did not the earth turn upon her axis had 
she no motion round the sun was her bulk 
less or greater than it is was the law of gra- 
vitation reversed was the atmosphere differ- 
ently composed, or did it refuse to vibrate so 
as to convey sound was light incapable of 
refraction" did water exist only in the form of 
ice had the rocks of the earth's surface never 
crumbled was nature destitute of vegetation 



28 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

was she clothed in scarlet instead of green 
where would be the happiness or even the life 
of man ? 

The harmony which is, on a broad scale, so 
obvious between the faculties of man and his 
circumstances, is the general result of innu- 
merable pairs of 'things ; every one of which 
affords a distinct evidence of the goodness of 
God. Take, for example, the lungs and the 
air. Viewed in connexion with the cavity of 
bones in which they are safely lodged, with 
their peculiar set of blood-vessels, with their 
wrapping membrane, with their air-tubes, and 
with the muscles which keep them in perpetual 
motion, the lungs present an illustrious exam- 
ple of mechanism adapted to its end.' No less 
remarkable is the chemical science displayed 
in that peculiar combination of pure and impure 
gases, which forms the air. The mechanism 
can have had no tendency to give birth to the 
chemistry, nor the chemistry to construct the 
machine ; but both are found working together, 
in perfect harmony, for the health and life of 
animals. Was either the machinery of the 
lungs, or the combination of gases in the air, 
in any respect different from what they ROW 



IN NATURE AND PROVIDENCE. 29 

are, (and different they might have been in ten 
thousand ways,) all would have been pain and 
misery, or, perhaps, death, to living creatures. 
Why, then, are these operations of nature pre- 
cisely what we find them to be ? Why are 
they thus matched and assorted for our good ? 
Surely, because the hand which formed the 
lungs, and composed the air, is a hand, not 
only of unrivalled skill, but of tender mercy. 

" These are thy glorious works. Parent of good ! 
Almighty, thine this universal frame 
Thus wondrous fair; thyself how wondrous then ! 
Unspeakable, who sitt'st above the heavens. 
To us invisible, or dimly seen 
In these thy lowest works ; yet these declare 
Thy goodness beyond thought, and power divine." 

MILTON. 

The gift to man of the inferior animals, for 
other uses besides food, is another point which 
ought to excite our gratitude. How great are 
the* benefits which he derives from the camel, 
the elephant, the dog, the ox, and the horse ! 
What cause has he to be thankful for the hide, 
the fleece, and the furs of the north, just suited 
to its frosts ! Who can observe a multitude of 
silk-worms, burying themselves in their own 
exquisite manufacture; and thus administering 
to us abundant material, not merely for soft 



30 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

clothing, but for the wealth of nations, without 
admiring the kindness of divine Providence ? 

There is a fitness in the outward creation to 
the mental, as well as to the bodily capacities 
of man. It is by his mind that he detects the 
secrets of nature, unfolds her beauties, and, 
through many an ingenious process, applies 
her materials to his use. This fact has no ten- 
dency to weaken the evidence afforded, by the 
supplies of nature, of the goodness of God. 
On the contrary, it adds another link, of im- 
mense value, to the chain of that evidence. 
The more we dive into the hidden capabilities 
of the world in which we dwell, and multiply, 
by science or art, our own means of comfort 
and happiness the larger will be our proof of 
the goodness of God ; the stronger his claim 
upon ourselves, for gratitude and love. 

But while God causes his sun to shine, and his 
rain to fall on the just and on the unjust, his re- 
conciled and obedient children alone are, in one 
sense, the true inheritors of the earth. " All 
things are theirs ; because they are Christ's, and 
Christ is God's." The Christian is in posses- 
sion of a touchstone by which he can apply every 
thing around him to his soul's benefit ; he knows 
how to appropriate even the charms of nature. 



IN NATURE AND PROVIDENCE. 31 

44 His are the mountains, and the valleys his, 
And the resplendent rivers ; his t' enjoy 
With a propriety which none can feel, 
But who, with filial confidence inspired, 
Can lift to heaven an unpresumptuous eye, 
And smiling say, ' My Father made them all !' 
Are they not his, by a peculiar right, 
And by an emphasis of interest his, 

Whose eye they fill with tears of holy joy, 
Whose heart with praise, and whose exalted mind, 
With worthy thoughts of that unwearied LOVE 
That plann'd and built, and still upholds a world 
So clothed with beauty, for rebellious man 1" 

COWPEH. 

There is, however, another ground on which 
the Christian possesses peculiar advantage, in 
contemplating God as the Author of nature. 
He is taught in the Scriptures, that, while God 
is infinite in power, and perfect in wisdom, he 
is himself a blind earth-worm the very child 
of darkness and ignorance. He meets, there- 
fore, only with what he expects, when he 
finds himself checked and limited, on every 
side, in his investigation of natural things 
when he discovers that there is in the material 
works of God, a magnitude on the one hand, 
and a minuteness on the other, which defy all 



32 CONTEMPLATION OF COD, 

liis powers both of inquiry and conception. 
Again, while he can love and praise the God 
of nature, for his innumerable bounties, he 
never thinks of -regarding this lower world as 
the scene of uninterrupted enjoyment and re- 
pose. He knows that it is a fallen world, 
deeply injured by sin ; and that death and 
destruction are now permitted, for wise pur- 
poses, to range over its surface. His faith in 
the goodness of God, therefore, is in no de- 
gree unsettled by the poisonous herb or the 
rattlesnake, by the fangs of the tiger or the 
vulture, by the storm, the earthquake, or the 
pestilence. While he accepts with gratitude 
the satisfactions afforded him by visible things, 
he can be thankful even for those checks and 
interruptions which remind him that his 
present life is but a vapour that he is only 
a pilgrim on his journey to another world, 
where sorrow, suffering, sin, and death are 
no more. 

Yet it ought not to be forgotten, that in the 
gifts \vhich she bestows, and the deprivations 
or dangers which she inflicts, nature main- 
tains a system of balance and compensa- 
tion a system which plainly evinces both 



IN NATURE AND PROVIDENCE. 33 

the wisdom and kindness of her Almighty 
Author. 

"Liberal, riot lavish, is kind nature's hand ; 
Nor was perfection made for man below. 
Yet all her schemes with nicest art are plann'd, 
Good counteracting ill, and gladness woe. 
With gold and gems if Chilian mountains glow 
If bleak and barren Scotia's hills arise 
There plague and poison, lust and rapine grow ; 
Here peaceful are the vales, and pure the skies ; 
And freedom fires the soul, and sparkles in the eyes." 

BEATTIJ:. 

Again, there is every reason to believe, that 
God governs his material universe by general 
laws ; and, although these laws may, in par- 
ticular cases, be the occasion of suffering, 
there can be no doubt that they are, on the 
whole, productive of enjoyment to his living 
creatures, as xvell as of his own glory. We 
may, indeed, conclude, that no other laws 
could be equally efficacious for these purposes. 
While, therefore, the Christian is taught to 
trace all suffering to sin, as its original cause, 
he can admire the wisdom and loving-kind- 
ness of God, in establishing a method of go- 
vernment over nature, of which the main 

Gurney. 3 



34 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

tendency is still unquestionably found to be 
happy and beneficial. 

Among the choicest blessings of the God of 
nature, must be reckoned our social affec- 
tions, considered in connexion with their ap- 
propriate objects the social relations. The 
two, together, are productive of a vast amount 
of comfort and happiness, even in this uncer- 
tain and sorrowful world ; and they afford a 
clear evidence of the loving-kindness of Je- 
hovah, towards his rational creature man. 
How often do they alleviate the miseries of 
the wretched, and check the cruelties of the 
depraved ; and how sweet are the pleasures 
which they impart to the more amiable and 
virtuous among mankind! Yet even these, the 
fairest flowers which earth produces, bloom but 
to die ; and nothing can supply the void which 
the loss of them occasions, but the elevated 
hopes of the Christian believer. To him, the 
proof which the social affections present of 
the benevolence of our Creator, is wonder- 
fully enhanced and strengthened ; because, 
when they are sanctified, they produce a ten- 
fold happiness. Being brought into subor- 
dination to the love of God, they now occupy 



IN NATURE AND PROVIDENCE. 35 

their right province ; they are at once con- 
firmed and refined; above all, they act in 
harmony with higher things, and are blended 
with that fellowship in the gospel of Christ, 
which shall endure forever. 

If we derive material aid from the Chris- 
tian revelation, in contemplating God as the 
Author of nature, that aid is still more es- 
sential when we consider him in the order of 
his providence, and as the moral Governor of 
the world. The Christian, who knows that his 
Redeemer has " brought life and immortality 
to light by the gospel," is alone in full pos- 
session of the key which unlocks the mys- 
teries of natural religion. If the tendency 
of vice to produce misery, and of virtue to 
generate happiness, is here liable to many in- 
terruptions the Scriptures assure us, on di- 
vine authority, that in an unseen and awful 
future, that tendency will accomplish its end, 
and will finally triumph over every obstruc- 
tion. 

" Enough for us to know that this dark state, 
In wayward passions lost and vain pursuits, 
This infancy of being, cannot prove 
The final issue of the works of God, 



36 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

By boundless love and perfect wisdom formed, 
And ever rising with the rising mind?' 

THOMSON. 

In the mean time, the Christian can study 
the page of history, and observe the events 
which are rapidly passing in this dark world 
of change, with instruction to his own mind, 
and thankfulness to God.* There is a light 
upon his mind, which often reveals to him the 
traces of the righteousness of Jehovah, in the 
rise and fall of empires, in the changes of their 
political relations, in public prosperity or ad- 



* The language of the Christian's heart is beauti- 
"ully expressed by Cowper : 

" Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, 

" But trust him for his grace ; 
" Behind a frowning Providence, 

" He hides a smiling face. 

" His purposes will ripen fast, 

" Unfolding every hour; 
" The bud may have a bitter taste, 

" But sweet will be the flower. 

" Blind unbelief is sure to err, 

" And scan his work in vain ; 
" God is his own interpreter, 

" And he will make it plain." 



IN NATURE AND PROVIDENCE. 37 

yersity, in the infliction of barrenness on one 
part of the earth, or in the gift of fertility to 
another. Yet if those traces are hidden, it is 
enough for him to remember that God, who 
sets up one, and puts down another, and dis- 
poses of all the nations of the earth as he 
pleases, is a being of infinite wisdom and good- 
ness, and doeth all things well. 

There are, however, three points in the or- 
der of Providence, which are peculiarly calcu- 
lated to excite our gratitude. The first is the 
long-suffering and sparing mercy, so often and 
so largely extended to the guilty races of men. 
How often has the march of the invader been 
prevented or the pestilence stayed in its 
course or the threat of famine permitted to 
subside for the benefit of nations deeply in- 
volved in guilt, that there might yet be space 
given them for repentance towards God! The 
second is the gradual, yet certain, advance in 
the world, of civilization and useful know 
ledffe : an advance which affords a wondrous 

D 7 

play to the faculties of mankind, and multiplies 
our comforts and enjoyments on every side. 
The third and principal, is the marked sub- 
serviency of events to the diffusion of divine 



88 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

truth to " the furtherance of the gospel" of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. By the obvious ten- 
dency of many things now passing in the 
world, as well as by the words of prophecy, 
the Christian is encouraged to look forward 
with hope to an approaching day, when peace 
and righteousness shall abound in a far greater 
degree than at present ; when " they shall no 
longer hurt nor destroy" in all the Lord's "holy 
mountain." 

But the goodness of an ever-present, ever- 
ruling God, is joyfully traced by the believer, 
in little circumstances, as well as in great 
events. How often, during the course of our 
pilgrimage, have we reason to bless him for 
that especial providence by which our suffer- 
ings are alleviated, and our wants supplied ! 
How many are the minute turning points in 
our lives the mere accidents, as some persons 
would call them which are afterwards found 
to have been fraught with important conse- 
quences, both for our temporal and spiritual 
welfare ! 



O ! who shall say how great the plan 
Which this day's incident began ? 



IN NATURE AND PROVIDENCE. 39 

Too small, perhaps, the slight occasion 
For our dim-sighted observation ; 
It pass'd unnoticed, as the bird, 
That cleaves the liquid air unheard, 
And yet may prove, when understood, 
The harbinger of endless good." 

CQ-WPEH. 

In the texture of every man's history there 
may be said to be a warp and a woof. There 
is the ordinary course of our experience, be 
longing to our condition and calling in life, 
regulated by known laws, natural and moral, 
and capable, to a great extent, of being calcu- 
lated beforehand. This is the warp. There 
are also a multitude of incidental events which, 
like the woof, or cross-threads of the weaver, 
bear laterally upon us, and arise out of endless 
and ever-varied trains of causes, of which we 
know almost nothing originating, it may be, 
in some idle word or thoughtless action, of 
some unknown person, whose mortal existence 
has been closed for centuries. Yet these ap- 
parently stray circumstances often intersect 
our path, just at such a time, and just in such 
a manner, as enable them to serve the most 
beneficial purposes. How perfect must be the 



40 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD 5 

skill and wisdom of that omniscient Being 
who wields this infinitely intricate machinery j 
often inclines its forces in answer to prayer, 
and never fails to apply them to the highest 
advantage of his believing and obedient child- 
ren!* "Whoso is wise, and will observe 
these things, even they shall understand the 
loving-kindness of the Lord."f 

Nor can Christians forget, that the roughest 
discipline to which they are here subjected, is 
ordained in mercy for their highest good 
" Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth." 
They are taught of him to welcome sorrow as 
the means of their purification ; and they are 
not left to suffer from it without support ; the 
Comforter is with them : the celestial city is 
in their view, and the sunshine of Christianity 
illuminates their darkest hours. Religion alone 
can enable us to " count it all joy" when we 
fall into divers temptations, (i. e. afflictions. )| 
" We glory in tribulations also;" said a much 
afflicted apostle, " knowing that tribulation 

* See Natural History of Enthusiasm on Pro- 
vidence. 

| Ps. cvii. 43. $ James i. 2. 



IN NATURE AND PROVIDENCE. 41 

worketh patience ; and patience, experience ; 
and experience, hope."* 

But the spiritual use of affliction is by no 
means confined to the further purification of 
believers. Often is it made the means of arrest- 
ing the wanderer in his course, and of remind- 
ing him, like the prodigal in the parable, of his 
Father's house. Many a child of God can say 
with David, " Before I was afflicted, I went 
astray; but now have I kept thy word."t 
Many a careless sinner, under the softening 
touch of sickness or sorrow, has given way to 
the influence of divine grace ; has been broken 
down into penitence ; and has at length found 
refuge and peace at the feet of Jesus 4 

The sinfulness of mankind, from which all 
our sorrows spring, is itself the Christian's 
greatest sorrow. Resigned as he is to the hid- 
den purposes of God in permitting its exist- 

* Rom. v. 35. f Ps. cxix. 67. 

At the feet of Jesus only can our sorrows be con- 
verted into joy. 

" 'Tis joy enough, my all in all, 

At thy dear feet to lie ; 
Thou wilt not let me lower fall, 

And none can higher fly." 

COWPER. 



42 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

ence, he can often say with Jeremiah, " For 
the hurt of the daughter of my people am I 
hurt ; I am black ; astonishment hath taken 
hold on me. Is there no balm in Gilead ? is 
there no physician there ? Why then is not 
the health of the daughter of my people re- 
covered? Oh ! that iny head were wa- 
ters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I 
might weep day and night for the slain of the 
daughter of my people."* Yet even the 
wickedness of the world in which we live, is 
overruled to the advantage of the children of 
God ; for by their resistance, through divine 
aid, of the temptations to which that wicked- 
ness exposes them, their souls are strength- 
ened in virtue, and are gradually prepared 
for eternal purity. So also their faith is 
disciplined and put to the proof, by the dark- 
ness and infidelity which surround them, and 
comes forth the brighter and stronger for the 
trial. 

Thus it appears, that in contemplating God 
in his providence, the Christian discovers in- 
numerable reasons for loving that gracious Be- 
ing who first loved us; but if we would 

* Jer. viii. 31, 22; ix. 1. 



IN NATURE AND PROVIDENCE. 43 

rightly love the Creator and Moral Governor 
of the world, we must not fix our attention on 
his benevolence as an insulated attribute. The 
love which would be excited in the rational 
objects of his bounty, by the kindness of an 
unholy being, could never be of that pure and 
exalted character which Christianity claims 
for our love to God. In order to the pro- 
duction of this noble affection, in its genuine 
strength and purity, the benevolence of God, 
and his love towards ourselves, must ever be 
regarded in connexion with his holiness. 
What a blessing is it, then, that even in his 
perceptible government over the world, God 
proclaims himself, by a multitude of indica- 
tions, to be on the side of virtue ! What a 
blessing, that his holiness is established be- 
yond the possibility of a doubt, by that rule 
of moral right, which, in characters more or 
less legible, he has condescended to write, by 
his Spirit, on the hearts of all men ! 

It is in the Holy Scriptures, however, that 
the theology of nature is cleared and con- 
firmed. There the Creator and Ruler of the 
universe is presented to our view in the true 
majesty of his character; and his attributes, 



44 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, ETC. 

both natural and moral, are developed in amaz- 
ing splendour : they are also described in 
their individual distinctness, as well as in their 
union as blended, but not confused. Let us, 
then, under the guidance of prophets and apos- 
tles, learn to contemplate God as our Father 
a Spirit, eternal, omnipotent, all-wise, omni- 
present, the searcher of all hearts, just, true, 
faithful, merciful, and holy ; let. us remember 
that he is love ! Then, surely, if our own 
dispositions be but rectified by his grace, \ve 
shall not fail to love Him, who is infinitely 
lovely ; we shall adore him in all his glorious 
perfections. Our love for God will not only 
be strong, but reverential ; not only ardent s 
but pure. 



SECTION III. 

ON THE CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, IN REDEMP- 
TION. THE FATHER. 

STILL more completely than the provisions 
of nature fall in with our bodily state, and sup- 
ply our temporal wants still more properly 
than the air agrees with the functions of the 
lungs, and the light with those of the eye 
does the gospel of our Redeemer suit the spi- 
ritual condition of man. We are a fallen race, 
alienated from God by our sins, justly liable to 
his wrath; in the gospel we have pardon, peace, 
and restoration. " Christ made all things 
new," says Grotius, " and the latter creation is 
more divine than the former."* If, then, the 
first creation of mankind, and all the bounties 
of nature, are the result of love, that attri- 

* Com. on Eph. iii. 9. 



46 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

bute is far more gloriously displayed in the 
scheme of redemption, and in the work of 
. grace. 

In the development of this plan of mercy, 
God has been pleased to make himself manifest 
to us in the mysterious union and distinction of 
the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Do we 
desire that divine love should burn brightly 
within us ? Then let us fix our souls on the 
amazing scene ; let us contemplate the love of 
the Father, the love of the Son, and the love 
of the Spirit !* 

* The following lines are said to have been written 
by a person commonly esteemed an absolute idiot. A 
ray from the sanctuary, revealing the mercies of redemp- 
tion, as well as of creation, must surely have gleamed 
across his darkness ; 

Could we with ink the ocean fill, 

Were the whole earth of parchment made ; 
Were every single stick a quill, 

And every man a scribe by trade : 
To write the love of God above 

Would drain the ocean dry, 
Nor could the scroll contain the whole, 

Though stretch'd from sky to sky. 



IN REDEMPTION. THE FATHER. 47 

The love of GOD the FATHER is ever repre- 
sented in Scripture as the origin of all our hopes 
as the eternal, unfathomable spring of the 
waters of life and salvation ; and this love is 
plainly described as extending to the whole 
world. " God so loved the world, that he 
gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever 
believeth in him should not perish, but have 
everlasting life."* " God was in Christ, recon- 
ciling the world unto himself, not imputing 
their trespasses unto them."t " God would 
have all men to be saved, and to come unto the 
knowledge of his truth. "J "Look unto me. 
and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I 
am God, and there is none else." 

Do we inquire for an overwhelming evidence 
of the love of God ? Let the apostle satisfy 
our inquiry. " In this was manifested the love 
of God towards us, because that God sent his 
only-begotten Son into the world,that we might 
live through him. Herein is love, not that we 
loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his 
Son to be the propitiation for our sins."jj Do 



* John iii. 16. -j- 2 Cor. v. 19. * 1 Tim. ii. 4. 
Isa. xlv. 22. [| I John iv. 9, 10. 



48 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

we ask, whether God thus loved the whole or 
only part, of mankind ? Let the same apostle 
answer : "If any man sin, we have an advo- 
cate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 
and he is the propitiation for our sins ; and not 
for ours only, but also for the sins of the loJioh 
ivorld"'* He tasted " death for every man;"] 
he " gave himself a ransom for a//."$ 

" If through the offence of one [/the]] many 
be dead, much more the grace of God, and the 
gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus 
Christ, hath abounded unto [the]] many." 
Even the Gentiles, who were without the bene- 
fit of an outward revelation, were by no means 
destitute of an inward knowledge of the law of 
God: and some of them showed "the work of 
the law writtenin their hearts, their conscience 
also bearing witness."! Christ is "the true light 
which lighteth every man that comcth into the 
world "*k Hence we may reasonably infer, 
that, as God appointed the death of Christ 



* 



1 John ii. 1, 2. f Heb.ii. 9. * 1 Tim. ii. 
Rom. v. 15, &/ 7Tc\xc,} Tij)c mKKws. These expres- 
sions appear to mean the whole multitude of mankind. 
II Rom. ii. 15. ^ John i. 9. 



IN REDEMPTION. THE FATHER. 49 

to be a sacrifice for the sins of the ivliole world, 
so all men receive, through Christ, a measure 
of moral and spiritual light, and all have their 
day of gracious visitation. If the light, in 
numberless instances, is extremely faint if 
the darkness fails to comprehend it we may 
rest in the conviction, that God is not o-nly 
just, but equitable ; and that those who know 
not their Master's will and do it not, " shall 
be beaten \vi\hfew stripes."* In the mean 
time, the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, as 
it is revealed in the Holy Scriptures, is in- 
\ended for the benefit of the whole world. It 
is adapted to" men of every condition, clime, 
and character ; all are invited to avail them- 
selves of its benefits ; all who will come may 
come, " and take the water of life freely."t 

* Luke xii. 48. f Rev. xxii. 17. 

+ " Plenteous grace with, thee is found, 

Grace to pardon every sin ; 
Let the healing streams abound, 

Make and keep me pure within ; 
Thou of life the Fountain art, 
Freely let me take of thee, 
Spring thou up within my heart, 

Rise to all eternity." WES LET, 

Gurney. 4 



50 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

In contemplating the redeeming mercy of 
God our Father, it is of peculiar importance 
that we should keep in view its " breadth and 
length" as well as its " depth and height,"* 
Great will be our own loss, if we are found 
ascribing unauthorized limits to the liberality 
of our God to the various modifications, and 
incomprehensible scope, of his love in Christ 
Jesus. Who, indeed, shall dare to assert, that 
the love which induced the Creator of the uni- 
verse to send his Son into the world to die on 
the cross, does not extend to an infinite num- 
ber of rational beings, beyond the boundaries 
of this narrow sphere ? Who shall deny that 
it was his gracious purpose for reasons and 
on principles unknown to us to reconcile 
unto himself, by the blood of Jesus, " things 
in heaven," as well as " things in earth"t 
yea, to " gather together in one, all things in 
Christ ?"J 

While, however, we embrace these large 
views of the love of God in Christ Jesus, we 
have abundant reason to thank our Heavenly 
Father for those especial mercies, of which 

* Eph. iii. 18. f Col. i. 20. * Eph. i. 10. 



IN REDEMPTION. THE FATHER. 51 

Christians are the objects ! Jesus is himself 
the elect of God* the corner-stone of his 
church, elect, precioust and all who truly be- 
lieve in him as their Saviour, are elect in him, 
" according to the foreknowledge of God" our 
Father4 They are " a chosen generation, a 
royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar 
people. " The love of God, which has flowed 
towards them, from all eternity, in a channel 
of unrivalled depth, is now " shed abroad" in 
their " hearts" a blessed evidence of their 
present acceptance, and of their future glory. || 
To them, with an emphasis far exceeding the 
claims of ancient Israel, may be applied the 
solemn words of Jehovah " I have loved thee 
with an everlasting love; therefore Avith 
loving-kindness have I drawn thee."^ 

The cords by which the Father draws us to 
the Son,** are cords of love. No man whose 
" fallow ground" is broken up, and who has 
truly come in faith to Christ, as his Saviour, 
will refuse to acknowledge that his conversion 
is of grace alone, a result of the compassion 

* Isa. xlii. 1. f 1 Pet. ii. 6. $ I Pet. i. 2. 

1 Pet. ii. 9. |1 Rom. v. 5. Tf Jer - xxxi - 3 - 

** John vi. 44. 



52 CONTEMPLATION OF "GOD, 

and beneficence of God, effected by his Holy 
Spirit. " Not by works of righteousness which 
we have done, but according to his mercy, he 
saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and 
renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed 
on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our 
Saviour ; that being justified by his grace, we 
should be made heirs according to the hope of 
eternal life."* " Behold what manner of love 
the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we 
should be called the sons of God."t Thus 
can the believer in Jesus say with Hezekiah 
" Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it 
from the pit of corruption ; for thou hast cast 
all my sins behind thy back.".t 

The claims of our Heavenly Father on the 
gratitude of mankind, are immensely enhanced 
by a single consideration .that his love and fa- 
vour are bestowed on those, who are not only 
utterly destitute of merit, but are condemned to 
death, as transgressors, by the righteous sen- 
tence of his law. He sent his Son into the 
world to save sinners ; and every sinner who 

* Tit. iii. 57. f 1 John iii. 1. 

t Isa. xxxviii. 17; comp, Ps. cxvi. 1 8. 



IN REDEMPTION. THE FATHER. 53 

repents and believes, is a brand plucked, by a 
hand of infinite compassion, from everlasting 
burnings.* " God commendeth his love to us, 
in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died 
for us."t " God, who is rich in mercy, for 
his great love wherewith he loved us, even 
when ive were dead in sins, hath quickened 
us together with Christ." 

The sinfulness of man is indeed the ground 
on which the love of God towards us assumes 
the peculiar character of mercy " I will be 
merciful to their unrighteousness, saith the 
Lord, and their sins and their iniquities will I 
remember no more." Mercy is more than 
simple benevolence ; it is kindness bestowed 
on persons who deserve punishment, and are 
involved in distress. Behold yon wretched 
criminal about to be led to execution, and trem- 
bling in the view of the scaffold the royal 
pardon arrives, and in a moment he is free ! 
This is mercy ; and just the same in its nature, 
i hough infinitely higher in its import and de- 
gree, is the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. 

* Zech. iii. 2. f Rom. v. 8. * Eph. ii. 4, 5. 
Heb. viii. 12 ; comp. Jer. xxxi. 34 ; Luke i. 77, 78, &c. 



54 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

All who repent of their sins, turn away 
from their iniquities, and believe in Jesus, are 
the objects of this mercy. The righteousness 
of Christ is imputed to them ; they " are jus- 
tified by faith, wdthout the deeds of the law ;"* 
and being reconciled unto God, through the 
blood of the covenant, they are now the ob- 
jects of his unfailing love. Walking in the 
light of his truth, and proving their faith by 
their obedience, they enjoy a blessed commu- 
nion with the Father of Spirits ; and so long 
as they continue in a state of watchful de- 
pendence upon him, nothing can deprive them 
of his favour and protection. " Can a wo- 
man forget her sucking child, that she should 
not have compassion on the son of her womb ? 
Yea, they may forget, yet will not I forget 
thee : behold, I have graven thee upon the 
palms of my hands ; thy walls are continually 
before me."t " If a man love me," said Je- 
sus, " he will keep my words ; and my Fa- 
ther will love him, and we will come unto 
him, and make our abode with him.":}: And 
again, in his prayer for his disciples " that 

* Rom. iii. 28. f Isa. xlix. 15, 16. * John xiv. 23. 



