صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني
[ocr errors]

The belief of the gospel destroys the natural enmity of the mind, and causes us to "love God because he hath first loved us.' Such is the origin of this principle, and when we consider its nature, we observe that it implies a high esteem of God. Love considers God as the most excellent of beings, as infinitely glorious, holy, and compassionate. It surveys, with admiration and delight, the bright display of his perfections in his works of creation and providence, but especially in the wonderful plan of redemption. It is the language of him who truly loves God, "Who in heaven can be compared unto the Lord? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto thee? thy favour is life, and thy loving-kindness is better than life."

Love to God implies, also, an earnest desire for communion with God, and the enjoyment of him. The soul that loves God, sensible of its own indigence, and of the insufficiency of all earthly objects for its happiness, makes choice of him as its sure and everlasting portion. Unsatisfied with present attainments, it aspires to more full communion with God here, and to the perfect and endless enjoyment of him hereafter. Therefore, love to God vents itself in such language as this, "While many say, Who will show us any good? Lord, lift thou on me the light of thy countenance." "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God."-" Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none on earth whom I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart fail: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.”

Observe, again, that true love to God is a judicious principle. It is not a blind, enthusiastic feeling, it is not a foolish fondness for an object whose excellence is not at all understood; but it is the result of the deliberate conviction of the understanding. Without this solid and rational foundation, it would degenerate into absolute enthusiasm; for, what is enthusiasm, but the baseless fabric of the imagination, or certain extravagant feelings not proceeding from any distinct, scriptural knowledge of their object? Hence Paul prayed for the Philippians, that their "love might abound, yet more and more, in all knowledge, and in all judgment."

Further, love to God is an active principle. It is a fact that here, as in common life, love produces a carefulness not to offend, but to please its object. But, what is peculiarly noticeable is, that the obedience which love produces is of the right kind. "This is the love of God," says John,

"that we keep his commandments." The obedience of terror is the obedience of an enemy, and not of a friend—of a slave, and not of a willing servant or son. Such an obedience would not be esteemed by men, much less can it be esteemed by the Searcher of hearts, who judges of all actions by the principles from which they proceed. But love is a principle which prompts, and sweetens to ourselves, our obedience, and at the same time, renders it acceptable to God, through Jesus Christ.

True love to God is also a supreme love. Our love is due to our fellow-creatures: but then, it must be properly suited to the nature of the ties which bind us, and always in due subordination to the love of God. "He that loveth father or mother more than me," says our Divine Redeemer, "is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me." Nay, the kind of love which is due to our Creator, Preserver, and Redeemer, does not belong in any degree to any creature, so that we are taught to consider love to God to be, in this sense, an exclusive principle. He must have our whole hearts. The required measure of this love is thus stated in the passage before us: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind." I am not sure that much satisfaction could be given by criticisms on the particular words here chosen by our Lord, or that it is intended that we should look on them as furnishing any nice distinctions as to the powers of the mind. Perhaps, by the "heart" is meant chiefly, the affections; by the "soul," either the immortal principle, or the principle of life; by the "strength," the intensity with which every power should be engaged; and by the "mind," the intellect, or understanding. At all events, the general meaning of the passage is very obvious, and very strong.* It is that love to God should engage all the faculties of our soul, and that in the highest degree of which they are susceptible.

Before leaving this topic, let me beseech you to consider whether you love the Lord God. Look inwards, to see on what your hearts are chiefly set; and look outwards, to see on what your strength is chiefly spent. It is to be feared that if Jesus were now to pronounce an opinion on some of you, he would have to say, as he did to certain Jews of old, "I know that ye have not the love of God in you." Con* Id petam, idque persequar corde, et animo, atque viribus.-Plautus.

sider how unreasonable, ungrateful, and sinful it is not to love the greatest, the wisest, and the best of Beings. Consider, too, that not to love God is to hate him, for there is here no medium. How dangerous is this! "If he whet his glittering sword, and his hand take hold on judgment, he will render vengeance to his enemies, and reward them that hate him." Let your thoughts turn to the love the Lord has already manifested towards you through his Son, and to the grace he is now ready to bestow on you: and may he bend your hearts into willing submission, and teach you to love his name.

