the motives of our actions, and they often put the worst construction upon the best of them; but nothing is hid from the sight, or escapes the notice of Him with whom we have to do. Our wisdom is therefore, in all things to approve ourselves to him, and to acquit ourselves in the task assigned us, not as men-pleasers, but as his true and faithful servants, doing his will with our whole heart." The chief reason why the children of men have indulged those principles and passions, from whence Wars derive their origin, is, that they have not understood, nor felt the force of the precept Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.' To inculcate and explain the sacred and extensive obligations of this duty, therefore, is the most effectual method for promoting Peace on Earth, and for bringing War to a perpetual end. Mr. Whitehouse is fully aware of this, and the following cursory extracts will shew the importance which this subject possesses in his estimation :

"" Owe no man any thing, but to love one another; for he that loveth #another, hath fulfilled the law. For this, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.'* We can do God no service by our homage: our professed love of him, therefore, is vain and profitless, unless accompanied with the other great duty of loving others as ourselves. It is more especially by doing the will of God, in this respect, that we can advance his kingdom of righteousness in the world; and this is the the test of our obedience and love to our Maker which he requires of

*Rom. xiii. 8. et seq.

us:

'for this commandment we have from him, that he who loveth God, love his brother also.'† Here a wide field opens before us of relative duties which must always afford ample scope for our benevolence. The question then is, how is this love to be demonstrated ?—and what are the proofs and evidences of it? We have an apostle's authority for saying, that a man may bestow all his goods to feed the poor,' ‡ and yet not have charity, or love in his heart.

:

"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them for this is the law and the prophets.' § This is a precept which comes home at once to the consciences of men, and is a safe and certain rule of conduct in all common cases: and there can be no doubt that we should be able to form a better judgment than we usually do, of the claims which others have upon us, and the obligations we owe to them, would we, but for a moment, consider ourselves as placed in their situation, and contrast their condition with our own. This law of equity is one of the great doctrines intimately connected with the kingdom of God, which the disciple of Christ must constantly bear in mind, in order that the selfish principle may not gain the ascendency over that sense of right which should invariably determine his actions. Whatever our individual interests may be, they must not be pursued with a disregard to those of our neighbour, nor in a manner detrimental to the good of the community. Our selflove must be of the social kind; it must blend itself with a solicitous attention to the well being of others: it must incline us to compassionate their sufferings, to redress their wrongs, and to promote their welfare. And what strong inducements have we for the practice of these exemplary duties, when we consider

† 1 John iv. 21. + 1 Cor. xiii. 3. § Matt. vii. 12.

our own nature and condition, the precariousness and uncertainty of all earthly good, and that whatever we possess in this world is fluctuating and passing away. The advantages we enjoy over the poorer and less enlightened classes of our brethren, should serve as a powerful motive to stimulate our exertions to add to their little stock of enjoyments, and to facilitate the means of their moral and intellectual improvement. Nothing shews in a clearer light than the inequality which must always subsist in civilized society, the obligations we are under to supply, in some degree, what is wanting in the lot of those who have been less favoured by Providence than ourselves; to be to them, as it were, in the place of God, and to promote to the best of our power, their well-being and prosperity. The more the benevolent affections are thus exercised, the more they will be strengthened, and act with the greater force and effect and surely nothing can have a more powerful tendency to invigorate the mind in the performance of social duties, and to direct and regulate its motions, than the full persuasion that we best consult our own individual interests by our endeavours to promote the public good; and that such a conduct is the certain means of securing to ourselves the blessings, and averting from us the ills, of life. It is evident from the natural constitution of things, that God first designed the happiness of the whole; and then so contrived the great moral scheme, that his rational creatures should find their own happiness in no other way than in an interchange of the offices of kindness and benevolence towards each other. It is therefore incumbent upon us, in our several stations, and according to our ability, to further, in the most effectual way in our power, the plan which the Divine Wisdom has adopted, to'love others as ourselves, and to do unto them as we would they should do unto us;' for

in what else does all moral goodness consist than in seeking to advance the glory of God, and the welfare of mankind? as, on the other hand, all wickedness consists in neglecting, or endeavouring to oppose them.

"The Almighty has revealed enough of his mind and will to enable all those who are sincerely desirous of doing it, to walk in the way of his commandments; and the means which he has employed for this purpose, are no less beneficent than the object which he had in view, in first calling them into existence. What can more illustrate his goodness in this respect, than his having written in their hearts that law of love which inclines them to promote each other's happiness; to form themselves into societies and communities for their mutual benefit; and not only to cultivate the arts most necessary for their daily use and sustentation, but those also which shed a pleasing intellectual light and lustre o'er this earthly scene; which soften the ruggedness of man's nature, and prepare the way for all the charities and all the enjoyments which are found in civilized and social life. It is the will of God that his rational creatures should derive from him, who is the fountain of all good, such a measure of his own benevolence, such communications of his light and love out of the fulness of his own divine perfections, as should constrain them to live together in the unity of the spirit and in the bonds of peace, and to be friends and benefactors to each other. It is by such amicable associations that human happiness is increased and extended.