IN REDEMPTION. THE FATHER. 55 

the world may know that thou hast loved 

them, as thou hast loved rne that the 

love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in 
them, and I in them."* 

Since the love of the Father towards the Son 
is here represented as the standard of his love 
towards all who follow Jesus, we cannot mar- 
vel at the apostle Paul's persuasion " that 
neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor princi- 
palities, nor powers, nor things present, nor 
things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any 
other creature, shall be able to separate us from 
the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our 
Lord."t 

While the love of God towards his believing 
and obedient children is abundantly manifested 
by his protecting care, and by all the rich pro- 
visions of his bounty none of these benefits 
is worthy of being compared with inward and 
spiritual grace. By his grace he brings the 
soul into greater and greater degrees of purity, 
and thus prepares it for a final union with him- 
self ; and although it may often be administered 
through the channel of sorrow and suffering, 

* John xvii. 23 26. f Rom. viii. 38, 39. 



56 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

the Christian can acknowledge that all is ten- 
der mercy still ! 

Finally, this " darling attribute" of our hea- 
venly Father, as Bishop Horne emphatically 
calls it,* is carried forth into its fulness like 
a river into its ocean when the present scene 
of conflict is exchanged for a blessed eternity. 
" Whom he justified, them he also glori- 
fied.'^ " Blessed be the God and Father of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, which, according to 
his abundant -mercy, hath begotten us again 
unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus 
Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incor- 
ruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not 
away; reserved in heaven for you who are 
kept by the power of God, through faith, unto 
salvation."! Everlasting life is the glorious 
result of the whole process of mercy. " They 
shall be mine, saith the Lord of Hosts, in that 
day when I make up my special treasure ; 
and I will spare them as a man spareth his 
own son that serveth him !" . 

Now whether we contemplate the love of 

* Com. on Ps. xxii. f Eom. viii. 30. 

* 1 Pet. i. 35. 

| Mai. iii. 17, in margin ; Heb. n 



IN REDEMPTION. THE FATHER. 57 

God our Father, in the free offers of salva* 
tion made to the whole world ; or in the elec- 
tion of his universal church according to fore- 
knowledge ; or in the effectual working of 
his grace for the conversion of sinners ; or in 
their justification by faith ; or in the riches 
of his favour towards them when justified ; 
or in the work of sanctification ; or in the 
final glory and happiness of the saints the 
grand evidence, and only adequate measure 
of his love, is the gift of his ONLY-BEGOTTEN 
SON. 

That all the blessings bestowed on man- 
kind, both temporal and spiritual, flow through 
the medium of the eternal Word, by whom 
God made the worlds, will probably be al- 
lowed by all who accept the Scriptures as 
divine ; but this doctrine applies, with pe- 
culiar force, to the privileges and hopes of 
Christian believers. In Him, and in Him 
alone, they are chosen, accepted, pardoned, 
cleansed, and finally glorified ; in Him they 
are the objects of unutterable love, and the 
receivers of countless benefits light, wis- 
dom, knowledge, purity, patience, comfort in 
affliction, joy in the Holy Ghost, and safety 



58 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

both temporal and eternal. " He that spared 
not his own Son, but delivered him up for us 
all, how shall he not with him also, freely 
give us all things ?"* 

In order to form some conception of our 
heavenly Father's love, and of the incompre- 
hensible depth and height of this its only 
measure, we must accustom ourselves to re- 
flect on the glory and virtue of the Son, who 
dwelt from everlasting in the Father's bosom ;f 
on the infinite strength of that love where- 
with the Father loved him before the founda- 
tion of the world when he " was daily his 
delight, rejoicing always before him ;" on 
the reciprocity which subsists between them, 
seeing that all things which the Son hath are 
the Father's, and all things which the Father 
hath are the Son's ;]] on their perfect union 
in counsel, in affection, in power, and in 
nature^ in short, on the plain doctrine of 
Scripture, that, with the Holy Spirit, they 
are ONE GOD. Thus, and thus only, can our 

* Rom. viii. 32. f John i. 18. 

$ John xvii. 24. Prov. viii. 30. 

11 John xvi. 15 ; xvii. 10 ; comp. Matt. xi. 27. 
f John x. 2730 ; xiv. 9. 



IN REDEMPTION. THE FATHER. 59 

ininds be raised to any adequate estimate of 
that compassion toward our fallen race, which 
dictated the awful decree, " Awake, O sword, 
against my shepherd, and against the man 
that is MY FELLOW, saith the LORD OF 
HOSTS."* 

While the connexion subsisting between 
the Father and the Son, is unspeakably near 
and glorious far beyond the limits of our 
knowledge and experience the language of 
Scripture invites our illustrating the subject, 
by depicting to ourselves the fellowship of a 
human father, with his beloved and only son. 
Call to mind the intimacy and pleasantness 
of this peculiar relation ; consider how its 
delights are increased just in the degree in 
which both parent and child abound in virtue ; 
imagine the willing obedience and ever-spring- 
ing love of the child on the one hand, and the 
cherishing aifection of the father on the other ; 
and then conceive, that for the restoration and 
welfare of some unhappy race of rebels, such 
a father gives up such a son, as a voluntary 
sufferer, unto death. 

The compassion towards that guilty com- 

* Zech. xiii. 7 



60 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

mimity which could prompt such a surrender 
on the part of their prince, must be of a deep 
and ardent character indeed. Should it, how- 
ever, appear that this sacrifice was a divinely 
appointed means, and the only conceivable 
one, of reconciling mercy with justice, and 
of establishing the inviolable sanctity of the 
law of righteousness throughout his domi- 
nions, the whole event would exhibit such a 
union of forgiveness and purity, as would 
claim not only the fervent love, but the pro- 
found respect of the pardoned multitude. 
Their grateful sense of the mercy of their 
king, could not fail to be mingled with an 
awful abhorrence of their crime, and of them- 
selves as criminals. 

Such precisely is the practical result of the 
scheme of redemption. By appointing the 
Son of his bosom, the partner of his glory, 
to take our nature upon him, and to die on 
the cross, as an atonement for guilty man, 
God has not only "declared" his merc} r , but 
his "righteousness, for the forgiveness of 
sins that are past."* While he freely justifies 
the believer in Jesus, he maintains his own 

* Rom. iii. 25, 26. 



IN REDEMPTION. THE FATHER Gl 

justice inviolate, and suffers not the abstrac- 
tion even of one jot or tittle from the demands 
of his holy law. In the dispensation of the 
gospel, the mercy of God is indeed gloriously 
displayed. But, at the same time, a seal of 
the most sublime and authoritative character 
is stamped on the righteousness of the law ; 
on the sinfulness of sin ; on the indispensable 
necessity of virtue ; on the spotless purity of 
heavenly things. When, therefore, we con- 
template God our Father, in the redemption 
of the world if the Spirit bless our medita- 
tions the affection excited in our hearts will 
be that of love tempered with awe ; our gra- 
titude" will flow in a stream at once deep and 
undefiled ; and while we rejoice in his com- 
passions, we shall listen to his high behest : 
" Be ye holy, for I AM HOLY." 

There is nothing by which the religion of 
the Bible is more remarkably distinguished 
from every system of man's invention, than 
by the first and great commandment of the 
law : " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, 
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and 
with all thy might."* Here is the first of all 
* Deut. vi. 5. 



62 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

moral obligations, and the foundation of all 
right practice. Now, if this commandment 
was sustained under the legal dispensation 
if even the ancient Israelites knew enough of 
the mercies of God to be furnished with mo- 
tives to obey it with what prodigious force 
must it press on the mind of the Christian 
believer! Those who know that they are 
indebted to the Father for the unspeakable gift 
of his only-begotten Son, may well feel them- 
selves constrained to love him, with all their 
heart, and soul, and might. No divided affec- 
tions can possibly meet his claims upon their 
gratitude. Won and subdued by the strength 
and tenderness of his compassion, they must 
desire nothing but to be his entirely, and his 
forever. 

But, in loving God, we must love him as 
he is a Being of infinite purity and right- 
eousness. His moral attributes must all be 
dear to us ; and we must not only love him, 
but love his law, which is at once the rule of 
our lives, and the transcript of his character. 
A hatred of sin, and an ardent desire after 
holiness, must ever mark the disposition and 
conduct of the Lord's children. If David 



IN REDEMPTION. THE FATHER. 63 

could say : " O how love I thy law ! it is my 
meditation all the- day ; . . . thy testimonies 
have I taken as an heritage forever : for they 
are the rejoicing of my heart"* the follower 
of Jesus, in every age, ought surely to breathe 
in the same spirit, and to burn with the same 
ardour. If the ancient Israelites were com- 
manded to talk of the Lord's precepts when 
they sat in their houses, or walked by the 
way, and when they lay down, and when 
they rose up ; to teach them diligently to their 
children ; to bind them for a sign upon their 
hand, and for frontlets between their eyes ; to 
write them on their door-posts and on their 
gatesf much more is the Christian bound, 
by every tie of gratitude, to love and obey 
them to guard and cherish them as his dearest 
treasure. 

Finally, if, under a humbling sense of his 
mercy, we truly love God and love his law ; 
we shall heartily endeavour to promote his 
glory. Our rejoicing will be in remembrance 
of his infinite blessedness ; while it will be 
our highest happiness to exalt his holy name 
" to administer to the display of his goodness 

* Ps. cxix. 97. 111. f Deut. vi. 6, 7. 



64 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, ETC. 

and greatness."* The supreme object of our 
ardent and disinterested affection, He will be 
our end in all things ! 

* " The true servants of God feel that the best end 
of their being is fulfilled, if they administer to the dis- 
play of the divine goodness and greatness ; and that it 
is the grand office and privilege of creatures to exalt 
their all-perfect Creator and Father, and to experience 
an entire annihilation of themselves, in the contempla- 
tion of his excellencies, and the desire of promoting his 
honour and praise." Love to God Considered, I-y James 
Joyce, 3d edition, p. 60. 



SECTION IV. 

ON THE CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, IN REDEMP- 
TION. THE SON. 

" MY heart is inditing a goodmatter : I speak 
of the things which I have made touching the 
king ; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. 
Thou art fairer than the children of men ; grace 
is poured into thy lips ; therefore God hath 
blessed thee forever."* Such were the glow- 
ing words poured forth by the psalmist, when 
his harp was tuned to the praises of Emmanuel. 
The love of Christ is indeed an animating sub- 

. *-> 

jest, full of joy and sublimity; and to dwell on 
its principal features, under the guidance of 
Scripture, must be regarded as one of our hap- 
piest privileges. When such are our reflec- 

* Ps. xlv. 1, 2. 

Uui-aey. 5 



60 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

lions, we may well say with David " In the 
multitude of my thoughts within me, thy com- 
forts delight my soul."* 

1. In the first place, the Christian ought 
ever to keep in mind, that the Son of God 
was not the unwilling victim of the righteous- 
ness of the law, but a co-operator with the 
Father, in the scheme of justice and mercy. 
His humiliation and sufferings, although un- 
dergone in obedience to his Father's com- 
mand, were also voluntary as it regarded him- 
self; and in the Holy Scriptures, they are 
ascribed indifferently to the Father's love, 
and to his own. " Hereby perceive we the 
love (of Godf) because he laid down his 
life for us." " Jls the Father hath loved 
me, so have I loved you .... greater love hath 
no man than this, that a man lay down hie 
life for his friends. " " Christ also hath 
loved its, and hath given himself for us, an 
offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet 



* Ps. xciv. 19. 
f Or of Christ. 

* 1 John iii. 16. 

John sv 9. 13. 



IN REDEMPTION. THE SON. G? 

smelling savour."* " Christ also loved the 
church, and gave, himself for it, that he might 
sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of 
water by the word ; that he might present 
it to himself, a glorious church, not having 
spot or wrinkle, or any such thing ; but that 
it should be holy and without blemish."! 
" Unto Him that loved us and washed us 
from our sins in his own blood, and hath 
made us kings and priests unto God and his 
Father ; to him be glory and dominion for- 
ever and ever." " Let this mind be in 
you which was also in Christ Jesus, who 
being in the form of God, thought it not 
robbery to be equal with God, but made 
himself of no reputation, and took upon him 
the form of a servant, and was made in the 
likeness of men ; and being found in fash- 
ion as a man, he humbled himself and be- 
came obedient unto death, even the death of 
the cross. " Great as is the happiness of 
knowing the love of Christ, we must freely 

* Eph. v. 2. 

f Eph. v. 2527. 

Rev. i. 5, 6 ; comp. Gal. ii. 20. 

Phil. ii. 58. 



G8 CONTEMPLATION OF COD, 

confess with the apostle, that it " pas set h 
knowledge." . 

2. In order, however, to form some proper 
conception of it, let us contemplate that original 
glory and blessedness which the Son of God 
surrendered, for our sakes, when he came into 
the world, and was made " a little lower than 
the angels." "And now, O Father," said Je- 
sus in his prayer," glorify thou me with thine 
own self with the glory which I had with thee 
before the world was."* The glory which the 
Son enjoyed with the Father before the world 
was, was the glory of God himself. He was 
in " the form of God," subsisting in the nature 
of the Deity, and arrayed in his characteristic 
attributes " In the beginning was the Word, 
and the Word was with God, and the Word 
was God."t " By him," also, " all things 
were made, and without him was not any thing 
made that was made."$ 

Thus he "thought it not robbery to be equal 
with God," that is, to be an equal object with 
him, of honour and adoration. For him, as 
well as for the Father, ascended the anthems of 

* John xvii. 5. -j- John i. 1. i John i. 3. 



IN REDEMPTION. THE SON. 09 

the new creation. Before them both, in .the 
unity of the Godhead, arose perpetually from 
the angelic host, the sacrifice of thanksgiving, 
and the incense of praise. Such was the glory 
such the infinite majesty from which the 
Son of God reduced himself,* when he veiled 
his deity in manhood. 

But the condition of our blessed Redeemer, 
before his incarnation, was one not only of 
divine majesty, but of perfect bliss. He was 
" with God," inconceivably near to the foun- 
tain of all happiness, dwelling in the Father's 
bosom, the object of his unbounded love ; 
" rejoicing always before him ;" partaking, 
without limits, of the river of his pleasures. 
Yet from these unutterable joys he abstained 
for our benefit, and became " a man of sor- 
rows and acquainted with grief." 

3. " Great is the mystery of godliness, 
God was manifest in the flesh ."t That he 
who is one in essence with the Father him- 
self, therefore, Jehovah the Creator and Sove- 
reign of the universe should take upon him 

* Phil. ii. 7. 'EMJTOV Ixivoxn reduced, or emptied 
himself." 

f 1 Tim. iii. 16. 



70 CONTEMPLATION OP GOD, 

" the seed of Abraham," and the nature of 
man ; that he should become the brother of 
his people, and be made, in all points, like 
unto his brethren, sin only excepted ; that he 
should subject himself, in a human body and 
soul, to the limits and infirmities of our spe- 
cies to the weakness of man's birth, and to 
the painfulness of his death is an example 
of condescension and unbounded charity, 
which the mind of man may contemplate 
with silent adoration, but can never fully 
grasp. The act of self-renunciation would 
have been infinite, even had lie come as the 
Jews expected him, in the form of an earthly 
monarch. But, behold, he selects for himself 
an humble station, and a life of poverty. His 
birth-place is a stable ; his cradle a manger ; 
his early home a Galilean village, his mother a 
virgin, royally descended indeed, but of a low 
estate ; his reputed father a mechanic. Soon 
he becomes a wanderer in deserts and caves of 
the earth, and " though the foxes have holes, 
and the birds of the air have nests, the Son of 
man hath not where to lay Ids head."* 

* Matt. viii. 20. 



IN REDEMPTION. -THE SON. 71 

When his followers would make him a king, 
hft finds his refuge in a wilderness ; he pre- 
fers the form of a servant ; he ministers to his 
brethren ; he washes his disciples' feet. In the 
mean time, an ungodly people refuse to believe 
his word ; his miracles are traced to Beelze- 
bub : he is despised and rejected the object 
of unbridled hatred, insult and mockery. He 
gives his back " to the smiters," and his 
cheeks to them that " pluck off the hair ;" he 
hides not his face " from shame and spitting."* 
Finally, the shameless cry is raised against 
him " Crucify him ! crucify him !" Having 
made himself of no reputation, he humbles 
himself yet further even " unto death ;" and 
the death to which he submits is a public 
execution, in the form which was appointed 
for the vilest malefactors. 

4. Such were the depths of humiliation to 
which he descended ; but who shall tell the 
sufferings which he endured ? Persons of 
great refinement of mind are often found to be 
peculiarly susceptible of pain, even in body ; 
nnd it is impossible to say in how great a de- 

* Tsa. 1. 6. 



72 CONTEMPLATION. OF .GOD. 

gree tlie most endowed and refined of all hu- 
man spirits was alive to the sufferings of its 
mortal tabernacle. " His visage was so marred 
more than any man, and his form more thai) 
the sons of men."* There can be no question 
that our blessed Lord suffered grievously from 
weariness, watching, and fasting; from the 
scourge so wantonly inflicted before his cruci- 
fixion ; from burning thirst upon the cross, 
when his cruel enemies gave him " gall min- 
gled with vinegar" to drink ; from the piercing 
of his hands and feet ; from the slow yet intense 
agonies of his dying hours, while the whole 
weight of his body was resting on those tor- 
tured parts. The thought of these things, and 
of each particular amongst them, ought to 
move every heart to tenderness ; for he was 
" wounded for our transgressions" by " his 
stripes ive are healed." " I will pour upon 
the house of David and upon the inhabitants 
of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of suppli- 
cations, (saith the Lord,) and they shall look 
upon me whom they have pierced, and they 
shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his 

* Isa. lii. 14. 



IN REDEMPTION. THE SON. 73 

only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, 
as one that is in bitterness for his first-born."* 
Yet the marring of our Lord's countenance 
might doubtless be traced chiefly to the sor- 
rows of his soul. " My soul," said he, " is 
exceeding sorrowful, even unto death."^ 

The capacities of man for every description 
of right feeling are miserably weakened by the 
fall ; and it is only as we experience a restora- 
tion to the image of our God, that they again 
assume their native and original vigour. On 
this principle it is in various respects true, 
that.holiness and sensibility to sorrow go hand 
in hand and keep pace with each other. The 
greater advances we make towards divine pu- 
rity, the more acute becomes our sympathy 
with the woes of other men, the deeper our 
distress because of the sinfulness of the world, 
and the more painful to our feelings those 
temptations of the devil, with which we are 
ourselves assailed. 

Now we know that our blessed Lord, al- 
though clothed in the nature of man, was ab- 
solutely free from the moral taint of the fall ; 

* Zech. xii, 10. f Matt. xxvi. 30. 



74 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

in him there was no selfishness no spot or 
stain of sin, in word or deed, in thought or 
imagination. How unspeakably tender and 
acute, therefore, must have been his sympathy 
with an afflicted generation, when he bare the 
" sickness" and carried the " sorrows" of the 
people ; when he wept over the grave of Laza- 
rus, and mourned the impending fate of Jeru- 
salem ! What frequent horror and conflict of 
mind must have been his lot, while he con- 
tinued in personal contact with a world of 
traitors and sinners ! What grief and anxiety 
must have assailed him, when, in the view of 
the vice and irreligion of his countrymen, he 
could say, " the zeal of thine house hath eaten 
me up !" and again, " O faithless and perverse 
generation, how long shall I be with you, how 
long shall I suffer you I" 

Above all, however, the sorrow of his soul 
must have been strange and peculiar indeed, 
during those forty days and nights of fasting 
and solitude, when he was himself exposed to 
the insidious assaults of Satan. That He, in 
whom there was no sin, should thus become 
liable to temptation that the prince of dark- 
ness should be permitted to come in upon him 



IN REDEMPTION. THE SON. 75 

like a flood that Satan should dare to suggest 
to that holy incarnate One, the undue indul- 
gence of appetite, the gratification of worldly 
ambition, and the sin of presumption towards 
God is a mystery which no man can un- 
ravel. But one point in connexion with it is 
abundantly clear ; namely, that the anguish 
of spirit produced by these temptations in the 
mind of Jesus, must have been in exact pro- 
portion to his hatred of sin on a perfect level 
with his immaculate purity. 

It is an instructive circumstance, that the 
sufferings which Jesus underwent during the 
course of his life and ministry, were endured 
with long-continued patience. Aggravated as 
they were by a perfectly denned anticipation 
of yet deeper woe, he refrained from exerting 
his power for his own deliverance, and even 
from rushing into the arms of his enemies ; he 
quietly awaited his appointed hour. 

At length, however, that hour arrived. Let 
us then follow him to the garden of Geth- 
semane, and mark his agony and bloody sweat, 
when he poured forth his soul, with " strong 
crying and tears," unto God ; let us listen to 



76 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

Ins prayer, "If it be possible, let this cup 
pass from me ;" and again, " If this cup may 
not pass from me except I drink it, thy will 
be done ;"* let us view him with our mind's 
eye, betrayed by his familiar friend, a prey 
to his malicious foes, bending under the 
weight of his cross, borne along by the mul- 
titude to Calvary, nailed to the fatal tree : let 
us observe the veil of darkness which over- 
spread the face of nature, and hear his 
piercing cry, " My God, my God, why hast 
thou forsaken me ?" let us call to mind, that 
in that hour of unutterable desertion, he was 
bearing upon himself the inconceivable bur- 
den of the sins of men. Thus only shall 
we appreciate with any 'degree of exactness, 
the sufferings of the Lamb of God. Well 
might the rocks be torn asunder, and the 
veil of the temple be rent from top to bot- 
tom ; well might the bodies of the saints, 
which slept, awake from death's slum- 
ber, at the moment which closed these so- 
lemn hours of darkness and woe when IIP 

* Matt. xxvi. 39, 42. 



IN REDEMPTION. THE SON. 77 

said, " It is finished," and "bowed his head, 
and gave up the ghost."* 

5. The contrast which we have now been 
considering, affords us a measure, by which 
we may estimate the greatness of redeeming 
mercy. Let our thoughts ascend to the 
original majesty and blessedness of Christ ; 
let them go down to the opposite extreme of 
his humiliation and suffering ;f let us connect 
and compare the two states ; let us add the 
unfathomable depth to the glorious elevation 

* John xix. 30. 

j- " There are in all the sufferings of the Son of God, 
and particularly in his inward tribulations, peculiarities 
and excellencies that no other sufferings can or should 
pretend to. The dignity of the person that suffered 
did stamp an infinite value on them ; and the vastness, 
or rather immensity of his love to God, and charity to 
man in suffering, gave such degrees of sensibility to 
his sufferings, that nothing can reach or fathom, but a 
love as boundless as his own. And the more that any 
measures of this love take possession of the heart, so 
proportionably the more just and clear will one's ap- 
prehensions of the sufferings of the Lamb of God be.*' 
Just Measures of the Pious Institutions of Youth, 
by George Munro, vicar of Letterkenny, Ireland vol. ii, 
p, 295. 



78 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

and we shall not be left without some just 
apprehensions of that amazing love, which 
brought Emmanuel from his throne, to live 

o 

and die for sinners. 

Now, in the effects produced by this dis- 
pensation of mercy on all who accept it in 
faith, we shall find another contrast of a 
similar character, but in the reverse order, 
which may serve to prove, that as his love 
towards us is infinite, so our gratitude towards 
him ought to know no bounds. What are 
the evils from which Christians are delivered 
by their incarnate Lord ? The power of 
darkness ; the tyranny of Sal an ; the disease 
of sin ; the curse of the law ; the worm that 
dieth not ; the fire which never shall be 
quenched ; a life of iniquity and wretched- 
ness ; an eternity of woe. On the other hand, 
what are the gifts which he graciously confers 
upon them ? The light of divine truth ; the 
pardon of all their sins ; the abounding in- 
fluences of the Holy Spirit; "the peace of 
God which passeth all understanding ;" and 
to crown all, an immortality of joy. " Ye 
are not come to the mount that might be touch- 
ed, and that burned with fire ; nor unto black- 



IN REDEMPTION. THE SON. 79 

ness, and darkness, and tempest, but 

ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the 
city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusa- 
lem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 
to the general assembly and church of the 
lirst-born, which are written in heaven, and to 
God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just 
men made perfect ; and to Jesus the Mediator 
of the new covenant, and to the blood of 
sprinkling that speaketh better things than 
that of Abel."* 

If such are the dangers and woes from 
which we are saved, and such the blessings 
with which we are invested, through the in- 
carnation and sufferings of the Son of God, 
how can we hesitate to surrender all our facul- 
ties to the service of our Redeemer? " The 
love of Christ constraineth us ; because we 
thus judge, that if one died for all, then were 
all dead ; and that he died for all, that they 
which live should not henceforth live unto 
themselves, but unto him which died for them," 
and rose again. "t 

6. It is a remarkable instance of the enig- 
matical character of prophecy, that, in imme- 

* Heb. xii. 18. 2224. f 2 Cor. v. 14, 15. 



80 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

diale connexion with his prediction of the 
propitiatory death of the Messiah, Isaiah 
speaks of his prolonging his days. " When 
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, 
he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, 
and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in 
his hand."* But the prophecy has been fully 
explained by the event ; and now the atoning 
sacrifice and resurrection of Christ are coupled 
in the view of every Christian, never again to 
be severed. 

The resurrection of our Lord is our proper 
evidence that his death was not in vain that 
his victory over the "last enemy" of man, and 
over sin, hell, and Satan, is already won ; and 
that now all who believe in him, as the sacrifice 
of their sins, may also rely upon him as their 
living, unchanging, Saviour ; " for, if, when 
we were enemies, we were reconciled to God 
by the death of his Son, much more, being 
reconciled, we shall be saved by his life."f 

Here, indeed, we open another ample page 
in the history of the love of Christ. Jesus 
having paid, on the cross, the appointed price 
for the souls of his people, and having again 

* Isa. liii. 10 f Rom. v. 10. 



IN REDEMPTION. THE SON. 81 

set down at the right-hand of his Majesty on 
high, is described as taking possession of his 
church, as a bridegroom of his bride ; and 
henceforth, with an ardour and strength be- 
yond all human conception, he loves her as 
ins OWN. Submissive love on her part, and 
protectinglove on his, distinguish their blessed 
relationship. Having imputed to her his own 
righteousness, and sanctified her by his Spirit, 
he can now address her in the endearing lan- 
guage : " Thou art all fair, my love ; there is 
no spot in thee, .... thou hast ravished my 
heart, my sister, my spouse."* Well may 
the church reply : " Set me as a seal upon 
thy heart ; as a seal upon thine arm ; for love 
is strong as death, jealousy is cruel as the 
grave ; the coals thereof are coals of fire, 
which hath a most vehement flame. Many 
waters cannot quench love, neither can the 
floods drown it ; if a man would give all the 
substance of his house lor love, it would ut- 
terly be contemned !"t 

7. " So ought men to love their wives as 
their own bodies. He that loveth his wife, 
loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated 

* Cant. iv. 7. 9. f Cant. viii. 6, 7. 