"Ye that love the Lord, hate evil." Beware of forming too strong an attachment to the perishing things of this world. "Love not the world, nor the things of the world: for if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." In order to keep alive, and more and more to cherish this noble principle, think much on the wonderful love of God, who remembered you in your low estate, and sent his well-beloved Son to bring you back to himself. Think much, too, of the gracious promises made to those who love God. "He will show mercy unto thousands of them that love him and keep his commandments.""All things work together for good to them that love God."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." And think of the blissful state in which you shall have no more occasion to lament the coldness of your spiritual affections, but perfect love shall cast out fear, and you shall serve and enjoy your redeeming God for ever.

66

The love of God is "the first and great commandment:" but let us also consider, for a few minutes, "the second, which is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”

This grace, too, like the foregoing, is a divinely implanted principle. There are, indeed, certain kindly feelings and certain acts of charity, to which man is prompted by common humanity, and what may be called natural instinct; but these are essentially different from the affections of the renewed mind, in which alone is to be found that true, pure, and enlightened love, which may be depended on, which is sufficiently comprehensive, and which is acceptable to God. Speaking of men's state by nature, the apostle Paul says, "We ourselves also were at one time foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice

and envy, hateful and hating one another." Selfishness is the chief characteristic of natural men; all of them "seek their own." Their very deeds of charity, which are good in their letter and in their effects, are polluted by the want of a regard to God. But Christian love to man comes in connexion with love to God, and with the new birth. "Love is of God, and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God."—" By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments." Let it ever be remembered that there can be no separation between true piety and this branch of true morality. Whoever observes the first table of the law, will observe the second also. "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?"

Adverting more particularly to the nature of this duty, we observe that loving our neighbour implies that we entertain benevolent dispositions towards him. Sincere, inward good-will is the first thing which this spiritual commandment requires. If love exist in this form, it is accepted of God, though a man may not have it in his power to evidence it by his actions: "For if there be first of all a willing mind, a man is accepted according to what he hath, and not according to what he hath not." So likewise, if we secretly barbour ill-will to our neighbour, even though it should never break out into action, we are breakers of the law of love, and guilty in the sight of God.

66

Again, loving our neighbour implies that we speak well of him. Speak not evil one of another," says the apostle James. We should not speak evil of any man without absolute necessity, even though what we say of him be true. This is not sufficiently attended to in the commonly received code of morality. Calumny, be it observed, consists, not only in spreading reports prejudicial to our neighbour which are false, but also in publishing, without just cause, and with an unkind disposition, his real faults. There are times, no doubt, when the whole truth must be spoken out, however much it may be against our neighbour; but the cause of justice and morality is but rarely promoted by speaking, even without malevolent intentions, against others in the common intercourse of life; and in no case are we free of sin if we proclaim their faults with a feeling of gratification. In fact, though it may seem paradoxical, truth

is sometimes the greatest of all calumny. Love tries to conceal reports prejudicial to our neighbour. It imputes his faults, if it can, rather to inadvertence, than to habitual, premeditated wickedness. "Charity believeth all things, hopeth all things."-"Charity covereth a multitude of sins:" and it embraces, with pleasure, the opportunity of publishing whatever may be to the honour or advantage of others. In a word, true love deals faithfully and closely with a man's faults, when it gets him by himself; but as tenderly as possible with them in the presence of others.

To this let it be added, that love to our neighbour implies that we do him all the good offices in our power. What avail professions without performance, when it is in our power to perform kind actions? "If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say to 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?" Love requires that, according to our ability, we be "rich in good works, ready to distribute, and willing to communicate."

In connexion, too, with the whole of this, we must remember that true love to our neighbour extends, not only to his temporal, but to his spiritual concerns, and is even more anxious for his salvation than for his outward good, because his eternal interests infinitely transcend his earthly.

man

Such is the general nature of the love here inculcated. It is subjoined, as an illustration of the manner, and as the standard according to which it should operate, that a man should love his neighbour as he loves himself. Self-love, properly regulated, is lawful, nay, incumbent. Reason and Scripture require that our temporal interest, and the welfare of our bodies, should not be neglected. "No" wise " ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it." When, therefore, self-love is condemned, as, for example, when it is said that in the perilous times of the last days, "men shall be lovers of themselves," nothing more is meant than to condemn what we commonly call selfishness, which confines a man's cares to himself, and shuts out the love of God and of his neighbour. There is a proper selflove, a commendable concern for our own interest, which is here laid down as the model and standard of our love to others. Now, how does this proper self-love operate? It leads us to study to preserve our own rights-to be hurt by any unkindness shown to us-not to be soon angry with

« السابقةمتابعة »