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THE 
 
 FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT; 
 
 GEO. W. BETHUNE, D. D., 
 
 MINISTER 07 THE REFORMED PROTESTANT DUTCH CHURCH ON THB HEIGHTS, 
 
 BROOKLYN. 
 
 If these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall 
 
 neither be barren or unfruitful in the knowledge of 
 
 our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter L 8. 
 
 FOURTH EDITION. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 BOARD OF PUBLICATION 
 
 OF THB 
 
 REFORMED PROTESTANT DUTCH CHURCH, 
 SYNOD'S ROOMS, 61 FRANKLIN STREET. 
 
 5 9. 
 
 1859. _ /? ^ 
 
 &JAs^^ A~^ &/&> 
 
I tf'5 9 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by 
 
 REV. THOMAS C. STRONG, 
 
 On behalf of the Board of Publication of the R. P. Dutch Church in 
 
 North America, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court 
 
 of the United States for the Southern District 
 
 of New York. 
 
 HOBFORD <fc CO., 
 
 STATIONERS AND PRINTERS, 
 
 57 and 69 William St., N. Y. 
 
10 
 
 MY MOTHER 
 
 AND 
 
 FIRST TEACHER IN RELIGION, 
 
 WITH THE HUMBLE HOPE THAT 
 
 US 
 
 BY 
 
 THE DIVINE BLESSING 
 
 UPON THE FOLLOWING PAGES, 
 
 THEY ABB 
 
 AFFECTIONATELY AND GRATEFULLY 
 
 DEDICATED. 
 
 (3) 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introduction 15 
 
 Office of the Spirit 19 
 
 Fruit of the Spirit* • ........... 41 
 
 Love 48 
 
 Jot 6? 
 
 Peace 93 
 
 Long-suffering. lit 
 
 Gentleness 139 
 
 Goodness 161 
 
 Faith 191 
 
 Meekness , . 231 
 
 Temperance 257 
 
 Conclusion 263 
 
 i* 
 
ADVERTISEMENT 
 
 TO THE THIED EDITION 
 
 The author, having had the satisfaction of knowing 
 that some good has been done, both at home and 
 abroad, by the Divine blessing upon this quiet little 
 book, is encouraged to send it, after a careful revision, 
 again to the press, as the former editions were exhausted 
 some time since, while the demand still continues. He 
 has chosen for it a form smaller and cheaper, though 
 not less neat, that it may be within the reach of more, 
 yet easily read. The seed is scattered by a feeble hand, 
 but not without hope that the God of the harvest will 
 give it increase to the praise of his holy and merciful 
 name. 
 
 Philadelphia, July, 1845. 
 
 (T) 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 If any one should ask why the slight volume now of- 
 fered to the reader has been added to the multitude of 
 books, the author .can only answer, that the pressing 
 entreaties of many, who heard the substance of it from 
 the pulpit, have encouraged him to suffer its publication, 
 in the hope that what was listened to with much atten- 
 tion, may be read, by the Divine blessing, with some 
 profit. He lays no claim to originality or depth in his 
 manner of treating his subjects, but he has endeavoured 
 to be plain, and according to the word of God. The 
 critical may find much that a better taste might have 
 corrected, the curious little that is new, and the polemic 
 less that savours of party ; but, he trusts, that nothing 
 will be discovered in these pages, which a Christian 
 should condemn as inconsistent with the morality of the 
 Gospel. 
 
 9 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 In the care of the Church to establish and defend 
 sound doctrine, the ethical part of Christianity is some- 
 times neglected. It is, therefore, necessary that defini- 
 tions which have become obscured, should be re-impres- 
 sed, and the detail of a Christian life stated in so simple 
 a manner, that " the wayfaring man, though a fool, may 
 not err therein." The author has long believed, that the 
 teaching of truth is the best way to refute error, and 
 that there is no argument so convincing of the divinity 
 of religion, as the life of a good man. He passes no 
 censure upon his brethren who have girded on their 
 armour, and are fighting lustily in the arena of contro- 
 versy ; but he thinks he makes no error in keeping aloof 
 from such conflict, while he endeavours to teach those 
 whom the Head of the Church has placed under his care, 
 " to do justice, to love mercy, and walk humbly with 
 God," learning of Him who was " meek and lowly in 
 heart," to be "holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate 
 from sinners." In the study of the precious text, for the 
 illustration of which the following essays were written, 
 he has felt as if he and his people were sitting at the feet 
 of Jesus. All the hours spent upon them have been very 
 sweet and pleasant, and if, in their printed form, they 
 should be made useful, his reward will be rich indeed, 
 for both the seed-time and harvest will have yielded joy 
 
PREFACE. XI 
 
 and excited thankfulness. The generous reader can not 
 judge severely a work, however imperfect, which was 
 undertaken from a desire to do him good ; and the 
 vigorous believer, who may find here little to satisfy his 
 manly appetite, will, perhaps, breathe a brief prayer, 
 that God would bless the humble offering to others, and 
 pardon the errors and short-comings of a fellow-labourer 
 in the vineyard of Christ. 
 
Galatians v. 22, 23. 
 
 the fruit op the spirit is love, jot, peace, long- 
 suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temper- 
 ance *. against such there is no law. 
 
 IS 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 It is not necessary to our becoming good Christians, 
 that we should be profound philosophers, acute critics, 
 or nice logicians. " The Gospel is preached to the poor," 
 who have but little time to acquire learning, or to use 
 learning if they had it. Our Master told his disciples, 
 that " whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God 
 as a little child, shall in no wise enter therein;" and 
 Paul, though the most learned of all the blessed apostles, 
 delights to show the power and excellency of the simple 
 Gospel, over all the wisdom and skill of men. Thus we 
 are taught that, however valuable philosophy and 
 learning may be in their proper places, they are valuable 
 to the Christian only when under the direction of a 
 child-like spirit. Indeed, nothing is so much in the way 
 of simple faith, as that pride which unsanctified philoso- 
 
 15 
 
XVI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 phy begets. It was after the fishermen of Galilee fol- 
 lowed Jesus, and the Syro-phenician, and the woman of 
 Samaria, and the Gentile nobleman, and many an humble 
 soul besides, had rejoiced in his love, that the Sanhedrim 
 boastingly asked, " Have any of the rulers or Pharisees 
 believed on him ? " And the apostle, when the number 
 of the Church had swelled to thousands, was able to find 
 few, if any, of " the wise, the scribes, or the disputers of 
 this world" among them. Great then is the error of that 
 Christian, who refuses to believe any of the facts in 
 religion, which the Scripture sets forth, because, like 
 Nicodemus, he cannot understand how such things can 
 be. 
 
 But of all subjects, upon which human philosophy has 
 employed itself, none is more difficult than the nature of 
 spirit. We have many works which profess to treat of 
 the philosophy of mind, but those, who have studied 
 them most, are most convinced of the vagueness and un- 
 satisfactoriness of their conclusions. If we are thus 
 unsuccessful in our attempts to understand the nature 
 and laws of our own spirits, how can we hope to under- 
 stand the nature of the Divine Spirit, or the manner of 
 his influence upon the spirits of his creatures ? Humbly 
 and devoutly, then, should we receive the declarations 
 of God on this subject, and neither doubt, because we 
 
INTRODUCTION. XVU 
 
 cannot understand more, nor impiously seek to be wise 
 above what is written. 
 
 The mediation of Christ, and the influence of the 
 Holy Spirit, are the grand characteristic doctrines of the 
 Christian system. The one exhibits God justifying his 
 mercy in the salvation of his people ; the other, God 
 carrying on that salvation to its glorious result. The 
 one shows us our dependence, as guilty lost sinners, upon 
 the grace of God for pardon and life ; the other our 
 utter insufficiency, as weak and corrupt sinners, to avail 
 ourselves of the blessings of salvation without his renew 
 ing and perfecting power. The one declares that God is 
 willing to receive for Christ's sake all penitent and be- 
 lieving souls ; the other offers to us faith and repentance, 
 that we may be enabled to go unto him and abide with 
 him. The one assures us that there is a way of salvation ; 
 the other teaches us how we may know that we are 
 walking therein. The one gives to God all the glory of 
 pardon ; the other, all the glory of our sanctification. 
 The one is as essential to salvation as the other ; and it is 
 as important that we should know the doctrine of Scrip- 
 ture concerning the work of the Spirit, as that concern- 
 ing the work of Christ. 
 
 The aim of this little treatise will, therefore, be to 
 show, 
 
XV111 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 I. The office of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of 
 God's people. 
 
 II. The effects of his Divine work, as manifested in 
 the graces of Christian character. 
 
 O Almighty God, Father of lights, who givest wisdom 
 liberally to all that ask it of thee, and upbraidest them 
 not, thou didst promise by thy Son Jesus Christ, our Lord 
 and Saviour, the Comforter, even the Holy Ghost, to 
 teach us all thiDgs, and bring all things to our remem- 
 brance, whatsoever thou hast commanded us. Bestow 
 upon us plentifully of the Spirit of thy Son, that learn- 
 ing of thee in meekness and simplicity of heart, our 
 minds may be kept from all blindness of error or wrest- 
 ing of thy holy truth, and our faith be fruitful in good 
 works, to thy glory and our eternal profit, through Jesus 
 Christ. Amen. 
 
OFFICE OF THE SPIRIT. 
 
 The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is revealed to 
 us principally in the Gospel. Jesus Christ was 
 the first to speak plainly of God, as Father, Son 
 and Holy Ghost; although the light of the New 
 Testament enables us to discover many traces of a 
 distinction between these Divine Persons in the 
 older Scriptures, as when God declares he hath 
 "set his Son on his holy hill of Zion," or promises 
 to "pour out his Spirit upon all flesh." 
 
 The work of salvation includes not only the par- 
 don of Christ's people as sinners, but their restora- 
 
 19 
 
20 OFFICE OF THE SPIRIT. 
 
 tion to perfect and eternal holiness. Like every 
 other work of Almighty power, it is ascribed to 
 God, yet, in the execution of it, each of the 
 blessed Persons has a distinct office and agency. 
 
 The Father is ever represented as the conser- 
 vator of the rights and honours of the Godhead, 
 and, therefore, as the director and approver of the 
 work. He sends his only begotten Son into the 
 world; pronounces himself well pleased with his 
 obedience in the form of a servant, and exalts him 
 to his own right hand, with "a name that is above 
 every name," in reward of his faithfulness unto 
 death ; and it is He who, in answer to his Son's 
 intercession, sends the Holy Spirit upon the hearts 
 of his ransomed ones, to seal them as his own 
 with the image of Christ, and carry on the work 
 unto the day of their perfect redemption. 
 
 The Son manifests the purpose of God in salva- 
 tion; provides in his own sufferings and obedience 
 the atonement and the righteousness which justifies 
 the Father in pardoning the sinner and restoring 
 him to happiness, and stands as the Mediator be- 
 
OFFICE OF THE SPIRIT. 21 
 
 tween the believer and the God whom he has 
 offended, but to whom he would return. 
 
 The Holy Spirit prepares the human nature 
 for the incarnation of the Son; strengthens the 
 Immanuel in the performance of his work on earth 
 in obedience and suffering; and then fits, per- 
 suades, and enables the sinner to receive the salva- 
 tion and follow Christ, by opening the eyes of his 
 understanding to perceive the truth which Christ 
 hath revealed, converting his depraved heart to 
 love it, and strengthening him in all his powers to 
 obey it and walk in it. 
 
 Thus is salvation the work of Father, Son and 
 Holy Ghost ; and to Father, Son and Holy Ghost 
 should we render equal praises. But as the pur- 
 pose of the Father could not be complete without 
 the work of the Son, so the work of the Son can- 
 not be efficient without the application of the 
 Spirit. The apostle Peter declares his believing 
 brethren to be "elect according to the foreknowl- 
 edge of God the Father, through sanctification of 
 the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the 
 
22 OFFICE OF THE SPIRIT. 
 
 blood of Christ ;" and the apostle Paul says, 
 " Through him (that is Christ) have we access 
 by one Spirit unto the Father." It is, therefore, 
 to the energy of the Spirit, that we are to attribute 
 all the effects of the Gospel upon our hearts. For, 
 as in the first creation, God made the world by the 
 Son, the Word of his power, yet it was the Spirit 
 which moved upon the face of the waters to bring 
 order out of confusion, and light out of darkness ; 
 so, in the new creation of his people to holiness, 
 the word of God in the Gospel of his Son prevails 
 not, until the same Spirit has moved on the cor- 
 rupt and dead soul, awakening it to a new and 
 holy life. 
 
 Hence the graces of the Christian character are 
 called "The fruit of the Spirit." 
 
 It is important, also, to observe the name which 
 is given to this Divine Person and agent in our 
 redemption. He is called the Spirit, the Holy 
 Spirit, or Holy Ghost. God the Father has never 
 revealed himself immediately; all his revelations 
 are made to us by the Son or the Holy Spirit. 
 
OFFICE OF THE SPIRIT. 23 
 
 Hence the Baptist says, " No man hath seen God 
 at any time ; the only begotten Son, which is in 
 the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him," 
 or made him known. And the writer of the 
 Hebrews calls the Son "the brightness" or 
 shining forth "of his" Father's "glory, and the 
 express image," or expressed character, "of his 
 person." For the same reason the Son is called 
 "the eternal Word," or speech, or voice of God; 
 and the various manifestations of God's power 
 are declared to be the works of the Son. "All 
 things were made by him, (the Word), and with 
 out him there was not any thing made that was 
 made. In him was life, and the life was the light 
 of men." 
 
 All the Divine appearances, or manifestations of 
 God to the senses of men, under the old Testament 
 were, most probably, by the Son, except some of 
 the prophetical visions which opened the spiritual 
 world. Christ was the Angel of the covenant who 
 appeared unto Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, who 
 " dwelt in the bush," and " spake to Moses from 
 
24 OFFICE OF THE SPIRIT. 
 
 the cloudy pillar." Daniel expressly says, that he 
 who walked with the three in the fiery furnace, 
 had "a form like unto that of the Son of God." 
 Even the Shechinah, the Visible Glory, that rest- 
 ed upon the ark of the covenant, thought by many 
 to represent the Holy Spirit, may with greater 
 consistency be supposed to have represented Him, 
 who was the Angel of the covenant, and of the 
 Presence, that led the people by that cloud in the 
 wilderness, and who, as we have seen in the New 
 Testament, is declared to be the "brightness of 
 God's glory." 
 
 The Holy Spirit has not manifested himself to 
 the senses, except when he descended like a dove 
 upon the Saviour at his baptism, to prove that 
 " the Spirit of the Lord God was upon him ;" or 
 in cloven tongues of fire, which rested upon the 
 heads of the eleven, when the "mighty rushing 
 wind filled all the house where they were sitting," 
 to show the communication of promised spiritual 
 gifts. It is remarkable that these manifestations 
 were emblematical, the dove, or the tongues ; and, 
 
OFFICE OF THE SPIRIT. 25 
 
 having: been made to establish the fact of the 
 Spirit's communication to the Saviour and the 
 Church, they were never afterwards repeated. No 
 visible influence accompanied the power of the 
 Spirit in the conversion of the thousands at the 
 Pentecost, or when the apostles conferred the 
 Spirit upon others by the laying on of hands. 
 Yet that God doth manifest himself by the Spirit, 
 is clear from the names of the Spirit ; " the Spirit 
 of knowledge," " of wisdom," " of power," " of 
 revelation in the knowledge of Him," and "the 
 Spirit of truth." 
 