Gurney. 6 



82 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth 
it, even as the Lord the church; for we are 
members of his body, of his flesh, and of his 
bones."* It is evident that Paul is here dwell- 
ing on his favourite figure, of the head and the 
body ; with the obvious understanding, first, 
that the head is an actual part of the body ; 
and, secondly, that it is its most important part 
the source of life and sensation, and the seat 
of the mind. " Christ," he tells us, " is the 
head of the body, the church. "t Christians 
must " grow up into him, in all things, which 
is the head, from whom the whole body, fitly 
joined together, and compacted by that which 
every joint supplieth, maketh increase of the 
body, unto the edifying of itself in love." 
The figure, like other figures in Scripture, is 
simple and familiar; yet it affords an exact 
illustration of the love of the risen and glori- 
fied Saviour towards his church universal. 

The head is one with the body: "by joints 
and bands it is knit" to its members, just as 
they are knit to each other. So Christ is one 
with the church himself forming an actual 

* Eph. v. 28. 30. f Col. i. 18. 

* Eph. v. 15, 16. Col. ii. 19. 



3N REDEMPTION. THE SON. 83 

part of that mystical body. Not only 'does 
he abide with his disciples in the character of 
an omnipresent Saviour, cherishing them by his 
grace, and protecting them by his power ; but 
he brings them individually into connexion 
and union with himself; he dwells in them, 
and they dwell in him.* Nor is their fellow- 
ship with the Son alone ; through him it is 
with the Father also : " That they all may be 
one, as thou Father art in me, and I in them, 
that they also may be one in us . . . that, they 
may be one, even as we, are one ; I in them 
and thou in me, that they may be made perfect 
in one."t Who can doubt that the union thus 
maintained with his church, by her Lord and 
Redeemer, is in unutterable love? " Who shall 
separate us from the love of Christ? shall tri- 
bulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, 
or nakedness, or peril, or sword ?"...." Nay, 
in all these things we are more than conquerors 
through him that loved us." 

From the head sensation is diffused over the 
whole body ; and the instant that any one of 
our members is severed from this source of 

* John vi. 56. 1 John iii. 24. 
John xvii. 21 23. + Rom. viii. 35. 37. 



84 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

life and feeling, it becomes insensible and 
dies. Thus the Christian derives all his 
spiritual life from his union with Christ ; and 
except we "hold the head"* by faith, there 
can be no life in us we are still " dead in 
trespasses and sin."t Nor will a mere intel- 
lectual belief in Jesus as our Saviour serve 
this all-important purpose, any more than a 
juxtaposition would give life to a limb which 
belongs not to the body. There must be that 
heart-felt reliance on Christ, which animates 
the affections, and works by love. Then will 
our holy Head be a perpetual source to us 
of vital energy. We shall be alive unto God 
and holiness in this present world ; and, 
being joined by indissoluble bonds, to the 
Prince of immortality, we shall live luith him 
forever. 

The next point to union and life is fellow 
feeling. So long as they maintain a healthy 
connexion with the head, all the members of 
the body are tenderly alive to each other's feel- 
ings. But the centre of this sympathy is in the 
head itself; and not the smallest muscle, vessel, 
or nerve, in any one of our limbs, is in any 

* Col. ii. 19. f Eph. ii. 1. 



IN REDEMPTION. THE SON. 85 

degree affected but the sensorium there, re- 
sponds and vibrates to the affection. Thus 
Christians, while they individually derive 
their life from Christ, their Head, suffer and 
rejoice in sympathy with each other. But 
Christ himself is the very source of these 
mutual feelings, and his own sympathy to- 
wards us is infinitely more acute, tender, and 
effective than that of our nearest Christian 
brethren. Having himself experienced un- 
utterable woe, and passed through the ordeal 
of manifold temptation, he is always alive to 
the sorrows and dangers of his people. " In 
that he himself hath suffered, being tempted, 
he is able to succour them that are tempted."* 
" We have not an high-priest which cannot be 
touched with the feeling of our infirmities ; 
but was in all points tempted like as we are, 
yet without sin."t 

Nor is the sympathy of our divine Re- 
deemer with his church, restricted to her sor- 
rows and temptations ; he can also rejoice in 
her joy : " Sing, O daughter of Zion ; shout, 
O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the 
heart, O daughter of Jerusalem ." The 

* Hsb, ii. 18. f Hcb. iv. 15, 



86 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty ; 
he will save, he will rejoice over thee Avith 
joy; he will rest in his love; he will joy 
over thee with singing."* In hours of 
comparative peace and tranquillity, when 
Christians are permitted to commune with 
their Lord, and to delight themselves in his 
presence, the language of the Bridegroom is 
intelligibly heard ; " Rise up, my love, my 
fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter 
is past, the rain is over and gone ; the flowers 
appear on the earth ; the time of the singing 
of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is 
heard in our land ; the fig tree putteth forth 
her green figs ; and the vines with the tender 
grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my 
fair one, and come away."t 

We cannot look upon a person engaged in 
business or conversation, and watch his eye 
and listen to his words, without perceiving that 
the head represents the body sees, hears, 
thinks, and speaks for the whole man. So 
Christ undertakes and provides for his people ; 
acts on their behalf; and represents them in 
the courts of heaven. In the character of a 

* Zeph. iii. 14. 17. f Cant. ii. 1013. 



IN REDEMPTION. THE SON. 87 

faithful and ever-loving advocate, he appears 
in the presence of God for us ; defends our 
interests, and pleads our cause. Our enemy 
and accuser fails to triumph over us, only be- 
cause our almighty friend continually rebukes 
him. Our prayers are accepted, only be- 
cause, when they ascend into the presence of 
God the Father, it is our High-Priest who 
presents them enveloping them in the sweet 
incense of his own intercession. " Who is he 
that condemneth ? It is Christ that died, yea, 
rather, that is risen again, who is even at the 
right-hand of God ; who also maketh inter- 
cession for us."* " But this man, because he 
continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priest- 
hood. Wherefore lie is able also to save them 
to the uttermost that come unto God by him, 
seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for 
them."! 

Lastly, the head rules the body. There 
dwells the immaterial mind, with all its powers 
of reason ; there the will is determined ; and, 
in obedience to the will, the "various members 
of the body move and act ; nor can they, 
when in a healthy state, possibly do otherwise. 

* Rom. viii, 34. f Heb. vii. 24, 25. 



88 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

So Christ is the ever-present sovereign and 
all- wise ruler of his church ; his is the master- 
mind which pervades and regulates the whole 
body. By the influence of his Spirit, he guides 
the movements of all his living members ; he 
conducts them into truth, holiness, and peace ; 
he instructs them by his " anointing" which 
cannot lie ; his will is made manifest to them, 
not only in the page of Scripture, but in the 
secret of the heart; and nothing is required 
on their parts, for the purposes either of safety 
or duty, but the obedience of faith. If their 
souls are sound in the truth, they cannot dis- 
obey him. 

But the authority of the mind is not confined 
to the body over which it presides ; it exer- 
cises a kind of dominion over all other things 

o 

for the body's sake ; it claims surrounding 
nature as its property, and applies it to the 
benefit of man. So the Lord Jesus rules 
supreme, not only over the church, but over 
the universe, for the church's sake. He ap- 
plies to her welfare, present and eternal, re- 
sources of infinite depth and fertility, which 
are all his own. " God hath put all things 
under his feet, and gave him to be the head over 



IN REDEMPTION. THE SON. 89 

ALL THINGS to the church, which is his body, 
the fulness of Him that filleth all in all."* 

8. The fitness of the risen and glorified Sa- 
viour to all the need of his believing children, 
arises, in a peculiar manner, from the myste- 
rious union in him, of the divine and human 
natures. With the supremacy and omniscience 
of Deity 5 he unites all tlie tenderness of brother- 
hood ; and again, while he is man to feel for 
the temptations of his people, he is God to de- 
liver them from all their enemies. The same 
union will be conspicuously displayed in an 
awful day to come when in the form and 
character of the " Son of Man," yet with all 
ihe majesty of the eternal Godhead, he will 
come again, to complete the salvation and 
glory of his followers. 

True, indeed, it is, that at the solemn hour 
which terminates their present life, Jesus visits 
his people individually " precious in the sight 
of the Lord is the death of his saints. "t In 
the " valley of the shadow of death" he is their 
friend and companion ; and when they tread 
the verge of Jordan, they find him like the 
riest of old, who bore the ark of the 

* Eph. i. 22, 23. f Ps. cxvi. 15. 



90 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

covenant, standing in the midst of the river, 
that they may pass through its waves, with 
safety, to the land of promise. Thus may 
the humble Christian say with David, "I shall 
be satisfied, when I awake with thy likeness ;"* 
or with Stephen, " Lord Jesus, receive my 
spirit;"! or with Paul, "To depart and be 
with Christ ... is far better."^: 

" The heir of heaven, henceforth I fear not death ; 
In Christ I live ; in Christ I draw the breath 
Of the true life ; Let, then, earth, sea, and sky 
Make war against me ! On my heart I show 
Their mighty Master's seal. In vain they try 
To end my life, that can but end its woe. 
Is that a death-bed where a Christian lies 1 
Yes ! but not his 'tis Death himself there dies.'' 

COLERIDGE. 

Yet the church is taught to look forward, 
with hope and confidence, to that still more 
solemn period, when Jesus "shall be revealed 
from heaven with his mighty angels," when 
"he shall come to be glorified in his saints, 
and to be admired in all them that believe. " 
This period, according to the record of Scrip- 

* Ps. xvii. 15. f Acts vii. 56. 

t Phil. i. 23, 2 Thess. i. 7. 10. 



IN REDEMPTION. THE SON. 91 

ture, will be distinguished by three events of 
unspeakable importance the resurrection of 
the dead ; the destruction, or purification by 
fire, of the visible world ; and the final judg- 
ment of all men. Then shall " the wicked 
be turned into hell, and all the nations that 
forget God ;"* but " the righteous shall shine 
forth as the sun in the kingdom of their 
Father."! Raised in his likeness, or trans- 
formed into it, and invested with robes washed 
white in his blood, the Lord's children, of 
every age, name, and nation, shall then be- 
hold in their Judge, a Saviour and a Friend. 
In the view of an assembled universe, he will 
present them to HimselfJ he will present 
them to his Father a faultless church ; and 
in his perfect LOVE they will find their eternity 
of joy. 

It appears, then, that the redeeming love 
of God the Son is manifested, first, by his 
voluntary self-reduction from original glory 
and bliss, to the lowliness of human nature, 
and to the sufferings of the cross, that he 
might atone for the sins of mankind ; secondly, 

* Ps. ix. 17. f Matt. xiii. 43. 

i Eph, v. 27. Jade 24. 



92 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

by his grace towards his people, in bringing 
them into union with himself, in feeding them 
with the bread of life, in sympathizing with 
their sorrows and joys, in pleading their cause, 
in governing them by his Spirit, and in ruling 
the universe itself for their benefit; and, lastly, 
by his bestowing upon them the victory ovei 
death, and by his consummating all their bliss, 
in eternal glory. 

In the contemplation of these things, the 
heart of the Christian, though still prone to 
coldness and insensibility, can often melt into 
tenderness, and overflow with love and grati- 
tude. But it is not only because of his benefi- 
cence towards ourselves, that we are taught to 
love the Son of God, but because of his intrin- 
sic amiabilitybecause of the beauty and di- 
vine perfection of his character. In humbling 
himself from his glorious estate, even to the 
death of the cross, he was one with the Father, 
not only in the scheme of mercy, but also in 
upholding the righteousness of the law; during 
his life on earth, he displayed, in his conduct 
as a man, a perfect conformity to the moral at- 
tributes of God ; and now that he reigns su- 
preme at the right-hand of the Majesty on high 



IN REDEMPTION. THE SON. 93 

no man can live in sin and yet claim him as a 
Saviour ; his kingdom is one of purity as well 
as peace. 

We therefore acknowledge him to be a 
righteous Redeemer, " the Holy One of Is- 
rael ;" we depend on his merits, as well as 
on his mercies ; we admire and adore him for 
his boundless love, and for his eternal worthi- 
ness. " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain 
to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and 
strength, and honour, and glory, and bless- 
ing." " Blessing, and honour, and glory, and 
power be unto Him that sitteth on the throne, 
and unto the Lamb forever and ever."* 

* Rev. v. 12, 13. 



SECTION V. 

ON THE CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, IN REDEMP- 
TION. THE SPIRIT. 

WHEN the Lord Jesus was on the point of 
quitting the sphere of his humiliation, and of 
returning to the glory of his Father, he gave 
his last commission to his disciples " Go ye, 
therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them 
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 
of the Holy GAosf."* Hence we cannot fail 
to learn, that the Holy Ghost is no mere in- 
fluence or quality, but an equal object, with 
the Father and the Son, of the Christian's 
faith and allegiance. As such, he is frequently 
alluded to in the New Testament. The source 
of all true virtue and happiness among men, 
he claims our perpetual reverence ; and to 

* Matt, xxvii. 19. 



CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, ETC. 95 

blaspheme against him, is declared to be an 
unpardonable transgression. " All sins shall 
be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blas- 
phemies wherewith soever they shall blas- 
pheme ; but he that shall blaspheme against 
the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is 
in danger of eternal damnation."* 

The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of God, and 
the Spirit of Christ.t He is sent of the Fa- 
ther,:): and sent of the Son. Yet it cannot be 
denied that the authority and dignity which are 
thus ascribed to him, belong to the Supreme Be- 
ing himself; and equally clear is it, that God 
alone can perform the works of the Spirit. 

To search, illuminate, and cleanse the soul ; 
to breathe into it the breath of the true life ; to 
inspire the Lord's servants ; to distribute, ac- 
cording to his own will, those manifold gifts 
by which the church is edified are the pecu- 
liar offices of the Spirit : and who shall deny 
that they are offices of deity? " God is a 
Spirit;" invisible and spiritual in his nature, 
he fills his own works ; he exercises over them 



* Mark iii. 28, 29. f Rom. viii. 9. 

t John xiv. 26. John xv. 26. 



93 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

an unseen and powerful influence ; he dwells 
and operates in the hearts of men. Nor can 
\ve deny the truth of the converse of the pro- 
position that the Spirit who fills the works 
of the Creator, who exercises over them an 
unseen and powerful influence, who dwells 
and operates in the hearts of men, is God. 
" The LORD is that SPIRIT."* 

Since, then, the Spirit is God, it plainly fol- 
lows that he is also love ; for " God is love ;" 
and nothing can be more inseparable from the 
nature of the Deity, than this pervading attri- 
bute. When Paul beseeches his brethren to 
strive with him in prayer, for the Lord Jesus 
Christ's sake, and for (the sake of) the love 
of the Spirit, we may best understand him as 
speaking, not of our love to the Spirit, but of 
the Spirit's love to z^.s."t 

It was through the agency of the Holy 
Ghost that the Son of God became incarnate, 
and was afterwards anointed for all his gracious 
offices. Immeasurably gifted for his work 

* 2 Cor. iii. 17. See Essays on Christianity, 3d 
edition, vii. p. 143. 

j- Rom. xv. 30. Ata TOU xu^lcu H/XWV 'Iixrcv X^ta-rov, xa.} 

f;a TX; LyaTrvg TGV 



IN REDEMPTION. THE SPIRIT. 97 

and station, by the influences of the Spirit, 
Jesus became both the prophet and the king 
of his people. " The Spirit of- the Lord God 
is upon me," says the Messiah, " because the 
LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings 
unto the meek."* Again, the psalmist, wor- 
shipping him, says " Thy throne, O God, is 
forever and ever ; the sceptre of thy kingdom 
is a right sceptre; thou loves t righteousness 
and hatest wickedness ; therefore God, thy 
God, hath anointed thee with the oil of glad- 
ness above thy fellows. "t Jesus was also the 
Christ, i. e. the Anointed one, in his priestly 
character. The precious ointment which was 
poured forth upon the head of Aaron, and ran 
down to the skirts of his garment, was proba- 
bly a type of that unlimited effusion of the Holy 
Ghost, through which the Saviour offered on 
the cross, one all-sufficient sacrifice for the 
sins of mankind. " Through the ETERNAL 
SPIRIT," he " offered HIMSELF, without spot, 
to God."$ 

The boundless communications made to the 

* Isa. Ixi. 1 ; camp. ch. xi. 2, and John iii. 34. 
f Ps. xiv. 6, 7 ; comp. ii. 2. 
t Heb. ix. 14. 



98 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

Lord Jesus of a spiritual influence, are to be 
regarded, not merely as divine gifts bestowed 
on his human nature, but as a necessary result 
of that perfect oneness of design and opera- 
tion, which subsists in the Father, the Son, 
and the Spirit, for the redemption of the 
world. Very distinct were the tokens given 
of this jo'int purpose and action, on that me- 
morable occasion, when the heavens were 
opened upon Jesus, and the Spirit of God de- 
scended like a dove, and lighted upon him, 
while the voice of the Father was heard, say- 
ing, " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am 
well pleased."* Who then can doubt that 
Heaven's vast design for man's salvation, is to 
be ascribed to the love of the Spirit, as well as 
to that of the Father and the Son ? 

But let us mark the gracious dealings of the 
Holy Ghost, in applying this scheme of 
mercy to our own benefit. The Spirit who 
co-operatfid with Christ in his sacrifice on the 
cross, is, through that sacrifice, himself be- 
stowed on mankind, to enlighten, teach, re- 
generate, purify, console, and ripen for heaven. 

* Matt. iii. 16, 17, 



IN T REDEMPTION. -THE SPIRIT. 99 

May we not rest assured that he performs all 
these offices, in the most ardent, tender, and 
persevering love ? 

1. No one will deny, that there went forth 
a command of benevolence as well as power, 
when God said, "Let there be light:" for 
without light, in the natural world, all would 
be confusion and danger to his living and sen- 
sitive creatures. Now the state of man in the 
fall, with respect to a right knowledge of God 
and of his law, is like that of the world in the 
obscurity of chaos. Not only is he dead in 
trespasses and sins ; but he is " under the 
power of darkness ;"* he is sitting " in dark- 
ness and in the shadow of death:"! and from this 
melancholy condition he can be delivered only 
through the agency of the Holy Spirit. 

Since this is the clear doctrine of Scripture, 
it appears to follow, that whatsoever can be 
found among our species, in any age or coun- 
try, of true moral and spiritual light be it 
fainter or brighter must be ascribed, not to 
the natural reason of man, but, directly or indi- 
rectly, to that divine Spirit. This remark is 
not without its just application, as I conceive 

* Col. i. 13. f Luke i. 79. 



100 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD. 

to some ancient writers who had not the Scrip- 
tures ; for we can scarcely deny that rays of hea- 
venly light shot across the darkness of their 
speculations. But where would have been the 
preaching of Noah, of Abraham, and of Job ; 
where the precepts of Moses; where the fervent 
admonitions and luminous discoveries, of the pro- 
phets ; where the brightness of that " burning and 
shining light," who preceded the coming of Jesus, 
had it not been for the revealing influence of the 
Holy Ghost ? With still greater force may the 
same inquiry be made Math respect. to the apos- 
tles and evangelists. When they declared on 
the house-tops the truths which their Lord had 
taught them in secret places, it was " the Com- 
forter" who brought all things to their remem- 
brance, "whatsoever he had said unto them."* 
Like their predecessors, in the appointed course 
of divine revelation, they spake and " they 
wrote as they were moved of the Holy Ghost." 
Do we ask for a distinct and palpable evi- 
dence of the love of the Spirit? We may surely 
find such an evidence in the gift of the Holy 

* John xiv. 26. 



IN REDEMPTION. THE SPIRIT. 101 

Scriptures, so graciously bestowed on us, 
through his inspiring power a gift of rare 
worth and richness, which embraces, in its 
scope and intention, the whole family of man. 
2. We are to conceive of the Holy Spirit, 
however, not merely as the agent of divine 
revelation, but as a wise and benevolent pre- 
ceptor, who gradually unfolds his lessons to 
our understanding, as we, are able to bear 
them ; and at the same time impresses them 
upon our hearts. " Howbeit when he, the 
Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you 
into all truth ; for he shall not speak of him- 
self ; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall 

he speak he shall receive of mine, and 

shall show it -unto you."* That gracious 
Spirit who gave the Scriptures forth, is the 
one needful interpreter of the sacred page ; 
and as far as relates to all that affects the 
work of salvation he is ever ready to explain 
its meaning to the child-like and devotional 
inquirer. 

But the teaching of the Spirit belongs to a 
system of training and government. He un- 
dertakes the whole conduct of our souls ; and 

* John xvi. 13, 14. 



102 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

the very condition on which he instructs us in 
the doctrines of truth, is obedience to the law 
of God. Although, for a time, these doctrines 
may be obscure to us, the precepts of religion 
are always clear : and it is only as we humbly 
endeavour to add virtue to our faith, that the 
Spirit will enable us to add knowledge to oui 
virtue. Again, when we have made some 
little proficiency in the school of Christ, the 
Spirit teaches us to apply our knowledge to 
its practical uses. He points out, with clear- 
ness to our souls, our peculiar lines of duty; 
he prompts and directs our respective services 
in the church ; he opens our path before us, and 
shows us how to walk in it. We need not 
that any man teach us, because " the anoint- 
ing" teaches us "of all things, and is truth 
and no lie."* 

Nor does our Divine Teacher withhold from 
the objects of his care a gentle yet wholesome 
discipline. When we please him by our 
teachableness and obedience, he rewards us 
with his smiles ; but he is grieved by our in- 
dolence and rebellion ; and then, by withdraw- 
ing from us his sacred presence, and leaving us 

* 1 John ii. 27. 



IN REDEMPTION. THE SPIRIT. 103 

for a time in darkness and distress, he kindly 
instructs us to cleave to him, for the future, 
with greater constancy. When such is our 
sorrowful state we may well adopt the prayer 
of the poet : 

" Return, O holy Dove, return ! 
Sweet messenger of rest ; 
I hate the sins that made thee mourn, 

And drove thee from my breast; 
The dearest idol I have known, 

Whate'er that idol be, 
Help me to tear it from thy throne, 
And worship only thee." 

COWPER. 

The strength and constancy of the Spirit's 
love is indeed made manifest by his long striv- 
ing, not only with the living though halting 
members of his church, but even with a thought- 
less and degenerate world. Truly may it be 
said, that our inward Monitor fulfils the office 
of charity itself that he " suffer eth long and 
is kind." 

3. " That which is born of the flesh is 
flesh ; and that which is born of the Spirit is 
spirit .... the wind bloweth where it listeth, 
and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst 



104 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

not tell whence it cometh, and whither it 
goeth ; so is every one that is born of the 
Spirit."* 

The act of omnipotence by which the Spirit 
in conformity with the will of the Father 
first imparts to us a new and heavenly life, 
must surely be ascribed to unmerited love ; 
and the same blessed attribute is manifested in 
every step of that process, by which he gradu- 
ally restores the lost soul of man to the image 
of his Maker. The whole is a work of grace, 
that is, of unmerited favour, and therefore of 
love. To convince of sin, to humble the soul 
under a sense of it, to inspire a living faith in 
Jesus, to change the whole course of the 
affections, and finally, to cleanse the heart, 
and to deliver from all defilement, are offices 
of divine compassion, which the Spirit is 
ever willing to perform for all who seek 
the Lord. And who can deny that they 
demand the warmest gratitude of every 
Christian, towards that holy and benevolent 
Agent ? 

When we have exchanged the love of the 
world for the love of God, and have expe- 

* John iii. 6, 8. 



IN REDEMPTION. THE SPIRIT. 105 

rienced the happiness of this blessed change 
when, " instead of the thorn" has sprung 
up the " fir tree," and " instead of the brier," 
the " myrtle tree," we cannot refrain from 
declaring the praises of Him who is the im- 
mediate Author, in the economy of grace, of 
this new creation. 

4. But the victory over sin is far from being 
accomplished in a moment. Long is the con- 
flict between the flesh and the Spirit ; and 
" lively and strong" are the enemies against 
whom it is our lot to contend. There are our 
many evil propensities, which, though weak- 
ened and brought under a yoke, are not yet de- 
stroyed; and there are, above all, "the rulers 
of the darkness of this world," ever ready to 
deceive and destroy. Nor are we to forget, that 
in the good order of Providence, the Chris- 
tian is" often exposed to difficulty and distress 
to the fiery trial both. of his faith and pa- 
tience". Where, then, is our refuge from day 
to day, but in the strengthening influences of 
the Holy Ghost ? Weak and helpless in our- 
selves, we can fight the good fight of failh. 
only as we are clothed in the " armour of 

* 

Gr<id," and 'are strengthened " with might by 



106 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

his Spirit in the inner man."* Nor is this 
necessary aid withheld from those who pray 
for it " God is able," said the apostle, " to 
make all grace abound toward you, that ye 
always having all sufficiency, in all things, 
may abound to every good work."t 

Now, in communicating this strengthening 
influence to the soul of man, the Holy Spirit 
displays not only beneficence, but sympathy ; 
for he too pities our weakness, and breathes 
unutterable prayers on behalf of his people. 
" Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our in- 
firmities ; for we know not what we should 
pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself 
maketh intercession for us, (performs our part 
in prayer,) with groanings which cannot be 
utter ed."t Who, then, can doubt the love of 
the Spirit? 

5. Finally, the Spirit is our Comforter. "If 
ye love me, keep my commandments ; and I 
will pray the Father, and he will give you 
another Comforter, that he may abide with 
you forever ; even the Spirit of truth, whom 
the world cannot receive, because it seeth him 

* Epb. iii. 16. f 2 Cor. ix. 8 ; comp. Col. i. 1 1. 

t Rom. viii. 26. 



IN REDEMPTION. THE SPIRIT. 107 

not, neither knoweth him ; but ye know him, 
for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in 
you."* "It is expedient for you that I go 
away ; for if I go not away, the Comforter 
will not come unto you ; but if I depart, I 
will send him unto you."t 

The title which is here rendered Comforter 
in the Greek Paraclete is one of a very 
comprehensive import. In its common use, 
it denotes the individual who adopts us as his 
clients, and who is ever ready to defend OUT 
cause, to protect our property and persons, to 
relieve our sorrows, and to supply our wants. 
As applied to the Holy Spirit, it may, perhaps, 
be illustrated by one of the figures of the Old 
Testament : "As birds flying, so will the 
LORD of HOSTS defend Jerusalem ; defending 
also, he will deliver it, and passing (or as in 
the Hebrew, hovering] over, he will pre- 
serve it.";t 

While that holy Dove spreads his winjjs 
and hovers over the Lord's children, there 
descends upon them from above, a divine, 
preserving influence. If they transgress the 
limits of this influence, they are instantly ex- 

* John xiv. 15 17. f John xvi. 7. i Isa. xxxi. 5 



[08 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

posed both to sin and Satan ; but so long as 
they steadfastly abide under it, in all things, 
they are quiet in the centre of storms, and 
safe in the heat of danger. 

But the influence of the Comforter not only 
preserves, but gladdens. It elevates every pure 
pleasure,- and sweetens every bitter cup. Al- 
though the worM may frown upon the Chris- 
tian, *and sorrow and suffering be his portion, 
he is taught of the Spirit to rejoice in the Lord. 
" The Spirit itself beareth witness with our 
spirit that we are the children of God ; and if 
children, then heirs ; heirs of God and joint 
heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with 
him, that we may be also glorified together."* 
This is the sealing of the " Holy Spirit of 
promise. "t In seasons of peculiar favour, does 
the heavenly Visitant impress upon the hearts 
of the Lord's children the seal of bliss ; he fills 
them with " all joy and peace in believing ;" 
and the happiness with which he inspires them, 
is the " earnest" of their inheritance the sure 
foretaste of their future joys. 