"How evident it must be to every unprejudiced mind, that the religion of Jesus is, in a peculiar manner, a dispensation of love and good-will to men; and which, when combined with the love of God, possesses a divine and powerful efficacy to eradicate from the heart that selfishness which is the bane of human happiness, and which opposes itself to the

righteousness of God, and the kingdom of his dear Son. Seeing, says the apostle, ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit, unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently. Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.' In what other manner can Christians fulfil the purposes of their creation, than by performing offices of kindness and good-will to their brethren and kinsmen according to the flesh; in assisting those who labour under want, sickness, or any other adversity; and in endeavouring to reclaim the vicious, and to lead those who err from the right way into the paths of rectitude? Christians are to esteem the virtuous and the good of every country with a regard similar to that which they entertain towards their own families, and dearest connexions. Who, says Christ, is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! for whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.' +

"The heart which has been purified by divine grace from the dross of self, and filled with the love of God, will not rest satisfied in its own blessedness, but overflow with love and good-will towards the whole human

race.

"The divine Founder of our religion has carried the principle of benevolence to such a pitch, that his command is, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven, for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the

* 1 Peter i. 22, 23. † Matt. xii. 48, 49, 50.

good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." The motive here adduced for our rising superior to anger and revenge, though assailed by the most injurious provocations; and for returning good for evil, is one of the sublimest that can be conceived; for what can be more so than an imitation of the Supreme Being? The apostle has given a similar injunction, and couched nearly in the same terms :Be ye followers of God as dear children.' § Such an appeal as this will not be thrown away on noble and generous minds: nor let any one complain, that this is a lesson too difficult for human nature to practise. We cannot, indeed, love bad men, whether they be our enemies or not, with a love of esteem, but we certainly may, and ought, to love all men with a love of benevolence: and no more than this is required. However exceptionable the character of others may be, or whatever their conduct towards us; we are not to forget that they are men of like passions with ourselves-that they are our brethren, the children of the same. Father, and heirs of the same immortality."

Notwithstanding the number of countries avowedly Christian, and the succession of centuries during which they have borne the appellation, it must be admitted by all, that they have never given to the pure and unsophisticated principles of the religion of the Cross a fair national trial. It has never been ascertained, by actual experiment (the instance of Pennsylvania only excepted) how far the peaceful character of Christianity is calculated to promote the prosperity and happiness of mankind in conjunction with the safety and welfare of States.

"Learned men and divines, and those who have devoted most of their time and attention to the study of the Scriptures, have, for the most

+ Matt. v. 44, 45. § Ephes. v. 1.

part, strangely passed by, or very superficially considered, these powerful and mighty principles, the love of God and of man, powerful enough to move a world, and what is more, to make that world a scene of happiness! And, therefore, compared with which, all their theological systems, all their fine-spun theories, the puny inventions of little minds, evaporate into mere nothingness ;‹ Play round the head, but come not near the heart.' Such is the simplicity of Christianity in reference to its two great, leading, practical doctrines; though the beneficial effects they are calculated to produce, owing to the bigotry and tyranny which every where prevail in the world, have never yet been suffered to be experimentally tried on the great mass of society. Yet who is there who does not perceive how completely they are adapted to the condition of man, and to the improvement and perfectibility of his moral nature?-what a powerful tendency they possess to lift his soul above every low, unworthy pursuit; to purify the affections; and to purge the conscience from dead works,' (the earthly, sensual, unprofitable works of unrighteousness) to serve the living God; and to diffuse peace and happiness, truth and justice, religion and piety,' over the whole face of the habitable globe! The very contemplation of this subject, so deeply interesting, and which unfolds to our view a blessed prospect of the Redeemer's kingdom, is such as to fill the mind, even now, with joy unspeakable, and full of glory."

We shall conclude our quotations, for the present, with the following anticipations of the establishment of the kingdom of God upon the earth :

Whereunto,' says our Saviour, 'shall we liken the kingdom of God, and with what comparison shall we compare it? It is like a grain of mustard-seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds

that be in the earth; but when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches, so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.'* In these words are figured out the first principles which are to ensure the growth and universal spread of the Gospel. These have appeared insignificant in the eyes of a thoughtless, misjudging world, but they will prove, at length, an effectual remedy for all the moral and civil disorders which afflict mankind. Human policy alone can never effect this cure. It lies far beyond the reach of any thing of an earthly nature; but it will be brought about by a few truths, which the reputed wise and learned, puffed up with a vain knowledge devoid of charity, have treated with contemptuous disregard. These truths are now making a rapid progress, and carrying irresistible conviction along with them. The soil has been prepared, and the seeds have been sown, which shall bring forth an abundance of happiness; some thirty, some sixty, and some an hundred fold.' Our Saviour sufficiently explains the nature of his kingdom, and who the subjects of it are, when, in his sermon on the mount, he pronounces a blessing on those who hunger and thirst after righteousness,' on the 'pure in heart,' on the ' promoters of peace,' on those who suffer persecution and reproach, and calumnious treatment for truth and righteousness' sake:''Rejoice,' says he, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven.' +

"It is, indeed, with heart-felt delight and thankfulness, that we are permitted to hail, although as yet at a distance, the advent of this kingdom of righteousness which is destined to be established on the earth; and of which it is said, that 'all nations shall flow into it.' The basis on which it is to be founded,