 The revelations of God by the Holy Spirit, and 
 the operations of that Spirit, must be purely spir- 
 itual, and can be known only by our spirits, and 
 his effects upon them, and, through them, upon 
 our lives. Hence our Saviour, in answer to the 
 cavils of Nicodemus, says : " The wind (the unseen 
 wind) bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest 
 the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it 
 cometh and whither it goeth ; so is every one that 
 is born of the Spirit." He is conscious of its in- 
 3 
 
26 OFFICE OF THE SPIRIT. 
 
 fluences only by its effects. In another place the 
 Master says, "The kingdom of God cometh not 
 with observation, (that is, of the senses,) neither 
 shall they say, Lo ! here, or lo ! there, for behold it 
 is within you." For the same reason the Gospel is 
 termed "the dispensation of the Spirit," to distin- 
 guish it from the Levitical, the dispensation of 
 sense. The spirit, throughout the epistles of Paul, 
 is opposed to the flesh, or the sensual part of man ; 
 and he tells us that "the Spirit witnesses with our 
 spii'its that we are born of God." We can, there- 
 fore, expect and know the Spirit's power, only by 
 his spiritual influences, and hence the fruits of the 
 Spirit are spiritual graces, virtues of the Spirit, as 
 love, joy, peace, and the rest. 
 
 It is also instructive to mark, that what the 
 apostle terms the fruits of the Spirit, are really the 
 qualities and actions of the renewed man. It is 
 the Christian who loves, who is joyous, peaceful, 
 long-suffering, gentle, good, faithful, meek, and 
 temperate. These are personal characteristics, 
 yet they are the fruits of the Spirit ; which teaches 
 
OFFICE OF THE SPIRIT. 27 
 
 us that they are not the actings of the Spirit him- 
 self, but the effects of the work he has wrought 
 upon the heart, and of his influence which still 
 abides there. The Christian is not less a free 
 agent because of the Spirit's power, for all these 
 qualities require the exercise of his will ; but his 
 soul has been graciously wrought upon by the 
 Holy Spirit, (who well knows how to deal with 
 the spirits he has made), so that all the tendencies 
 of his character are changed, and he delights in 
 and is enabled to manifest the graces of that holi- 
 ness, to which it was the purpose of God in salva- 
 tion he should be brought. The fruit is not graft- 
 ed on the branch, but the branch is grafted on the 
 living vine, and by the power of the life derived 
 from it, brings forth fruit. The love, the joy> the 
 peace, and the rest, are the believer's, but the 
 glory of them belongs to the Holy Spirit. As, 
 when in the natural man the flesh works upon the 
 soul so as to produce sin, sin is termed the work 
 of the flesh (ver. 19); so, when the Holy Ghost, 
 working on the soul, produces holiness, holiness 
 
28 OFFICE OF THE SPIRIT. 
 
 is termed the fruit of the Spirit. How the Holy 
 Ghost works upon the soul to produce this effect, 
 we cannot explain; neither can we explain the 
 power of matter over mind; and, certainly, the 
 fact in the former case is not more incredible than 
 in the other. The natural man is conscious of the 
 influence of his body over his mind ; so may the 
 Christian be of the influence of the Spirit over 
 his heart. 
 
 The Spirit undoubtedly uses the truth of the 
 Gospel in sanctifying the believer's heart ; for 
 "the word of God" is called "the sword of the 
 Spirit." Our Saviour prays, that his people may 
 be "sanctified through the truth." The apostle 
 says, "If the truth shall make you free, ye shall 
 be free indeed." The apostle Peter speaks of our 
 "being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of 
 incorruptible, by the word of God." David de- 
 clares that "the law of the Lord is perfect, con- 
 verting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is 
 sure, making wise the simple ; the statutes cf the 
 Lord are right, rejoicing the heart ; the command- 
 
OFFICE OF THE SPIRIT. 29 
 
 ment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes." 
 Yet all these effects are ascribed to the Spirit of 
 God; and faith, which is nothing else than a 
 believing apprehension of the truth, " purifieth the 
 heart," " worketh by love," and "overcometh the 
 world." 
 
 It is clear, however, that the truth is not suffi- 
 cient of itself, for many hear but receive it not. A 
 sword must be wielded by a strong hand, so must 
 the word be wielded by the Spirit ; and the Sa- 
 viour prays that the word may be the means or 
 instrument by which his people may be sanctified, 
 Thus, the fruits enumerated in the text, grow from 
 the seed of the word sown in the heart, but the 
 heart was prepared to receive the seed of the truth, 
 and is strengthened to shoot it forth unto fruitful- 
 ness of grace. The seed in the parable of the sower 
 was the word of God, yet only that which fell in 
 good ground yielded fruit ; while that, which fell 
 on the beaten path, never entered the earth, and 
 that, which fell among thorns, was choked, and 
 that which fell on stony ground, where the soil was 
 3* 
 
30 OFFICE OF THE SPIRIT. 
 
 thin, soon withered away. But all our hearts are 
 by nature hard, filled with cares and deceitful 
 pleasures ; or, if they show any slight sensibility, 
 it soon passes away: The Holy Ghost, who 
 would cultivate our hearts so that the word may 
 be fruitful in them, prepares them as good ground ; 
 he breaks up the heart by contrition, that the seed 
 may enter ; he takes away the hard rock that it 
 may shoot deep ; he weeds out the thorns lest they 
 choke it ; and, even after that, he sheds dews of 
 influence, and heat from the Sun of Righteousness, 
 and breathes his vital breath continually upon it, 
 that it may grow unto perfection. This he does 
 in conversion, when he softens the hard heart, 
 which is enmity against God and resists his truth, 
 to feel his power ; and in sanctification, when he 
 communicates to it, and continues to communicate, 
 his genial energy. To whom then shall the praise 
 of the harvest be given? To the soil, which 
 but for him, would have borne noxious weeds ? 
 or to the Divine Cultivator who prepared the 
 
OFFICE OF THE SPIRIT. 31 
 
 soil, supplied the seed, and quickened and guarded, 
 its growth ? 
 
 We must, however, take care in using these 
 figures, derived from natural things, to illustrate 
 spiritual, lest we carry them too far, and impute to 
 the soul the senselessness and sluggishness of 
 matter. The natural heart is indeed dead in tres- 
 passes and sins, wholly inclined to all evil, and, 
 therefore, can bring forth no good thing. But the 
 death of a spiritual, immortal, and ever-active soul, 
 is as different from the death of the body, as spirit 
 is different from matter. The dead body is wholly 
 motionless and unconscious, but the dead soul is 
 willingly and intelligently active in wickedness. 
 There is a will in the dead soul; and although 
 that will is in bondage to sin, it is still will, and is 
 in bondage because the heart loves sin. Hence, 
 although our conversion is the work of the Holy 
 Spirit, the sinner is commanded " to turn unto 
 God," and he is condemned for not repenting, 
 because he, by his impenitence, " doth always 
 resist the Holy Ghost," and " will not come unto 
 
32 OFFICE OF THE SPIRIT. 
 
 Christ, that he might have life." There is diffi- 
 culty here, but not in practice. 
 
 Every sinner knows that he continues to sin 
 voluntarily; and every reader of the Scripture 
 knows that if he " yield himself to God," the 
 Spirit will take possession of his heart ; and every 
 one, who puts these two truths together, must 
 know, that, if he be not converted, it is his own 
 fault, because he has not only neglected striving 
 to enter the strait gate, but has struggled against 
 the Spirit, lest he should be brought to enter. 
 Dependence upon the grace of the Holy Ghost 
 for a new life is no excuse nor warrant for our 
 idleness, but, on the contrary rebukes it; else 
 there were no meaning in the command, "Cast 
 away from you all the transgressions whereby ye 
 have transgressed, and make you a new heart 
 and a new spirit, for why will ye die !" (Ezek. 
 xviii. 31), or in the promise, "They that seek 
 shall find ;" or in the condemnation of those, who 
 have not "believed in the name of the only be- 
 gotten Son of God." 
 
OFFICE OF THE SPIRIT. 33 
 
 As we are to be zealous in seeking the conver- 
 sion of our souls, so after conversion are we to be 
 zealous in seeking our entire sanctification unto 
 God. Sanctification, like regeneration, is the work 
 of the Spirit of God, yet our Lord commands us 
 to " be holy as our Father in heaven is holy ; " 
 and the injunctions of the apostles are frequent to 
 "grow in grace, and in knowledge;" "to set our 
 affections upon things above;" and "to walk wor- 
 thy of the vocation wherewith we are called." 
 These show that it is our duty, to be holy, and 
 to grow in grace, in knowledge, in heavenly- 
 mindedness, and Christian consistency, until we 
 are holy, even as our Father in heaven is holy ; 
 and we cannot be obedient to the heavenly voice 
 so long as we wait, without any effort upon our 
 own part, for the Spirit of God to do all within us 
 and for us. We are to "work out our own salva- 
 tion with fear and trembling ;" that is, we are to 
 strive industriously with a holy anxiety, until our 
 salvation be complete ; and the fact, that " it is 
 God that worketh in us both to will and to do of 
 
34 OFFICE OF THE SPIRIT. 
 
 his own good pleasure," is declared as a reason and 
 encouragement to our industry, not to our indo- 
 lence. Thus the grace of the Holy Ghost is pro- 
 mised only to those who seek it. Our Lord, after 
 enforcing the duty of perseverance and importuni- 
 ty in prayer, says: "If ye, being evil, know 
 how to give good gifts unto your children, how 
 much more shall your heavenly Father give the 
 Holy Spirit to them that ask him ?" And in the 
 Hebrews we are told to go "boldly unto the 
 throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and 
 find grace to help in every time of need." So 
 that without prayer, earnest, faithful and constant, 
 we may not hope for the blessing of the Holy 
 Ghost upon our hearts. 
 
 And again, we are taught that this Holy Spirit 
 may be "resisted," "despised," "grieved," and 
 "quenched." He is "resisted," when we refuse to 
 obey the gracious motions he makes within us to 
 the doing of good works, and remain idle and 
 wicked ; He is " despised," when we set a slight 
 value upon his gracious benefits, and do not im* 
 
OFFICE OF THE SPIRIT, 35 
 
 prove his Divine help unto the utmost; He is 
 "giieved," when we do not put away from our 
 hearts all that is offensive to his pure sight, as 
 vmcleanness, pride, enmity, or idolatry ; and He is 
 ¥ quenched," when we so continue to "resist," 
 " despise," and "grieve" him, that he leaves us 
 to our sinful folly, and we feel no more his power 
 within us, in a sense of sin, a desire of Divine as- 
 sistance, and an endeavour after a holy life. The 
 grace of the Holy Spirit, like the talents in the 
 parable, is given us to increase by our own indus- 
 try ; for " to him that hath (that is, makes a good 
 use of the Divine blessing) shall be given" more, 
 and "from him that hath not, shall be taken away 
 even that which he seemeth to have." While, 
 therefore, we grow in the Christian life by Divine 
 grace, it is our duty to grow in grace. 
 
 Besides, the quality of grace is such, that though, 
 it is strength from God, we must use it. Grace 
 gives no new faculty, but strengthens the faculties 
 which we have. When our Saviour cured the 
 paralytic, he did not give him new limbs or new 
 
36 OFFICE OF THE SPIRIT. 
 
 sinews, nor did he raise him up, set him on his 
 feet, and carry him on his way. He commanded 
 him to arise ; and, when, in obedience to the Di- 
 vine word, and reliance upon the Divine promise 
 conveyed in it, the withered man made the effort, a 
 new life went through his wasted frame, and he 
 arose, by his own volition and effort, through the 
 strength which was given him. So the grace of 
 God does not give to the Christian another soul, 
 but quickens him with new life, and endows him 
 with new energy. God gives us strength, but it 
 is a strength we are to exert. The mind, enlight- 
 ened by the Holy Spirit, perceives and understands 
 the truth ; the conscience, quickened by the Holy 
 Spirit, feels and acknowledges it ; the heart, con- 
 verted by the Holy Spirit, loves and obeys it. 
 Yet it is the Christian himself who thus under- 
 stands, acknowledges, loves and obeys the truth ; 
 though he does so by the grace of God enabling 
 him. If he neglect the study of the truth, or 
 refuses to study it with candour and simplicity, 
 or to cherish it with care and affection, he has 
 
OFFICE OF THE SPIRIT. 37 
 
 no reason to hope for the grace of God. It is 
 only when and so long as we nse or exert the 
 strength of grace, that we can know we have it, 
 or may expect to enjoy it and profit by it. "The 
 idle soul shall suffer hunger, but the hand of the 
 diligent maketh rich." Our working is the sure 
 sign of the presence of grace, our idleness the sure 
 sign of its absence. God's people, "in the day of 
 his power," are a " willing people ;" and the Holy 
 Spirit works in them both "to will and to do;" 
 for, as there is no obedience except it be from the 
 heart, we cannot do, except we be willing, God's 
 good pleasure. 
 
 Hence, the fruits of the Spirit are the qualities 
 and actions of the renewed man, not produced 
 without him, but wrought through him. 
 
 Let us, then, be ever mindful of our dependence 
 upon the Spirit of God. We derived our new life 
 from him, and only he can maintain it in us. 
 Without him we can neither think good thoughts, 
 speak good words, nor do good deeds. Any 
 strength, of which we may be conscious is from 
 4 
 
38 OFFICE OF THE SPIRIT. 
 
 him alone ; and, if lie withdraw himself from us, 
 we must languish and die. 
 
 While we bless the Spirit of life for his gracious 
 influence, let us not forget that we have received 
 his power from the Father, only for the' sake of 
 the righteousness and intercession of Christ his 
 Son. All our good has been wrought in us by the 
 power of the Holy Spirit, and, therefore, no good 
 nor merit in us could have procured for us his 
 gracious favour. If the Father had not sent his 
 Son, if the Son had not lived and died and inter- 
 ceded for us, the Holy Spirit would never have 
 been ours. 
 
 While we seek from the Father, for Christ's 
 sake, the continual help of the Holy Spirit, let 
 us ever "maintain good works." It is for the 
 maintenance of good works that the Holy Spirit 
 is given ; and it is only in the faithful use of his 
 ^gracious strength, that we can hope to obtain 
 more. If, therefore, "we would obtain what God 
 doth promise, we must love what God doth com- 
 mand." What can we render, less than our whole 
 
OFFICE OF THE SPIRIT. 39 
 
 hearts and lives, for such an unspeakable gift? 
 "Know ye not," says the apostle, "that ye are 
 the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God 
 dwelleth in you?" 
 
II. 
 
 FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT. 
 
 Several principal truths have now been ascer- 
 tained by us, which it is necessary we should re- 
 member, if we would profitably pursue our medi- 
 tations upon our holy and beautiful text. They 
 are these : 
 
 The purpose of God in salvation is, to deliver 
 his people, not only from the punishment due to 
 them for their sins, but also from their sinfulness 
 itself; that so they may no longer offend him by 
 their disobedience, but serve and enjoy him in that 
 perfection for which God designed the nature of 
 man in his original creation ; 
 
 4* 41 
 
42 FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT. 
 
 This sanctification, or perfection of holiness, is 
 wrought in the hearts of God's people by the Di- 
 vine power of the Holy Ghost, the third Person in 
 the ever blessed and glorious Godhead ; 
 
 The instrument, or means, employed by the 
 Holy Ghost in producing this moral change, is 
 the truth of God in the Gospel of Christ; which 
 he makes effectual, by enlightening the under- 
 standing to perceive it, quickening the conscience 
 to feel and acknowledge it, and converting the 
 heart to love and obey it ; and thus his gracious 
 influence is discovered in the personal qualities and 
 actions of the renewed man, which are, therefore, 
 called "the fruit of the Spirit." 
 
 II. THE EFFECTS OF THE HOLY SPIRITS WORK, 
 AS MANIFESTED IN THE GRACES OF CHRISTIAN 
 CHARACTER. 
 
 " The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long 
 suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, 
 temperance." 
 
LOVE. 
 