Such is the true explanation of the same 
apostle's doctrine, that " our hope maketh not 

* Rom. viii. 16. 17. f Eph. i. 13. &c. 



IN REDEMPTION. THE SPIRIT. 109 

ashamed, because the love of God is shed 
abroad in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost which 
is given unto us."* The hope which maketh 
ashamed, is that which fails to be realized, and 
which ends only in disappointment. "My 
brethren," says Job, " have dealt deceitfully as 
a brook, and as the stream of brooks they pass 
away ; which are brackish by reason of the ice, 
and wherein the snow is hid. What time they 
wax warm, they vanish ; when it is hot, they 

are consumed out of their place ; the 

troops of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba 
waited for them ; they were confounded be- 
cause, they had hoped; they came thither and 
were ashamed.'^ Not such is the hope of the 
humble, watchful, and persevering follower 
of the Lord Jesus Christ; for grace bestowed 
upon him here, is both the evidence and the 
pledge of his approaching glory. When he 
enters upon an unseen world, he will joyfully 
discover, that the grace of the Spirit has been 
flowing towards him, from no shallow or 
evanescent fountain; but is there poured forth, 
in a boundless stream, for the gladdening of 
the glorified church, forever. 

* Rom. v. 5. f Job vi. 1520. 



110 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

Thus, it appears, that in the anointing of 
Jesus as the Messiah ; and in his enlighten 
ing, teaching, regenerating, sanctifying, and 
consoling influences in ourselves, we are fur- 
nished with a series of distinct evidences of 
the Spirit's love for our fallen race ; and more 
especially for the church of Christ. But as 
with the Father and the Son, so it is with the 
Spirit/ We are invited and constrained to 
love him, not merely because of his benefi- 
cence towards ourselves, but because of his 
intrinsic and infinite worthiness, as an object 
of our affections. Benevolent he truly is, in 
the most exalted degree ; but his benevolence 
is the accompaniment of his holiness. Purity 
is the very substance of his character ; and 
love distinguishes the whole gracious work, 
through which that purity is conveyed to 
man. 



On a deliberate view of that glorious 
scheme of mercy, which we have now been 
endeavouring to unfold, our hearts may well 
be filled with admiration and astonishment, 
while they are humbled in the dust, and 



IN REDEMPTION. THE SPIRIT. Ill 

melted into love. What do we not owe of 
affection, gratitude, and allegiance to the 
Father, who loved us from eternity, and sent 
his Son into the world to save us ; to the Sou, 
who bore the bitter penalty of our sins on the 
cross, and who ever lives to make intercession 
for us ; and to the Spirit, who applies these 
mercies, and prepares us for heavenly joy? 
Yet, while we contemplate these distinctive 
operations of divine mercy, as demanding cor- 
responding exertions, on our own part, of faith, 
love, and obedience, we must never, for a mo- 
ment, forget that God is ONE, and that his es- 
sence cannot be divided. His love does, indeed, 
flow forth for the redemption of mankind, in 
the respective offices of the Father, the Son, 
and the Spirit ; but it is the love of a single, in- 
finite, and incomprehensible BEING, who is the 
author, the medium, and the end of all things. 
When JEHOVAH had laid the foundations of 
the earth, and had called into being his crea- 
ture man, his love was celebrated by the har- 
mony of the spheres and the applause of an- 
gels " the morning stars sang together, anil 
all the sons of God shouted for joy."* 

* Job xxxviii. 7. 



112 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

" From harmony, from heavenly harmony, 
This universal frame began ; 
From harmony to harmony, 
Through all the compass of the notes it ran, 
The diapason closing full in man." 



When the same love was yet more glori- 
ously displayed in the mission and incarna- 
tion of the Prince of Peace when both the 
majesty and mercy of God were made mani- 
fest to mankind in the face of Jesus the 
melody of heaven again became audible. 
" And suddenly there was with the shepherds 
a multitude of the heavenly host, praising 
Cod, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, 
and on earth peace, and good will to man."* 
Nor can it be doubted, that as this blessed 
dispensation extends its influence over the 
world, songs of praise will be more and more 
heard, from " the uttermost parts of the 
earth" "even glory to the righteous.''! 

" One song employs all nations, and all cry, 
Worthy the Lamb, for he was slain for us ; 

* Luke ii. 13, 14. f Isa. xxiv. 16. 



IN REDEMPTION THE SPIRIT. 113 

The dwellers in the vales and on. the rocks 
Shout to each other, and the mountain tops 
From distant mountains catch the flying joy ; 
Till, nation after nation taught the strain, 
Earth rolls the rapturous Hosannah round." 

COAVPEH. 

Finally, when time shall be no longer 
when the whole mediatorial scheme shall have 
been accomplished, and the elect of God ga- 
thered into heavenly places one harmonious 
anthem will forever ascend from that.ransomed 
and glorified assembly which no man can num- 
ber. In perfect accordance with cherubim and 
seraphim, will they sing the song of Moses 
and the song of the Lamb " Great and mar- 
vellous aie thy works, Lord God Almighty ; 
just and true are thy ways, thou King of 
saints ;" and again, " Alleluia, for the Lord 
God omnipotent reigneth !"* 

May we reflect, with humble reverence and 
holy joy, on the creating, renovating, and 
croivning mercies of our God ; may a sense 
of those mercies be in us an ever-flowing well- 
spring of love and gratitude ; may we bear our 

* Rev. xv 3, 4; xix. G. 
Guniey 8 



114 CONTEMPLATION OF GOD, 

part, individually, in the universal melody of 
thanksgiving ; and under an unutterable feeling 
of our obligations to God, may we surrender 
our whole hearts to his Spirit our whole 
lives to his service ! 

One additional remark will bring the present 
branch of our subject to its conclusion. We 
have hitherto been considering the contempla- 
tion of God, only as a means of increasing that 
love to him, which is the main qualification 
for the joys and services of heaven ; but, inde- 
pendently of this consideration, it has in itself 
a heaven-ward tendency. The habit of fixing 
our minds on God, as the subject of our 
thoughts and meditations, is one of which, in 
heaven, we shall find the full value. May we 
not believe that it is an endless source of oc- 
cupation and delight to the inhabitants of that 
blessed place, to contemplate the perfections 
of the Deity to inquire into the riches of his 
wisdom, love, and power to admire the dis- 
tinctive glories and perfect oneness, of the 
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost ? 

Let us, then, in dependence on the grace of 
God, accustom ourselves, even here, to this 



IN REDEMPTION. THE SPIRIT. 115 

divine employment. Amidst our many calls 
to active duty, let us still give due place to the 
contemplative part of the religious life. . Let 
us frequently endeavour to lift up our souls 
above this present busy sphere, and to medi- 
tate on the glory of Jehovah. Thus shall we 
be the better prepared, not only to love God 
perfectly, in that world of which love is the 
element ; but to unite with saints and angels 
in the highest of all applications of the mental 
faculty. " Now we see through a glass 
darkly, but then face to face; now we know 
in part, but then shall we know, even as we 
are known." 



SECTION VI. 

ON COMMUNION WITH GOD. 

A MAN who lias committed some grievous 
offence against his neighbour, and has neither 
repented of his fault nor been forgiven, has no 
inclination for the society of the offended party ; 
especially if the latter is a person in authority, 
and has power to inflict punishment ; on the 
contrary, he will rather flee from him ; and will 
even adopt the most ingenious devices to avoid 
his presence. Just on the same grounds, but 
in a far greater degree, is fallen man alienated 
from God. While Adam continues in his up- 
rightness, his highest happiness is to converse 
with his Maker ; but no sooner does he fall 
into sin, than the whole train of his feelings is 
altered he hides himself " from the presence 
of the Lord God amongst the trees of the gar- 



COMMUNION WITH GOD. 117 

den."* The prodigal must repent of his ini- 
quities, must confess them, and pray to be 
forgiven ; must be reconciled to the benevolent 
parent whom he has offended, before he can 
eat his bread, and commune with him in love. 

While, indeed, a man is built up, like the 
Pharisees of old, in self-righteousness, he may 
imagine himself to be both able and fit to coiii- 
mune with the Moral Governor of the universe ; 
but gross indeed is his delusion. Were the 
secrets of his heart made manifest to him, was 
he sensible of the utter vileness of his corrupt 
nature, he would instantly recoil from the pre- 
sence of his Judge. Repentance and reconcili- 
ation are steps which must be trodden by every 
man, before he can possibly enjoy an effective 
communion with the Author of all good. What 
a mercy is it, then, that God has " laid help on 
one that is mighty" that he has raised Jesus 
from the dead that he has " exalted" him " to 
be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repent- 
ance to Israel, and. forgiveness o/sms."t 

No sooner have we been brought to repent- 
ance towards God, and faith towards our Lord 

* Gen. iii. 8. Acts v. 31. 



118 COMMUNION WITH GOD. 

Jesus Christ, than the door of communion 
with our heavenly Father is opened to our 
souls. Unworthy as we are to hold converse 
in spirit with an infinitely holy Being, Christ 
has " consecrated for us a new and living 
way"* to the throne of grace. Justified by 
faith in him, clothed in his righteousness, 
and depending on his perpetual intercession, 
we may now draw near to God with filial love 
and confidence, and call him " Abba, Father."! 
Yet we cannot perform this sacred duty in ou v 
own strength ; we must seek the influence 
of that Holy Spirit, who can alone impart a 
living energy to our praises and our prayers. 
Through Christ we ail " have access, by one 
Spirit unto the Father. "t 

Communion with God, like the contempla- 
tion of that glorious Being, is an act of the 
soul, which originates in love, and has an un- 
failing tendency to brighten and confirm the 
affection from which it springs. On the other 
hand, if we neglect to avail ourselves of this 
blessed privilege a privilege for which the 
mediation of Christ, and the aid of the Spirit, 

* Heb. x. 20. f Rom. viii. 15 * Eph. ii. 18. 



COMMUNION WITH GOD. 119 

are so freely offered lo us our love to him. 
with whom we ought to commune, will sub- 
side into coolness. The subject may be illus- 
trated by some of the most familiar realities 
of common life. 

The chain of friendship to adopt the sim- 
ple metaphor of the North American Indians 
is kept bright by the converse of friends. If 
we truly love our friend, and are on good 
terms with him, we naturally seek his society; 
and the more we enjoy of it mind com- 
muning with mind the more does our love 
for him abound. If, on the other hand, we fail 
to attend to the impulse of affection, antl neg- 
lect our converse with him, the affection it- 
self will soon lie found to wither. 

When n cessation of intercourse between 
friends is occasioned by circumstances over 
which they have no control, there does in- 
deed arise a certain effort of the mind which 
counteracts the effect of absence, and overleaps 
the greatest distance. But it is an undeviating 
rule that when such cessation is voluntary, the 
affection which attracts them to each other be- 
comes weaker and weaker especially in the 
mind of the party who is the most guilty of 



120 COMMUNION WITH GOD. 

neglect. If, for example, a son prefers the 
pleasures of the world to the society of his pa- 
rents, and gradually deserts his home, until it 
becomes a strange place to him : although the 
yearnings of parental love may never cease to 
follow him, his own feelings of filial regard will 
be sure to decay ; and unless reawakened by 
some peculiarly touching circumstance, or by 
a divine power, will end in total indifference, 
or perhaps dislike. How important then that 
the Christian should be watchful and diligent 

c 

in maintaining his communion with God ! 

It is a fact which ought deeply to humble 
us, that although the blessing of such a com- 
munion is freely provided for us in the gospel 
of our Redeemer, the lingering corruptions of 
nature often interfere with our desire, and even 
with our willingness, fully to enjoy it. In the 
wandering away of our minds from the Father 
of mercies, even at times which we profess to 
devote to worship, and in our frequent disin- 
clination to approach the throne of grace, what 
evidences do we find of the cleceitfulness of our 
own hearts ? But to yield to the weakness 
which withdraws us from God voluntarily to 
forsake our communion with him ds awfully 



COMMUNION WITH GOD. 121 

dangerous, and may be fatal. In such a case, 
\ve alone are the party guilty of neglect; and, 
therefore, whatsoever may still be his com- 
passion towards us, our love to him that pure 
affection without which we cannot be qualified 
for the enjoyment of heaven will certainly 
grow cool ; and if the neglect is continued, 
must perish. 

1. Although true religion abounds in social 
feelings and duties, there is in its work on the 
individual soul, a depth of solitude with which 
none can interfere. Every heart knows its 
own bitterness ; every man must bear Iris 
own burden ; and when we come at last to 
the valley of the shadow of death, we must 
pass through its darkness without any human 
companionship alone with our God. Hence 
we may perceive the importance of that so- 
litary devotion, in which the Christian,- se- 
parated for a season from his fellow-men, 
can say with the Psalmist: "Whom have I 
in heaven but thee ; and there is none upon 
earth that I desire besides thee."* Our Lord's 
precept on the subject is clear and decisive : 

* Ps. Ixxiii. 25. 



122 COMMUNION WITH GOD. 

" But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy 
closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, 
pray to thy Father which is in secret ; and 
thy Father which seeth in secret, shall reward 
thee openly."* 

Jesus Christ himself, virtually exemplified 
this precept, when, in the wilderness, or on 
the mountain's side far away from his dis- 
ciples he poured forth his soul in prayer, 
and held solemn converse with God his Father; 
and it is surely the duty of every Christian to 
obey his word, and follow his example. To 
retire occasionally during the day, and espe- 
cially at the beginning and end of it, from all 
human society, for the purpose of self-exami- 
nation and prayer, is a practice which Chris- 
tianity may be said to enjoin, and which affords 

/ u ' 

an important aid to every other duty. Such 
times of solitary religious exercise, are emi- 
nently useful for the deepening of our humility, 
and for the strengthening of our faith, our hope, 
and our virtue. The more diligent we are in 
private communion with God, the more con- 
spicuously shall we bear the mark of his 

* Matt. vi. 6. 



COMMUNION WITH GOD. 123. 

Spirit upon us, in our whole demeanour and 
conversation among men.* 

2. Many are the significant hints given to 
us in Scripture, on the subject of family re- 
ligion. The Lord knew that Abraham would 
" command his children and his household 
after him" to " keep the way of the Lord."t 
Joshua said, " As for me and my house, we 
will serve the Lord." The Israelites were 

* Devotion is retirement from the world which God 
has made, to him alone. , it is to withdraw from the 
avocations of sense, to employ our attention wholly upon 
him, as upon an object actually present, to yield our 
selves up to the influence of the divine presence, and to 
give full scope to the affections of gratitude, love, re- 
verence, trust, and dependence ; of which infinite power, 
wisdom, and goodness, is the natural and only adequate 
object. Bishop Butler's second sermon on the Love of 
God, p. 247. Devotion is the work of the heart, it is 
transacted in the inner man; the principle of it is divine 
love, and its very nature is nothing else, but the different 
motions and appearances of this pure flame in- the soul, 
either disposing it to an absolute surrender of itself 
to God, or humbling it under a deep sense of its own 
unworthiness, or exerting in it mighty and vehement 
desires, or, in fine, making it dissolve in praise and thanks- 
giving. Monrd's Pious Institution of Youtk,vol.i. p.2 1 1 . 

f Gen. xviii. 19. * Josh. xxiv. 15. 



124 COMMUNION WITH GOD. 

commanded to teach the Lord's precepts to 
their children, and to speak of them, as they 
sat in their houses ; and the passover was 
celebrated among them separately, in every 
family ?* David said, " I will walk within 
my house with a perfect heart.'!! Cornelius 
"feared God with all his house."! There 
was a church in the house of Nymphas ; and 
another in that of Philemon : their re- 
spective families, doubtless, being united in 
the fellowship of the gospel, and in the daily 
worship of God. There can, indeed, be no 
doubt, that nearness of natural connexion ought 
ever to be accompanied among Christians, by 
a corresponding intimacy in matters of religion. 
Husbands and wives, parents and children, 
brothers and sisters, should be helpers of each 
other's faith and joy ; and should account it a 
privilege of no trifling value, to frequent the 
throne of grace in each other's company. 
With respect to our children, more particu- 
larly, it is surely our duty, by watchful in- 
struction, and sometimes by uniting with them 
in their private religious exercises, to train 

* Deut. vi. 7. Exod. xii. 21. f Ps. ci. 2. 

* Acts x. 2. Col. iv. 15. Philem. 2. 



COMMUNION WITH GOD. 125 

them in the habit of daily prayer just as we 
see the parent bird, by frequent example and 
experiment, teaching and inducing; her young 
ones to use the wings which God has given 
them. 

Nor ought we to neglect to extend a reli- 
gious care over our servants. Our whole 
household should be solemnly united, day by 
day, in the reading of the Holy Scriptures, and 
in drawing near, in spirit, to that gracious Being 
from whom we derive all our blessings both 
temporal and spiritual. Thus shall we expe- 
rience the fulfilment of that word of promise : 
"The Lord will create upon every dwelling- 
place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, 
a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a 
llaming fire by night ; for upon all the glory 
shall be a defence ; and there shall be a taber- 
nacle for a shadow in the day-time from the 
heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert 
from storm and from rain."* 

It is on occasions of this description, that 

Christians discover the advantage of sympathy 

in religion. Together they mourn over their 

transgressions, together they rejoice in the good- 

* Isa. iv. 5, 6. 



126 COMMUNION WITH GOD. 

ness of the Lord ; as with the heart of ona 
man, they pray for his grace and protection, 
and praise him for all his benefits. . Thus are 
they individually strengthened in their Chris- 
tian course, while they maintain the unity of 
the Spirit in the bond of peace. 

3. Similar effects are produced in a more 
diffusive manner, when Christians are engaged 
in congregational worship ; the sympathy 
which is then often excited, being more pecu- 
liarly one of joy. The church, indeed, like 
individual Christians, is liable to seasons of 
affliction and distress ; but the general com- 
plexion and true spirit of her public services, 
are such as the Psalmist has described : " Serve 
the Lord with gladness, come before his pre- 
sence with singing. Know ye that the Lord 
he is God ; it is he that hath made us, and not 
we ourselves ; we are his people, and the sheep 
of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanks- 
givings, and into his courts with praise ; be 
thankful to him and bless his name ; for the 
Lord is good ; his mercy is everlasting, and 
his truth endureth to all generations."* 

That it is our bounden duty, by the regular 
* Ps. c. 25. 



COMMUNION WITH GOD. 127 

attendance of public worship, to confess our 
allegiance to the King of kings, admits of no 
question. We are commanded in Scripture 
not to "forsake the assembling of ourselves to- 
gether ;"* and in the zealous performance of 
this great duty, we have a sure guide in the 
example of Jesus Christ himself. How often 
do we read of his appearing in the synagogues 
on the Sabbath-days ; and how important is 
the information given us by the evangelist, that 
this was his " custom."^ Blessed be his holy 
name, he still condescends to bestow his pre- 
sence upon his disciples, when they are gather- 
ed together for the solemn purpose of worship- 
ping the Father.! " He is for a crown of 
glory and for a diadem of beauty unto the re- 
sidue of his people ;" he brings them into 
"the banqueting house," and his "banner'* 
over them is "love."|| Thus are they enabled 
to commune in spirit, one with another, and 
with him their common Lord; and while they 
reverently wait upon him, their strength is re- 
newed for every good word and work. 

Our tastes, as well as our actions, are to a 

* Heb. x. 25. f Luke iv. 16 ; camp. Matt. xii. 9, &c. 
t Matt, xviii. 20. Isa. xxviii. 5. || Cant. ii. 4. 



128 COMMUNION WITH GOD. 

great extent under the sway of habit, and are, 
therefore, capable of being strengthened and 
improved in any particular direction. How 
desirable then is it, that in dependence on the 
grace of God, which can alone turn the heart 
of man, we should make the best use of this 
facility in our nature, and cultivate both in our- 
selves and others, a taste for devotion ! The 
Christian must be careful not to cast a gloom 
over religion. He is brought into the sunshine 
of truth ; and under its gladdening influence, he 
must himself learn, and he must endeavour to 
teach his children, to take delight in religious 
pursuits ; and, above all, in the worship of the 
Creator. 

This end will be greatly promoted by regu- 
larity and constancy in the performance of our 
devotional duties ; for taste and practice are 
ever found to go hand in hand, and to act and 
react on each other. The more we take plea- 
sure in any action, the more prone we are to 
perform it; and again, the more diligent we are 
in the performance of it, the more necessary 
it becomes to our comfort and enjoyment. 

For this, as well as other reasons, it may be 
regarded as a Christian duty, to set apart an 



COMMUNION WITH GOD. 129 

hour or two during the week, besides the Sab- 
bath-day, for the solemn and happy purpose of 
public worship. The temporary exchange of 
our usual pursuits for this holy employment 
while the world at large is engrossed in its own 
concerns can scarcely fail to be profitable to 
our souls, and acceptable to our God and Sa- 
viour. But how precious to every one who is 
serious in the pursuit of heavenly things, is the 
Sabbath itself ! What cause for thankfulness 
is it, that God has ordained the cessation of 
worldly labours on everyrecurring seventh day, 
that his children may enjoy a wholesome rest ; 
and that in the quietness of this rest, they may 
devote their undivided faculties to communion 
with himself! The Sabbath is indeed an insti- 
tution pre-eminently calculated to remind us of 
divine benevolence; and is, therefore, pecu- 
liarly suited by the heartfelt melody of thanks- 
giving and praise. 

4. Those who are the most aware of the 
weakness of our nature, will be the least dis- 
posed to underrate the importance of the out- 
ward framework of religious duty. Although 
Christianity is not a religion of forms and cere- 
monies, it claims the assistance of many exter- 

Gurney. 9 



130 COMMUNION WITH GOD. 

nal observances ; such, for example, as retire- 
ment from society for the purpose of private 
devotion, the appointment of stated times for 
waiting upon the Lord in our families, the 
orderly keeping of the Sabbath-day, and the 
regular attendance on our places of public 
worship. Yet all these things are useless, and 
may even be a means of the further hardening 
of our hearts, unless we maintain, in connexion 
with them, the life of true worship. " God is 
a Spirit, and they that worship him must wor- 
ship him in spirit and in truth." To frequent 
the house of prayer ; to bow the knee before 
him ; to draw near to him with the lip while 
our hearts are far from him can be regarded 
only as a mockery and offence. " Bring no 
more vain oblations ; incense is an abomination 
unto me ; the new moons and Sabbaths, the 
calling of assemblies, I cannot away with ; it 
is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your 
new moons and your appointed feasts my soul 
hateth ; they are a trouble unto me, I am weary 
io bear them."* 

Little will it serve the purposes of friencl- 

* Isa. i. 13, 14. 



COMMUNION WITH GOD. 131 

ship to seek the company of those whom 
we love if we forget them while in their 
presence, and refuse to give our minds to them. 
In such a case, there may be the appear- 
ance of brotherhood ; but the flame of true 
love will presently subside. So it is in the infi 
nitely higher concern of communion with 
God. Although it is assisted by outward ob- 
servances, it is an act of the soul alone ; and 
it is only as the immortal and spiritual part 
of man holds converse with its Creator and its 
Redeemer, that we can know any thing of 
true worship, or experience a corresponding 
increase of our love to God. " As the hart 
panteth after the water-brooks, so panteth my 
soul after thee, O God ; my soul thirsteth for 
God, for the living God "* "My soul, wait 
thou only upon God, for my expectation is 
from him."t 

Here, however, it ought to be again expressly 
noticed, that as the soul of man has no ten- 
dency to commune with God, until it is quick- 
ened of the Spirit ; so, in order to maintain this 
communion, we are in perpetual need of the 
same life-giving power. In all our religious 

* Ps. xlii. 1, 2. jPs.lxii. 5. 



132 COMMUNION WITH GOD. 

services in all our approaches to God, whe- 
ther private or public we must abstain from 
any dependence on our own wisdom and 
strength, and cast ourselves in faith on the 
gracious aid of the Holy Spirit. 

Now, although the outward offices of reli- 
gion serve a highly important purpose in pro- 
moting its practical operation, we are not to 
forget, that, under divine influence, the soul is 
capable of communion with God when these 
offices are withdrawn. The Christian may 
retire into the solitude of his own heart, and 
hold communion with his Maker, even while 
he is in the midst of a multitude ; nor will 
his worship of that Supreme Object of his 
regard and affections be confined to any stated 
periods set apart for the purpose. He is 
taught to realize the perpetual presence of his 
God ; and on every passing occasion of life 
to lift up his heart to him as to a Father and a 
Friend. Certainly it ought to be the habit of 
our souls, as the hours of each day pass over 
us, frequently to bring our ignorance and 
weakness to the Fountain of light and strength 
our poverty and emptiness to the fulness 
which is in Christ. 



COMMUNION WITH GOD. 133 

" Prayer is the soul's sincere desire, 

Uttered or unexpress'd ; 
The motion of a hidden fire, 
That trembles in the breast. 

" Prayer is the breathing of a sigh, 

The falling of a tear, 
The upward glancing of an eye, 
When none but God is near." 

MONTGOMERY. 

It is chiefly through this hidden exercise of 
a devotional mind, that the Christian walks 
with God; and the more we are thus brought 
into contact with his goodness and power, the 
greater will be our delight in such a walk.* 

* " En effet, mes freres," says the eloquent Massillon, 
" la priere n'est pas un effort de I'esprit, un arrange- 
ment d'idees, une penetration profonde des mysteres 
et des conseils de Dieu ; c'est un simple mouvement da 
cceur, c'est un gemissement de Tame vivement touchee 
a la vue de ses miseres ; c'est un sentiment vif et secret 
de nos besoins et de notre foiblesse, et une humble con- 
fiance, qui Texpose a son Seigneur, pour en obtenir la 
tlelivranee et la remede. La priere ne suppose pas 
dans I'ame qui prie de grandes lumieres, des connairi- 
sances rares, un esprit plus eleve et plus cultive quo 



134 COMMUNION WITH GOD. 

The proneness of the regenerate soul to ascend 
in living aspirations after him, will constantly 

celui des autres hommes ; elle suppose seulement plus 
de foi, plus de componction, plus de desir d'etre delivre 
de ses tentations et de ses miseres." "In fact, my 
brethren, prayer is not an effort of the understanding, an 
arrangement of ideas, a profound inquiry into the mys- 
teries and counsels of God ; it is a simple movement of 
the heart ; it is the groaning of a soul keenly affected 
in the view of its own wretchedness ; it is a lively and 
secret feeling of our wants and our weakness, and a 
humble confidence in exposing them to the Lord, in 
order to obtain deliverance and cure. Prayer does not 
imply, in the soul which prays, great talents, rare ac- 
quirements, an understanding more exalted and culti- 
vated than that of other men ; it implies only more 
faith, more compunction, and a greater desire to be de- 
livered from our temptations and our misery." Sermon 
sur la Pricre. 

