to the authority of God, and as no obedience to his authority can be valuable in itself, or acceptable to him, which is not an operation of love, no kindness to our neighbour can come up to the nature of the duty here enjoined, which does not arise out of a proper state of heart towards God. We love any thing more truly and properly, the more explicitly we acknowledge and love God in it; upon the view of those strokes and lineaments of the divine pulchritude, and the characters of his glory, which are discernible in all his creatures, our love should someway be commensurate with the occasion, and comprehend the universe in its large and complacential embraces. Though, as any thing is of higher excellency, and hath more lively touches and resemblances of God upon it, or, by the disposition of his providence and law, more nearly approaches us, and is more immediately presented to our notice, converse, use, or engagement; so our love should be towards it more explicitly, in a higher degree, or with more frequency. As man, therefore, hath in him more of divine resemblance of God's natural likeness and image-good men, of his moral holy imagewe ought to love men more than the inferior creatures, and those that are good and holy more than other men; and those with whom we are more concerned, with a more definitive love, and which is required to be more frequent in its exercise: but all from the attractive of somewhat divine appearing in the object. So that all rational love, or that is capable of being regulated and measured by a law, is only so far right in its own kind, as we love God in everything, and everything upon his account, and for his sake. The nature and spirit of man is, by the apostacy, become disaffected and strange to God-alienated from the divine lifeaddicted to a particular limited good, to the creature for itself, apart from God; whereupon the things men love are their idols, and men's love is idolatry. But when, by regeneration, a due propension towards God is restored, the universal good draws their minds; they become inclined and enlarged towards it; and, as that is diffused, their love follows it, and flows towards it everywhere. They love all things principally in and for God; and therefore such men most, as excel in goodness, and in whom the Divine image more brightly shines.* Let us, then, remember that the beautiful superstructure of philanthropy, which the Apostle has raised in this chapter, has for its foundation a supreme regard for the great and blessed God.. The utmost kindness and sympathy; the most tender compassion, united with the most munificent liberality; if it do not rest on the love of God, is not the temper here set forth-is not the grace which has the principle of immortality in its nature, and which will live and flourish in eternity, when faith and hope shall cease. Human excellence, however distinguished, whatever good it may diffuse upon others, or whatever glory it may draw around itself, if it be not sanctified and supported by this holy principle, is corruptible and mortal, and cannot dwell in the presence of God, nor exist amidst the glories of eternity; but is only the flower of the * Howe on Charity in Reference to other Men's Sins. grass which shall wither away in the rebuke of the Almighty. For want of this vital and essential principle of all true religion, how much of amiable compassion, and of tender attention to the woes of humanity-how much of kindly feeling and active benevolence,—is daily expended, which, while it yields its amiable though unrenewed professor much honour and delight, has not the weight of a feather in the scales of his eternal destiny. 5. This disposition is cherished in our heart by à sense of God's love in Christ Jesus to us. There is this peculiarity in the morality of the New Testament;-it is not only enforced by the consideration of Divine power, but by a distinct and repeated reference to Divine goodness. Not that any motive is absolutely necessary to make a command binding upon our conscience, beyond God's right to issue it; the obligation to duty is complete, in the absence of every other consideration than the rightful authority of the command: but as man is a creature capable of being moved by appeals to his gratitude, as well as by motives addressed to his fear, it is both wise and condescending, on the part of Jehovah, thus to deal with him, and to "make him willing in the day of his. power." He thus not only drives us by the force of his terrors, but draws us by the cords of his love. The great evangelical inducement to mutual affection between man and man, is God's love in Christ Jesus to us. God has commended and manifested his love to us in a manner that will fill immensity and eternity with astonishment: He has "so loved the world as to give his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." This stupendous exhibition of Divine mercy is presented by the sacred writers, not only as a source of strong consolation, but also as a powerful motive to action; we are not only to contemplate it for the purpose of joy, but also of imitation. Mark the beautiful reasoning of the apostle John-" Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." Similar to this is also the inference of Paul-" And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Be ye therefore followers (imitators) of God, as dear children, and walk in love as Christ who hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God, for a sweet smelling savour." How forcible, yet how tender, is such language! there is a charm in such a motive, which no terms can describe. The love of God, then, in its existence and contrivances from eternity; in its manifestation in time by the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; in its topless height, its fathomless depth, its measureless length and breadth;-is the grand inducement to universal affection: and is it not enough to soften a heart of stone-to melt a heart of ice? The love spoken of in the chapter under consideration, is that impulse towards our fellowmen which is given us by the cross of Christ: it is not mere natural kindness, but it is love for Christ's sake; it is not the mere operations of a generous temper, but it is the feeling which moved in the Apostle's breast, when he exclaimed, "The love of Christ constraineth us;" it is not natural religion, but Christianity; it is, so to speak, a plant which grows on Calvary, and entwines itself for support around the cross. It is a disposition which argues in this "Has God indeed thus loved me, so as way: to give his Son for my salvation? and is he kind to me daily for the sake of Christ? Has he forgiven all my numberless and aggravated transgressions? Does he still, with infinite patience, bear with all my infirmities and provocations? Then what is there, in the way of most generous affection, I ought not to be willing to do, or to bear, or to sacrifice, for others? Do they offend me, let me bear with them, and forgive them; for how has God forborne with me, and blotted out my sins? Do they want, let me be forward to supply their necessities; for how has God supplied mine!" Here, then, is love-that deep sense of God's love to us, which shows us the necessity, the reasonableness, the duty, of being kind to others; the feeling of a heart, which, labouring under the weight of its obligations to God, and finding itself too poor to extend its goodness to him, looks round, and gives utterance to its exuberant gratitude in acts of kindness to man. 6. It is that goodwill to man which, while its proximate object is the welfare of our fellow-creatures, is ultimately directed to the glory of God. It is the sublime characteristic of every truly Christian virtue, that whatever inferior ends it may seek, and through whatever intervening medium it may pass, it is directed ultimately to the praise of Jehovah it may put forth its excellencies before : |