 The apostle holds forth to us a rich cluster of 
 graces, but he names first the stem from which 
 the rest hang. For as upon Christ, the living 
 vine, all the living branches grow, and from the 
 Spirit, through Him, derive their vigour and fruit- 
 fulness ; so it is from love the other graces pro- 
 ceed, and through love are ripened unto perfec- 
 tion. Yet it were an unworthy figure to make 
 love, the sweetest fruit of the cluster, a mere stem, 
 which is dry and tasteless. We should rather 
 compare these graces to fruits, which grow the one 
 out of the other, love being the first formed and 
 chiefest. 
 
 Love has never been accurately defined, but we 
 know it to be, That affection which has delight in 
 its objects, and desires their welfare. 
 
 43 
 
44 L 'O V E . 
 
 A rational being loves not without a reason, 
 which seems to him good. The reasons of a 
 Christian's love are drawn from the word of God, 
 guiding and governing the sensibilities of his soul. 
 He loves God, because of his holy excellence, his 
 loving-kindness toward him, and the enjoyment he 
 has in his communion. He loves those to whom 
 he is bound by the closer ties of life, not only be- 
 cause of the natural affections the Creator has im- 
 planted in his heart, but because God has, in a 
 greater or less degree, entrusted their welfare to 
 his care. He loves Christians, because they are 
 beloved by his heavenly Father, bear His image 
 so far as grace has transformed them, and because 
 their sympathy and friendship is a mutual bless- 
 ing. He loves all men, because God has commend- 
 ed them to his love ; and he desires and delights 
 in their welfare, as God loves the world. He 
 loves the holy angels, because they are faithful 
 and honoured servants of his God, minister to him 
 now by Christ's gracious permission, and will be 
 
LOVE. 45 
 
 his loving companions in the praise of God 
 throughout eternity. 
 
 It is, however, to be regretted, that the Scrip- 
 tural term charity has fallen into disuse, or, 
 rather, has been reduced and confined to the sense 
 of mere alms-giving. Charity, as our translators 
 of the New Testament understood its meaning, 
 describes this grace better than " love," which has 
 so many lower associations. For the apostle does 
 not say, love to God, or love to the Church, or love 
 of our neighbour, but simply "love;" meaning not 
 so much the acting or going forth of love, as that 
 loving temper, or lovingness of soul, which dis- 
 poses us to love whenever the proper object is pre- 
 sented. Thus God was love long before he had 
 made any creatures to be the objects of his love, 
 even from all eternity ; and though, it may be said 
 he loved his own glorious self, and delighted in his 
 own infinitely lovely perfections, yet we may not 
 doubt that it was his loving disposition, which led 
 him to create beings upon whom he could bestow 
 the riches of his goodness, and receive their love 
 
46 LOVE. 
 
 in grateful return. Adam, when lie stood without 
 human companionship in the garden of sinless de- 
 light, had all the affections which man has now, 
 or glorified man will have in the vast society of 
 heaven, though doubtless not so expanded, be- 
 cause they were not called forth and educated. 
 He loved his God with an entire and child-like 
 affection. He loved all around him, the waving 
 trees, the variegated flowers, the mellow fruits, 
 the flowing waters, the rejoicing birds, the in- 
 nocent beasts, the morning light and the evening 
 shadow, the sun, the moon, the stars, and all that 
 told of his Maker's love and invited to his Maker's 
 praise. Yet there was a want in his soul, a lov- 
 ing tendency God had implanted in his holy 
 nature, which needed other beings to love, and 
 to love him. "God saw it was not good for man 
 to be alone," and, therefore, he gave a human 
 companion to his bosom, and formed for him 
 that holy union from which all the relations of 
 life are derived. He did not change and adapt 
 the heart of man to these new ties, but ordained 
 
LOVE. 47 
 
 them because they were necessary to man's lov- 
 ing nature. 
 
 If it should be asked, Is not God a sufficient 
 object of all love? Was it necessary that the 
 human heart should have any other beside him, 
 to call into exercise all its pure affection ? there 
 is a ready answer. Love is an active principle; 
 and especially when stimulated by gratitude for 
 kindness received, as is the love of a holy being 
 for God, it must manifest itself by some proof or 
 return. When pent up in the heart, it produces 
 uneasiness and pain. Indeed, experience convinces 
 us, that the mere excitement of our sensibilities 
 without an opportunity of their going forth in 
 action, has a hurtful and hardening influence upon 
 the heart ; as is seen in those who love to weep 
 over tales and scenes of fictitious wo, yet steel 
 themselves against sympathy with real suffering. 
 The holy soul pours out its love in adoring thanks 
 to God ; but thanks are not enough. He would 
 do something to prove his affection. His inquiry 
 is, "What shall I render unto the Lord for all his 
 
48 LOVE. 
 
 benefits" towards me ? And were there none in 
 the universe to love but God, the answer would 
 be, Nothing but thanks. God already has all. 
 He is infinitely above wanting any thing to 
 increase his blessedness. All that we have is his, 
 and what we can give him is now his own. As 
 David sings, " my soul, thou hast said unto the 
 Lord, Thou art my Lord ; my goodness extendeth 
 not to thee;" (or as another translation has it, 
 "My goods are nothing to thee;") and then adds, 
 "but to the saints that are in the earth, and to the 
 excellent, in whom is all my delight." He could 
 bestow nothing upon God, but he could prove his 
 gratitude by kindness towards the children of God. 
 God has created other beings for us to love and 
 serve, that in so doing we may not only prove, but 
 cultivate and increase our love to himself. Thus 
 holy love to God is always accompanied by loving 
 kindness toward his creatures. The angels are 
 holy, and their delight has ever been in loving 
 God; yet adoration and praise is not all their 
 employment. They are "ministers of his, who do 
 
LOVE. 49 
 
 his pleasure;" "ministering spirits sent forth to 
 minister to the heirs of salvation ;" and they feel a 
 joy, above heaven's ordinary rapture, "over every 
 sinner that repenteth." The command to man, to 
 "love God with all his heart, and with all his 
 mind, and with all his strength," is followed by a 
 command to "love his neighbour as himself;" 
 which could not be, unless love to our neighbour 
 is included in love to God; for how else can 
 we give all our heart to God, and love ourselves 
 and our neighbour too? So one apostle says, 
 "Love is the fulfilling of the law;" and another, 
 "No man hath seen God at any time. If we love 
 one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is 
 perfected in us." In the various descriptions of 
 heaven, where the Christian will be perfectly holy 
 and happy in the love of God, the idea of a holy 
 society and communion with other holy intelli- 
 gences, is always introduced: "the spirits of just 
 men made perfect, and an innumerable company 
 of angels." Therefore, the apostle names "love" 
 as the first fruit of the Spirit's gracious work in 
 5 
 
50 LOVE. 
 
 restoring us to a holy perfection ; even that loving- 
 ness of spirit, which disposes us to love God, and 
 to love all, whom he has commanded us to love in 
 loving him. 
 
 A reference to the thirteenth chapter of 1 Corin- 
 thians will probably convince us, that this loving 
 disposition is what the apostle intends by charity. 
 There he tells us, that we may "speak with the 
 tongues of men and angels;" "may have the gift 
 of prophecy," and " understand all mysteries and 
 all knowledge;" may "bestow all our goods 
 to feed the poor ;" and give our bodies to mar- 
 tyrdom by fire ; yet be destitute of charity, and 
 have no part in the kingdom of God : but that 
 charity "suffereth long, and is kind; envieth 
 not; 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." Many and various effects 
 are thus attributed to charity ; so that charity is 
 
LOVE. 51 
 
 neither one, nor all of them, but the disposition 
 and temper of the soul which produces them all. 
 Therefore he adds, " charity never faileth." It is 
 a holy, abiding and vigorous spirit, which rules 
 the whole man, ever directing him to the humble 
 and loving fulfilment of all his duties to God and 
 men. 
 
 This loving temper we can have only so far as 
 we are sanctified by the power of the Holy Ghost, 
 enabling us to perceive, and converting us to love 
 and obey the truth. This is taught in all those 
 passages which declare that the perfection of obe- 
 dience is in love. As the apostle to Timothy, 
 "Now the end of the commandment is charity, 
 out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and 
 of faith unfeigned;" and again to the Colossians, 
 "Above all things put on charity, which is the 
 bond of perfectness," not only combining together 
 and perfecting all Christian virtues, but also mak- 
 ing the society of men or angels perfect. Heaven, 
 where all shall be holy and blessed, is described 
 as a place of perfect love ; and the nearest approach 
 
52 LOVE. 
 
 we can make to the enjoyment of heaven upon 
 earth, is the enjoyment of this charity in our souls; 
 for, says the beloved apostle, "He that dwelleth 
 in love, dwelleth in God and God in him ;" and 
 what higher idea can we have of heaven, than that 
 there we shall be happy in the presence and com- 
 munion of God? It is taught yet more fully in 
 that short but wonderful sentence, which the loving 
 disciple loved to repeat, "God is love." Nowhere 
 do we find it said that God is wisdom, though he 
 is omniscient ; or that he is power, though he is 
 almighty; or that he is justice, though he is 
 infinitely just. These are attributes to the Divine 
 nature ; but love is the Divine character itself, the 
 perfection of the infinite God. When God made 
 man in his own image, he made him a being of 
 peace and holy love ; and the Holy Spirit, in re- 
 storing man to this moral likeness of God, can do 
 it only by restoring him to this loving spirit. 
 Hence, when the apostle names together "faith, 
 and hope, and charity," he tells us that charity is 
 the greatest of the three ; because, though faith 
 
LOVE. 53 
 
 mates us acquainted with such a portion of the 
 wisdom of God as we are here able to receive ; 
 and hope is the expectation of certain good from 
 the hand of that God, with whom faith makes us 
 acquainted ; it is love, which makes our moral like- 
 ness to him. Faith and hope are the handmaids 
 of charity, who bring her glad tidings of God's 
 glory, and truth, and promise, that she may rejoice 
 yet more in him and in his blessed service. They 
 are the golden conduits through which the love of 
 heaven flows to the soul on earth. Nay, they are 
 the wings of love, upon which she lifts herself 
 above every meaner thing, and flies upward to the 
 bosom of God. Yet are they but the means, love 
 alone is the end. They shall fail in the light and 
 fruition of God's blessed presence ; but charity 
 will never fail, and throughout eternity will strike 
 her harp, and swell the song of all whom the love 
 of God has washed white in the blood of the 
 Lamb. 
 
 This charity must be the effect of the Spirit's 
 work in sanctifying the heart through the truth ; 
 5* 
 
54 LOVE. 
 
 for as none are holy except those who are heartily 
 and unreservedly obedient unto God, none can be 
 truly obedient to him except those who truly love 
 him and delight in his truth. For, certainly, that 
 outward worship and seeming service, in which the 
 heart is not found, can be nothing better than in- 
 sult to God, who looks not on our outward coun- 
 tenance or actions, but upon the thoughts and 
 intents of the heart. If we do not approve in our 
 souls of the commandments he has given us, we 
 may seem to comply with them from a dread of 
 his wrath, but there is rebellion in the soul, a 
 doubting of the wisdom of the Lawgiver, and a 
 willingness, if we dared, to throw off his authority 
 altogether. And, as our duty to men is but a part 
 of our duty to God, the same want of charity will, 
 in God's holy sight, blast all our pretences to vir- 
 tue in our conduct towards them. When, how- 
 ever, the soul has been taught by the Holy Spirit, 
 and is truly convinced that the truth of God is 
 perfect wisdom, that all his ways are just and good, 
 that his every commandment is a law of love, and 
 
LOVE. 5b 
 
 all his promises are "yea and amen in Christ 
 Jesus ;" every revelation of God's attributes, every 
 act of his providence, every precept of his will, and 
 every assurance of his love, calls forth its love to 
 him, and urges it willingly along the path of duty. 
 When this instruction is complete, the love of the 
 soul will be perfect, its obedience perfect, and its 
 blessedness perfect. The sanctified man will find 
 all his delight in God and his service, for he will 
 have no motive, and, therefore, no inclination to 
 sin ; while the love of God towards him, in thus 
 giving him a knowledge of Himself, guiding him 
 in the way of life, and assuring him of His favour, 
 will, the more he contemplates it, increase his 
 affection and zeal. 
 
 Thus satisfied with the riches of the love of God, 
 he will be lifted above all temptation to offend 
 against his fellow men. What is it that produces 
 wrong against others, but a love of those things 
 which God has forbidden, because they are hurt- 
 ful? "From whence come wars and fightings 
 among you ? Come they not from hence, even of 
 
56 LOVE. 
 
 your lusts, which war in your members," (else- 
 where called u fleshly lusts,") which war against 
 the soul ? When the soul is filled with love and 
 delight in God, it will never contend or quarrel 
 for such things. He, who has the friendship of 
 God, can suffer no real injury. Therefore, though 
 called to bear injustice from his fellow men, he 
 regards it as part of God's discipline of his spirit ; 
 and he " suffers long" and patiently, bearing no ill 
 will against his enemies, but is " kind" and gentle 
 in return. He is contented with the lot, which 
 the God he loves and who loves him, has assigned ; 
 and " envieth not" the superior fortune of any in 
 this world ; while he is so persuaded of the inex- 
 haustible riches of God's blessing, that he would 
 have the whole universe share it with him. The 
 glory of the holy and Divine object of his love, 
 humbles him to a deep, but not painful, sense of 
 his own inferior nature ; and he " vaunteth not 
 himself," nor is " puffed up" with pride, but gives 
 to God all the glory of all his worthiness. Ever 
 impressed with a sense of the Divine Presence, 
 
LOVE. 57 
 
 and fearful of offending a Being in whose approba- 
 tion is his delight, he "behaveth" himself "not 
 unseemly" before the world, but with that un- 
 feigned courtesy which love and modesty always 
 teaches. Nay, bent upon the better riches which 
 await him beyond this life, he " seeketh not his 
 own ;" and is content to suffer the loss of worldly 
 good, rather than have the serenity of his temper 
 ruffled, and his love for his neighbour weakened. 
 Therefore, he is not " easily provoked ;" trifles 
 cannot disturb him; nor will he be continually 
 suspicious, but rather " thinketh no evil," from 
 very abhorrence of all that would pollute the pure 
 fountain of his thoughts ; while he " rejoiceth in 
 the truth," because he loves to reflect its holy light 
 from his soul. Thus he " beareth all things" with 
 patience and resignation ; " believeth all things," 
 with the candour of a pure and unsuspecting mind ; 
 and "hopeth all things," because he loves and 
 longs only for that which is good. 
 
 Ah ! we say, How difficult is such a charity in 
 such a world as this ! But it is not more difficult 
 
58 LOVE. 
 
 than godliness, and were our love of God perfect, 
 our love to man would be perfect also. Yet, cou- 
 rage ! believer, when " that which is perfect is 
 come," this imperfection " will be done away." 
 In heaven all will be holy,, " The wicked will 
 cease from troubling." Sin will be found neither 
 in our companions nor ourselves ; and universal 
 charity, without a check or hindrance, will bind 
 the holy family together and to God. Here our 
 love to God, and our love to man flowing from it, 
 is imperfect, because our knowledge is imperfect. 
 "We " see through a glass darkly." We " know 
 but in part." But when " we know even as we 
 are known," our charity shall be perfect as our 
 knowledge. Until that blessed heaven be opened 
 for our entrance, the strength of our faith can only 
 be known by the strength of our love, and the 
 increase of our faith by the increase of our love ; 
 for " the fruit of the Spirit is love." 
 