" Nay, one thing I know more ; that the prayer which 
is the most forcible, transcends and far exceeds all 
power of words. For St. Paul, speaking unto us of the 
most effectual kind of prayer, calls it sighs and groans 
that cannot be expressed. Nothing cries so loud in the 
ears of God as the sighing of a contrite earnest heart. 
It requires not the voice, but the mind ; not the stretch- 
ing of the hands, but the intention of the heart ; not 



COMMUNION WITH GOD. 135 

increase ; and every act of secret communion 
with the Lord, will assist in confirming that 
love towards him from which it springs. Nor 
are these acts confined to prayer often are 
they the movements of a spirit filled with 
praise. If it is our duty and privilege to " pray 
without ceasing," it equally becomes us, in 
" every thing," to " give thanks."* 

It appears, then, that in order to be fitted 
for communion with God, fallen man must first 
repent and be reconciled to his Creator that 
the steadfast maintenance of that communion in 
the Christian believer, is a principal means, in 
the order of divine grace, for the increase and 
confirmation of his love that he is therefore 
bound to exercise diligence in the devotional 
duties of the closet, of the family circle, and of 
the church that the outward part of these du- 
ties is salutary and even needful, as an aid to 

any outward shape or carriage of the body, but the 
inward behaviour of the understanding. How then 
can it. slacken your worldly business and occasions, to 
mix them with the sighs and groans, which are the most 
effectual kind of prayer!" John Hales' Golden Re- 
mains. 

* 1 Thess. v. 17, 18. 



136 COMMUNION WITH GOD. 

inward worship ; but that without life, it is 
useless, and may even be injurious finally, 
that the secret intercourse of the soul with 
God, is the vital breath of the Christian, and 
ought to pervade the whole course of his con- 
versation and experience. 

Two additional remarks may be made in 
conclusion. 

1. Communion is, in its nature, reciprocal. 
Not only are we to pour out our souls in prayer 
to the Lord ; but we are to receive his mind, or 
counsel, in return. It is on this ground, as I 
conceive, that the reading of the Holy Scrip- 
tures forms an essential part of our private and 
family devotional duties ; for in that sacred 
volume, God condescends to speak to us to 
develope his mind for our instruction, guidance, 
and consolation. And, on the same principle, 
we recognise a connexion between public wor- 
ship and the ministry of the gospel, which uni- 
versally professes to be an expression of the 
mind of God. And such, undoubtedly, it ever 
will be, so long as it is scriptural in its charac- 
ter, and is offered under the influence and 
teaching of the Holy Spirit. But our heavenly 
Father is graciously pleased to communicate 



COMMUNION WITH GOD. 137 

his will to man, by a voice which speaks 
within, and which will ever direct us in the 
way of holiness. As long as his reconciled 
children obey that voice, and lead a life of 
righteousness, so long are they the children 
of light, and enjoy a free communion with Him 
in whom there is no darkness. But no sooner 
do they disobey their divine Monitor, and fol- 
low the devices of their own hearts, than their 
communion with God is interrupted. Even 
an angry feeling, or a polluting thought, will 
hinder the breathing of the soul towards the 
eternal Source of peace and purity. The 
spiritual man is gifted with a knowledge of 
" the mind of Christ"* and just in the degree 
in which he is conformed to it, in his own 
disposition and conduct, is he capable of com- 
muning with God, in that pure love which sin 
alone can separate. 

2. We have now been considering commu- 
nion with God as an act of the soul, eminently 
calculated to increase our love for him ; and, 
therefore, to prepare us for loving him eter- 
nally. But this communion with God the 
Father, Son, and Spirit like the contemplation 
* 1 Cor. ii. 19. 



138 COMMUNION WITH GOD. 

of that glorious Being, is itself one blessed occu- 
pation one boundless source of enjoyment and 
happiness to the saints in glory. The frame 
and habit of it are suited to the very nature and 
character of heaven ; and will there be found a 
source of infinite and endless pleasure. There 
the soul, delivered from the shackles of mor- 
tality, draws near to its Creator, and converses 
with its Saviour, in the freedom of perfect 
purity ; there the assembled saints, unnum- 
bered and innumerable, forever worship the 
Father in spirit and in truth ; and receive, in 
return, the full influences of that eternal mind 
which wills their holiness and joy. 



SECTION VII. 

ON SUBMISSION TO THE WILL OF GOD. 

THE Christian is accustomed to trace all 
things in nature, in providence, and in grace, 
to the will of that infinite Being, in whom 
dwells the perfection of wisdom and holiness, 
and in those rules by which the world is 
governed, both naturally and morally, he re- 
cognises the fixed determinations of that will 

o 

the laws of an unchanging God. 

1. In the order of nature, phenomena, or 
events, succeed each other on perfectly uniform 
principles'; so that we soon learn from expe- 
rience, and afterwards, from the constitution of 
our minds, cannot but feel assured, that certain 
causes, in the material world, are always fol- 
lowed by certain effects. Now that any given 
cause should, under the same circumstances, 
uniformly produce a particular effect, is an ap- 
pointment of the divine will, Avhich is usually 



140 SUBMISSION TO THE 

called a law of nature. We cannot doubt 
that many such laws are in action, which have 
not yet been detected by the scrutiny of man ; 
but others are either obvious to common ob- 
servation, or have been brought to light by 
scientific inquiry. 

For example, it has been fully proved that 
all particles of matter attract one another ; and 
that the force of that attraction (until they come 
into apparent contact) is in the inverse propor- 
tion of the squares of their distances. Philoso- 
phers have ascertained not only the existence, 
but, as far as the scope of their investigation 
extends, the ubiquity of this law ; which, in- 
deed, appears to be God's chosen instrument 
for preserving the material universe in its pre- 
sent order. But of its origin it is utterly out 
of their power to give any account but one- 
God said, Let it be, and it was. Whatsoever, 
indeed, may be the triumphs of inductive phi- 
losophy, in classifying and generalizing the 
operations of nature, and in reducing the ap- 
parent number of the laws by which she is 
governed, our ultimate resort the final rest for 
the inquisitiveness of man's mind can be 
found only in iliejiat of omnipotence. 



WILL OF GOD. 141 

Now, it is impossible for the Christian to 
doubt that the will of God, even in the govern- 
ment of the material world, is moved by a spring 
of infinite wisdom and benevolence ; and that 
all the laws of nature are what they are, be- 
cause it is best that they should be so best 
for the ultimate happiness of his rational crea- 
tures, and best for his own glory. 

2. Between the course of nature and that of 
Providence, there is an obvious, and, in this 
world, a necessary connexion. But the latter 
assumes a distinct character, when regarded as 
the order in which the Supreme Governor of 
the world deals with his rational creature, man. 
The laws by which these dealings are regulated, 
are by no means so clearly inscribed on the 
annals of man's history, in this lower world, 
as are the laws of nature on the face of the 
material universe. Yet we are not left without 
some perceptible indications that they are 
general and permanent ; above all, that they 
are moral, exactly adapted to the holiness and 
benevolence of the Deity. These indications 
are amply confirmed in Scripture, which teaches 
us that God is holy that he is also love and 
that he deals with mankind, under every variety 



142 SUBMISSION TO THE 

of time, place, and circumstance, on princi- 
ples of perfect righteousness, which can never 
change. If " clouds and darkness," are "round 
about him, justice and judgment are the habi- 
tation of his throne." 

Experience affords sufficient evidence that 
the main law by "which the course of divine 
Providence towards man is regulated, is that 
virtue should produce happiness, and vice 
misery. But this law is checked and modified 
by two provisions of vast practical importance. 
The first is, that man is here placed in a state 
of trial, involving many dangers and tempta- 
tions, in order that his character may be put to 
the proof, and finally developed as a ground 
of judgment to come. The second is, that 
this state of trial is appointed to serve the pur 
pose of moral discipline, that by an experi 
mental process (often of a rough and mysteri- 
ous nature) we may, under grace, be weaned 
from our iniquities, and trained to those dispo- 
sitions which are alone suited to the heavenly 
state. We have no reason, therefore, to be 
astonished at that trial of the saint's faith, to 
which the sacred writers so frequently allude ; 
namely, that in this lower scene of action, 



WILL OF GOD. 143 

vice is often triumphant, and virtue as often 
depressed and persecuted. Look at some 
fragment of an animal some broken piece 
of a claw or a bone how unsightly it appears ; 
how unworthy of the hand of infinite skill 
and wisdom ! But let it be seen in connexion 
with its corresponding parts. Let the animal 
stand before us in his native beauty and vigour. 
How perfect is the living machinery ! how 
well it works ! how seemly are its proportions I 
how unexceptionable the whole creature! Just 
so the apparent interruptions of God's right- 
eous government, in this world of darkness, 
may be to us very strange and unsightly ; yet 
there can be no question, that in their con- 
nexion with the universal scope of that go- 
vernment, they will, in the end, be found to 
form part of a perfectly harmonious and glo- 
rious whole.* 

3. In considering the manifestations of the 
will of God, in nature and providence, we ad- 
vert to laws with which no creature can inter- 
meddle ; for he has not only ordained them, 
but by the unceasing exertions of an omnipre- 
sent power,himself carries them into execution, 

* See Leibnitz, Essais sur la Thsodiccz, 



144 SUBMISSION TO THE 

But there is another branch of the subject, with 
which we have a still more immediate and 
pressing concern The will of God respect- 
ing our own conduct. Here he sees fit to deal 

J 

with us as free and responsible agents; he per- 
mits us to choose between good and evil ; he 
gives us a timely notice of their respective 
consequences ; he offers his gracious aid, to 
enable us to walk in the way of righteousness ; 
he wills, without compelling our holiness. 

The will of God, as it relates to the conduct 
of his rational creatures, is manifested in cer- 
tain permanent rules, which constitute his 
moral law ; and it is one of the chief triumphs 
of the religion of the Bible, that it overthrows 
all fallacious standards of morals such as the 
" fitness" of the Stoics, and the " utility" of 
the Epicureans and settles every question of 
right and wrong, by a simple reference to the 
will of Omnipotence. Yet this will is itself 
determined by unchangeable principles of holi- 
ness, justice, benevolence, and truth. These 
attributes are essential to the nature of our 
heavenly Father; and they are the ultimate 
foundation of his law.* 

* " The laws also by which the operations of our love 



WILL OF GOD. 145 

The moral laws of God, as they relate to 
ourselves, are the expression of his righteous 
will ; and both the will and the expression of 
it are necessary, in order to render us respon- 
sible for our actions to the Author of our being-. 
For in the absence of either, there can, to us, 
be no law; and "where no law is, there is no 
transgression." How, then, is the moral will 
of God expressed to his creature man ? 

In the first place, it is revealed in the heart ; 
so that by an intuitive perception, every man 
knows that virtue is right, and vice is wrong. 
Whatsoever may be the perversions of our 
conscience in the fall, there is a light which so 
far illuminates it, that we cannot but approve 
of justice, honesty, and benevolence, and con- 
demn the contrary, both in our own actions and 

are regulated, are holy, just, and good. They are not 
dictated by short-sightedness or inconstancy, or charge- 
able with any imperfections. They are holy in their 
origin, for they emanate from the divine perfections ; they 
are just in their injunctions, for they have regard to the 
relations in which creatures stand to the Creator and to 
each other ; they are good in their effect, for they pro- 
mote the divine glory and the well-being of the uni- 
verse." See.Toyce, Love to God, 3d edit. pp. 103, 104. 
Gurney. \Q 



146 SUBMISSION TO THE 

in those of others ; and the more this light is 
followed in practice, the more brightly does it 
shine ; the more tender and effective does the 
conscience become. There are three elements 
in this matter ; first, the natural percipient 
power, which is conscience ; secondly, the 
eternal, moral truth, which is the object per- 
ceived ; and, thirdly, the light by which that 
moral truth is revealed, and through which, 
therefore, it becomes law to ourselves. Now 
I conceive that this light whether more or 
less faint is of far too pure a character to be 
ascribed to corrupt human nature ; and that it 
must rather be regarded as the gracious visi- 
tation of a divine influence, bestowed on 
mankind through the redemption which is in 
Christ. 

How unspeakably would it promote our 
happiness, were we more obedient to the law 
of God, as it is written on the tablets of the 
heart ! In the mean time, however, the same 
law is unfolded in the holy Scriptures. It 
was confirmed, by revelation, to the patriarchs 
and prophets of old ; it formed an essential part 
of the Mosaic dispensation ; and, as the tables 
of stone on which it was written, were safely 



WILL OP GOD. 14t 

kept in the ark of the Covenant; so is the 
law Itself enclosed and preserved inviolate, in 
the bosom of Christianity. 

Nothing, indeed, can be more admirable, or 
more clearly indicative of the wisdom of God, 
than the whole preceptive code of the New 
Testament. There the law enjoined on us, 
for our practice, not only asserts its native 
authority, and is unfolded in more than its 
ancient spirituality, but is enlarged by a va- 
riety of provisions, which belong to the cha- 
racter of the Christian revelation, and cor- 
respond with its extent. 

Although much of divine truth was re- 
vealed to the ancient Israelites, we must have 
recourse to the New Testament for a full and 
explicit account of many of its features such, 
for example, as the ruin and guilt of mankind 
in the fall ; the eternity of rewards and punish- 
ments ; the holiness and love of the Father, 
as manifested in the scheme of redemption ; 
the deity and incarnation of the Son ; the 
atonement made on the cross for the sins of 
all men ; the priesthood, advocacy, and reign 
of Christ; and the divine character, inward 
work, and perpetual guidance, of the Holy 



148 SUBMISSION TO THE 

Spirit. Now, with this discovery of truth, 
keeps pace the unfolding of the Lord's pre- 
cepts. In the gospel of Jesus Christ, all men 
are commanded, by a voice from heaven of 
inconceivable energy, to humble themselves 
before God ; to repent of their sins ; to be- 
lieve in Jesus as their Saviour ; to wash 
their polluted robes, and make them white in 
his blood ; to open their hearts to the influ- 
ence of the Holy Spirit ; to abide under that in- 
fluence in all things ; to cease from sin ; and to 
bring forth the fruit of righteousness, in all its 
ripeness, variety, and abundance. " What 
the law could not do, in that it was weak 
through the flesh, God sending his OWN SON 
in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, 
condemned sin in the flesh, that the right- 
eousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, 
who walk not after the flesh, but after the 
Spirit."* 

Nor are we left to conjecture what are the 
particular characteristics of that life of holi- 
ness, into which the faitli of the Christian is 
intended to conduct him. Every separate 
fruit of the Spirit is distinctly set before us 5 

* Rom. viii. 3, 4. 



WILL OF GOD. 149 

and is pressed upon our attention for its own 
sake, and, as it were, on its own merits love 
and loyalty to God, reliance on his goodness, 
devotion to the service of Christ, the fixing of 
the soul on heaven, watchfulness, perseve- 
rance in prayer, purity of heart, integrity, 
temperance, fortitude, patience, meekness, for- 
bearance, long-suffering, the return of good 
for evil, gentleness, lowliness of mind, and 
that universal charity which is the bond of 
perfectness. 



From the view which has now been taken 
of the manifestations of the will of God, in 
nature, in providence, and in grace, some con- 
ception may be formed of the comprehensive- 
ness of that short petition so often used, but 
so little understood " Thy will be done on 
earth, as it is in heaven." In heaven the 
will of God is done perfectly. No murmurs 
against his laws, either natural or moral, find 
their way into the breasts of angels and glori- 
fied spirits ; no weakness of the flesh, no lin- 
gering corruption interrupts their obedience tc 
the King of kings. Such, then, is the mark, 



150 SUBMISSION TO THE 

at winch it is our duty constantly to aim. A 
perfect submission to the will of our heavenly 
Father is the only practical standard proposed 
to us by Christianity. 

Now, submission to the Divine will consists 
of two parts first, resignation in suffering ; 
and, secondly, obedience in acting. 

Impossible as it is for us to interfere with 
the dealings of God, who, in one point of 
view, stands apart from his creatures in soli- 
tary and awful independence, man is ever 
prone to murmur against them, when they do 
not coincide with his own views and wishes. 
Even the general laws of nature excite his 
discontent, when the particular operation of 
them brings him into suffering ; and when, in 
the moral, yet mysterious order of Providence, 
some especial chastisement is laid upon him, 
he frets himself against the Lord, and calls 
him a hard master. In the depth of his de- 
pravity, he is even tempted to " curse God 
and cHe." But Christianity bids us to cease 
from our complaints, and to resign ourselves, 
with a willing spirit, to whatsoever it may 
here be our lot to suffer. 

This willing spirit must arise from genuine 



WILL OF GOD. 151 

humility in the feeling of our own demerits, 
and from a child-like reliance on the wisdom 
and goodness of God ; and it must be accom- 
panied with long patience, with cheerfulness 
of demeanour, with joy in the Lord, and, above 
all, with the heart's own melody of thanks- 
giving and praise. Such are the demands, and 
such is the power of the religion of Jesus 
such the matchless alchemy by which his 
grace t'unis all things into gold.* 
Again, there is nothing more distasteful to 
the natural man, than the piercing spirituality, 
the comprehensive grasp, and the binding 
authority of God's precepts. The child of 
darkness prefers his own devices he is a 
rebel to the core. Bat Christianity requires 
an uncompromising compliance with the 
whole 'counsel of God, as it relates to our 
conduct. Our whole life must be regulated 
by the directions of his perfect law. No re- 
bellious feeling, no corrupt motive or thought, 

* "Our resignation to the will of God may be said 
to be perfect, when our will is lost and resolved up into 
his, when we rest in his will as our end, as being itself 
most just, and right, and good." Bishop Butler's ser- 
mon on Love to God. 



152 SUBMISSION TO THE 

must be harboured ; no favourite sin spared ; 
no unwelcome duty omitted. We must " walk 
in the light as [God] is in the light,"* im- 
plicitly following the dictates of the Holy 
Spirit, who guides into all righteousness. 

Such being the true Scriptural standard of 
submission and obedience to the manifested 
will of God, we may proceed to apply the 
subject in a few practical remarks. From 
these it will presently appear, how "intimately 
divine love is connected with the whole course 
of the Christian's life and conversation. 

1. If many of the known practices of pro- 
fessing Christians, and still more, the secret 
annals of our own thoughts and conduct, fail 
to bear a comparison with this pure and lofty 
standard of submission to the Divine will, 
the deficiency may probably arise, in the first 
place, from the weakness and instability of 
our faith. 

A firm belief in the truth and promises of 
our God, and a child-like reliance on Jesus as 
our Saviour, are inseparably connected, as we 
have seen, with the preceptive code of the 
New Testament. Not only do they form a 

* 1 John i. 7. 



WILL OF GOD. 153 

prominent part of our Christian duty, but 
they are the means of preparing us for a will- 
ing obedience to the Lord's commandments 
in every other respect. Good works spring 
from them, as a plant grows from its root. 
Were this truth adequately impressed upon 
us, we should not rest. satisfied with a partial 
and wavering faith. We should pray to be 
delivered from the " heart of unbelief," as 
from the most dangerous of evils, and we 
should earnestly seek to be strengthened of 
the Lord, to rely upon him with a perfect 
affiance. 

The pardoning mercies of God are in their 
very nature spontaneous not bestowed upon 
us for any work or merit of our own, but 
flowing from the fathomless spring of his 
own compassions, through the one availing 
channel of Christ crucified ; and faith is the 
appointed instrument by which those mercies 
are applied to ourselves. 

" O how unlike the complex works of man, 
Heaven's easy, artless, unencumber'd plan ! 
No meretricious graces to beguile, 
No clustering ornaments to clog the pile ; 
From ostentation as from weakness free, 



154 SUBMISSION TO THE 

It stands like the cerulean arch we see, 
Majestic in its own simplicity. 
Inscribed above the portal from afar, 
Conspicuous as the brightness of a star ; 
Legible only by the light they give, 
Stand the soul-quickening words; Believe and Live.'' 

COWPEU. 

Having repented of all his transgressions, 
and having cast the burden of them on the 
Lord, the believer is no longer oppressed with 
the slavish fears of a condemned criminal. 
He enjoys the privilege of filial freedom. 
Delivered by a hand of infinite mercy from 
guilt and condemnation, he is set at liberty to 
ran, with all diligence, in the way of God's 
commandments ; while the humble yet settled 
hope of a glorious immortality animates his 
zeal, and quickens his footsteps in the race 
of virtue. 

Now, there can be no doubt, that in leading 
us to a living faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit 
veiy generally lays hold of the affections. 
He softens us and brings us into contrition. 

o 

He renews us in the spirit of our minds ; he 
gives a turn to our tempers and dispositions, 
as it relates to God ; and thus makes way for 



WILL OF GOD. 155 

tle opening of the blind eye for the clearing 
of the spiritual understanding. 

We learn from the apostle Paul, that faith 
works by love; and common experience con- 
firms the truth of his doctrine ; for although 
belief is founded on evidence, our capacity 
for receiving evidence in its true force, de- 
pends in no small degree on the state of our 
affections. How often do we find that the 
clearest testimonies on any subject, are all in 
vain for the purpose of convincing a man, if 
passion or self-interest happens to be ranged 
on the other side. So it is with Christianity. 
The proofs of its divine origin are strong and 
abundant ; yet they are in general either re- 
jected or neglected by those who love their 
sins and the world more than God. " This 
is the condemnation, that light is come into 
the world, and men loved darkness rather 
than light, because their deeds were evil."* 

But no sooner is a man's heart made 
tender, than he begins to form a just estimate 
of Christian truth. He no longer denies 
either its authority or its importance. He 

* John iii. 19. 



156 SUBMISSION TO THE 

embraces it readily, as his hope and his sal- 
vation ; and proving his faith by his obe- 
dience, he is soon rewarded with an increase 
of his knowledge. The Spirit takes of the 
things of Christ, and unfolds them to his 
soul.* 

* These views are in accordance with the following 
remarks from the pen of that true philosopher, Dr. 
Abercrombie of Edinburgh. 

" It is on the principles now referred to that, accord- 
ing to a doctrine which has been often and keenly con- 
troverted, we hold a man to be responsible for his belief. 
The state of mind which constitutes belief is, indeed, 
one over which the will has no direct power. But belief 
depends upon evidence ; the result of even the best evi- 
dence is entirely dependent on attention ; and attention 
is a voluntary intellectual state, over which we have a 
direct and absolute control. As it is, therefore, by pro- 
longed and continued attention that evidence produces 
belief, a man may incur the deepest guilt by his disbe- 
lief of truths which he has failed to examine with the 
care due to them. This exercise of attention is entirely 
under the control of the will : but the will to exercise it 
respecting moral truth is closely connected with the love 
of thai truth,- and this is intimately dependent on the 
state of moral feeling of the mind. It is thus that a 
man's moral condition influences the conclusions of his 
judgment; and it is thus that, on the great questions of 



WILL OF GOD. 157 

Now as love makes way for faith, and faith 
works by love, so it is unquestionably true, that 
the exercise of faith the fixing of the heart 
and understanding on Christ as the way, the 
truth, and the life has a mighty efficacy in in- 
creasing and confirming our love to God. It 
brings him near to us in the perfection of his 
holiness, and in the fulness of his mercy ; it 
presents him to us in Christ Jesus, as the wor- 
thy object of profound adoration and unbound- 
ed gratitude. The stronger and more simple 
our faith, therefore, in the truth and promises 
of Scripture the more cordial and complete 
our reception of the gospel of Jesus Christ 
the more fervent will be our love to that holy 
and glorious Being who is the Author of all 
our mercies. 

2. Vain, however, will be our belief in the 
glad tidings of salvation through the crucified 
Immanuel, unless it be followed by a holy de- 



moral truth, there may be guilt attached to a process of 
the understanding, while there is both guilt and moral 
degradation in that mental condition from which it 
sprung." Philosophy of the Moral Feelings, 2d edit. 
n. 167 



158 SUBMISSION TO THE 

cision of mind in giving up ourselves to God. 
The want of this holy decision may be regarded 
as the second grand cause of the imperfections 
which so often interrupt our conformity to the 
divine will. When Saul was arrested in his 
career of violence, by a light and voice from 
above, he " was not disobedient to the heaven- 
ly vision ;" he surrendered at discretion to the 
all-conquering Saviour ; forsook at once his 
self-righteousness and self-will, and became, 
without reserve, what every Christian ought to 
be a servant, of the Lord. The die was cast 
which forever determined his adherence to the 
cause of Jesus Christ and him crucified. 

Now although the work of grace is for the 
most part much more gradual, the same uncon- 
ditional surrender of the soul to divine visita- 
tion, is absolutely fundamental in the Christian 
life. "Except a corn of wheat fall into the 
ground and die, it abideth alone ; but if it die, it 
bringeth forth much fruit."* This declaration 
was true as it regarded Jesus Christ himself, 
who died and rose again, for the salvation of 
mankind ; and it is also true with respect to his 

* John xii. 24. 



WILL OF GOD. 159 

followers. They must die unto sin their re- 
bellious will must be given up, even unto death ; 
and then, under the quickening influence of the 
Holy Spirit, they will bring forth in abundance 
their fruit unto righteousness. 

3. As the will rules the conduct, so the af- 
fections move the will ; and Christianity so ex- 
cites and directs our affections, that, under di- 
vine grace, they become motives to an uncon- 
ditional surrender of the soul to God. Our 
fear is brought into action by a view of his 
holiness, and of judgment to come; our hope, 
by the promise of eternal life ; and both these 
perform their own part in the work of salva- 
tion ; but above all, it is love, drawn forth by 
the mercies of the Father and of Christ, and 
brought (as we have seen) into its full action 
through faith, which melts down the pride and 
hardness of our hearts, and humbles us into 
unqualified submission. 

Had Saul been met only by storms and ter- 
rors, he might possibly have wrapped around 
him the mantle of self-righteousness more 
closely than before ; but the gentle accents of 
a Saviour's love subdued him in a moment ; 
and the raging Pharisee lay prostrate at the feet 



160 SUBMISSION TO THE 

of Jesus. The love of self, of the world, and 
of sin, quickly gave way to " the expulsive 
power of a new affection :" and it is no wonder 
that he afterwards pressed upon others the 
motive which had so mightily prevailed with 
himself. " I beseech you, therefore, brethren, 
by the mercies of God, that ye present your 
bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto 
God, which is your reasonable service ; and be 
not conformed to this world, but be ye trans- 
formed by the renewing of your mind, that 
you may prove what is that good, and ac- 
ceptable, and perfect will of God."* 

The presenting of the body, that is, of the 
ivhole ??i?i,.as a living sacrifice to the Lord, is 
precisely that unconditional surrender of the 
will, to which we are now adverting. It is 
the taking up of the cross of Christ, in the 
truest and deepest sense of the expressions 
it is the giving up of the old man, with all his 
corruptions, to crucifixion, that the new man 
may be formed in us, without any obstruction 
on our parts, in conformity with the will of 
God, and " for a purpose of his glory." 

* Rom. xii. 1, 2. 



WILL OF GOD. 161 

4. As love is the principal motive which leads 
to this surrender of the will, so the surrender 
itself is necessary to the continuance of love. 
If we refuse to make it, the affection which 
ought to have led us to it will certainly wither. 
On the contrary, if we bow before the Lord 
with unreserved submission, our love towards 
him will be both strengthened and enlarged ; 
and while its energy is increased, it will be set 
free for its further operations. Saul presents 
his body a living sacrifice he gives up all for 
Christ; and now that love for Jesus, which 
prompted this sacrifice, burns with ever-in- 
creasing brightness. Every successive act of 
his soul, in resignation or obedience to his Mas- 
ter's will, adds fervency to the flame. No dan- 
gers can appal him ; no difficulties can stay his 
course ; in the face of rebuke, ridicule, perse- 
cution, and death itself, he pursues the path 
of duty. Love is the abiding feeling through 
which he is preserved in patience ; love the 
ever-acting spring which imparts to him a per- 
petual motion in the service of his Redeemer. 

