The Apostle takes this truth for granted; and makes it the foundation of his appeal. But I lament to say, that it needs to be brought home to our consciences with more force than we are wont to assign to it in our own minds. That God deserves our love, cannot be denied— [View him in his works of creation. No sooner had he formed every thing, than he pronounced it "very good." See man in his compound state both of body and soul: how fearfully and wonderfully are we formed in our corporeal frame! - and with what astonishing powers are our souls endued, insomuch that we are capable of appreciating in a measure all that we behold with our eyes, and can soar also to the contemplation of the invisible God himself, and are capable of knowing, loving, serving, and enjoying him. Behold the earth and all that it contains; how formed for the service and the use of man! -Yea, and all the heavenly bodies also, how do they too in their orbits (for in all probability the whole solar system forms but a part of other systems, with which it moves) administer to the comfort and happiness of man! And is not the Creator of all this worthy of our love? View him in his works of providence. All this has God upheld, if not in its primeval grandeur, yet in its ministrations to the good of man; and that too notwithstanding all the provocations which he receives continually at our hands. All our faculties both of body and mind are continued to us whilst the whole terraqueous globe affords us sustenance, and the heavenly bodies, according to their capacities, minister to our necessities and comforts. True, the world was once drowned with water; and the cities of the plain were consumed with fire: but this only shews us what might have been daily expected, if God had dealt with us in any respect according to our deserts. Should not then such a long-suffering and gracious God be made an object of our most intense regard? But view him in his great work, the work of redemption: and what shall we say of him there? View him as taking our very nature, and becoming in all things like unto us, sin only excepted. View him as dying upon the cross, and expiating our guilt by the sacrifice of himself- View him as sending down from heaven his Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts, and by his enlightening, quickening, transforming energies, to render the work of Christ effectual for the salvation of all who will believe in him bounds of credibility. But here I seem to exceed the utmost calls us to set our love on him. What then shall I say of the man who complies not with this reasonable demand? I appeal to you, my brethren, whether such a man, supposing such an one could be found, can have any true religion? Perhaps you will say, It is impossible that such a monster should exist. Then let us submit the matter to a test, the test proposed to us by the Apostle himself.] To do this, we affirm, II. That he can have no true love to God, who is destitute of love to man Love to God must of necessity comprehend in it these three things: a regard for his authority; gratitude for his mercies; and zeal for his glory. Let us see then whether the man who "shuts up his bowels of compassion from his fellow-creatures," has any one of these? Has he, 1. Any regard for God's authority? [God most solemnly enjoins under the Old Testament compassion for our indigent brother, and a willingness to relieve him He requires the same under the New Testamenta. He informs us who the person is to whom we are to manifest this love, even every child of mane He tells us from whom he expects this grace, even from the poor, who are constrained to get their own living by manual labour, as well as from the rich and great1-He has enforced this duty by every kind of argument: by promises the most engagings and by threatenings the most tremendous h He has declared that it shall form his rule of judgment in the last day, and determine our eternal destinies1 Now then what regard can he have to God's authority who lives in the neglect of this duty? He says, in fact, My goods are my own, and I will dispose of them as I please: and, as for God, I know him not; neither will I obey his voice."] 2. Any gratitude for his mercies? 66 [Our blessed Lord, reminding us what temporal blessings his heavenly Father bestows upon us, calls us to an imitation of him in our conduct towards our fellow-men, that so we may approve ourselves as his children by our resemblance to him*. Still more particularly is his redeeming love proposed to us in this view both as a motive and a pattern; a motive which we should in no wise withstand'; and a pattern which to the very utmost we should follow, even to "the laying down of our lives for the brethren m." To stimulate us to it the more, he tells us, that he will receive every thing as done to himself"; that he will account himself our debtor for it°; and that he will submit to be accounted "unrighteous" if he fail to acknowledge and reward it in the last day P. For our further encouragement he assures us, that, however light we may think of such a service, it is "a sacrifice with which he is well pleased." Now if all this do not prevail with us to shew kindness to our brethren, what shall we say? Have we any gratitude to God? No; we are more stupid and senseless than the beasts -] themselves. 