 We should, then, be ever mindful, that without 
 a loving spirit to God and man, we have no evi- 
 dence that we have received the renewing grace 
 
LOVE. 59 
 
 of the Holy Ghost. It is not enough that we have 
 knowledge, for the stripes of the unfaithful servant 
 who knew his master's will, were many more than 
 his who knew it not. " Knowledge puffeth up," 
 saith the apostle, " charity edifieth." Knowledge 
 without charity, is nothing better than worthless 
 wind, which blows us up into a great conceit of 
 ourselves, making us arrogant towards men, and 
 presumptuous towards God, and so hateful to both. 
 But knowledge, used by charity, builds us fairly 
 and firmly upon the true foundation Christ Jesus, 
 until we become a perfect temple for the habita- 
 tion of God through the Spirit. The man of mere 
 knowledge is, at best, like that fig tree which our 
 Lord saw between Jerusalem and Bethany, making 
 a rare show of leaves from a distance, yet barren 
 of all fruit when 'we come near to get good; and, 
 like that tree, he will be accursed by the judgment 
 of Jesus. But the man of charity, who grows in 
 grace as he grows in knowledge, is like the tree 
 " planted by the rivers of water," not only fair in 
 the garniture of foliage, but " yielding its fruit, in 
 
60 LOVE. 
 
 its season," and, therefore, worthy of a place m 
 the garden of the Lord. 
 
 It is not enough that we have zeal ; for all zeal 
 that flows not from charity, is but a mixture of 
 pride and ambition, intolerance and censorious- 
 ness. We may call it, as Jehu did his, a zeal for 
 the Lord ; but the end shows it to be a zeal for 
 ourselves,* that men might admire us in the Church, 
 as they do heroes in the field. Even martyrdom, 
 " the giving of our bodies to be burned," is then 
 nothing more than an obstinate courage, such as 
 has often distinguished the worst men in the worst 
 causes. Party spirit and sectarian bigotry, like 
 their father the devil, may often assume the form 
 of angels of light, and deceive men, but they can- 
 not deceive God ; and, like every other lying coun- 
 terfeit of goodness, will bring shame and contempt 
 upon all who put them in the place of love to God 
 and man. The fire of true zeal is the fire of love 
 come down from heaven, a pure and hurtless flame, 
 which burns to warm, to cherish, and to bless ; 
 but that which shows itself in rancorous contro- 
 
LOVE. 61 
 
 versy and bitter recriminations, was kindled in 
 hell, and burns to torture and destroy. 
 
 Nor is external practice of any kind enough to 
 prove our gracious state. The character of an 
 act is found only in the motive ; and charity, as 
 we have seen, in the loving disposition of the soul. 
 There is scarcely any outward conduct required by 
 the Gospel, which we might not imitate from very 
 selfishness. How often has ostentation worn the 
 garb of benevolence, ambition called itself public 
 spirit, and secret hate deluded its victim by honied 
 courtesies ! And in these days, when the beautiful 
 morality of religion is so much lauded, what guise 
 of selfishness so specious as that of piety ! We 
 may not be conscious of the hypocrisy ; for such 
 is the deceitfulness of sin, and the willingness of 
 the heart to be deceived into good opinions of it- 
 self, that nothing but the light of God, can detect 
 and discover to ourselves our true character ; but 
 we have this certain rule, that which is not love is 
 sin. 
 
 Only so far as our hearts are filled with love, 
 6 
 
62 LOVE. 
 
 are they filled with grace. Every thought of 
 discontent with our lot, or dissatisfaction with 
 God's commandments; every thought, of ill-will, 
 dislike or envy, nay every thought, which is not 
 love and peacefulness, is a witness against us that 
 our sanctification is incomplete. Let us then 
 search the dark corners of our hearts, and cast 
 out from them all but love; for, until they are 
 filled with love, they cannot be filled with God ; 
 because God is love. 
 
 While we believe that neither knowledge, nor 
 zeal, nor outward practice, can avail us any thing, 
 without charity, let us remember, that true charity 
 is wrought in the heart by the Holy Ghost 
 through the truth, and will manifest itself by 
 loving acts. It is a fruit of the Spirit, and a quality 
 to which we cannot attain without his influence. 
 Therefore, if we would grow in love, we must 
 seek the aid of the loving Sanctifier, who has been 
 promised unto us by our blessed Lord. God is 
 willing to bestow the Spirit upon those who ask 
 him, and we should ask with the earnestness of 
 
LOVE. 63 
 
 those who pray for life. But we should not be 
 satisfied with asking. We must prepare and open 
 our hearts for his indwelling, by laying aside all 
 that may displease his holy sight, " all malice and 
 all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies and evil 
 speakings." For if it be true, that the Lord will 
 not hear those who "regard iniquity in their 
 hearts," how certainly will he resent as an insult, a 
 prayer for the spirit of love, from one who is 
 cherishing the remembrance of some silly quarrel 
 or petty afiront ! 
 
 The means of the Spirit's communication to the 
 soul, is the word of God. It is only through the 
 truth that we can hope to be sanctified ; therefore 
 should we, with the simplicity of children, study 
 the records of grace. "As new-born babes," we 
 must " desire the sincere (pure) milk of the word, 
 that we may grow thereby." As we read and 
 meditate upon its holy pages, the beauty of the 
 Divine character will beam upon our souls, and 
 beatify them by its light ; faith will bring us near 
 to the bosom of Him who hath loved us with an 
 
64 LOVE. 
 
 everlasting love ; and hope will drink in the future 
 blessedness of a heavenly life. Cheerfully, then, 
 shall we descend from the Tabor of heavenly com- 
 munion, and the Pisgah of heavenly vision, to 
 w r alk the path of love which leads to our eternal 
 home. 
 
 Such love will always manifest itself. Our 
 blessed Lord, the perfect example of charity, 
 whose footsteps every true child of God must 
 follow, found it " his meat and his drink to do the 
 will of his heavenly Father," and "went about 
 doing good." The excellence of Job's character 
 was, that " the cause he had not known he search- 
 ed out." He, who is indifferent to the welfare of 
 others, may chance to have few claims of charity 
 obtruded upon his notice; but no truly charita- 
 ble spirit need ever be at a loss, in such a world 
 as this, for occasions to do good, and we may be 
 sure that we are unfaithful if we be ignorant of 
 them. True charity waits not for opportunities, 
 but goes to seek them ; and when there is a 
 will, God will always point out the way. The best 
 
LOVE. 65 
 
 study of the will of God is the practice of it, for 
 Christ says, " if any man will do His will, he shall 
 know of the doctrine." God loves such willing 
 scholars, and loves to teach them ; and they that 
 walk in love will find their path to be " brighter 
 and brighter unto the perfect day." 
 
 6* 
 
in. 
 
 JOY. 
 
 Joy is that lively pleasure of the soul which 
 we feel in the possession of present good, or the 
 certain expectation of good in the future. Thus, 
 when a man has actually obtained what he had 
 desired, and which yields him delight, we say he 
 enjoys it:; and when we receive news of approach- 
 ing happiness, we call it joyful news. 
 
 There is a false joy, derived from a mistaken 
 estimate of that which is really worthless, or in- 
 sufficient of itself to yield us happiness. The joy 
 which men have in the perishing and deceitful 
 pleasures of this world, like the mirth of the 
 
 67 
 
68 joy. 
 
 drunkard, has its end in sorrow. It is 
 
 "like to the apples on the Dead Sea's shore* 
 All ashes to the taste." 
 
 Solomon compares it to the burning of thorny 
 making much crackling, and some smoke, but no 
 abiding heat. 
 
 The joy here spoken of is a real joy. It is a 
 fruit of the Spirit. The renewed man has been 
 taught to see the difference between true and 
 counterfeit good. He loves God and holy living, 
 because he is convinced that "godliness is great 
 gain ;" and he rejoices in the assurances of faith 
 that godliness is his. The more godly he is, the 
 more joy he has. Nothing interferes with his joy 
 but sin. It flows from God, like water from the 
 fountain, pure, though sin may embitter and dis- 
 colour it. It shines like light from the Sun of 
 Righteousness, though sin may so sully the win- 
 dows of the soul through which it passes, as to 
 dim its brightness. 
 
joy. 69 
 
 Christian joy can come only from God. The 
 renewed man knows he is a sinner, and that the 
 " wages of sin is death ;" and he hates sin, not 
 only because of its future punishment, but because 
 of its present pollution, and of its ofiensiveness in 
 the sight of the God he loves. God, by his 
 blessed Spirit, through the truth, reveals to him 
 the promise of pardon for his guilt, and deliver- 
 ance from his sinfulness. He is filled with joy. 
 He is joyful in his escape from eternal death. He 
 is joyful in the assurance of grace to live a holy 
 life. He is joyful in the hope of heavenly bless- 
 edness. 
 
 He is joyful in the knowledge of God. A true 
 ear has delight in perfect harmony. A true eye 
 has delight in perfect proportion. So does a true 
 and holy soul delight in God. He delights to 
 contemplate infinite power directed by infinite 
 wisdom, infinite wisdom directed by infinite good- 
 ness, and infinite mercy directed by infinite truth. 
 He delights in the impress of this Divine perfection 
 upon all the works of the Creator, where sin has 
 
10 JOY. 
 
 not clouded their beauty or shattered their form. 
 He thinks of the world as God made it, as it was 
 when the golden light of the primeval morning 
 discovered nothing but loveliness, and innocence, 
 and peace ; and he partakes of the joy of Him 
 who looked upon " every thing that he had made, 
 and behold, it was very good." 
 
 He delights in the knowledge that the Creator 
 is the God of providence and of grace ; and that, 
 though now sin seems to rule, there is a mighty 
 purpose in Christ, working through all and over 
 all, to bring forth a new and more glorious crea- 
 tion, a new heaven and a new earth, from which 
 sin, and all that tempts to sin, shall be utterly 
 cast out, that eternal righteousness may dwell in 
 them, and God again pronounce them very good. 
 
 He delights in the display of Divine perfection 
 by the Divine law. "Thy testimonies," saith 
 David to his God, " are the rejoicing of my heart." 
 And again, "Thy statutes have been my songs in 
 the house of my pilgrimage." To him, who has 
 not been enlightened to know, and converted to 
 
JOY. 71 
 
 love the wisdom of holiness, God's command- 
 ments are grievous, because they come in the 
 way of his desires, and threaten vengeance upon 
 his sins. But the renewed soul loves God's laws, 
 for the same reason that he loves God, because 
 they are holy. Every precept of God is to him a 
 direction in the way of happiness, and reveals the 
 beauty of the Divine government ; and, therefore, 
 every discovery of the Divine will is an occasion 
 of joy. His dissatisfaction is not with the strict- 
 ness of the law, but with himself for coming short 
 of it ; and he desires that he may be sanctified to 
 its entire obedience, not that the law may be 
 reduced to the level of his ability. 
 
 He delights especially in the Divine perfection 
 as made known in the Gospel of Christ. The 
 riches of the wisdom of Divine grace awaken 
 his liveliest admiration. To know, that God so 
 loved the world, as to give his only begotten 
 Son, for the salvation of sinners; to know, that 
 the same justice which requires the punishment 
 of the transgressor, approves and assures the 
 
72 joy.' 
 
 pardon of the penitent; to know, that by the 
 dwelling of God in onr flesh as Christ the Me- 
 diator, God is brought nigh to all Christ's people, 
 and all Christ's people nigh to God; to know, 
 that the same Holy Spirit which, as the power of 
 God, effected creation, and sustained the humanity 
 of Jesus in his work, is promised to dwell in him, 
 to renew him to a holy life, and sustain him in 
 the blessedness of obedience ; to know, that God 
 the Creator, Governor, and Judge, is his God, his 
 Redeemer, Sanctifier, and loving Father ; to know, 
 that while on earth he may have through Christ 
 the Spirit his "conversation in heaven," holding 
 "fellowship with the Father and his Son Jesus 
 Christ," and that all things, even his trials and 
 sorrows, are working together for his eternal good, 
 according to the omnipotent purpose of God's 
 adopting love ; to know, that when the few years 
 of his pilgrimage are passed, he has an eternal 
 and holy home in his Father's house, where he 
 shall rejoice with all the redeemed family, and the 
 innumerable company of angels who have never 
 
JOY. 73 
 
 sinned ; and to know, that all this has been ac- 
 complished for him, and secured to him, without 
 one shadow being cast upon the Divine attributes; 
 but that, on the contrary, the character of his 
 adorable God has received from his salvation a 
 new lustre, and that the holy intelligences 
 throughout the universe will admire and glorify 
 the King of salvation, as throughout eternity they 
 behold the redeemed sinner growing in holy 
 beauty and heavenly beauty ; — to know all this, 
 must fill him with joy unspeakable and full of 
 glory. Well, therefore is the Gospel called, Glad 
 tidings of great joy. No wonder that Abraham 
 rejoiced to see the day of salvation, though afar 
 off, and was glad! No wonder that Isaiah was 
 rapt in an ecstacy, and cried, "How beautiful 
 upon the mountains are the feet of him that 
 bringeth good tidings ! Break forth into joy, sing 
 together, ye waste places of Jerusalem, for the 
 Lord hath comforted his people." No wonder, 
 that the converts of the Pentecost eat the bread of 
 salvation "with gladness and singleness of heart," 
 
 7 
 
 
74 JOY. 
 
 and wherever the Gospel went there was "great 
 joy in that place !" No wonder, the apostle's glad 
 command to all his believing brethren, was, " Re- 
 joice in the Lord alway, and again I say, Re- 
 joice !" 
 
 With such joy in his heart, the Christian finds 
 on every hand, and at all times, occasion to show 
 it 'forth. Wherever he is, God is his Saviour and 
 his Friend. Whatever happens to him, is God's 
 gracious will concerning him. Even when Pro- 
 vidence is dark and mysterious, and his afflictions 
 for the present seem not joyous but grievous, there 
 is an awful joy, a reverent and sublime exultation 
 in the thought, that though " clouds and darkness 
 may be round about his God, righteousness and 
 judgment are the habitation of his throne." Every 
 thing calls upon him to be glad. The sun, when 
 he rejoices in the morning, u as a strong man to 
 run his race ;" the moon and the stars, as " they 
 tell of the glory of God, and show forth his handi- 
 work;" the spring, with its budding promises; 
 the summer, with its mellowing plenty; and the 
 
joy. 75 
 
 autumn, with its garnered stores ; even winter hath 
 its benedictions around the social fireside, while 
 the memory of summer and the hope of spring are 
 heightened by its gloom. All the voices of nature 
 are glad, for they speak of God. All the events of 
 life should be joyous, for they are ordered by his 
 hand. Nay, there is not a path which the Chris- 
 tian is called to tread, which the Saviour walked 
 not in his way, through our life, to his heavenly 
 glory. There is not a footstep he is called to take 
 which is not marked by the blessed feet of God in- 
 carnate. Thorns and thistles are strow r n thick, 
 but they are only to remind him that this is not 
 his rest, and quicken his eager zeal to reach his 
 sinless and joyous home. 
 
 The Christian finds a joy in his obedience. It 
 was a noble discovery of heathen wisdom, that 
 virtue is the highest good, because it is its own 
 reward. (Alas, that they knew not what virtue 
 is !) The language of Scripture, the experience 
 of the faithful angels, the blessedness of God him- 
 self, all assure us that happiness is only to be 
 
76 JOY. 
 
 found in holiness, and holiness in the creature is 
 obedience to the commands of the Creator. They 
 are the ways which infinite wisdom has marked 
 out for us, and, therefore, are ways of pleasantness 
 and peace. Heaven is the place of perfect blessed- 
 ness, because it is the place of perfect holiness. 
 We can be happy on earth only so far as we are 
 holy ; and so far as we are holy we must be happy. 
 So the Christian finds it. Every duty which he 
 successfully attempts yields him joy. He has a 
 satisfaction more lively than mere contentment, 
 when he has fulfilled the will of his heavenly 
 Father ; and this joy increases in proportion to 
 the difficulty of the service. If his lower nature, 
 the sinful world, the tempting devil, have opposed 
 his purpose, but opposed it in vain, he has the joy 
 of conquest, a joy well worth the sweat, and tears, 
 and struggle that it cost. The joys of sin, though 
 they may be easily won, are always dashed with 
 bitterness ; the joys of obedience, like every thing 
 else that is precious, are not gained without an 
 effort, but yield rich reward in the end. " Thou 
 
J O Y. 11 
 
 hast," said one that was faithful, " put gladness in 
 my heart more than in the time when their corn 
 and their wine increased." His joy was in his 
 heart ; and though vintage and harvest should fail, 
 it would not. His joy no man could take from 
 him, and with it no stranger could intermeddle. 
 Therefore has he left for us the safe counsel, " Of- 
 fer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your 
 trust in the Lord." The self-approval of the 
 honest man, in the midst of poverty, is better than 
 all the riches of the knave, who lives in constant 
 dread of detection, and despises himself for his 
 own baseness. The calmness of disciplined pas- 
 sion is better than all the excesses of lust, which 
 grows with what it feeds upon ; so that one calls a 
 sensual liver " a deep ditch," filthy, but ever with 
 room for more filthiness. The health, the cool- 
 ness, and the mental soundness of temperance, are 
 better than all the mad joys of the drunkard, 
 which fever, and blast, and madden both body and 
 soul. 
 