5. Let us suppose, for a moment, that the 
apostle's will had been only partially given up 
in the hour of his visitation ; that instead of 

Gurney. -i i 



SUBMISSION TO THE 

quite renouncing his self-righteousness, he had 
persisted in partly placing his dependence on 
his old favourite, the law ; and that, instead of 
devoting himself without reserve to the best of 
Masters, he had partly sought his own interest 
and reputation as a doctor among the Jews. 
What would have been the consequence ? His 
life would have presented, for a time, a mixture 
of Christianity with pharisaical policy ; but 
his love for Christ, and therefore for the Fa- 
ther, although we may suppose it to have been 
sincere, would have gradually subsided ; and 
the mind, divided between grace and the world 
would, in the end, have become absorbed in 
the latter. How many thousands are there 
among professing Christians, whose case has 
now been exemplified ! They acknowledge 
the truth of Christianity ; they hear the glad 
tidings of the love of God ; they see their obli 
gation to love him ; but they neither entirely 
renounce a dependence on their own works as 
a ground of their hope, nor fully resign them- 
selves to the disposal and government of their 
Lord. The consequence is, that in the midst 
of a good, and sometimes even a high, profes- 
sion of religion, they retain their pride, their 



WILL OF GOD. 163 

covetousness, and their self-indulgence. Grace 
grows weaker and weaker, and the world 
stronger and stronger, in their bosoms, until 
the latter becomes once more their undisputed 
master. How awful will it be to such as these, 
when death overtakes them, to enter eternity 
with nothing to depend upon but an empty 
creed ; hardened in habits of mind which are 
utterly .at variance with the joys and employ- 
ments of heaven ; and filled with appetites and 
desires which, being deprived of their cor- 
responding objects, must henceforth, in hell, 
prey upon the soul itself! 

6. Paul often declares himself to be " an 
apostle by the will of God." Now we may 
rest assured, that had not his will been surren- 
dered at discretion, he would neither have been 
enabled to lead a life of holiness, nor have 
been qualified for his peculiar path of religious 
duty. His whole work and service would 
have been marred ; and he would have been 
comparable to nothing better than a stunted 
tree, bringing forth fruit destined not to ripen. 
Such a sacrifice of the will is indeed absolutely 
necessary, not merely to the general purposes 
of virtue, but to the specific value and useful- 



184 SUBMISSION TO THE 

ness of every member of the church of Christ. 
Do we inquire why professing Christians are 
often of so little use to their fellow-creatures, 
or to the cause of their Redeemer why mul- 
titudes of them are found hiding their candle 
under a bushel we must reply, that they have 
never given up all for Christ: and, therefore, 
in the very nature of things, can never expe- 
rience any sufficient qualification for his ser- 
vice. What a blessed change would soon take 
place in the world, were all who profess 
love to God, completely given up, in heart 
and soul, to his righteous disposal ! How nu- 
merous would be the agents of his benevo- 
lence, the messengers of his errands of mer- 
cy ! How diligent the labourers in his spi- 
ritual harvest ! How rapid the spread of 
truth and happiness, in this world of darkness 
and sorrow ! 

7. We must not, however, lead the young 
and tender mind to expect extraordinary inter- 
positions of divine grace, by which the leprosy 
of the heart shall be cured immediately, and 
the great conflict between the flesh and the 
spirit, settled at once. Like Naaman of old 
we must submit to very simple means of heal- 



WILL OF GOD. 165 

ing, and those means must be frequently re- 
peated. Our true wisdom will be found in a 
close attention to the duty of the day the 
hour the moment. Every touch of the rod 
of God's providence which brings us into suf- 
fering, must be met by a corresponding readi- 
ness to submit to the infliction. Every little 
pointing of the divine finger, to the sacrifice 
of a wrong desire, or to the performance of an 
act of duty, must be watched with an obser- 
vant eye, and followed with implicit obedience. 
Thus will our love to God put forth its energy 
on a multitude of small occasions ; it will gain 
new strength by its success in every step of the 
process ; and when our divine Master sees fit 
to ordain some greater trial of our allegiance, 
we shall find, to our inexpressible advantage, 
that we are HIS OWN resigned to his disposal, 
and ready for his service. " Whosoever shall 
do the will of God," said Jesus to his follow- 
ers, " the same is my brother ', and my sister, 
and my mother."* 

8. Here it may be well once more to advert 
to the fact, that the Christian's course of right- 
eousness is inseparably connected with his 

* Markiii. 35. 



166 SUBMISSION TO THE 

faith. His obedience is the obedience of 
faith;* he walks "by faith, not by sight ;"t 
the life which he now lives " in the flesh," he 
lives " by the faith of the Son of God," who 
" loved" us, and " gave himself" for us.J Not 
only has his original reception of the gospel 
led to the devotion of his soul to God, but the 
principles which first impelled him to the 
Christian race, continue to be at work in him, 
during the whole course of his experience. A 
daily recurrence to the blood of the covenant 
as the only ground of his hope ; a constant de- 
pendence on the advocacy of the risen Saviour; 
an abiding trust in the providential care of that 
God to whom he has been reconciled, are, un- 
der grace, the very sinews of his strength, in 
the pursuit of heaven and happiness. And "not 
only does he believe in. the promises of God ; 
his faith is also fixed on the commandments. 
Discarding mere expediency, he obeys them, 
and takes the consequence ; and he relies, with 
all simplicity, on the guidance and government 
of the Holy Spirit. Thus, while faith sustains 
obedience, and obedience strengthens faith, 
love, which never fails to be mingled with them 

* Rom. xvi. 26. f 2 Cor. v. 7. t Gal. ii. 20. 



WILL OF GOD. 167 

both, becomes the predominant affection of the 
soul. Love, faith, and obedience, are in a won- 
derful manner interlaced in the experience of 
the Christian. The same divine influence 
which touches our affections in order that we 
may believe, and enables us to believe, in or- 
der that we may obey, will also be found to 
act inversely. It will lead us to obey, that our 
faith may be thereby increased ; and both to 
obey and believe, that our love may be forever 
fixed on our God and Saviour. 

On a review of the whole subject, we must 
call to mind, that God manifests his will in the 
uniform laws of nature, which can be traced 
only to the fiat of infinite power and wisdom ; 
in the order of providence, in which he deals 
with mankind on perfectly righteous princi- 
ples, apparent difficulties being only obscure 
parts of one glorious whole ; and in the law 
of practice, enacted for the guidance of his ra- 
tional creatures that this law is written on the 
heart, and declared in Scripture ; that it formed 
a leading part of the Mosaic system, and is 
both preserved and enlarged under the gospe* 
of Christ that a perfect subjection to the will 
of God, is the only practical standard of Chris- 



168 SUBMISSION TO THE 

tianity that this subjection consists of resig- 
nation in suffering, and obedience in acting 
that these must be grounded, first, on that living 
faith in Christ which is inseparably connected 
with a right state of the affections ; secondly, 
on a holy decision in surrendering ourselves 
to God that such a surrender is prompted by 
love, and adds vast force to it that the Chris- 
tian is thus prepared for his whole course of 
virtue and piety, and that by every step which 
he takes in that course, his love to God is 
brightened and confirmed. 



It is plain, therefore, that an unreserved 
submission to the will of our heavenly Father, 
is of the highest importance to the maintenance 
and growth of that divine affection, without 
which we can never be qualified for the enjoy- 
ment of heaven. Let it, however, be confessed, 
that this submission is in itself absolutely ne- 
cessary to the happiness of the saints in glory. 
Affliction, indeed, can no longer call mto exer- 
cise their patience and resignation ; yet there 
can be no doubt that a blessed contentment with 
the stations allotted them in the kingdom of 
Christ, and a perfect acquiescence in the acts 



WILL OF GOD. 1GS 

and counsels of Omnipotence, form a part both 
of their duty and their joy. And although the 
faith by which they once lived on earth is now 
lost in vision, yet since none "hath known the 
mind of the Lord, or, being his counsellor, hath 
taught him," it is certain that this acquiescence 
must forever be connected with a child-like re- 
liance on his wisdom and goodness. 

Again, it is impossible for us to doubt, that 
an implicit obedience to the divine commands 
is essential, in that region of light, both to the 
peace of every individual and to the order and 
harmony of the whole community. In heaven 
all is tranquillity, because all is in unison with 
the mind of God, and subject to his righteous 
government. Watching and waiting for the 
manifestations of his will, the spirits of the 
just made perfect, like the angels who bear 
them company, are ever ready to receive his 
bidding. Delivered from the shackles of mor- 
tality, from all weariness and depression, and 
from the smallest remnant of an unsubdued 
will, they find their supreme delight in obey- 
ing the laws, and in executing the gracious 
commissions of their Father and their King. 



SECTION VIII. 

ON CONFORMITY WITH THE ATTRIBUTES 
OF GOD. 

NOTHING can be more just and undeniable 
than Bishop Butler's remark, that the particu- 
lar affections of " reverence and love" towards 
" good characters," are " natural to all those 
who have any degree of real goodness in them- 
selves."* 

History, both ancient and modern, is, alas ! 
a legend of vices rather than of virtues ; but 
when its general complexion is relieved by the 
breaking forth of justice, integrity, disin- 
terestedness, and charity when an Aristides, 
a Scipio, a Regulus, and an Alfred, are pre- 
sented to our view these particular affections 
are at once excited ; and there are few persons 

* Sermon I. on Love to God, p. 228. For a more exten- 
sive developement of this principle and its consequences,, 
see Joyce's excellent work on Love to God, Part II. 



CONFORMITY, ETC. 171 

so lost to every right feeling, as not to be 
sensible of a certain degree both of admiration 
and attachment towards such characters. But 
the truth of this remark is still more clearly- 
proved by every man's experience in social 
life. It is the temperate, the just, the self- 
denying, and the merciful it is those who are 
ever ready to sacrifice their own ease and 
comfort for the benefit of others who obtain 
the esteem even of general society ; and in the 
narrower circle of the private family, these are 
the characters who are sure to attract the 
largest measures of love. Virtue, indeed, has 
often been the object of scorn and persecution, 
both in public and private life ; because wicked 
men cannot bear the light which detects and con- 
demns their own conduct. Yet there is some- 
thing in the mind of man which compels him 
to confess her excellence ; and no sooner are 
we ourselves imbued with any measure of her 
influence, than we feel a corresponding regard 
for all those who follow her guidance, and 
obey her laws. 

" We own and feel the force of amiable and 
tvorthy qualities in our fellow-creatures," says 
Butler, " and can we be insensible to the con- 



172 CONFORMITY WITH THE 

templation of perfect goodness?" Forcible as 
is this question, experience forbids our giving 
to it a satisfactory reply ; for it is certain that, 
even among Christian nations, love to God is 
by no means so predominant a principle as the 
known prevalence of regard to human virtue 
might lead us to expect. While this capital 
defect in the sentiments and feelings of men 
can be traced to no other radical cause than our 
corruption in the fall, it is in a peculiar man- 
ner promoted by one of the consequences of 
that corruption our natural blindness to the real 
attributes of a spiritual Being. So great is this 
blindness, that notwithstanding the most abun- 
dant evidences of his power and benevolence, 
multitudes who are by no means destitute of a 
regard for virtue, neglect and forget him " days 
without number." Again, until the true light of 
the G-ospel of Christ breaks in upon the soul, men 
are more likely to be affected by the awful parts 
of the Divine character, and to shrink from the 
presence of their Judge, than to accept and ad- 
mire him as a God of love. 

But how different is the whole train of our 
feelings, when the religion of Jesus has becom'e 



ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 173 

influential in the mind ! Christianity brings 
God very near to us. He meets the percep 
tion of his reconciled children in every flower 
that blossoms, in every star that shines, and 
in every cloud that floats across the sky. 
They find him in daily, hourly contact with 
themselves, in his providential mercies, in 
his paternal care. Above all, his holiness on 
the one hand, and his love on the other, are 
illustriously displayed to them in the scheme 
of redemption. In Christ, God is revealed 
in all the beauty and majesty of his moral 
perfections. 

When through the influence of the Holy 
Spirit, we thus know him, we cannot do other- 
wise than revere and love him ; and although 
these affections on our parts fall infinitely short 
of his claims upon us, they fully confirm the 
general principle, that moral excellence attracts 
love. They are the legitimate effect, on our 
minds, of God's infinite goodness. 

We may now advert to a second principle 
of much practical importance that the love 
which good characters excite in the minds of 
men who have " any spark of goodness" in 
themselves, is always accompanied by a de- 



174 CONFORMITY WITH THE 

sire to imitate the pattern which they admire 
and approve. What ingenuous person can 
find his best affections drawn forth by noble 
and generous characters in the history of his 
country, without feeling some ardent wishes 
to act on the same principles of virtue and 
charity ? The force of example is felt even 
in large communities ; and goodness, under 
the divine blessing, is often diffused in society, 
through the tendency, so common amongst 
men, to imitate those of their neighbours who 
are the objects of their regard. The same 
principle applies with redoubled force to the 
domestic circle. When we are instructed and 
comforted from day to day by the good con- 
duct of our dearest friends, it is impossible for 
us (if our minds be in any degree under a 
right influence) not to desire and almost im- 
possible not to endeavour to be of the same 
mind, the same character. 

But it is in religion that this principle finds 
its highest application. When (2od has been 
brought near to us in the gospel of his Son 
when we have been taught to regard and love 
him as a Being of infinite holiness and bene- 
volence the Spirit which awakens these af- 



ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 175 

fections, never fails to excite in us an earnest 
desire to become conformed, in our own cha- 
racter, to his moral attributes. This, indeed, 
is a test by which we may try our love ; 
for if such a desire is strange to us, we may 
rest assured that our affections have never been 
rightly excited towards him. There is some- 
thing in the inmost feelings of every true be- 
liever, which responds to that awful precept, 
" Be ye holy, for I am holy"* 

God created man in his own image after 
his own likeness. Not only did he furnish him 
with the lamp of reason, and introduce him to 
the high destinies of eternity, but he formed 
him upon the- pattern of his own character. 
The soul of the creature was stamped with the 
moral impress of the Creator. But man is 
fallen ; he has lost the image of his heavenly 
Father ; through the stratagems of Satan, he is 
become a sinner and a child of wrath ; and now 
there is no deliverance for him, but through the 
redemption which is in Jesus Christ. 

What, then, is the great practical object of 
the scheme of redemption, and of that whole 
process of faith and obedience, which has been 

* 1 Pet. i. 16. 



176 CONFORMITY WITH THE 

described in the preceding section ? It is the 
recover} 7 " of man's lost character his restora- 
tion to the likeness of his Creator. Utterly lost 
as he is to holiness, he has no more power to 
work out his cure by any strength or wi?dom 
of his own, than has the dead body, moulder- 
ing in the grave, to live, arise, and walk. But 
when he is imbued, by a power beyond his 
own, with a living faith in God, set free from 
condemnation through the blood of Jesus, and 
subjected to the purifying influences of the 
Hoty Spirit he experiences a gracious, a vital 
change. Enamoured with the beauty of the 
Holy One of Israel, and panting after a resem- 
blance to his righteous attributes, he bends the 
whole forces of his soul to the race of holiness; 
and, behold, he becomes a new creature in 
Christ Jesus. He puts off', " concerning the 
former conversation, the old man, which is cor- 
rupt according to the deceitful lusts ;" he puts 
on " the new man, which after God is created 
in righteousness and true holiness."* Thus 
is the love of the Christian towards that Being, 
in whom all loveliness dwells, graciously re- 

* Eph. iv. 22. 24. 



Al TRIBUTES OF GOD. 177 

warded by a daily increasing resemblance to 
the highest object of his regard. 

But in the midst of our best endeavours to 
be followers of God, and to resemble, in point 
of moral character, the Author of our being ; 
it is impossible for us to forget the infinite 
elevation of the unsearchable Creator, above 
man, that worm of the earth, that poor gro- 
veller in the dust. Hence it seems to follow, 
that in our endeavours to scale the height of 
assimilation to God, there would be the utmost 
danger of our being appalled, and of our fall- 
ing back, in despair, into the depths of our 
own weakness, were it not that the righteous- 
ness of God is brought home to our familiar 
perceptions in his incarnate Son. "For God, 
who commanded the light to shine out, of dark- 
ness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the 
light of the knowledge of the glory of God, 
in the face (or person) of Jesus Christ."* 

Christ is the image of God, in whom all 
the moral attributes of the Deity were dis- 
played, and as it were personified ; and at the 
same time he has afforded us a perfect pattern 



* 2 Cor. iv. 6. 
Gurney. 12 



178 CONFORMITY WITH THE 

of that unqualified submission to the Father's 
will, which belongs to our relation towards 
God, and without which we can never recover 
his likeness. When the Son of God quitted 
his throne of glory, and took upon him the 
nature of man, he did, indeed, surrender him- 
self without reserve to the decrees of infinite 
wisdom and goodness ; nor can it be doubted 
that the sacrifice was prompted by unutterable 
love towards him who commanded it, as well 
as by compassion for our fallen race. Then 
said he, " Lo, I come ; in the volume of the 
book it is written of me ; I delight to do thy 
will, O my God."* 

With this unparalleled act of self-renuncia- 
tion, his subsequent resignation in suffering 
the will of God, and faithfulness in doing it, 
were completely on a level. Subjected as he 
was, without a murmur, to his Father's de- 
signs respecting him, his language in the depth 
of conflict, and in the immediate prospect of 
nis propitiatory death, was, "not as I will, but 
as thou wilt." " He was led as a lamb to the 
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers 

* Ps. xl. 7, 8. 



ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 179 

is dumb, so he opened not his month." Again, 
so entirely conformed was he in action, to the 
will of God, that the words which he spoke 
were his Father's words, and the works which 
he wrought, his Father's works.* " My meat," 
said he, " is to do the will of him that sent 
me, and to finish his work."t 

While he was thus conformed to the will 
of his Father, he gloriously fulfilled his own 
precept, " Be ye, therefore, perfect, even as 
your Father which is in heaven is perfect." 
He was the Holy One of God, a Lamb with- 
out blemish and without spot; wisdom and 
prudence were in him united with unbending 
integrity and undaunted courage, and his words 
were the very truth ; his patience and fortitude 
surmounted every difficulty ; he was forever 
engaged in acts of beneficence in labouring 
for the welfare of the bodies and souls of men ; 
his temper was- unruffled as the dove's ; he 
was meek, gentle, forbearing, long-suffering, 
tender-hearted ; magnanimous and zealous in 
his Father's cause, but ever ready to forgive 
the insults and injuries which were heaped 
upon himself; although infinitely worthy of 

* John xiv. 10, &c. f John iv. 34. 



180 CONFORMITY WITH THE 

exaltation, he was " lowly in heart ;" liig 
charity knew no bounds ; his love to God and 
man was ever-flowing, like the waves of the 
ocean. 

What a precious evidence is it of the lov- 
ing-kindness of our God, as well as of the 
truth of our holy religion, that we are thus 
furnished with an example, in which his whole 
moral law is embodied for our instruction, and 
in such a form as powerfully to engage our 
best affections ! If there is any thing of Di- 
vine grace in our souls, we cannot fail to love 
that perfectly lovely One who is thus present- 
ed, in a glowing picture, to our notice ;' and 
our affection for him will, in the very nature 
of things, be accompanied by a cordial desire 
to follow his example. 

Let some ingenuous youth be placed under 
the care and instruction of an elder brother, 
with whom he feels a happy freedom, but 
whose good qualities excite at once his rever- 
ence and his love. We shall fte sure to find him 
insensibly moulding himself upon his favourite 
model. Almost without an intention, he will 
speak in the same voice, behave in the same 
manner, and adopt the same sentiments. He 



ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 181 

will be constantly approaching nearer and 
nearer to his pattern, in thought, demeanour 
conduct, and character. So ought it to be 
so will it be, if his faith and love are genuine 
with the Christian towards his Saviour. 
Let all who bear the name of Christ, fix their 
regards on their glorious Elder Brother, the 
First-begotten from the dead, who was cru- 
cified for their sins, and lives for their salva- 
tion. Let them cultivate their love for him, 
by taking a frequent view of his perfections ; 
and let this love have its free course in lead- 
ing them to imitate their model. In constant 
dependence on the aid of the Holy Spirit, let 
them humbly endeavour to imbibe his mind, 
and follow his footsteps. Let them look well 
to it, that their hearts be conformed to the 
purity which is in Jesus ; and that they be 
clad in the same garment of gentleness, meek- 
ness, charity, and humility. 

Now, as the Christian character is gradually 
formed in obedience to the precepts of Jesus, 
und after his example, the image of God is 
renewed in the soul. Utterly insignificant as 
he is in himself, man becomes once move 
conformed to the righteous character of his 



182 CONFORMITY WITH THE 

Creator ; the holiness and benevolence of the 
Deity are again reflected in his demeanour and 
conduct, as the face of a man is reflected in a 
mirror. " But we all with open face behold- 
ing, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, are 
changed into the same image from glory to 
glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."* 

It appears, then, first, that when there is 
any spark of goodness in men, their love and 
regard is naturally attracted by virtuous cha- 
racters ; and that, although this principle, as it 
respects God, is grievously hindered by the 
weakness and corruption of our nature, it is, 
nevertheless, verified by the experience of 
every true Christian ; secondly, that our at- 
tachment to persons distinguished by moral ex- 
cellence, is inseparably connected with some 
desire to imitate their example that the Chris- 
tian is inspired with an earnest solicitude to be 
a follower of God himself that the restoration 
of men to that image of the Creator, which 
they have lost through the fall, is the main 
practical purpose of Christianity and that this 
purpose can be accomplished only as they are 
formed on + .he model of his incarnate Son. 

* 2 Cor. iii. 18. 



ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 183 

So far, then, the argument is clear; but 
there is a third point to which we must advert 
in order to complete our view of the subject. 
The, degree of our love to' holy beings, is 
always in proportion to the degree of our 
own holiness. 

Just as our relish for the elegancies of a 
language keeps pace with our proficiency in 
the knowledge of it just as the excellence of 
some well painted picture, although hidden 
from the unpractised eye, is at once detected 
by that of an artist just as the greatest de- 
light in the charms of nature, is ever felt by 
those who have been nursed in contemplating 
them, the mind which is most exercised in 
virtue never fails to be the most alive to its 
goodliness and beauty. 

The more any community of men is set 
free from degrading and vicious practices, the 
greater will be their esteem for their virtuous 
members. The more the child is strengthened 
in his moral principles, the more he will love 
the parent in whose conduct those principles 
are displayed. 

From these premises, it plainly follows, that 
precisely in proportion to the Christian's im- 



184 CONFORMITY WITH THE 

provement in holiness, will be the increase of 
his love to a holy God and Saviour. Let the 
work of sanctification go forward in our souls, 
and what will he the "blessed consequence ? 
Our sense of the glory and excellence of the 
Divine character will be refined and exalted ; 
our hatred for sin, and our reverence for right- 
eousness, will become determined ; and the 
love which leads us to imitate the Saviour, will 
grow stronger and stronger as the process of 
assimilation advances. The more we resem- 
ble him and partake of his mind and character, 
the warmer 'will be our regard for him, and the 
closer that bond of union in which we can 
say, with the church of old, " My beloved is 
mine, and I am his."* And in being thus 
brought nearer to the Son, we are brought 
nearer to the Father also. Every element of 
discord and separation between God and his 
children is gradually removed ; and as sin dis- 
appears, love triumphs over all. 

It is, therefore, through the gradual con- 
formation of the character to the moral attri- 
butes of the Deity, that our love to God is 
matured and perfected. But while this love 

* Cant. ii. 19. 



ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 185 

may fairly be regarded as the main qualifica- 
tion for the enjoyments of a better world, let 
it never be forgotten that an actual resemblance 
to the purity of the Deity, is in itself indis- 
pensable to our admission into heaven. Never 
can we take possession of the eternal inherit- 
ance which Christ has purchased for us with 
his blood, unless we be restored to that like- 
ness of Jehovah, in which our first parents were 
created. Without holiness " no man shall see 
the Lord."* " There shall in no wise enter 
into it any thing that defileth, neither whatso- 
ever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie, 
but they which are written in the Lamb's 
book of life."t 

What tongue can tell, what heart conceive 
the joy which is reserved in heaven for those 
who have here, by the work of grace, been 
assimilated to Jesus Christ? "Beloved, now 
are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet 
appear what we shall be ; but we know, that 
when he shall appear, we shall be like him, 
for we shall see him as he is."! If, even in 
this world, we have been taught to love God 

* Heb. xii. 14. f Rev. xxi. 27. * 1 John iii. 2. 



186 CONFORMITY WITH THE, ETC. 

because of his moral perfections, and if our 
love for him has ever been found to increase 
as we ourselves have been enabled to advance 
in holiness, what will be the measure of our 
love what, therefore, the fulness of our hap- 
piness when the moral beauty of the Deity 
shall be revealed to us in all its radiance, while 
our own capacity for appreciating it is unut- 
terably enlarged ! Forever likened to their 
Saviour, the risen and glorified children of the 
Lord will experience, in heaven, the perfect 
blending of love and holiness ; and both these 
will be forever associated with unclouded 



SECTION IX. 

ON LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 

EXPERIENCE affords many proofs that men, 
being evil, " know how to give good gifts" 
unto their " children." The father of a family 
provides food for his wife and little ones, by 
the labour of his hands ; and is constrained to 
do so by the gentle yet constant impulse of 
natural affection. The mother watches with 
ceaseless care over the couch of her sick in- 
fant, and is urged by feelings of a most tender 
character to soothe its sufferings, even at the 
cost of her own ease and comfort. Brothers 
and sisters, relations and friends, are per- 
petually enjoying each other's company, and 
assisting one another by a thousand little 
offices of kindness. In some of these in- 
stances, especially in that of the watchful 
mother, something may be placed to the ac- 
count of natural instinct ; yet we cannot deny, 
that benevolence has its share of influence in 



188 LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 

producing these effects ; and this quality be- 
comes still more conspicuous when men are 
found to be willing, as they very generally 
are, to relieve the distresses of their fellow- 
men, with whom they have little or no con- 
nexion, but that of a common nature. A 
heathen could say, " Homo sum, et nihil 
humani a me alienum puto" " I am a 
man ; and I consider nothing belonging to my 
fellow-men, foreign to my care." 

It is impossible to deny the existence of 
these kindly dispositions in man ; and it would 
be ungrateful to our gracious Creator, to under- 
rate their value. Yet I conceive, that were 
they analyzed under the light of truth, they 
would be found to yield but little credit to cor- 
rupt human nature. No small proportion of 
selfishness might, after all, be discovered in 
their basis; and whatsoever was found in the 
combination of a lovelier character, might, per- 
haps, be traced to the secret working of an in- 
fluence from above. In the mean time, it is 
affecting to observe, how soon, under the sway 
of prejudice, ambition, and covetousness, these 
amiable tendencies are exchanged, even for 
desperate cruelty. "What became of natural 



LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 189 

affection during the persecutions of the early 
Christians, when hrother delivered up his bro- 
ther, and father his child, to the most barbarous 
deaths ? Where was the benevolence of our spe- 
cies, when whole nations were wasted, and 
rivers of blood shed by the sword of Jengis 
Khan, or of Napoleon ? Of what force is that 
benevolence in comparison with filthy lucre, 
among the wretches who tear unoffending men 
from their homes press them, in multitudes into 
the holds of their ships and receive the price by 
which they are consigned to bondage ? 