3. Any zeal for his glory? [We are commanded to "make our light shine before men, that those who behold it may be constrained to glorify our Father which is in heaven." And our Lord assures us, that "herein is the Father glorified, when we bring forth much fruit," yea, that "all our fruits of righteousness are by him to the glory of God the Father"." But in a more particular manner is our liberality to the saints spoken of in this view, inasmuch as it calls forth "abundant thanksgivings to him" from. the persons relieved, and causes them to glorify God for our professed subjection to the Gospel of Christ, the proper tendency of which is to generate these heavenly dispositions, and to augment the happiness of all mankind Now suppose a man to neglect this duty, what zeal can he have to promote the glory of his God? He may fancy himself religious; but he has no more love to God than Satan himself; for, if "faith without works is no better than the faith of devils," the religion of such a man is no better than the religion of devils. For so hath God said: “In this the children of God are manifest and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother."] [It is easy to mistake alms-deeds for Christian liberality. But the Apostle cautions us against all such mistakesa— Nothing is truly Christian but what proceeds from love to God as reconciled to us in Christ Jesus, and is done for the advancement of his glory -] 2. A word of encouragement [Abound in this duty, and it shall bring a rich reward— — —] a ver. 18. We should draw forth not our money only, but our soul, to the hungry. Isai. lviii. 10, 11. b 1 Tim. vi. 18, 19. MMCCCCL. A GOOD AND EVIL CONSCIENCE. 1 John iii. 20, 21. If our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. IN the description given us of the day of judgment, we are informed that the Judge will be seated on his throne; that certain books will be opened; and that sentence will be passed on every one according to what was recorded in them". Such a tribunal there is, already erected in the bosoms of men. Conscience is seated there as supreme judge: it keeps an account of every day's transactions: it summons men to its bar: it exhibits the record before their eyes; and, in perfect correspondence with their actions, it passes on them its authoritative sentence. Thus it anticipates the future judgment, and forces men to read in its decisions their final doom. To this effect the Apostle speaks in the passage before us; in elucidating which, we shall shew, I. How far the testimonies of our conscience may be depended on The testimonies of conscience are not always just [With many there is a sleepy conscience, which suffers men to go on in their own ways without shame, and without a Rev. xx. 12. So inactive and so callous is this faculty within them, that it is justly represented as "seared with a hot iron "." Indeed, if it were not thus with them, how could they go on so cheerfully as they do, in an open course of sin, or in a wilful neglect of God? With many also there is a partial conscience. They discern what is wrong in others, but not in themselves: or they notice some evils, but not others. Herod would not violate his oath; but he would murder a prophet. And the Pharisees would not put into the treasury the money that was the price of blood; but they would persist in persecuting the innocent Jesus even unto death. And such a conscience have many amongst ourselves: it would be clamorous if they were to commit some flagrant enormity; while it bears no testimony at all against secret lusts, or against any evils which are sanctioned by an ungodly world. With some also there is an erroneous conscience. St. Paul "thought he ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus," and would have stood condemned in his own mind, if he had not laboured to the uttermost to extirpate the Christian name. And our Lord has told us that many would "think they did God service by killing" his faithful followers'. Doubtless there are many who, both in civil and religious actions, are instigated by (what we may call) a good principle, while yet a clearer view of their duty would represent those actions in a very different light. There is also with many a scrupulous conscience. They both do and forbear many things from a sense of duty, when the things themselves are altogether indifferent in the sight of God. Thus it was with those who were afraid to eat meats that had been offered to idols, or who observed the times and seasons that had been prescribed in the Mosaic law. Superstition indeed is less common in this age: yet wherever the mind is tinctured with it, there will arise many occasions of condemnation or acquittal in a man's own mind, when the sentence passed is altogether founded in an ignorance of Christian liberty, or Christian duty. Hence it is evident that conscience may condemn when it ought to acquit, and acquit when it ought to condemn.] Its sentence, however, is always just, when it accords with the Holy Scriptures— [The Scriptures are an infallible standard, to which every thing may be referred, and by which its quality may be determined. In order therefore to ascertain whether the testimonies b 1 Tim. iv. 2. • Acts xxvi. 9. c Matt. xiv. 9. f John xvi. 2. d Matt. xxvii. 3-6, 20. 8 Rom. xiv. 2, 3, 5, 6. |