 Then what a joy there is in benevolence ! What 
 
78 joy. 
 
 a happy consciousness in having done good to a 
 fellow creature ! The miser may gloat over his 
 gold, wrung perhaps from broken hearts, certainly 
 withheld from suffering wretchedness ; the osten- 
 tatious voluptuary may walk through his sumptuous 
 rooms, roll proudly in his gay equipage, or feast 
 his parasites at his groaning board ; the ambitious 
 man may trample upon the necks of his victims, 
 that he may reach the cold, sharp, solitary pin- 
 nacle of worldly power : but avarice, and luxury, 
 and rank can yield no such pleasures as the good 
 man feels, when he has wiped the tears from the 
 widow's and the orphan's eye, and caused their 
 hearts to sing for joy : when he has poured out 
 the oil and balm of his sympathy into some bleed- 
 ing bosom, brought back some wanderer from 
 virtue into the way of peace, or cheered some 
 darkened spirit with the light of life from the Gos- 
 pel of the blessed God. " The joy of doing good," 
 says a Persian poet, "is like the breeze of the 
 evening to the cheek parched by the heat of the 
 desert." Earth has no joy like it, for it admits 
 
joy. 79 
 
 the believer to a share in the blessedness of the 
 good God. It was the comfort of the Redeemer 
 throughout his life of sorrows. By night he 
 cheered his soul in communion with God, by day 
 in going about doing good. It is the joy of 
 heaven, for the blessed angels love no happiness 
 so well as ministering in Christ's name to the heirs 
 of salvation. Every opportunity of doing good is 
 like a well of refreshing waters, opened by Divine 
 love in the Baca of our pilgrimage. 
 
 Nor is this all the joy the Christian finds in 
 doing good. He rejoices that he finds in it proofs 
 of God's sanctifying love. It is the fruit of the 
 Spirit; the gracious manifestation that God is 
 dwelling in him; that his natural corruption has 
 received some check ; that his infirm purposes 
 have been made successful by Divine power ; and 
 that the tide of his affections has been turned from 
 the ebb of evil to the flood of good. He rejoices 
 that he is thus permitted, by the grace of the 
 Holy Ghost, to make some returns of gratitude 
 unto God, which will be acceptable to his heavenly 
 
80 joy. 
 
 Father through Christ Jesus ; and that God will 
 approve, for the sake of the same blessed Jesus, 
 his every act of service with eternal reward when 
 he rests from his labours, and his good works fol- 
 low him into his heavenly heritage. Therefore it 
 was, that the prophet of the Lord declared, in a 
 day of gladness to the people, "The joy of the 
 Lord is your strength." It is the joy which obe- 
 dience yields, which confirms and animates the 
 believer in his duties, and for the same reason it is 
 continually increasing, because it increases obe- 
 dience. 
 
 They, who shrink from duty, will find Christ's 
 yoke galling, and his burden oppressive. Every 
 one who, like Jonah, attempts to fly from the obe- 
 dience God enjoins, will, like Jonah, find himself 
 in the deep waters. When the world is permitted 
 to contend with the Spirit of God in the heart, 
 there will be (unless, grieved and offended, the 
 Holy One abandons it) the noise, the disquietude, 
 and the wounds of conflict. To attempt the ser- 
 vice of two masters must, at the best, be a fatiguing 
 
JOY. 81 
 
 and anxious thing ; and so the lukewarm, the sloth- 
 ful, or worldly-minded Christian will know nothing 
 of spiritual joy. But the obedient soul shall be 
 made glad. " Light is sown for the righteous, and 
 joy for the upright in heart." Every act of faith- 
 ful obedience is seed sown, which will bring forth 
 a harvest of light and joy. He who walks like his 
 Master, doing good on earth in his way to heaven, 
 will'" drink of the rivers of God's pleasures," and 
 taste the grapes of Canaan even in the desert. 
 
 Is it asked, how is this joy consistent with the 
 sadness of repentance, sorrow for the sins of 
 others who keep not God's holy law, and grief 
 for the dishonour of God's most holy name? 
 There may seem to the unsanctified soul a para- 
 dox in this, and misconception of the truth has led 
 many to think that religion is a sad and gloomy 
 thing, and to prefer the gaiety of the world to the 
 soberness of piety. But a few words will set the 
 honest inquirer right. 
 
 Repentance is a sad thing. We must be sad, 
 when we think of our sinful infamy, of the un- 
 
 
82 joy. 
 
 grateful wrongs we have done the love of God, 
 and the sorrows that it cost our Lord to purchase 
 our redemption. The Christian weeps over his 
 sins, the broken law of God, and the sufferings 
 of Jesus. But religion only shows us the cause 
 of such sorrow. The cause itself is sin. The 
 Spirit probes and lays open the heart which sin 
 has ulcerated, that He may cleanse, and dress, and 
 heal it. Were the plague permitted to remain 
 hidden, it would spread its poison through the 
 whole nature, and bring on the agonies of eternal 
 death. The probing may give pain, and the 
 cautery anguish, yet the balm which is afterward 
 applied is sweet and soothing. The joys of the 
 world bring sorrow, but the sorrows of repentance 
 are full of joy. If it be bitter anguish to know we 
 are sinners, is it not unspeakable joy to know that 
 we are saved by grace ? If the soul shudder at 
 the sight of the hell it deserves, will it not exult 
 in the hope of the heaven which is promised ? If 
 it weep over the sorrows of Jesus on the cross, 
 will it not rejoice to know that he is lifted up on 
 
joy. 83 
 
 his throne, the glorified and triumphant Saviour 
 of all who love him? If it lament to see the 
 wrongs done to God's holy law, will it not be 
 glad to see all those wrongs more than covered 
 by the righteousness of Jesus ? The obstinate and 
 sulky child, that resists its parent's will, is indeed 
 unhappy ; but what a blessed relief it finds in the 
 tears he weeps upon his parent's bosom, as he 
 sobs out his confession, and knows he is for- 
 given ! 
 
 Repentance is a sad thing. It is hard to break 
 through all the sinful habits we have loved, and to 
 deny ourselves what fallen nature craves. It is 
 hard to attempt duties we have never practised, 
 and in which we are opposed by the world, the 
 flesh, and the devil. The Christian's work may 
 seem yet more hard to those, who see him for- 
 saking the pleasures and pursuits in which they 
 place all their happiness. But the renewed heart 
 is more than consoled by the full conviction that 
 all it leaves is sin, and all it seeks is holiness. 
 Self-denial may be hard at the moment, but the 
 
84 joy. 
 
 believer knows that it is life and health in the end. 
 Chastisement loses its pain, when he is assured by 
 it of his Father's love. He has " meat to eat that 
 the world knows not of." What the world thinks 
 to be pain, he thinks pleasure; what the world 
 thinks pleasure, he thinks pain. " The objection," 
 as good Bishop Home says, " turns out, as all 
 other objections do, to the advantage of the Gospel 
 which resembles a fine country in the spring sea- 
 son, when the very hedges are in bloom, and every 
 thorn produces a flower." 
 
 Besides, we are to remember, that though god- 
 liness has some profit in this life, the great harvest 
 of it is in eternity ; so, even if it be true, that the 
 Christian in this world, is of all men the most 
 miserable, his joyful hope of heavenly glory is well 
 worth the loss of a few pleasures here. For which 
 is better, a few years of silly mirth with an eternity 
 of anguish, or a few years of anguish with an 
 eternity of joy ? To be cured of sin-sickness we 
 must take bitter medicine ; but better take it and 
 live for ever, than refuse it and die for ever. Yet, 
 
joy. 85 
 
 if we look around us, it is not so certain that the 
 Christian is the least happy man. The world may 
 have more show of gaiety, but his calm, clear eye, 
 though it be washed with tears, reveals a better 
 joy within. 
 
 It is a sad thing to look upon the wickedness 
 of men, to see them dishonouring God's word, and 
 going on in the way to death. So sad, that Jere- 
 miah had not tears enough for it, but wished his 
 eyes were fountains, and his head waters, that he 
 might " weep day and night for the slain of the 
 daughter of his people." Yet have we not reason 
 to rejoice, that the Lord has his cause in his own 
 hand, and will vindicate his power and his truth ? 
 The wicked shall not prevail against him, and his 
 salvation shall increase until all nations call him 
 blessed, "The Lord reigneth, let the earth re- 
 joice." 
 
 It is a sad thing to see wicked men going down 
 
 to eternal death, especially when they are near and 
 
 dear to our hearts, and, therefore, should we pray 
 
 earnestly, and with tears, that they may be turned 
 
 8 
 
86 joy. 
 
 from the error of their way and live. But it 
 would be far worse, if God were robbed of his 
 justice, so that the wicked might go unpunished. 
 If God were to take no note of the wicked, where 
 would be the peace and safety of his universe? 
 Therefore, says David, "Let the heavens rejoice, 
 and let the earth be glad . . . before the Lord: 
 for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth : 
 he will judge the world in righteousness, and the 
 people with his truth." Sorrow for the trans- 
 gressor, who suffers justly under the law, is not 
 inconsistent with joy that we live under a right- 
 eous and holy government. The angels in heaven 
 rejoice before God, even when they see the wrath 
 of his justice against his rebel subjects ; and so 
 shall we, when we are permitted to join them, 
 though it may seem above our pitch now. 
 
 In heaven our joy will be full. Here, a salutary 
 sorrow must mingle with it. But there, even re- 
 pentance will have lost its sadness. How can that 
 be ? How can the redeemed saint remember his 
 sins, and look upon the Saviour whom he has 
 
joy. 87 
 
 pierced, and not weep ? " We know not now, 
 but," by God's grace, " we shall know hereafter." 
 
 Joy, spiritual joy, is thus not only a privilege 
 but a duty. It is a certain fruit of that Spirit, 
 which renews unto holiness. " The kingdom of 
 God is not meat and drink ; but righteousness and 
 peace and joy in the Holy Ghost." Our Saviour 
 taught his Gospel to his disciples, that his "joy 
 might remain in them, and that their joy might be 
 full." 
 
 Such is the experience of all true believers. 
 The man that found the pearl of great price, " for 
 joy went and sold all that he had" to bfay it. 
 How did the Old Testament saints, though they 
 had but the twilight of the day of salvation, re- 
 joice in God? David is not satisfied with being 
 glad himself, but would have all rejoice with him, 
 even the mountains and the sea. The apostles, 
 too, though in the midst of tribulation, rejoiced as 
 one of them expresses it, " with joy unspeakable 
 and full of glory." The apostle Paul makes it as 
 much a duty to rejoice as to pray ; nay, he puts 
 
88 joy. 
 
 rejoicing first. "Rejoice evermore. Pray with- 
 out ceasing. In every thing give thanks ; for this 
 is the will of God concerning you." 
 
 How can we love God, and know that he loves 
 us, and not be glad ? How can we trust in God, 
 and know that he is our Father and our Friend, 
 and not be glad? How can we believe in the 
 infinite merits of the Saviour he has provided for 
 us, and not be glad ? How can we serve him wil- 
 lingly with our whole heart, and not find joy in 
 obedience ? How can we think of the hell from 
 which we are rescued, and the heaven to which 
 we are destined, and not rejoice greatly ? To be 
 destitute of spiritual joy is to be without love, 
 without gratitude, without submission, without 
 confidence, and without hope. Every true Chris- 
 tian, who has " Christ formed in his heart, the 
 hope of glory," should say with Mary, when she 
 felt that she was to be the mother of Jesus, " My 
 soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath 
 rejoiced in God my Saviour." 
 
 It is the service of such a spirit that God loves. 
 
joy. 89 
 
 "Thou meetest him that rejoiceth, and worketh 
 righteousness." "The Lord loveth a cheerful 
 giver." He insists that the Sabbath is to be our 
 delight. Nothing can offend him more than to 
 call that sacrifice which he requires in mercy. 
 
 Our joy should be continually increasing. The 
 new convert may have a more sudden rapture, but 
 the growing Christian has a more steady and deep- 
 ening joy. The stream may leap more near the 
 fountain, because it is more shallow ; but as it ex- 
 pands, it flows more noiselessly, because more full. 
 It is the knowledge of God, and trust in his grace, 
 which awakens the believer's joy ; so, as he grows 
 in knowledge and in grace, will he grow in joy. 
 There may be occasional shadows, and perhaps 
 darkness, when sins rise up to shut out the sun- 
 light of the Gospel; but, when the heart is up- 
 turned to God, and sin is banished from it, it must 
 lie in brightness. It is a bad sign of our progress 
 in the Divine life, when our joy increases not. It 
 shows that we do not learn the truth as we ought 
 to do, for the loving heart " rejoiceth in the truth." 
 8* 
 
90 joy. 
 
 It shows that we do not pray as we ought to do, 
 for the Master has commanded us to " ask, and re- 
 ceive, that our joy may be full." It shows that 
 we are not faithful in obedience, as we should be, 
 for it is the delight of the faithful to do God's 
 will. 
 
 This joy should be manifest. The Christian 
 should never forget that he is a witness for Christ, 
 and an example of Christ's religion. What a libel 
 upon Christianity it is to be sad ! What a con- 
 tradiction for one to wear a gloomy countenance, 
 yet profess to have God in his heart ! No wonder 
 the world stumbles at such inconsistency. Our 
 Saviour taught his disciples, even when they 
 fasted, not to wear a sad countenance, as the 
 hypocrites do, but rather to appear unto men not 
 to fast ; which seems to intimate that gloom and 
 hypocrisy generally go together. Socrates thought 
 u the thanksgivings of the Lacedemonians more 
 acceptable to God, than all the sacrifices of the 
 other Greeks ;" and nothing will be more likely to 
 gain attention from the world to religion, than 
 
JOY. 91 
 
 proof in the lives of its serious professors that it 
 makes men happier than sin. 
 
 " Let us then be glad in the Lord, and in the 
 power of his might." If the Spirit of God dwell 
 in us, w T e will be so ; and we shall find, too, that 
 the wise man spoke truth when he said, " A merry 
 heart doeth good like a medicine ;" and at last we 
 shall hear the blessed invitation, " Enter ye into 
 the joy of your Lord." " Here," says excellent 
 Thomas Watson, aud with his sweet words we end 
 our essay, " Here joy begins to enter into us, there 
 we shall enter into joy. . . . What joy shall the 
 soul have, wdien it bathes itself for ever in the pure 
 and pleasant fountain of God's love ! If a cluster 
 of grapes here be so sweet, wdiat wull the full vint- 
 age be ? How should all this set us a longing for 
 that place where sorrow cannot live, and joy can- 
 not die !" 
 
IV. 
 