The plain fact is, that the affection of love, 
in the breast of man, will never be regulated 
on principles of true morality, or be found of a 
pure and stable character, until it be directed, 
in the first place, to that glorious Being who 
is its proper and supreme object. It is when 
our love has been taught to flow, in an undi- 
vided stream, towards God, that it pursues its 
course or rather, that it is sent back from 
him with a force unknown before, towards all 
who stand in the same relation to him as our- 
selves ; for we are all children of one Father 
Let us picture to ourselves some large family 



190 LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 

of sons and daughters, who have been che- 
rished, with an impartial regard, by their earthly 
parents. Should these children make no re- 
turn for parental kindness but indifference and 
neglect, it is morally impossible that there 
should be any stable principle in their friend- 
ship for each other ; the bond subsisting among 
them must be loose and uncertain in the ex- 
treme. But should they, on the contrary, be 
virtuous, the love of every child in the fireside 
group, would flow without restriction, in the 
first place, towards his parents ; and, in the 
next place, towards his brothers and sisters, 
those equal sharers with himself of a father's 
tenderness and a mother's care. But. let us 
suppose that these fond parents, in addition to 
the usual offices of love, had made some vast 
sacrifice, or had undergone incredible fatigue 
and suffering, for the benefit of all their child- 
ren say, for the purpose of redeeming them 
from bondage. Here would be a new and dis- 
tinct call on every child for gratitude towards 
the parents ; and a fresh tie to bind all the 
children together in love. They all owe their 
existence, under divine Providence, to the same 
father and mother ; they are all objects (if the 



LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 191 

same parental love and care : above all, they 
have all been redeemed from a cruel bondage, 
through the same parental suffering. Irre- 
sistible, therefore, are the feelings which im- 
pel them first to love their parents ; and next, 
through the medium of this filial affecMon, 
to attach themselves to each other. 

The claims of our heavenly Father on our 
love and gratitude, are incomparably superior 
to those of any earthly parent ; and when these 
claims are acknowledged and felt, our love to 
our fellow-men, the common objects with our- 
selves of his goodness, both in creation and 
providence, rests on a secure basis ; it becomes 
what it never was before, a heaven-born affec- 
tion. But what vast additional force is im- 
parted to this affection, through the gospel of 
our Redeemer ! When the great truth is im- 
pressed on our hearts, that God sent his own 
Son into the world to save us even to redeem 
us by his death on the cross, from the pains 
of hell, and from the slavery of sin and Satan > 
our love cannot fail to flow and abound. We 
are gently constrained, under a divine in- 
fluence, first to love the Lord our God, and 
Jesus Christ whom he has sent; and, next, to 



192 LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 

love that universal family of man, for whom 
Christ died. " If God so loved us, we ought 
also to love one another."* 

Again, we have seen that they who truly 
love God, are distinguished by a cordial de- 
sire and endeavour to resemble the object of 
their regard. But there is not one of his mo- 
ral attributes more clearly placed within the 
scope of our perception and imitation than his 
love to ma.n.\ 

It appears, therefore, that there is some- 
thing more than a bare succession that there 
is sequence, in the sense of cause and effect 
in the two great commandments of the law of 
God. When the lawyer questioned Jesus, 
saying, " Master, which is the great com- 
mandment of the law ? Jesus said unto him, 
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy 
mind. This is the first and great command- 

* 1 John iv. 11. 

} " God is love. Can those who love him, and who 
ardently desire to resemble him, refuse to bear the image 
of fhis divine attribute, and with all the helps and power- 
ful incentives to mutual affection, remain indifferent tc 
one another 1" Joyce, Love to God. 3d edit. p. 113. 



LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 193 

merit. And the second is like unto it, THOU 

SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR AS THYSELF."^ 

What then is the extent, and what the measure 
of this second commandment ? 

1. Extent. The ancient Jews were accus- 
tomed, as a people, to dwell alone. Separated 
as they were, both by their civil and religious 
habits, from the heathen nations which sur- 
rounded them, it was not without divine au- 
thority, that they looked upon themselves as a 
select community, the peculiar heritage of the 
Lord. Hence they were not, in general, pre- 
pared to salute "any man as their neighbour, or 
friend, (as in the Hebrew,) who was not of the 
commonwealth of Israel ; and the command to 
love their neighbour was, in their view, equi- 
valent to the precept that they should love one 
another. But the gospel, which broke down 
the middle wall of partition between the Jews 
and the Gentiles, has imparted a far wider sig- 
nificance to the term neighbour; as is very 
evident from some of our Lord's discourses. 

The Samaritans were a people quite distinct 
from the Jews ; they were Cuthites from Chal- 

* Matt. xxii. 3539. 
Guriiey. 3 



194 LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 

dsea, \vlio were planted in the territory of the 
ten tribes, by their victorious enemy, Salma- 
nassar, king of Assyria. Yet we find, from 
that exquisite parable by which Jesvis answered 
the lawyer's question on the subject before us, 
that the good Samaritan was neighbour to the 
Jew who fell among thieves ; and proved him- 
self to be so, by exercising towards him the of- 
fices of Christian charity. And as the term is 
strictly reciprocal, it of course follows that the 
Jew was also neighbour to the Samaritan. 

Hence it appears, that under the gospel of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, all men of every colour 
and country who fall under our notice, or are 
within the reach of our influence, must be re- 
garded as our neighbours ; and that it is our 
duty to love them as we love ourselves. Nor 
does the mere distance of the party from us, 
deprive him of this character ; for Christianity 
is a diffusive religion. Under its influence. 
we have to do with millions whom we have 
never seen ; and while it in no degree weakens 
the pre-eminent claims upon us, of our own 
countrymen, it supplies us with neighbours 
whom it is our duty to serve, in the remotes 
part of the habitable globe. When the apostle; 



LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 195 

were commanded to go forth and proclaim the 
glad tidings of salvation to every creature under 
heaven, they were taught, by the very com- 
mand itself, to regard every creature under 
heaven as their neighbour and their friend. 

But the Samaritans were not only of a dif- 
ferent stock from the Jews ; the two nations 
were at enmity with each other. Samaritan ad- 
versaries hindered the rebuilding of Jerusalem, 
in the days of Artaxerxes ; and so obstinate 
was this national dislike, that when Jesus and 
his disciples, many hundred years afterwards, 
were passing through a Samaritan village, even 
the opportunity to obtain food was refused 
them, because their faces were set " to go to 
Jerusalem."* Nor was the spirit of the Jews 
towards this people in any degree less- hostile: 
" The Jews had no dealings with the Sa- 
maritans.'^ It appears, then, that the enmity 
of any persons, or of any nations of men, 
against ourselves, has no effect in removing 
them from the class of our neighbours ; we 
must still love them, and treat them as cut 
friends. In short, the term " neighbour," in 

* Luke ix. 53. f John iv, 9. 



196 LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 

this comprehensive law, extends, under the 
gospel, without any kind of exception, to the 
whole family of our fellow-men. " The 
Lord," said the apostle to the Thessalonians, 
" make you to increase and abound in love one 
towards another, and towards ALL MEN."* 



* 1 Thess. iii. 12. 

That war is an anti-Christian practice, is a position 
which few serious persons will refuse to admit as true ; 
and a candid examination of facts can scarcely fail to 
extort the further confession, that sinful as it is in its 
own nature, it is no solitary evil, but prolific of in- 
numerable transgressions against the divine law. It 
brings into play all the worst passions of our nature ; it 
is followed by fraud, robbery, rapine, and unbridled 
licentiousness and cruelty. Above all, it tramples on 
the sacredness of human life, mocks at the doctrine of 
man's immortality, and is full of murder. 

Can any one deny that our Lord's plain precept, love 
your enemies, virtually abolishes the warfare of the 
world, both for individuals and for nations "? Is it possi- 
ble for us to love our enemies and to destroy them simul- 
taneously 1 

May the happy day speedily arrive, when Christians 
will universally withdraw from all participation in this 
tremendous sin ! " We no longer take up the sword 
against any nation," said Origen to Cclsus, " neither du 



LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 197 

2. The measure of the love which the 
Christian is required to bear towards his neigh- 
bour, is the love which he lawfully entertains 
for himself ' Thou shalt love thy neighbour 
as thyself" Although the love of self is 
miserably perverted and exaggerated in the 
fall, so that, in point of fact, it has become 
self-worship, there can be no doubt that this 
affection, within its true limits, belongs to 
man's original nature, and forms an important 
part of his mental constitution. It is the affec- 
tion which leads us, by a never-failing im- 
pulse, to seek our own safety and happiness ; 
and, when rectified by Divine grace, and ap- 
plied in a right direction, it becomes a pow- 

we learn any more to make war. We have become, for 
the sake of Jesus, the children of peace.'" Again he 
says, " by such means (that is, by our prayers) we fight 
for our king abundantly ; but we go not with him to 
war, even though he urge us x,av irrtiyv." Lib. v. 33, 
Ed. Ben. i. G02 ; lib. viii. 73, Ed. Ben. i. 797. " Hitherto 
I have fought for thee," said Martin, a converted sol- 
dier, to the Emperor Julian, " permit me now to fight 
for my God. Let those who are about to engage in 
battle accept thy donative. I am the soldier of Christ; 
for me the combat is unlawful" Sulpit. Sev. de Vita 
B. Martin, Ed. Amst. p. 445. 



198 LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 

erful instrument for our good. Now, the 
Christian's love for his neighbour ought to be 
precisely the same in character, as his love for 
himself strong, constant, well-principled, and 
effective. It ought also to be the same in de- 
gree ; so far as to lead us to do unto others* 
as we would have them, under the same cir- 
cumstances, do unto ourselves. 

Observe the courses of the planets round the 
sun. They cannot fly off into endless space 
the centripetal force prevents them ; they can- 
not fall to the sun in the centre, and perish in 
his flames the centrifugal force preserves 
'them at their right distance. Under that Al- 
mighty hand by which they were first adjusted, 
the two forces, in their opposite and equal 
operation, are the means of preserving the 
whole solar system in its admirable order. 
Just so would it be in the mutual relations 
of men, were the love of self matched, as it 
ought to be, by pure benevolence. The affec- 
tion which seeks the centre of self, and that 
which shuns it for the benefit of others, would 
balance and counteract each other ; and the 
blessed result, under the grace of God, would be 
the peace and harmony of our whole species. 



LOVE TOWARDS MAN, 199 

3. A high sense of honour, even in men of 
a worldly character, ought by no means to be 
undervalued ; for it is right in itself, and 
greatly promotes the happiness of mankind. 
Yet how often do we find persons, who are 
by no means destitute of this quality, work- 
ing abundance of ill to their neighbours ! 
Under the influence of their respective pas- 
sions, the duellist, the gamester, and the sen- 
sualist although they may all scorn what they 
deem a breach of honour have little hesita- 
tion in inflicting injuries on their fellow-crea- 
tures, which are utterly opposed to immutable 
justice. Hence we may perceive the true 
force of the apostle's doctrine, that all the laws . 
which forbid our injuring other men, are briefly 
comprehended in this saying, namely, " Thou 
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." " Love," 
he adds, " worketh no ill to his neighbour;" 
therefore, " love is the fulfilling of the law."* 
If this love had always prevailed among pro- 
fessing Christians, where would have been the 
sword of the crusader? Where the tortures of 
the Inquisition ? Where every system of oppres- 
sion and wrong by which he who has the power 

* Rom. xiii. 9, 10. 



200 LOVE TOWARDS HAN. 

revels in luxury and ease at the expense of his 
fellow-man ? 

Love, indeed, imparts both eyes and wings 
to justice. It is when our depraved affections 
are rectified, that we take an enlightened view 
of the relations of our fellow-men towards ourr 
selves, and of the claims on our justice, which 
those relations involve. Again, it is love which 
makes us swift to shun the evil which justice 
forbids, and to do the good which she demands. 
At the same time, it cannot be denied, that 
under the softening touches of religion, 
charity and mercy are sometimes found to be 
easier to frail man than the hardier virtue of 
strict integrity. This is a point of danger 
which requires a peculiar guard, and which is 
too often neglected, to the great loss and injury 
of the cause of Christ. Let it ever be re- 
membered, that the unbending maintenance 
of the rule of right towards our fellow-men, 
is the first and most indispensable result of 
that holy law : " Thou shalt love thy neigh' 
bour as thyself." 

4. When we are conscious that we have 
fulfilled the claims of justice, our charity has 
free scope ; and if we abide under the influence 



LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 201 

of Divine grace, it will soon be found exerting 
itself in every direction. 

Were we in temporal distress ourselves 
sick, impoverished, afflicted, or imprisoned 
we should certainly desire the sympathy and 
assistance of our fellow-men ; and, therefore, 
by the royal law of love, we are bound to 
extend our pity and help, as far as our means 
and opportunities permit, to all who need it. 
If we neglect these obvious duties, vain are our 
professions of faith and love. " What doth it 
profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath 
faith, and have-not works, can faith save him ? 
If a brother or sister be naked and destitute 
of daily food, and one of you say unto them, 
Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled ; 
notwithstanding, ye give them not those things 
which are needful to the body, what doth it 
profit?"* Again, "Whoso hath this world's 
good, and seeth his brother have need, and 
shutteth up his bowels of compassion from 
him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?"t 

All men are our brethren by creation ; and 
we cannot doubt that to all men these offices 
of kindness are due, as occasion offers. Yet 

* James ii. 14 16. f 1 John iii. 17. 



202 LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 

it may not be wholly useless to observe, tha' 
in relieving the temporal distresses of the 
poor, Christian love will lead us to aim at 
their substantial and permanent welfare. 
While it may even check the hand of indis- 
criminate almsgiving, it will teach us to in- 
quire into the sources of poverty, and there 
to apply our remedies. Above all, we shall 
endeavour to set those principles at work in 
their minds, by which they may be induced 
to feel their own independence, and help 
themselves. 

In the mean time, those who are suffering 
from peculiar calamities, will claim a cor- 
responding care. In these matters we may 
find an admirable pattern in a very ancient 
philanthropist : " When the ear heard me," 
said Job, " then it blessed me ; and when the 
eye saw me, it gave witness to me : be- 
cause I delivered the poor that cried, and the 
fatherless, and him that had none to help 
him. The blessing of him that was ready to 
perish came upon me ; and I caused the 
widow's heart to sing for joy. I put on right< 
eousness and it clothed me, my judgment was 
as a robe and a diadem ; I was eyes to the 



LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 203 

blind; and feet was I to the lame. I was a 
father to the poor, (the stable protector of 
their true interests ;) and the cause ivhich / 
knew not I searched out."* 

5. But the law of love to our neighbour, 
and its corresponding " golden rule," are far, 
indeed, from being restricted, as to their ob- 
ject, to the poor and distressed among men. 
They teach us to fulfil our Christian duties 
towards the king upon his throne ; towards 
" magistrates who are sent by him ;" towards 
all who have a just authority over us; towards 
our equals and associates ; towards those who 
are placed under our care, or are engaged in 
our service in fact, through the whole train 
of our relations in life. Under the blessed 
influence of love, it is the office of justice, to 
" render unto all their dues," and to refrain 
from injuring any man in word, thought, or 
deed ; and it is that of charity, to impart to 
others as much happiness as it is in our power 
to bestow. Bitterness, wrath, envy and de- 
traction, must all disappear under the melting 
ray of the law of love ; and in their place, 
must spring up kindness, universal good-will 

*Jobxxix. 11 16. 



204 LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 

tenderness of spirit, forbearance, the willing 
preference of others, and Christian courtesy. 
Divine love alone will render us good citizens 
of this evil world, and polish us into true gen- 
tlemen. "Though I bestow all my goods to 
feed the poor, and though I give my body to 
be burned, and have not charity, (or, love,} it 
profiteth me nothing. Charity sufFereth long 
and is kind ; charity envieth not ; charity 
vaunteth not itself ; is not puffed up ; doth 
not behave itself unseemly ; seeketh not her 
own ; is not easily provoked ; thinketh no 
evil ; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth 
in the truth ; beareth all things ; believeth 
all things ; hopeth all things ; endureth all 

things And now abideth faith, hope^ 

charity, these three ; but the greatest of these 
is CHARITY."* 

6. Were we to inquire of the Christian,which 
of all his privileges he most dearly prizes, he 
would not fail to answer the knowledge of 
divine truth ; and the blessed hope of ever- 
lasting life, through Jesus Christ our Saviour. 
How, then, can he love his neighbour as him- 
self how can he do to others as he would that 

* 1 Cor. xiii. 313. 



LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 205 

others (under like circumstances) should do to 
him without endeavouring to communicate to 
his fellow-men these dearest of blessings ? If 
Christian charity constrains him to be ever on 
the watch for the temporal benefit of his fellow- 
men, how much more for their spiritual and 
eternal welfare ! 

The ministry of the gospel of Christ is pre- 
eminently a work of love. Under the influ- 
ence of this pure affection towards God and 
man, the first preachers of Christianity were 
brought into sympathy with the condition of 
the people ; and they were made willing to un- 
dergo every description of privation and suffer- 
ing, and even to offer up their lives, in order 
to make known to sinners the crucified and 
risen Saviour. " Neither count I my life dear 
unto myself," said the apostle Paul, " so that 
I might finish my course with joy. and the 
ministry which I have received of the Lord 
Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of 
God."* There can be no doubt that the same 
blessed motive was powerfully at work in the 
mind of an Eliot, a Brainerd, a Schwartz, and 

* Acts xx. 24. 



206 LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 

a Martyn ; and can never fail to characterize 
every true-hearted minister of the gospel, both 
at home and abroad. "Would that an increasing 
multitude of servants, actuated by no other mo- 
tive than that of love, and depending on nc 
other influence than that of the Holy Spirit 
might be raised up to publish the truth oi 
God in every part of this dark and degenerate 
world ! Would that there were a response 
in the hearts of tens of thousands, to the cal 
of Jesus and his Spirit, " Go ye into all th< 
world," and preach the gospel to every crea 
ture."* 

Yet it must not be forgotten that while this 
call is in its nature select and specific, the worl 
of diffusing a knowledge of the truth is by n< 
means restricted to the ministers of the gospel 
The harvest field of the world is large and va 
rious ; giving scope for labour of many differen 
kinds ; and there is not a Christian upon eartl 
who ought not, in some way or other, to pro 
rnote the common cause. The distribution o 
the Bible, the scriptural education of the poor 
the diffusion of religious tracts, are means oi 

* Markxvi. 15. 



LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 207 

extending the kingdom of Christ, to which no 
man can fairly object, and which most men 
have some opportunity of promoting. Other 
means, suited to the various modifications of 
our opinions and feelings, abound on every 
side ; so that if there be a heart for the work, 
some way to perform it is sure to offer itself. 

" Sow in the morn thy seed, 

At eve hold not thy hand ; 
To doubt and fear give thou no heed 
Broad cast it round the land !" 

MONTGOMERY. 

In addition to efforts of this description, ser- 
vices of a more directly personal nature, are 
frequently required of us, for the benefit of our 
fellow-men. For every Christian has his own 
circle of influence, and ought to be a centre for 
the diffusion of light to all whom 'that circle 
comprises. Were we more strongly actuated 
by divine love, more willing to take up our 
cross and confess the Lord who bought us, how 
often would the words of friendly admonition, 
of timely warning, or of warm encouragement, 
flow from our lips ! While a holy discretion 
would still be carefully cherished, how conspi- 
cuously would our zeal for the salvation of 



208 LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 

souls overcome the withering influence of thi 
fear of man ! Above all, how watchful shouli 
we be that our example might always tell 01 
the side of truth and righteousness that ou 
whole demeanour and conduct might utter th 
language come and have fellowship with us 
" because our fellowship is with the Fathe 
and with his Son, Jesus Christ."* 

In holding up our love for ourselves as th 
general standard of our love to our neighboui 
the divine law by no means requires us to re 
gard all men equally. It is rather intended 
as I conceive, to enforce the principle so cleai 
ly unfolded in the " golden rule ;" and to teac 
us that we should so feel and behave toward 
every man, as we would have him feel an 
behave towards ourselves, were the position o 
the two parties reversed. Hence the degre 
of our love for our fellow-men may lawful! 
vary ; and it ought in fact precisely to corres 
pond with the nature and character of thei 
relations towards us. 

I am living, it may be, in a certain towr 
and I feel a sincere regard for all its inhabitants 

* 1 John i. 3. 



LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 209 

but there are my father, my mother, my bro- 
thers, and my sisters ! These are bound to rne 
by a far closer tie than the rest of my fellow- 
citizens, and they are objects of a much 
warmer and nearer affection. Who can won- 
der then that the followers of our Lord Jesus 
Christ the members of that flock and family 
which he has purchased with his own blood 
are, with & peculiar emphasis, commanded to 
love one another ? 

" The kindred links of life are bright, 

Yet not so bright as those 
In which Christ's favour'd friends unite, 

And each on each repose. 
Where all the hearts in union cling, 
With him the centre and the spring." 

AKOST. 

. I have already endeavoured to show that our 
love to our fellow-men, if of the right quality, is 
inseparably connected with the blessing which 
we derive, in union with them, from the same 
God and Father. We love them all as our 
brethren by Creation, the common objects with 
ourselves, of the tender mercies of Jehovah, 
and even of his redeeming love. But true 



Gurney. 



14 



210 LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 

Christians are the children of God by adop- 
tion ; they are a chosen generation, a peculiar 
people ; theirs is the treasure of saving grace 
in this world ; theirs the hope of unfading 
happiness and glory, in 'the world to come. 
Just in proportion, therefore, to the pre-emi- 
nence of the favours which they are receiving 
at the hands of their Father, and their Ke- 
deemer, must be the pre-eminence of that love 
which draws and binds them one to another. 

The precepts of our Saviour and his apos- 
tles on this subject are numerous and clear. 
" A new commandment I give unto you, that 

ye love one another By this shall all 

men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have 
love one to another."* " Be kindly affectioned 
one to another in brotherly love, in honour 
preferring one another. "t " Seeing ye have pu- 
rified yourselves in obeying the truth, through 
the Spirit, unto unfeigned love of the brethren, 
see that ye love one another with a pure heart 
fervently. "J " Beloved, let us love one 
another ; for love is of God ; and every one 
that loveth, is born of God, and knoweth God 

* John xiii. 34, 35. f Rom. xii. 10. 4= 1 Pet. i. 22 



LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 211 

.... God is love ; and he that dwelleth in 
love, dwelleth in God, and God in him."* 

It would seem that the apostle John's love 
for his brethren was in proportion to that espe- 
cial affection with which he was himself loved 
of his Master ; and it is said, that in the ex- 
tremity of his old age, his public addresses to 
the churches were all reduced to one " Lit- 
tle children, love one another." But it is not 
merely by the frequent repetition of such pre- 
cepts that we are taught the pre-eminence of 
that love which Christians are required to exer- 
cise towards each other. The Scriptures have 
affixed to it its peculiar standard ; and while we 
are commanded to love all mankind as we do 
ourselves, we are enjoined to love our Chris- 
tian brethren after a still higher measure even 
as Christ has loved us. " This is my com- 
mandment," said Jesus to his disciples, " that 
ye love one another, as I have loved ?/0w."t 
" Be ye therefore followers of God as dear 
children, and walk in love, as Christ also hath 
loved us, and hath given himself for us."$ 

* 1 Johniv. 7. 16. f Johnxv. 12; comp. xiii.34. 
t Eph. v. 1, 2. 



212 LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 

" As we have, therefore, opportunity," said 
the apostle Paul, " let us do good unto all men, 
especially unto them ivho are of the house- 
hold of faith."* These, indeed, have a pecu- 
liar claim upon us, not only for sympathy and 
kindly affection, but for the willing sacrifices 
of an unwearied benevolence. It is a remark- 
able circumstance, that acts of kindness to the 
brethren of Christ that is, to the living mem- 
bers of his church are mentioned as the test 
of that love to Christ himself, by which we 
must all be appreciated in the day of judg- 
ment " Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as 
ye have done it unto one of the least of these 
my brethren, ye have done it UNTO ME."t 

This doctrine may serve to show us how 
great are the sacrifices which we ought to be 
willing to make for the benefit of our fellow- 
believers. " Hereby perceive we the love of 
(Christ,) because he laid down his life for us ; 
and we ought to lay down our lives for the 
brethren."! 

Yet the same principle applies to the small- 
est offices of Christian kindness ; " He that 

* Gal. vi. 10. f Matt. xxv. 40. * 1 John iii. 16. 



LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 213 

receiveth you," said our Saviour, " receiveth 
me, and he that receiveth me, receiveth him 
that sent me .... And whosoever shall give 
to drink unto one of these little ones a cup 
of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, 
verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose 
his reward."* From this passage we may 
derive an important hint, that as the minor 
duties of Christian kindness are due to all men 
among whom our lot is cast, so they ought to 
be observed, with a peculiar nicety of feeling, 
towards our brethren and sisters in the fellow- 
ship of the gospel. 

Christianity is distinguished by nothing 
more strikingly, than by the force and tender- 
ness of its sympathies ; and those who are 
united to the same holy Head, ought surely to 
be ever ready both to weep and to rejoice in 
unison. If forbearance, gentleness, and cour- 
tesy are due to all men, how plainly ought 
they to mark our conduct towards those who 
are of the household of faith ! If that chanty, 
which shuns all unseemly behaviour, and is 
ever ready to look upon others with a favour* 

* Matt. x. 40 43 



214 LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 

able eye, must be exercised towards our neigh- 
bours generally, how ought it to live and 
abound towards the Lord's flock and family ! 

t/ 

If the tongue of detraction is unlawful, even 
when aimed against his enemies, how shame- 
ful does it become when it inflicts an injury 
on a Christian brother or sister ! 

It appears that every good deed done to a 
disciple, in the name of a disciple, is graciously 
recorded in our favour, as if it were done to 
Christ. And equally certain is it, that every 
injury which we inflict on a fellow-believer in 
Jesus, knowing him to be such, is an offence 
pointed against Jesus himself. What. need, 
then, have Christians to exert a holy, care and 
watchfulness, that no jarring elements of dis- 
cord interrupt their harmony ; that they enter- 
tain no hard thoughts of their brethren ; and 
that they be subject one to another in love ! "If 
there be, therefore, any consolation in- Christ, 
if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of 
the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfil ye 
my joy that ye be like-minded, having the 
same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 
Let nothing be done through strife or vain- 
glory ; but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem 



LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 215 

other better than themselves. Look not every 
man at his own things, but every man also on 
the things of others. Let this mind be in yon 
which was also in Christ Jesus," &c.'* 

Nor are the good offices due from us to our 
fellow-believers by any means confined to mat- 
ters of an outward nature ; for Christians are 
called upon to be helpers one of another in 
their spiritual course. They must, individually, 
endeavour to build up their brethren in that 
holy faith which was " once delivered to the 
saints ;" they must provoke to love and to good 
works ; by joint and reciprocal efforts, the 
whole church must " edify itself in love." 
How often are the disciples of Jesus cheered 
on their way by the help and encouragement 
which they derive from each other : how often 
do they find, to their joy and comfort, that as 
" iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the 
countenance of his friend !"t And what ought 
to be our conduct towards those who love the 
Lord Jesus, but are, nevertheless, overcome, 
for a season, by the enemy of their souls ? 
" Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye 

* Phil. ii. 15. j- Prov. xxvii. 17. 



216 LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 

which are spiritual restore such an one in the 
spirit of meekness ; considering thyself, lest 
thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's 
burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ."* 

There was once a people consisting of six 
hundred thousand men, besides women and 
children, who had long been groaning, in aland 
foreign to their forefathers, under tb^ oppres- 
sion of one of the worst of tyrants. But 
having been chosen of God as his own pecu- 
liar family, they were delivered from all their 
thraldom by a miraculous interposition of his 
power. A dry path was made for them through 
the deeps of an extensive sea ; and while their 
enemies who pursued them perished in the 
Avaves, they soon found themselves in safety in 
a vast wilderness which lay on the other side. 
Through this wilderness it was ordained that 
they should pass, before they could arrive at a 
fruitful and delightsome land, which was pro- 
mised them for their inheritance ; but in the 
mean time, they were provided with a wise and 
benevolent commander, with daily bread from 
heaven, with pure water from the bosom of 

* Gal. vi. 1, 2. 



LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 217 

rocks, and with, the sure guidance of a divine 
messenger, who went before them in a cloud 
by day, and in a pillar of fire by night. 

Alas, for this people ! with the exception 
of a few faithful ones, they rebelled against 
God, and their carcasses fell in the wilderness. 
But had they continued in their uprightness, 
how fervently would they have ]oved the Lord, 
whose daily mercies they so richly experienced, 
and how closely would their love for each other 
have been cemented by TJNION ! The grounds 
of that union were strong and palpable, indeed. 
They all worshipped the same God : they had 
all been delivered from the same bondage, and 
had made their escape by the same path through 
the waters ; they all served the same captain, 
were all fed and refreshed by the same mira- 
culous supplies, were all guided in their march 
by the same angel of the covenant ; they all 
contended against the same enemies ; and, 
animated with one design, they were all press- 
ing forward towards the same happy country. 
How could they do otherwise than confess 
their bond of union, and cleave to one another 
in love ? To suppose them falling out by the 
way, merely because the twelve tribes of 



218 LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 

which they were composed, bore different 
names and lodged in different parts of the en- 
campment, is to suppose a hideous anomaly 
an unaccountable departure, both from reason 
and rectitude. 

This picture affords no unfair representa- 
tion of the Christian church, which consists 
of all under every name ivho are brought to 
"repentance towards God, and faith towards 
our Lord Jesus Christ." 

They are the chosen and adopted children 
of one Father ; living worshippers of one God ; 
delivered by one miraculous power, from the 
bondage of sin and Satan ; led into safety by 
one consecrated path; partakers of one hea- 
venly bread ; refreshed by one gladdening 
stream of the waters of life ; followers of one 
all-conquering captain ; guided by one Divine 
light ; animated by one blessed hope ; in pur- 
suit of one holy and glorious inheritance. 
Above all, they are actually baptized by one 
spirit into one body. Theirs, therefore, is 
the blessed privilege not only of union, bat 
unity. If we find such persons disputing and 
contending with each other, because they are 
ranged under different names, and occupy, for 



LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 

a season, distinct parts of a vast and varied en- 
campment, we can only say, " Tell it not in 
Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; 
lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest 
the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph."* 
There are certain grand features of Scrip- 
tural truth so important, that no man can reject 
them but at the peril of his soul, and so clear, 
that no man can fairly read his Bible and not 
acknowledge them. There are other points 
of minor consequence, respecting which the 
evidences of Scripture are far more doubtful, 
and sometimes appear to be of almost equal 
strength, on either side. It is not surprising, 
therefore, that on these points, there should 
exist, among true Christians, a diversity of 
opinion ; and this diversity may be permitted 
and overruled of the Lord, for wise and 
worthy purposes. May we not, therefore, 
adopt as our motto, an old and wise saying : 
"In essentials, unity ; ^in non-essentials, 
liberty ; in all things, charity F"t 

* 2 Sam. i. 20. 

f The celebrated John Locke thus addressed himself 
to two female friends who were of a different religious 
denomination from himself, but in whose society he had 



LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 

The differences of opinion on secondary 
points of doctrine, and also of modes of wor- 
ship and church government, existing among 
true Christians, are sometimes mentioned as 
one of the weapons of the infidel ; but they 
are a weapon not ivorth his using. Al- 
though these diversities may in part arise from 
the ignorance and infirmity of man, it is not 
by them that the church of Christ is disfigured 
in the sight of its divine Master, but by the 
lingering remnants of pride, prejudice, and 
passion, in the individuals and classes of men, 
of whom it is composed.* 

felt " the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." 
" The more there is of this (unity) in the life, the less 
we need inquire of what nation, country, party, or per- 
suasion our friends are, for our own knowledge is more 
sure to us than another's. Now, the God of all grace 
grant that you may hold fast that rare grace of charity, 
and choose that unbiassed and unbounded law, which, 
if it decay not, will spring up mightily as the waters of 
the sanctuary, higher and higher, until you, with the. 
universal church, swim together in the ocean of Divine 
love." Manuscript Letter. 

* Some admirable remarks on this subject will be 
found in Joyce on Love to God, Appendix II. 3d edit. 



LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 221 

When the temple of Solomon was to be 
erected, all the materials were in the first 
instance hewn into shape, and polished for 
their uses ; and when afterwards they had 
been put together, without a sound in the 
house of any tool of iron, beautiful was the 
harmony which resulted from their fitness. 
So would it be with Christians were they fully 
subject to that Divine power which would 
level their pride, abate their prejudice, and 
polish down their roughness. Their junc- 
tion with him, on whom depends the security 
of the whole building, and their union with 
each other, would be more complete than it is 
at present. The holy temple would arise and 
spread in its true beauty and harmony ; and 
the inextinguishable flame of love would 



to 



p. 310. They are entitled, "Remarks on the Common 
Errors of Theological Controversy, &c." When speak- 
ing of party spirit in religion, Bishop Butler says, " It 
may be expected from all people, how much soever they 
are in earnest about their respective peculiarities, that 
humanity and common good-will to their fellow-crea- 
tures, should moderate and restrain that wretched spirit." 
Sermon on Love to our Neighbour, xii. 



222 LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 

diffuse a generous glow of warmth and bright- 
ness through the whole sacred edifice.* 

It appears, then, first, that the benevolence 
of man towards man, can never assume a 
stable character until his love is primarily 
fixed on God ; and that, therefore, in the two 
commandments, " Thou shalt love God," 

* Convinced as I am of the truth of these remarks, 
I am far from undervaluing unanimity among Chris- 
tians, even on those points in religion which can by no 
means be regarded as essential to salvation. I believe 
that an unreserved submission to the power of God's 
Spirit would, to a great extent, lead us into unanimity 
as well as good fellowship ; for it is declared that the 
Comforter will guide the children of the Lord into " all 
truth." The same end would be greatly promoted by an 
earnest endeavour on the part of every Christian to ob- 
tain a comprehensive and impartial view of Divine truth. 
We must not sit down to the study of Scripture, with 
minds biassed and pre-occupied by our own notions. In 
dependence on the Spirit by whom they were inspired, 
we must seek to be taught by the " prophets and apos- 
tles ;" and we must take whatsoever they say, as it 
comes. 

A partial view of truth is the first step to the worst of 
heresies. " II y en a plusieurs," says Pascal, " qui errent 
d'autant plus dangereusement, qu'ils prennent une ve- 
rite pour le principe de leur erreur. Leur faute n'est 



LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 223 

*' Thou shalt love thy neighbour," there is 
not only succession, but sequence that the 
extent of this commandment comprehends 
all mankind, and that the measure of it is the 
legitimate love of self that we must show 
our obedience to it by rendering- to all their 



pas de suivre une faussete ; mais de suivre une verite 
a 1' exclusion d'une autre. II y a un grand nombre de 
verites, et de foi et de morale, qui semblent repugnantes 
et contraires, et qui subsistent toutes dans un ordre ad- 
mirable. La source de toutes les heresies, est 1'exclu- 
sion de quelques-unes de ces verites. . . . C'est pourquoi 
le plus court moyen pour empecher les heresies, est 
d'instruire de toutes les verites ; et le plus sur moyen 
de les refuter, est de les declarer toutes." " There are 
many persons who err so much the more dangerously 
because they take a truth as the principle of their error. 
Their fault is, not that they follow a falsehood, but that 
they follow one truth to the exclusion of another. There 
are a number of truths, both doctrinal and moral, which 
appear repugnant and contrary, but which, nevertheless, 
all subsist in an admirable order. The source of all 
heresies is the exclusion of some of these truths. Hence 
it appears that the shortest way to prevent heresies, is 
to instruct in all the truths of religion ; and the surest 
method of refuting heresies, is to declare all these 
truths." Pensees, xxviii. 



224 LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 

dues ; by ministering to the wants of the poor 
and afflicted ; by the kindly tempers of uni- 
versal charity ; and. above all, by labouring 
for the spiritual benefit of our fellow-men. 

Secondly, That our fellow Christians stand 
in a peculiar relation towards us, and have, 
therefore, peculiar claims on our affections 
that" in -proportion to the pre-eminence of 
God's favours to his church ought to be the 
pre-eminence of our love for its members 
that deeds of kindness done to them are gra- 
ciously accepted of the Lord, as done to him- 
self that Christians ought ever to be on the 
watch to exercise mutual forbearance, meek- 
ness, and charity, and to build up one another 
in their most holy faith that their love is 
connected with union of experience, purpose, 
belief, and hope ; and, finally, that notwith- 
standing every diversity on minor points, it is 
at once the duty and happiness of all who hold 
the Head, to " dwell together in unity" 

Now, as love to God leads to the love of our 
neighbour, as to a necessaiy consequence, so the 
latter reacts, with incalculable force, on our love 
to God. Such, as we have already seen, is 
the geirrine operation of obedience to all the 



LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 225 

commandments of the Lord ; for love prompts 
to obedience, and obedience increases love. 
But the remark applies with pre-eminent force 
to this branch of the divine law. The habitual 
and diligent exercise of the duties of benevo- 
lence has a vast effect in softening and widen- 
ing the human mind. Thus it enlarges our 
capacity of loving all who are the proper 
objects of this affection, and especially Him 
who is its supreme object. The stream which 
flows first towards our heavenly Father, and 
from him is diffused over his sentient creatures, 
according to their respective relations to us, 
can never lose its original tendency. It only 
gathers strength and abundance in its course, 
and while it never fails to encircle its subordi- 
nate objects, it begins and ends with God him- 
self. If we love one another, God dwelleth 
in us, and his love is perfected in MS."* 

* 1 John iv. 12. 

-' O Almighty God, inspire us with this divine prin- 
ciple (of love.) Kill in us all the seeds of envy and ill- 
wiil, and help us, by cultivating within ourselves the love 
of our neighbour, to improve in the love of thee. Thou 
bast placed us in various kindreds, friendships, and 
relations, as the school of discipline for our affections ; 

G-.irncy |5 



22t5 LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 

Thus it appears, that obedience to the se 
eond great commandment, is one chosen means 
of confirming that pure love to God, without 
which our souls can never truly incline towards 
heaven, or be fitted for a participation in its 
pleasures. Yet there can be no doubt that the 
habit of benevolence and brotherly love, forms 
in itself an essential constituent of the joys of 
eternity. " Charity never fail eth." 

" Then constant faith and holy hope shall die, 
One lost in certainty, and one in joy ; 
Whilst thou more v.appy power, fair charity. 
Triumphant sister, greatest of the three, 
Thy office and thy nature still the same, 
Lasting thy lamp, and unconsumed thy flame, 
Shalt still survive 

Shalt stand before the host of heaven confest, 
Forever blessing, and forever blest. 

PRIOR. 

Heaven is a place of perfect .rest from sin, 
labour, and sorrow ; but we can find no au- 

help us, by the due exercise of them, to improve to per- 
fection, until all partial affection be lost in that entire 
universal one ; and thou, O God, be ALL is- ALL." 
Bishop Butler'' sprayer at the end of Sermon on Lvvc In 
our Neighbour. 



LOVE TOWARDS MA?, T . 227 

thority in Scripture for picturing it to our- 
selves as a region of indolent repose. On 
the contrary, we have every reason to believe 
that the more our faculties are improved, the 
more it will be our delight to employ them. 
Since the angels who never fell are " minis- 
tering spirits sent forth to minister for them 
who shall be heirs of salvation,"* may we 
not believe that many an errand and office of 
mercy awaits the " spirits of the just made 
perfect V Can it be doubted that man, when 
finally delivered from the weakness of the flesh, 
and from every spot of sin, while all his mental 
powers are renewed with heavenly vigour, will 
become a powerful instrument, in the Divine 
hand, for promoting the glory of his Maker, 
and the welfare of the rational universe 1 

But whatever may be the truth on this 
subject, it is certain, that as the condition of 
God's people is social on earth, so also it is 
social in heaven affording a boundless scope 
for the play of our best affections. This 
seems to bo an inevitable inference from the 
nature of that moral discipline which the 
Creator has here allotted to us ; for the pre- 

* Heb. i. 14. 



228 LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 

sent life, with all its varied relations, is a 
school for the affections ; and it is as we are 
taught of the Lord to love Him with all the 
heart, and to love our neighbour as ourselves, 
that we are ripened for eternity. Again, it is 
the peculiar tendency of the gospel of Christ 
to draw forth and keep in action all the gene- 
rous and tender sympathies of our nature ; 
and what can be the end of this tendency but 
our becoming qualified for a world of love '? 
Bat on this point the Scriptures are decisive ; 
for they plainly represent the glorified children 
of the Lord as a people, a church, an assembly.* 
" The spirits of the just made perfect," re- 
deemed by the precious blood of Christ out 
" of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and 
tongues," are no insulated beings, living indi- 
vidually in solitary independence. They are 
a united band a vast association of minds in 
full accordance ; all partaking of the same sal- 
vation, all serving the same Lord, all engaged 
in the same song of thanksgiving and praise. 

When Moses and Elias came together to 
minister to the Lord Jesus on the mount,! a 

* Heb. xii. 22, 23. Rev. v. 714 ; viL 917. 
f Mall. xvii. 3. 



LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 229 

proof was given that the spirits of the departed 
are known to each other. The same truth may 
be elicited from many of our Lord's discourses 
When he spoke of Lazarus in Abraham's bo- 
som, and described the conversation between 
the rich man in torments and Abraham in hea- 
ven ;* when he promised that his followers, in 
the regeneration, should be assessors of his 
throne, guests at his table, and judges of the 
twelve tribes of Israel ;t when he declared that 
" many should come from the east and west, 
and should sit down Avith Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob," in heavenly places ; while the Jews, 
rejected because of their unbelief, should " see" 
those patriarchs, "with all the prophets ," in 
the kingdom of God ; when he represented 
himself, at the day of judgment, as appealing 
to those on whom he pronounces sentence, 
both as to their recollection of their past lives, 
and as to their knowledge of his brethren then 
assembled before him, he evidently gave 
his sanction to the commonly received doc- 
trine, that in another world we shall remember 



* Luke xvi. 22 31 . f Matt. xix. 28. Luke xxii. 30 
$ Luke xiii, 28. Matt. xxv. 31 46. 



230 LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 

the associations which we have formed on earth, 
and shall perceive and recognise one another. 
In like manner the apostle Paul alludes 
to this doctrine, not as a matter liable to be 
questioned, but as a truth to be admitted and 
understood by those to whom he addressed 
himself. When he spoke of presenting his 
converts " as a chaste virgin to Christ,"* and 
declared that they would be his "joy" and 
crown of rejoicing, in the presence of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, at his coming"t when 
he said to the Corinthians, "knowing that he 
which raised up the Lord Jesus, shall raise 
up us also by r Jesus, and shall present us with 
you"~\. he was looking forward to the day 
when he should meet his brethren again before 
the throne of God, and when the connexion 



which he had maintained with them on earth 
should be perfected in celestial mansions. 

Our Lord's promise to the thief on the cross 
was, " To-day thou shalt be with -me in para- 
dise ;" dying Stephen cried, "Lord Jesus, 
receive my spirit ;" and with Paul, to die, was 
" to depart and to be with Christ. " " I go 

* 2 Cor. xi. 2. f 1 Thess. ii. 19, 20. 

2 Cor. iv. 14. Phil. i. 23. 



LOVE TOWARDS MAN*. 231 

to prepare a place for you," said Jesus to his 
disciples ; " and if I go and prepare a place 
for you, I will come again and receive you unto 
myself, that where, lam there ye may be also"* 
Thus it appears that both immediately after 
death, and when their glory shall have been 
consummated by the resurrection, it will be the 
happiness of the Lord's children to fintl them- 
selves in the immediate presence of Jesus, in 
intimate and holy communion with their glori- 
fied Saviour and King. In heaven we shall see 
Jesus as he is, and know him " even as we are 
knoAvn;" and it must surely be regarded as a 
necessary consequence, that we shall see and 
know our brethren, who are all partakers of the 
same privilege, all gathered to the same centre. 
The rending asunder of those tender ties 
which here bind us together in many a happy 
relationship, is the most sorrowful accompani- 
ment of death ; but let us not be discouraged, 
for our Redeemer has secured for us a perfect 
victory over this " last enemy." For those 
who follow him, death will be abolished, and 
all its bitter consequences reversed ; every sor- 
row which it now occasions them will be turned 

* John xiv. 2, 3 ; comp. 1 Thess. iv. 16, 17. 



232 LOVE TOWARDS MAN. 

into joy ! Christians, therefore, as the apostle 
assures us, must not sorrow for the loss of their 
friends, as others do " which have no hope ; 
for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, 
even so them which sleep in Jesus will God 
bring with him."* For a season, indeed, AVC 
are deprived of their cherished society ; but 
we shall see them again, we shall behold their 
faces in glory unspeakably blessed will be 
our reunion with them in that region of light 
and love, where friends are no more parted ! 

Nor will our love, in that better world, be 
restricted to those whom we have known on 
earth. It will extend, as we have every reason 
to believe, to the wise, the just, and the good, 
of every generation ; and even to the several 
ranks and orders of angelic beings ; for all these 
belong to the same community ; they are all in- 
habitants of the same celestial city. While the 
varied members of that blessed and holy family 
maintain a perfect harmony of design and feel- 
ing, and are all employed in worshipping their 
God and Saviour, they cannot but gloriously 
realize their ONENESS in the Lord ; and they 
will be ONE in Him, to all eternity. 

* 1 Thess. iv. 13, 14. 



CONCLUSION. 



IT may possibly serve a useful purpose, if 
we concentrate the whole subject which we 
have now been discussing, in a few succinct 
propositions. 

1. The main characteristic of those happy 
beings, who dwell in heaven under the imme- 
diate government of God our Saviour, is love 
towards the Supreme Being ; and this love is 
absolutely essential, both to their employments 
and their joys. On the contrary, the principal 
feature in the character of fallen man, is the 
absence of this love. Hence it follows, that 
before he can enter heaven, the affections of 
man must be changed he must be born again 
of the Spirit. 

2. The grand appointed instrument through 
which this change is effected, is the gospel of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, in which are revealed 



234 CONCLUSION. 

to us the mercies of God, for the restoration 
and final happiness of man. The gospel is 
" the power of God unto salvation." 

3. It is the nature of all passive impressions 
on the mind of man, to become weaker as they 
are repeated ; and this decay can be counter- 
acted only by the formation of active princi- 
ples. This truth applies to all our affections, 
and, amongst others, to that pure affection 
love towards God ; which will certainly wither 
in the soul, unless it be cultivated and carried 
forward into action. That divine grace by 
which our love to God is maintained, operates 
through this peculiar law of our nature ; by the 
motive of love, it leads the soul into various 
acts ; and by these acts our love is increased 
and confirmed. 

4. One of the principal of them is, the con- 
templation of the Supreme Being. .We ought 
to contemplate him, with humble- gratitude, as 
our Father by creation ; as the bounteous 
Giver of all our faculties on the one hand, arid 
of the various provisions of nature on the 
other, by which those faculties are suited ; as 
the Supreme conductor of the chain of events, 
for the ultimate good and happiness of his 



CONCLUSION. 235 

obedient children ; and, above all, as the Au- 
thor of redemption. 

5. In the scheme of redemption, the Deity 
displays himself to us as the Father, the Son, 
and the Holy Spirit ; and the distinctive of- 
fices of these three, call for distinctive exer- 
tions, on our part, of heartfelt gratitude and 
affection. The more we reflect on the mer- 
cies of the Father, of the Son, and of the Spi- 
rit, so gloriously made manifest for the salva- 
tion of mankind, the more ardently shall we 
love the Father, the Son, and the Spirit one 
God blessed forever. 

6. " God was in Christ reconciling the 
world unto himself." The incarnation of the 
Son of God, and the sacrifice made for sin 
upon the cross, is the centre of the whole 
mighty scheme, ordained for the deliverance 
and happiness of man. To this point, there- 
fore, above all others, ought our contemplation 
to be directed, that we may be constrained, by 
a view of such unparalleled mercy, to love the 
Lord entirely and forever. 

7. A. second act of the soul, fraught with a 
similar tendency, is, communion witli God. 
We commune with the LORD, because we love 



236 CONCLUSION. 

him ; and the converse which we are per- 
mitted to hold with him in our solitary hours, 
in our family circles, in public worship, and 
during the whole course of our daily walk 
while we pour forth our mind to him, and re- 
ceive the impression of his mind in return 
is a sure means of our being taught to love 

o o 

him more and more. 

8. A third act of the soul, induced by love, 
and essential to its maintenance, is the surren- 
der of ourselves, without reserve, to God. 
This surrender, which is inseparably con- 
nected with living, heartfelt faith, leads to re- 
signation in suffering the will of God, and to 
obedience in doing it; and by every fresh exer- 
tion, either of resignation or obedience, our 
love to him is enhanced and strengthened. 

9. As Christians, we are bound to love God, 
not merely because of the benefits bestowed 
upon ourselves, but because of his intrinsic 
moral perfections, so clearly displayed to us in 
the gospel ; and if our love for him be sincere, 
it will excite in us an ardent desire to become 
like him in character. The restoration of fallen 
man to the image of his Creator, is the great 
practical purpose of the religion of Jesus a 



CONCLUSION. 237 

purpose which can be accomplished only as 
we follow the example of Jesus himself. 
Now, the greater advances we make in holi- 
ness, the livelier will be our sense of the 
" beauty" of Jehovah ; the more we are assi- 
milated to Christ, the nearer will be our union 
with the Father and with the Son. 

10. The love of our neighbour follows the 
love of God as a necessary consequence ; and 
it is itself essential to a right performance of 
all our duties towards our fellow-men. It dic- 
tates justice and charity towards all, and pre- 
eminent fervency of affection towards our fel- 
low-Christians. Obedience to this command- 
ment has a peculiar tendency to soften and 
enlarge the heart, and thus to improve our 
capacity for loving God himself the supreme 
object of every pure affection. 

While the acts of the soul which we have 

f: 

now been considering contemplation, com- 
munion, submission, obedience, imitation of 
the Divine character, and. the exercise of 
charity strengthen that love to God which is 
the main qualification for the enjoyment of 
heaven, they severally form essential features 
in the employments or condition of the saints 



238 CONCLUSION. 

in bliss. They all belong to the one great 
system of future and eternal happiness. 

It appears, then, that as appointed means 
of increasing that divine affection, from which 
they spring, these several acts of the soul will 
forever continue to operate in the world to 
come. Here their influence is counteracted 
and weakened by innumerable obstructions 
there it is exerted without the smallest hin- 
derance, and in a far more exalted degree. 
Thus we may rest in a sure persuasion, that 
if we are graciously permitted an entrance, 
through the blood of Jesus, into heavenly 
mansions, our love to God will be forever in- 
creasing. The longer we contemplate his 
perfections, commune with him in spirit, obey 
his commandments, conform ourselves to his 
moral attributes, and exercise love towards his 
creatures, the more deeply and largely will 
our love towards Himself flow onward, and it 
will flow to all eternity. 



There, while the golden ages roll, 
And speed their ceaseless course, 

And pleasure spreads from soul to soul 
From an unfathoni'd source ; 



CONCLUSION. 239 

And contemplation's eye surveys, 

From heights before untrod, 
With silent, fixed, enraptured gaze, 

The glories of our God ; 

And sweet communion draws the tie 

That binds us to the Lord, 
And thrill the cords of sympathy, 

Responsive to his word ; 

And swift to do his high behest, 

Each spirit wings her flight, 
And virtue glows on every breast 

A gem of purest light ; 

And friendship lends her generous fires 

To all that glorious throng, 
Who join, with zeal that never tires, 

In one harmonious song 

LoA r E, in an ever-deepening tide, 

O'er all the plains above 
Spreads, like a sea immensely wide, 

For God himself is LOVE. 



The apostle Paul has shown us the con- 
nexion between being " rooted and grounded 
in love," and comprehending "with all saints, 
\vhrn, is the breadth, and length, and depth, 



240 CONCLUSION. 

and height;"* a connexion which must surely 
be experienced by glorified saints, in a far 
higher degree than by Christians upon earth. 
Hence it may be presumed, that just in pro- 
portion to the increase of our love to God, in 
the heavenly state, will be the enlargement of 
our faculties for the reception of divine know- 
ledge, and for every wise and holy purpose. 
And with this enlargement of our spiritual 
capacities, will forever keep pace, as we may 
fully believe, the heightening of our joy. As 
there are in heaven different orders and sta- 
tions of beings, and different degrees of glory 
a doctrine often alluded to in Scripture so 
we cannot fail to conclude from our premises, 
that the happiness of the " spirits of the just 
made perfect," is eternally progressive. 

While we rejoice with trembling, in the 
view of this amazing prospect, we ought not 
to cast a veil over its tremendous alternative. 
How awful is it to reflect on the opposite 
extremity ! As love to God is forever on the 
increase in the souls of the blessed, so the 
contrary affection of aversion from the Foun- 
tain of all holiness, must have an inevitable 

* Eph. iii. 17, 18. 



CONCLUSION. 24 1 

tendency to become more and more aggravated, 
in the society of the devil and his angels, and 
in the regions of death, darkness, and pollu- 
tion. And with this ever-widening distance 
of soul from the Author of all good, must, in 
the very nature of things, forever keep pace 
the increase of woe "where their worm dieth 
not, and where the fire is not quenched." 

Reader, if, notwithstanding the name of a 
Christian, thou art still a votary of this pre- 
sent world, following the vain devices and 
desires of thy own heart, pause, I beseech 
thee, in thy mad career, and meditate for a 
few moments on the heights of heaven, and 
on the depths of hell. The curtains of the 
night will soon close around thee, and thy 
mental and moral condition, thy happiness or 
thy woe, will be fixed forever. Repent of thy 
transgressions ; bring all the burden of thy 
sins and cast it at the feet of Jesus. " Behold 
the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of 
the world." Wash thy polluted garments in 
the blood of his atonement : and cease to re- 
strain the influences of his Holy Spirit. Em- 
brace, in good earnest, the faith, the hope, 

Gurney. 



242 CONCLUSION. 

and the virtue of the Christian, and live for* 
ever ! 

Header, if thou hast already made covenant 
with the Lord, to be his child and servant if 
thou hast already been taught of the Spirit to 
love him who first loved thee persevere 
Fight the good fight of faith, and lay hold on 
eternal life ; go forward on thy march towards 
Zion ; give thyself wholly to the disposal of 
Him who died for thee and rose again ; count 
nothing too near or too dear to part with for 
his name's sake ; follow the guidance of the 
Comforter in all things ; watch unto prayer ; 
be humble, be faithful, be diligent; and all 
will be well. Christ will continue to be thy 
all-sufficient portion here ; and soon, very 
soon, it will be thy blessed lot to exchange 
his cross on earth for a crown of righteous- 
ness in heaven, immortal, incorruptible, and 
full of glory. 



THE END. 



BV 4817 Gurney, J. J. 

GS3 Essay on the 

tiabi.tu.al. exercise 
of iove to Goct 



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BV 4817 
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Gurney J J 

Essay on the 
habitual exercise 
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BV 4817 
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Gurney r J Jo 

Essay on the 
habitual exercise 
of love to God* 



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