 PEACE 
 
 The blessed Spirit, which, through the truth, 
 disposes the renewed man to love God and his 
 fellow creatures for God's sake, and so makes 
 every revelation of truth an occasion of joy, every 
 event of providence a blessing, and every duty a 
 pleasure, at the same time produces in his soul 
 that sweet composure, tranquil contentment, and 
 appearance of safety, which we call peace : for 
 godly love has nothing of that uneasy fever which 
 belongs to earthly passion, neither has godly joy 
 the tumultuous excitement of worldly gaiety. The 
 love is too secure in its satisfaction to be agitated, 
 
 93 
 
94 PEACE. 
 
 and the joy too deep and abiding for fitful trans- 
 ports. " The fruit of the Spirit is — peace." 
 
 The excellent value of peace is taught us by the 
 stress, which is laid upon it throughout the Scrip- 
 tures. The Gospel, the most glorious of all God's 
 designs, is called "the Gospel of peace." The 
 great name of God, by which he is revealed to his 
 believing people, is " the God of peace." Christ, 
 the blessed Saviour, is "the Prince of peace." 
 Here, peace is the fruit of the Spirit. The pro- 
 mise which foretold the coming salvation to the 
 saints of the old dispensation was, " The Lord 
 shall give his people the blessings of peace." The 
 reward of evangelical obedience is peace : " Great 
 peace have they which love thy law." The desire 
 of the apostles for the churches they taught was, 
 that " peace might be multiplied" unto them ; 
 which Paul so strongly expresses when he says, 
 "Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace 
 always by all means." The salutation of Jesus 
 was, " Peace be unto you ;" and his parting bless- 
 ing, "Go in peace;" while the heaven of the 
 
PEACE. 95 
 
 redeemed, where their happiness shall be complete 
 in perfect holiness, is the New Jerusalem, or 
 " heritage of peace." What a blessing must that 
 be, which purchased for us by the merits of Jesus, 
 flowing from the fullness of God the Father, dis- 
 pensed by the royal will of Christ the Mediator, 
 wrought in all his people by the Holy Ghost, and 
 shedding a perfect beauty over the heaven of their 
 reward, gives name and title to them all ! It must 
 be a blessedness which, lost by the fall, the guilty 
 cannot enjoy, and nothing less than the mediation 
 of the Son of God can obtain for the penitent sin- 
 ner; but which, belonging to the perfections of 
 the holy God, he bestows only upon those who are 
 made like to him in holiness, and can therefore be 
 neither given nor taken away by the world. It is, 
 in fact, not a single blessing, but a consequence of 
 all blessings, for our peace can never be perfect so 
 long as we fear any annoyance, or suffer the un- 
 easiness of desire for what we do not possess. 
 Hence the word is often used to signify prosperity 
 and happiness. "Pray for the peace of Jerusa- 
 
9b PEACE. 
 
 lem." " The meek shall inherit the earth, and 
 shall delight themselves in the abundance of 
 peace." 
 
 The peace of the ever-blessed God is essential 
 to his nature. It is a sublime and inconceivable 
 tranquility, arising from the harmony of his in- 
 finite attributes, and his infinite removal above any 
 dependence upon the creatures he hath made. 
 But man is dependent upon God his Creator, and 
 his fellow creatures, to whom God has bound him 
 by relations which he cannot break. His peace, 
 therefore, must be derived from God, and can only 
 be enjoyed in a conformity with the constitution 
 of things which God has ordained. 
 
 The peace of the renewed man, which is the 
 fruit of the Spirit, may then be considered as 
 
 I. Peace with God. 
 
 II. Peace with himself. 
 
 III. Peace with his fellow creatures. 
 
 This order is chosen because it will appear, upon 
 farther examination, that a man cannot be at peace 
 with himself until he is at peace with God, nor be 
 
PEACE. 97 
 
 at peace with his fellow creatures until he is at 
 peace with himself. 
 
 I. Peace with God. 
 
 " God is love," an infinitely deep and ever- 
 flowing fountain of goodness, and his loving- 
 kindness is extended to all whom he may bless 
 consistently with his justice and holy truth, To 
 be at peace with him, therefore, is to enjoy the 
 riches of blessing which his love ever bestows, 
 while nothing but sin can separate us from his 
 favour. 
 
 But we are sinners, and by that sin, which 
 " brought death into the world and all our wo," 
 we had lost the fair inheritance of his love, and 
 the happiness which that love alone can bestow. 
 We became God's enemies, and, therefore, God 
 became ours. "For," says Paul, "the carnal 
 mind is enmity against God, and is not subject to 
 the law of God, neither indeed can be ;" and " the 
 wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all 
 ungodliness and unrighteousness of men ;" so that, 
 
 9 
 
98 PEACE. 
 
 as " the Scripture hath concluded all under sin," 
 we are all " by nature children of wrath." 
 
 In order, then, to the restoration of peace be- 
 tween an offended God and sinful men, it is ne- 
 cessary, on the one hand, that his just wrath be 
 appeased, the pardon of our sins justified, and his 
 loving kindness warranted ; and, on the other, that 
 the enmity of our hearts against him be taken 
 away, and we become cheerfully obedient to his 
 will. The first, Christ hath accomplished by his 
 sufferings, obedience, and intercession on our be- 
 half; the latter is accomplished in the heart of the 
 believer by the Holy Spirit, for Christ's sake. 
 
 The wrath of God against the sinner is a just 
 wrath. It is not mere impulsive anger against 
 man as man, but the indignation of the righteous 
 Ruler and Judge against man as a sinner. In- 
 deed, it is not inconsistent with a certain pity for 
 the unhappy object of the Divine vengeance; as 
 we read, " God so loved the world that he gave 
 his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in 
 him should not perish, but have everlasting life ;" 
 
PEA OK. 99 
 
 wliicli evidently means that God so pitied the sin- 
 ner, while he condemned him for his wickedness, 
 that he delights to save him, when it can be done 
 consistently with the honour of the Divine law, 
 and the aims of Divine justice. Such is the awful 
 proof of the Divine justice in the sufferings of 
 Christ for us, that God may pardon the penitent 
 who accepts Christ's work in his behalf, and yet 
 the dignity of the Divine law be sustained in a far 
 higher degree than if it had never been broken, 
 while none who reject Christ and continue wilful 
 sinners can hope for any mercy at his hands. 
 He, who spared not his own Son when he stood 
 in the place of the sinner, will not spare the sinner 
 who refuses to forsake his sins and return to his 
 allegiance. As the apostle says, " . . . . Christ 
 Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitia- 
 tion through faith in his blood, to declare his 
 righteousness for the remission of sins that are 
 past, through the forbearance of God : to declare, 
 I say, at this time, his righteousness; that he 
 
100 PEACE. 
 
 might be just, and the justifier of him which be- 
 lieveth in Jesus." 
 
 In the same manner, were God to bestow his 
 favour, and the unspeakable blessings which flow 
 from it, upon the sinner, who, though penitent, is 
 utterly unworthy of it, blessing would cease to be 
 the reward of obedience, and become an arbitrary 
 dispensation of God's mercy independent of jus- 
 tice ; but, when Christ, the incarnate Son of God, 
 himself becomes a voluntary servant of the Divine 
 law, and honours it by a perfect obedience, and 
 God, in reward of his righteousness, bestows his 
 favour upon the sinner who is presented in 
 Christ's name, he demonstrates his delight in 
 righteousness, and his willingness to reward 
 righteousness, and righteousness alone, with his 
 highest favour. 
 
 "When, therefore, the Holy Spirit enables the 
 penitent to perceive the work of righteousness 
 wrought in behalf of all those who believe by 
 Jesus Christ, and to present the death of Christ 
 before God as the death he deserved to die, and 
 
PEACE. 101 
 
 the righteous obedience of Christ as the obedience 
 he owed to the Divine law, he sees that the just 
 anger of God no longer burns against him, and 
 that for Christ's sake he is received again into 
 favour and life. Hence the work of Christ's suf- 
 fering and obedience is styled the atonement, or 
 ut-one-ment, the ground upon which God and the 
 believing sinner are again reconciled or made one. 
 "We have peace with God through our Lord 
 Jesus Christ." Wherefore Jesus said to his dis- 
 ciples, " Peace I leave with you, my peace I give 
 unto you ;" that is, the peace which I have pur- 
 chased, and is, therefore, mine to give. For as 
 God is well pleased with Christ's righteousness, so 
 is he " well pleased" with Christ's people, " for his 
 righteousness' sake." 
 
 Notwithstanding the work of Christ, however, 
 the connection between holiness and happiness, 
 sin and misery, remains unaltered. " The wages 
 of sin are" still " death," and there can be " no 
 peace for the wicked." It is, therefore, only so 
 far as the sinner by repentance has learned to 
 9* 
 
ID 2 PEACE. 
 
 delight in God and in obedience to his holy will, 
 that he can enjoy the peace of God through Jesus 
 Christ. Thus, the purpose of Christ was not 
 merely to deliver from punishment, but to restore 
 the sinner to holiness, "to save his people from 
 their sins. 11 This, we have said, is the work of 
 the Holy Spirit for Christ's sake. He so en- 
 lightens the mind to perceive the beauty and ex- 
 cellence of holiness, so sheds abroad the love of 
 God through Christ in the heart, so fills the soul 
 with a desire to be conformed to the image of 
 God, that the believer is sweetly won to delight in 
 the will of God, and to find the ways of his com- 
 mandments pleasantness, and all the paths he pre- 
 scribes peace. All the influences of the Spirit 
 which confirm, increase, and carry on unto per- 
 fection the believing sinner's peace with God, are 
 sanctifying influences. This shows us the mean- 
 ing of the prayer in the epistle to the Hebrews, 
 " Now the very God of peace sanctify you wholly ;" 
 and of the salutation, "Peace to them that are 
 sanctified." (1 Corinthians, i. 2, 3). 
 
PEACE. 103 
 
 From this peace with God flows, 
 
 II. The peace of the renewed man with him- 
 self. 
 
 "We have all enough of unhappy experience to 
 know that there may be such a disquiet, dissatis- 
 faction, and conflict within a man's soul, as to 
 render him miserable, whatever his external lot 
 may be. It may be the agony of remorse for 
 unexpiated crime; the quakings of fear or the 
 suspense of doubt; the gnawing of envy or the 
 burning of jealousy ; the fever of ambition, or the 
 craving of inordinate desire ; nay, the same bosom, 
 like a nest of vipers, may contain them all. These 
 must be subdued or removed before the soul can 
 be at peace. It is the office of the Holy Spirit 
 to do this. The same gracious Power which 
 assures us of peace with God, makes peace in the 
 soul. 
 
 It makes peace in the conscience. There is no 
 mental anguish so great as that self-condemnation 
 which we call " an evil conscience." The strong- 
 est minds feel its pangs the most, while the weaker 
 
104 PEACE. 
 
 are not beneath its influence. The Scripture de- 
 clares it to be one of the chiefest torments of the 
 damned. It is " the worm which dieth not," " a 
 fire that is not quenched." It is in the soul itself 
 a fearful witness for God, whom sin hath offended. 
 The sinner may resist or forget it for a time, but 
 like the waters of a dammed up stream, or the fires 
 of a pent volcano, it will yet burst forth and rage 
 with accumulated fury. Christ uses conscience to 
 teach us our need of him, and awakens its terrors 
 in the soul that we may be driven to his salvation 
 to escape its lash. But when the Spirit has en- 
 abled the heart-broken penitent to see the riches 
 of Christ's mediation and rely upon it, the terrors 
 of conscience subside into peace. 
 
 This peace is not stupidity, nor hardness, nor 
 perversion of conscience, such as often allows 
 wicked men to go on frowardly in their evil ways, 
 hut a rational relief from the sense of guilt, and a 
 consciousness of better affections and aims. The 
 believer no longer dreads the wrath of God, nor is 
 haunted by a fearful looking for of judgment. He 
 
PEACE. 105 
 
 has the pardon of his sins assured to him with the 
 promise of the Divine love. He still mourns and 
 hates the sins he has committed, but because of 
 their wickedness, and not merely of the punish- 
 ment threatened against them. He knows that he 
 has dishonoured God, but yet rejoices in believing 
 that Christ hath covered the dishonour, and by 
 perfect obedience more than remedied his defec- 
 tions. He is not only a pardoned criminal, but 
 the principal consequences of his crime have been 
 prevented. Before, he was aware of a spirit of 
 rebellion in his heart that continually inclined him 
 to commit transgressions, for which his conscience 
 threatened him with judgment and made him 
 afraid to think of God. Now, he is conscious of a 
 prevailing disposition to love God, and do those 
 things that are well pleasing in God's sight ; which 
 leads him continually to implore the Divine assist- 
 ance, and encourages him, though far from having 
 attained the perfection in holiness he desires, to 
 look to God as a pitiful Father who knows his in- 
 firmities, but also knows the desire of his soul. 
 
106 PEACE. 
 
 His conscience is at peace with him, a faithful 
 friend, whose very wounds are wounds of love, 
 rebuking only to lead in the way of truth and 
 happiness. 
 
 He has peace of mind. The narrow circle of 
 human experience, the ignorance of future contin- 
 gencies under which the mind labours, and the 
 consequent doubt we feel as to the course we 
 should pursue, and the lot that awaits us, are all 
 opposed to peace. The busy inquiry of every 
 mind, not utterly imbruted by unworthy passion, 
 after truth, shows the sense we instinctively have 
 of the torture of doubt and the pleasure of know- 
 ing what is truth. But, when the renewed man 
 has been taught to receive with child-like simplici- 
 ty Divine truth, and to know that the great Dis- 
 poser of all events is his Father and his God; 
 when he believes that the will of God in every 
 event is love towards him, and that by walking in 
 the way of his commandments he is certain, 
 through grace, of reaching everlasting life, all 
 doubt is banished, and the Sun of Righteousness, 
 
PEACE. 107 
 
 dissipating the clouds and the shadows, sheds 
 healing peace and certainty upon his soul. He 
 may walk in what to the world is darkness, and 
 seem to have no light, but he will be still confi- 
 dent, staying himself upon his God. 
 
 " He that hath light within his own clear breast, 
 May sit i' the centre and enjoy bright day." 
 
 He has peace in his heart. It is impossible, 
 when the affections are set entirely upon things of 
 earth and time, to enjoy true peace ; for, besides 
 that they will clash and conflict with each other, 
 from the narrowness of the sphere to which they 
 are confined, there will arise envy, and jealousy, 
 and hate, towards those who may be more suc- 
 cessful, or interfere in any way with our schemes 
 of aggrandizement. A love of the world, if it be 
 not kept in check by some superior principle, will 
 always become inordinate, and may continually 
 lead to discontent and strife. But the disorders 
 and disquietudes of the heart are healed, when the 
 
108 PEACE. 
 
 blessed Spirit lias fixed the affections upon its Al- 
 mighty and Divine Friend. They go forth then 
 in a right direction. There can be no excess in 
 loving God, and no disappointment of a return for 
 our love. Upon Him we may bestow all our 
 hearts. So that the renewed man will find peace 
 in bis new and holy relation to the Father of his 
 spirit. He will love, and find delight in loving all 
 whom God has commended to his love ;_ yet 
 placing his trust for happiness upon God, his 
 heart cannot be deprived of its true peace by their 
 change, failure, or death. Having delight in God 
 supremely, his desires of the things of earth will 
 be restrained and moderated to just limits, he will 
 be satisfied with a pilgrim's portion, and inclined 
 neither to murmur at his own lot, nor to envy the 
 lot of others. The love of God shed abroad in his 
 heart will expel from it all malice, and hate, and 
 envy, and quarrel, and disappointment. His 
 "heart is fixed, trusting in God." 
 This again leads us to consider, 
 
PEACE. 109 
 
 III. The peace of tlie renewed man with his 
 fellow creatures. 
 
 It is to this peace that the apostle, in all proba- 
 bility, chiefly refers in the text, and by it he in- 
 tends, not an actual state of harmony with all 
 men, for we cannot always secure their good dis- 
 position, and unhappily, the practice of Christian 
 duty too often provokes their dislike and persecu- 
 tion of Christ's people ; but a peaceable temper 
 and carriage, such as secures us from any blame- 
 worthiness in the event of their quarreling with 
 us, and would secure their good will if they acted 
 fairly and justly towards us. This temper must 
 result from peace with God and our own souls ; 
 for he who is at peace with God, the Ruler of all, 
 and enjoys the blessings of his favour, will have no 
 disposition to quarrel with his fellow men; and he 
 who has confined his desires and aims within* 
 proper limits, will have no occasion. 
 
 It would be difficult to enlarge upon this duty 
 without repeating much that we have said of 
 Christian love, or anticipating what is yet to be 
 10 
 
110 PEACE. 
 
 said of long-suffering, gentleness, goodness and 
 meekness. Yet it should be remarked, that, 
 though all these graces testify to our peaceful dis- 
 position, and are well calculated to promote peace, 
 the aim of securing peace, or of living peaceably 
 with all men, should continually be in our minds. 
 The renewed man has a horror of all war except 
 with sin. Delighting in love himself, the dislike, 
 or offensive conduct of others to him, must give 
 him pain. He ought, when it is unavoidable, to 
 submit to it with long-suffering, and meek forgive- 
 ness. Yet it will be submission to a trial, which, 
 if it were God's will, he would fain avoid. Every 
 means, therefore, of preserving harmony with his 
 fellow men, consistent with a faithful discharge of 
 -duty, will be employed by him. He will be 
 'Cautious to avoid all appearance of evil, and, not 
 satisfied with a consciousness of good intentions, 
 he will endeavour to make those good intentions 
 appear. For it often happens, that the very way 
 in which some men attempt to do good has a 
 tendency to provoke, and the endurance, with 
 
PEACE. Ill 
 
 patience, of anger when provoked, does not ex- 
 piate the fault of having provoked it by misguided 
 zeal or incautious approaches. Thus, a contro- 
 versialist may think he contends for the truth 
 from a love of truth, and of men's souls which are 
 to be benefited through the truth, yet, if he use 
 language, or arrogant censure, in such a way as is 
 calculated, from the laws of our common nature, 
 to irritate and wound, he is verily guilty of break- 
 ing peace. Or, one may feel himself bound in 
 faithfulness to point out to his neighbour his 
 faults, and rebuke them, yet if he do so roughly 
 and bluntly, the goodness of his aim will hardly 
 excuse the ill consequences of the means. Or, it 
 may happen that another may see that his neigh- 
 bour, whom he sincerely loves, has from ignorance 
 or error acquired a most unreasonable prejudice or 
 dislike against him, yet, however unreasonable it 
 may be, it will not be enough for him to endure it 
 patiently, unless he has taken all pains to remove 
 his prejudice and convince him of his error. 
 " Therefore," says Paul, " let us follow after the 
 
112 PEACE. 
 
 things that make for peace ;" and again, " Follow 
 peace with all men." It is generally a bad sign 
 of a Christian's temper when he is frequently get- 
 ting into quarrels. " They that will live godly in 
 Christ Jesus must suffer persecution ;" but the 
 Christian has no right to court persecution, and 
 there is great danger that he, whose manner pro- 
 vokes others against him, will become angry him- 
 self in turn. Many a man, who thinks himself a 
 martyr, and by partial friends is characterized as 
 one, may find himself in the end to have been lit- 
 tle better than a pragmatical intermeddler, and 
 rash disturber of the peace. Our blessed Lord, it 
 is true, went to his death through the malice of 
 those whom his love would have saved, but if we 
 would share in his glory as well as in his cross, we 
 must be like him, and " neither strive, nor cry, nor 
 let our voice be heard in the streets." " It must 
 needs be that offences come, but wo unto that man 
 by whom the offence cometh." " It were better 
 for him that a millstone were hanged about his 
 neck and he cast into the sea," Oh ! never let us 
 
PEACE. 113 
 
 forget that the Gospel came to bring "peace on 
 earth, and good will towards men !" 
 
 What avail will it be to ns thai there is a way 
 of reconciliation to God, unless we are ourselves 
 at peace with him ? Let us, then, seek the aid of 
 that blessed Spirit who alone can seal peace upon 
 our hearts. It is a dreadful thing to be ignorant 
 whether God be our enemy or our friend. It is 
 our own fault if he be our enemy, for though we 
 deserve nothing but wrath, he is ready to be our 
 friend. for the Holy Spirit to open our eyes, 
 that we may acquaint ourselves with the holy 
 beauty and love of God, and be at peace ! 
 
 Let us distrust all peace which comes not to us 
 through the merits of Jesus. If God love us not 
 for Christ's sake, he is our enemy, for he " will by 
 no means clear the guilty." To think ourselves at 
 peace wit^h him without a trust in Christ alone, is 
 to reject the only advocate we can have with the 
 Father, and to challenge the justice of God against 
 our souls. Nor can we be at peace with him un- 
 less we enjoy his communion. It is not a barren 
 10* 
 
114 PEACE. 
 
 treaty which true faith makes with God. It is a 
 covenant of blessing on his part, and of cheerful 
 obedience on ours. The friend of God loves his 
 communion, loves his service, loves his word, 
 loves his people. It is an alliance offensive and 
 defensive. He takes us under his protection, and 
 we contend for his cause. Therefore will we 
 delight to draw near unto him, and look forward 
 to that blessed world where the union will be com- 
 plete and eternal. 
 
 Let us cherish this holy peace : peace with God, 
 peace with our own souls, peace with our fellow 
 men. Nothing will make life pass so pleasantly, 
 the path of duty seem so easy, the trials of earth 
 so light, or the hope of heaven so full of glory. 
 Nothing will liken us so much to God himself. 
 What infinite tranquility there must be in the 
 Divine Mind ! What perfect concord in his holy 
 attributes ! How calmly must he look down upon 
 all the changes and events of his vast dominions f 
 Yet they, who rest in his loving bosom, taste of 
 this sublime composure. " The peace of God, 
 
PEACE. 115 
 
 which passeth all understanding, keeps their 
 hearts and minds, through Christ Jesus." "The 
 wicked are like a troubled sea, casting up mire 
 and dirt ;" but the pure in heart, like a clear foun- 
 tain, whose waters are unruffled by passion, and 
 unpolluted by earth and sense, reflect from their 
 tranquil bosom the serenity of the heaven which 
 smiles above them, and the glory of the Sun of 
 Righteousness. . " Grace be unto us, and peace be 
 multiplied !" 
 

 
LONG-SUFFERING. 
 
 The composition of this term might lead some 
 to think, that the apostle intends merely a for- 
 bearing and forgiving temper towards those who 
 insult or injure us ; and, indeed, the early Chris- 
 tians, exposed as they were to constant persecu- 
 tion and contempt, had great need of such grace ; 
 but " long-suffering " means yet more. His idea 
 is exactly expressed by longanimity, or that en- 
 during courage and fortitude derived from confi- 
 dence in the faithfulness of God, and a sure expec- 
 tation of final deliverance, which sustains the 
 believer through a long period of labour and trial. 
 It is patience having " her perfect work." 
 
 lit 
 
118 LONG-SUFFERING. 
 
 In the days of the apostle, this world offered 
 but little inducement to a profession of Christian- 
 ity, but on the contrary, if for this life only they 
 had hope in Christ, they were of all men the most 
 miserable. Daily threatened with confiscation of 
 their goods, stripes, imprisonment and death, by 
 their enemies without, they were sorely tried by 
 the inconsistent lives and ambitious heresies of 
 some within the Church, while in their most zeal- 
 ous attempts to do good, they often met with little 
 or no apparent success. It was, therefore, for the 
 crown of life awaiting them beyond the grave, 
 that they laboured and suffered. They " looked 
 not upon the things which are seen and temporal, 
 but upon those which are not seen and eternal." 
 To encourage them in perseverance, the apostles 
 dwelt much upon the glory which would be re- 
 vealed at the " appearing of the great God and 
 our Saviour Jesus Christ," and the joys of heaven, 
 as the recompense of gracious reward. 
 
 The afflicted Christians were, however, liable to 
 one or the other of two temptations. They might 
 
 
LONG-SUFFERING. 119 
 
 be discouraged because of the long delay of their 
 reward, and faint; or they might become impa- 
 tient, and presumptuously desire to receive it 
 before the time of their rest had come. As the 
 apostle said to the Hebrews, " Ye have need of 
 patience, that after ye have done the will of God, 
 ye might receive the promise." Hence one of the 
 fruits of the Spirit in the character of the regene- 
 rate is " LONG-SUFFERING." 
 
 We are in these days happily delivered from 
 the bloody persecutions which tried the faith of 
 the primitive disciples, yet the world is still a 
 world of sin, and we meet with many temptations 
 to relax our zeal and industry in the Christian 
 life. Few of us are too eager for our heavenly in- 
 heritance ; alas ! our hearts cling too closely to 
 the things of this life ; but we are all apt to be- 
 come restless under trial, and weary of well-doing 
 before the reward is won. 
 
 Let us, therefore, 
 
 I. Meditate on the excellence of the grace of 
 long-suffering. 
 
120 LONG-SUFFERING. 
 
 II. Consider some of the occasions which spe- 
 cially require its exercise. 
 
 I. The excellence of the grace of long-suffering. 
 
 It is one of God's own attributes. He pro- 
 claimed his own name to be " the Lord, the Lord 
 God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and 
 abundant in goodness and truth; keeping mercy 
 for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, 
 and sin, and that will by no means clear the 
 guilty." By the apostle in Romans, he is called 
 " the God of patience." God is, indeed, infinitely 
 above those disturbances of pain and vexation, to 
 which the finite creature may be subject; yet the 
 restraining of his just anger against the trans- 
 gressor, and his patient waiting for the execution 
 of his glorious designs, are declared to be excel- 
 lences of his God-like nature. It would be nothing 
 for him to sweep all the army of sinners into in- 
 stant death, but he shows the glory of his character 
 in so loving the world, notwithstanding its rebel- 
 lion, as to provide for us a Saviour, and through 
 
LONG-SUFFERING. 121 
 
 him to send his Spirit ; continuing to give tem- 
 poral blessings to the evil and the good, and 
 though provoked every moment, and his long- 
 suffering itself made an encouragement to sin, 
 still waiting, that peradventure the sinner may 
 repent. Upon what daily blasphemies and un- 
 godly crimes, upon what nightly impurities and 
 nameless horrors must God look down ! What 
 contempt of his law, what neglect of his Gospel, 
 what hardness and infidelity of heart must his all- 
 seeing eye discover ! Yet his sun still shines, his 
 rain descends, his fruitful seasons change, and 
 (blessed be his holy name !) his Gospel is offered, 
 his Sabbaths return, his Spirit strives, and the 
 strait gate of life standeth open. He is the holy 
 and the just God, who will by no means clear 
 the guilty, yet he is the long-suffering and the 
 patient God. There is reason for his long-suffer- 
 ing. His mercy waits, but he is sure of his 
 power. His purposes may seem to be delayed, 
 but can never be defeated. The end and "the 
 time of the end,' 7 and the means of its accomplish- 
 11 
 
122 LONG-SUFFERING. 
 
 ment, are chosen by Mm in wisdom, and made 
 certain by his sovereignty. God can be patient 
 and long-suffering without loss or injury to his 
 Divine glory. So may the child of God, who by 
 the Holy Spirit has been renewed into his image. 
 The same providence which secures God's glory, 
 secures his salvation. His eternal interests are 
 identified with God's kingdom. Relying upon the 
 wisdom, and the power, and the truth of God, he 
 can wait unto the end. 
 
 It is characteristic of the blessed Saviour. 
 
 " Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an ex- 
 ample that we should follow in his steps." How 
 patiently did he endure all the sorrows of his 
 lot, the fickleness of friends, the rejection of " his 
 own," the " contradiction of sinners against him- 
 self," the agonies of anticipated suffering, the 
 mockeries of his ignominious trial, and the tor- 
 tures of his cross ! At any moment he might 
 have prayed the Father, and legions of angels 
 would have flown to execute vengeance upon his 
 cruel enemies and false friends, yet did he suffer 
 
LONG-SUFFERING. 123 
 
 long with all. " When reviled, lie reviled not 
 again ; when he suffered, he threatened not." 
 Whence came his patience and long-suffering ? 
 " He committed himself unto him who judgeth 
 righteously." " For the joy that was set before 
 him, he endured the cross, despising the shame." 
 He loved the w r orld, and was willing to suffer all 
 for its sake, but he knew his reward was sure, and 
 that his glorious kingdom w r ould certainly be given 
 him by his righteous Father. And now, though 
 seated upon that mighty throne, surrounded by all 
 the ministry of power in heaven and earth, how 
 patiently he waits for the final consummation ! 
 How he bears with the lukewarmness of his peo- 
 ple, and the opposition of the world to his cause ! 
 He has received the promise, that unto him every 
 knee shall bow, and seated at the right hand of 
 God, 'he " expects (or waits) until all his enemies 
 be made his footstool." Jesus is patient and long- 
 suffering, because, while full of mercy, he is confi- 
 dent of his final triumph. So may the believer in 
 Jesus be. He is a member of Christ's spiritual 
 
124 LONG-SUFFERING. 
 
 body, and he will triumph with his blessed Head. 
 If he be a partaker of Christ's sufferings, he will 
 also be a partaker of his glory, when it shall be 
 revealed. His Lord's triumph will be his own. 
 Therefore, sharing in the kingdom, he shares also 
 in the patience of Jesus Christ. (Rev. i. 9). 
 
 How long-suffering is the Holy Spirit in his 
 dealings with sinful men ! 
 
 It is his office to plead with men by his truth, 
 that they may repent, and all the various and mul- 
 tiplied means of grace prove his gracious zeal for 
 the salvation of our souls. But how many con- 
 tinue to despise his truth, reject his warnings, and 
 deafen their ears to his persuasions, insulting and 
 resisting him in his official character as the advo- 
 cate of God's claims with men ! Yet bearing so 
 long as he does with them, God considers it neces- 
 sary to warn us that " his Spirit will not always 
 strive," but that there will be a limit even to his 
 Divine forbearance. Those, who are ultimately 
 converted by his grace, for a long time resist him, 
 and many a sermon, and Sabbath, and sacrament 
 
LONG-SUFFERING. 125 
 
 is despised by them ; yet he bears with all, until 
 he subdues them to his love. Even after conver- 
 sion, with how much sin does the Holy Spirit 
 contend in those hearts which he has taken for his 
 abode ! How many doubts and sinful errors are 
 there ! How many unworthy and impure thoughts ! 
 How much pride, and malice, and uncharitable- 
 ness ! Yet does he not abandon us to our sinful 
 folly, but continues to fight against our depravity, 
 and deliver us from the power of our enemies. He, 
 too, though full of mercy and compassion, is cer- 
 tain of his final triumph. So may the Christian, 
 who is a living temple of the Holy Ghost, be. 
 The same love for the souls of men, the same 
 merciful judgment of their errors, the same for- 
 bearance with their opposition, will make him 
 patient and long-suffering ; for he knows that the 
 truth will prevail, and that the delay of God to 
 vindicate his power by his wrath, will not impair 
 the strength of his arm, while it proves the rich- 
 ness of his grace. 
 
 Long-suffering is a remarkable trait in the 
 
 11 
 
 * 
 
126 LONG-SUFFERING. 
 
 character of every eminent saint we read of in 
 the Scriptures. 
 
 " Behold," saith an apostle, " we count them 
 happy who endure." " Suffering affliction" has 
 been the furnace in which God has ever refined 
 the gold of his saints. How patient must the 
 righteous Abel have been with his cruel and 
 malignant brother ! How patient must Noah 
 have been during that one hundred and twenty 
 years, when the ark was building, and his preach- 
 ing met with nothing but scorn ! Solitary in good- 
 ness, he never murmured nor fainted in his trust. 
 What is the history of the patriarchs, but a his- 
 tory of faith and patience inheriting the promises ? 
 Moses was meek above all the men who were in 
 the earth, never, so far as we can learn, but in one 
 instance, allowing his spirit to grow hasty, either 
 from the contradiction of the ungrateful Israelites 
 or the chastening of God. He " chose rather to 
 suffer affliction with the people of God, than to 
 enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season." We 
 " have heard of the patience of Job ;" but what 
 
LONG-SUFFERING. 127 
 
 was the lot of all the prophets, all the apostles, the 
 confessors, the martyrs? What is now the ex- 
 perience of every one, who endeavours to lead a 
 holy life, and to do good, in this wicked and gain- 
 saying world? Without patience, who can pre- 
 vail? 
 
 Therefore is long-suffering or courageous pa- 
 tience made a special and necessary mark of 
 sincerity in the profession of the Gospel. The 
 apostle Paul beseeches us "to walk worthy of 
 the vocation wherewith we are called, with all 
 lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, for- 
 bearing one another in love ; endeavouring to keep 
 the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace ;" and 
 he prays for the Colossian Christians that they 
 may be u strengthened with all might, according 
 to God's glorious power, unto all patience and 
 long-suffering with joyfulness." 
 
 Nay, patience is the principal virtue which the 
 Holy Ghost employs in the perfection of the be- 
 liever's character. "For whatsoever things were 
 written aforetime, were written for our learning, 
 
128 LONG-SUFFERING. 
 
 that we, through patience and comfort in the 
 Scriptures, might have hope. Now," adds the 
 apostle, "the God of patience and of consolation, 
 grant you to be like minded, one toward another, 
 according to Christ Jesus.' 7 In this spirit Paul 
 declares, "We glory in tribulations also, knowing 
 this, that tribulation worketh patience, and patience 
 experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh 
 not ashamed.'" Here we find patience in tribu- 
 lation, ,the basis of the rest. So James also: "My 
 brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers 
 temptations, knowing this, that the trying of your 
 faith worketh patience. But let patience have her 
 perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, 
 wanting nothing." Here patience is the finishing 
 of the work, as we have just seen it to be the 
 beginning. Perfect patience is perfect Christianity. 
 Is faith necessary to a Christian? How can one 
 believe in the love of God by Jesus Christ, and not 
 be patient? To be impatient is to doubt either 
 God's wisdom or his love. "Be patient, therefore, 
 
LONG-SUFFERING. 129 
 
 brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, 
 the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of 
 the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he 
 receive the early and the latter rain. Be ye also 
 patient ; stablish your hearts ; for the coming of 
 the Lord draweth nio-h." If the husbandman be 
 patient through faith in the God of providence, 
 how much more should we through faith in the 
 God of grace ? "Not my will, but thine be done," 
 is the language of patient faith, or faithful patience. 
 Is hope necessary to a Christian? How can Ave 
 have hope without patience? " Faith is the sub- 
 stance of things hoped for." The certainty and 
 liveliness of our hope in things to come, should 
 have the effect to make us bear with patience the 
 toil and trial through which we attain to them. As 
 Paul reasons for us: "Even we ourselves groan 
 within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, which is, 
 the redemption of our body. For we are saved by 
 hope ; but hope that is seen, is not hope ; for what a 
 man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we 
 
130 LONG-SUFFERING. 
 
 hope for that we see not, then do we with patience 
 wait for it." 
 
 Is love necessary to a Christian ? Patience and 
 long-suffering prove love. For how can I love 
 God, and delight in his will and glory, yet be 
 impatient of that providence by which his will is 
 done, and his glory secured ? How can I love my 
 fellow men, as God in Christ loved them, and not 
 be long-suffering with their faults, their errors, or 
 their enmity ? 
 
 We see, then, how excellent a grace this long- 
 suffering is. In the words of Bishop Home, 
 (taken by him from Tertullian,) " Patience com- 
 mends us to God, and keeps us his. Patience is 
 the guardian of faith, the preserver of peace, the 
 cherisher of love, the teacher of humility. Pa- 
 tience governs the flesh, strengthens the spirit, 
 sweetens the temper, stifles anger, extinguishes 
 envy, subdues pride, bridles the tongue, refrains 
 the hand, tramples upon temptations, endures per- 
 secutions, consummates martyrdom. Patience 
 produces unity in the Church, loyalty in the 
 
LONG-SUFFERING. 131 
 
 state, harmony in society,* and peace in families. 
 She comforts the poor and moderates the rich. 
 She makes us meek in prosperity, cheerful in ad- 
 versity, and unmoved by reproach. She teaches 
 us to forgive those who injure us, and to be the 
 first in asking forgiveness of those we have in- 
 jured. She adorns the woman, and approves the 
 man; is loved in the child, praised in the youth, 
 and admired in the old. Her countenance is calm 
 and serene as the cloudless face of heaven, and no 
 wrinkle is seen upon her brow. Her eyes are 
 as the dove's for meekness, yet full of cheerful- 
 ness and joy. Her complexion is the colour of 
 innocence, and her mouth is lovely in silence. . . 
 She rides not in the whirlwind and the stormy 
 tempest of passion, but her throne is the humble 
 and contrite heart, and her kingdom the kingdom 
 of peace." 
 
 To make our meditation the more practical, let 
 us 
 
 II. Consider some of the occasions which spe- 
 cially require the exercise of long-suffering. 
 
132 LONG-SUFFERING. 
 
 One of these is wliqn we suffer wrong from our 
 fellow men. At such a time, the spirit of the rep- 
 tile, which turns when trodden upon, prompts us 
 to revenge. Nothing is easier than to show such 
 a malicious courage. But the spirit of Christ and 
 heaven says, Be long-suffering. In doing us 
 wrong they sin against God, yet he bears with 
 them. So the world treated Christ, yes, and with 
 unspeakably greater cruelty, yet he bore with them ; 
 and the Holy Ghost, as we have reason to belipve, 
 made some of his very murderers the first converts 
 of grace at the Pentecost. What right have we 
 then to revenge ? How patient and merciful 
 should we be to our enemies ? They are only the 
 instruments in the hands of God. He but permits 
 them to wrong us, because he sees it will be good 
 for our souls. In being impatient of them, there- 
 fore, we are impatient of God. 
 
 " When men of spite against us join, 
 They are the sword, the hand is thine." 
 
 Teach us, then, O God, to "humble ourselves 
 
LONG-SUFFERING. 133 
 
 under thy mighty hand, that we may be exalted in 
 due season !" 
 
 If we never suffered wrong, when would there 
 be an opportunity for forgiveness, for magnani- 
 mity, for patient reliance upon God's justice ? 
 
 A second occasion is, when our fellow Chris- 
 tians fall into sin or error. The spirit of the 
 world, which is ever ready to hide its own faults 
 in declamations about virtue, at once prompts us 
 to condemn the sinner, and cast him out. It is 
 indeed trying, when the believer sees the cause of 
 Christ suffering through the faults of his servants. 
 But the spirit of heaven bids us be patient and 
 long-suffering. We are sinners even as they are. 
 Were it not for Divine grace, we should fall into 
 the same transgressions. Yet God has borne with 
 us, and he now bears with them. It is his law 
 and his Gospel, and his cause which suffer. If he, 
 then, be long-suffering, how much more should 
 we ? " Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault ; 
 ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the 
 
 12 
 
] 34 I/ONG-SUFFERING. 
 
 spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou 
 also be tempted." 
 
 So also with the errorist. Perhaps there is no 
 occasion when wrath is less justifiable, than when 
 excited by a contrariety of opinion. What a 
 pride and self-consequence must there be in the 
 mind of one, who, setting himself up for a judge, 
 requires every one to think as he does, or be pro- 
 nounced a knave or fool ! Is our own judgment 
 perfect ? Must every man who differs from us be 
 dishonest? Christian meekness will always an- 
 swer, No. Against opinions which we firmly be- 
 lieve to be hurtful, because contrary to the word 
 of God, we should contend, and endeavour to 
 establish the truth in their stead; but, towards 
 errorists themselves, we should exercise a meek 
 and long-suffering charity. The holy God of 
 truth and of the Church is long-suffering with us, 
 and long-suffering with them. It is against him 
 they oppose themselves, and his truth they deny. 
 
 Surely, then, we have no right to be more se- 
 vere than God. Who made us the judges of our 
 
LONG-SUFFERING. 135 
 
 fellow sinners ? Even when the discipline of the 
 Church is required, that discipline should be so 
 mingled with love and gentleness toward the of- 
 fender, as to show that it is right zeal for God, 
 and not the triumph of party, for which it is ex- 
 erted. 
 
 A third occasion is, when we suffer under the 
 immediate chastisement of God. It is his wise 
 infliction. He never afflicts ' us but for our good. 
 We drink from the cup of the Master, and are 
 baptized with the baptism of all his most faithful 
 followers. How patiently, then, should we en- 
 dure with such a guardian, and such sympathy ! 
 Heaven is an unspeakably rich reward, worth in- 
 finitely more than we can suffer in reaching it, or 
 than we must suffer to be fitted for it. It is of 
 the mercy of God, that we are not now suffering 
 in hell. Let us, then, reckoning " that the sorrows 
 of this present time are not worthy to be compared 
 with the glory which shall be revealed," and re- 
 membering that " Christ also suffered for us, 
 
136 LONG-SUFFERING. 
 
 leaving us an example that we should follow his 
 steps," "be patient in tribulation." 
 
 Another occasion is, when we are called to 
 labour long in the cause of God, with little or no 
 success. This is certainly among the most severe 
 trials to which the Christian is subject. Yet it is 
 one in which he is not alone. It was the expe- 
 rience of Noah, and all the prophets. It was the 
 experience of the Master himself. "He was de- 
 spised and rejected of men ;" yet he was faithful 
 unto death. His reward did come, though the 
 travail of his soul was long. It is our privilege, as 
 well as duty, to labour ; it is God's office to give 
 the increase of our work. Shall we dictate to 
 him how he should manage his own cause ? The 
 true soul labours not for personal success, but for 
 God's glory. That glory is sure. It is His own. 
 In his own time and in his own way he will ac- 
 complish it. He will not ask whether we were 
 successful, but whether we were faithful. It is by 
 patient continuance in well-doing that we attain to 
 glory and honour. Let us, then, trust God in the 
 
LONG-SUFFERING. 137 
 
 darkness as well as in the light, in the winter as 
 well as in the summer, the seed time as well as the 
 harvest. " Be not weary in well-doing, for in due 
 season we shall reap if we faint notP It is the 
 Lord's cause ; let us then " commit our way unto 
 him, and he will bring it to pass." " Take, my 
 brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the 
 name of the Lord, for an example of suffering af- 
 fliction and of patience." 
 
 To cultivate this grace of long-sufTering, let us 
 look for the influences of that Holy Spirit, sent by 
 the God of patience for the sake of the patient 
 Jesus, who alone can work it in our hearts. 
 
 Let us meditate much upon the Holy Scriptures, 
 which contain so many proofs of God's faithfulness 
 to his patient people, and such rich promises of 
 eternal recompense for our trials. 
 
 Let us delight in anticipating our heavenly rest, 
 that its hope may cheer us under present trial. 
 
 Let us guard against every rising of impatience, 
 and account ourselves unfaithful, disrespectful and 
 rebellious, until we can, like little children, sustain- 
 12* 
 
138 LONG-SUFFERING. 
 
 ed by our Father's arms, rest ourselves and all our 
 anxieties upon his loving bosom. 
 
 So may we come to share in the joys of those 
 who came out of great tribulation, and cast our 
 crowns of glory at the feet of the patient Lamb 
 that was slain, but now liveth and reigneth ever- 
 more. 
 
VI. 
 
 GENTLENESS, 
 
 Perhaps no grace is less prayed for, or less 
 cultivated, than gentleness. Indeed, it is consider- 
 ed rather as belonging to natural disposition, or 
 external manners, than as a Christian virtue ; and 
 seldom do we reflect that not to be gentle, is sin. 
 Yet here we find it among "the fruits of the 
 Spirit." James also, when he describes " the wis- 
 dom from above," says, "it is first pure, then 
 peaceable, gentle." Paul, in writing to the Corin- 
 thians, when he appeals to them in the name of 
 Him who was the incarnation of that Divine wis- 
 dom, and the example of Christian character, be- 
 
 139 
 
140 GENTLENESS. 
 
 seeches "by the meekness and gentleness of 
 Christ." And David long before, while blessing 
 God for his salvation, had exclaimed, " Thy gentle- 
 ness hath made me great." It well becomes us, 
 therefore, to meditate upon a quality which bears 
 the impress of Divine beauty, as it shines in the 
 face of Jesus Christ, and proves him who possesses 
 it to have been born of the Spirit, taught by the 
 Father, and transformed into the image of his dear 
 Son. 
 
 Gentleness has been defined to be " a sweetness 
 of speech and manners ;" but it is rather a sweet 
 mildness of temper, manifested in words, address, 
 and general demeanour. 
 
 The Greek term in the text signifies literally, 
 an obliging disposition ; that applied by James to 
 the wisdom from above, a yielding disposition. 
 Paul uses the same where our translators have 
 written gentleness of Christ; and the Septuagint 
 renders the word in Psalm xviii. 35, the gentle- 
 ness of God, by one expressive of parental tender- 
 ness in the education of children. Our own word 
 
GENTLENESS. 141 
 
 "gentle" once meant well born, and gentleness is 
 that mild and courteous demeanour which distin- 
 guishes the refined and educated from the rude 
 and barbarian. 
 
 Christian gentleness is not to be confounded with 
 meekness, for meekness is afterwards named as a 
 distinct grace ; and we read both of the meekness 
 and gentleness of Christ. The difference cannot 
 be better stated than it has been by Macknight, 
 who says, " Meekness is a passive virtue, and 
 consists in the bearing of injuries and provoca- 
 tions, without wrath or resentment ; whereas gen- 
 tleness hath more of the nature of an active virtue, 
 and exerts itself in a mild and obliging manner of 
 speaking and acting."* The one bears with 
 oppression or harshness ; the other essays to win 
 kindness by manifesting kindness. 
 
 James distinguishes also between gentleness and 
 easiness to be entreated; for the first is, as we 
 have seen, a mild and pleasing disposition, the 
 
 * Macknight after Crellius. 
 
142 GENTLENESS. 
 
 latter, a candid openness to conviction, and a 
 willingness to be led in the right way. 
 
 It is neither love nor peace, but the sweet and 
 amiable temper and manner resulting from them, 
 and persuasive of love and peace in others towards 
 
 118. 
 
 It is, moreover, utterly different from the hollow 
 courtesy or sycophantic pliancy, so frequently 
 characterizing the politeness of the world, which 
 men use, either because they fear to displease, or 
 wish to gain the favour of others for their selfish 
 advantage. Gentleness is not at all inconsistent 
 with the strictest adherence to truth, even when 
 that truth itself is most offensive to the depraved 
 heart, or with a fearless and honest rebuke of 
 wrong ; though the gentle person takes care that 
 he adds nothing by his own manner likely to of- 
 fend, but, on the contrary, endeavours to present 
 the truth, or administer the rebuke, in such a way 
 as to recommend the one, and sweeten the other. 
 As David says, "Let the righteous smite me, it 
 shall be a kindness ; and let him reprove me, it 
 
GENTLENESS. 143 
 
 shall be an excellent oil, which will not break my 
 head." We have, happily, through the grace of 
 Christ, instances of persons who, with great sua- 
 vity of demeanour and mildness of speech, are 
 yet remarkable for their unwavering integrity of 
 opinion, and faithful advices to their erring friends. 
 Indeed, the common sense of the world always 
 imputes cowardice to the blustering, and selfish- 
 ness to the rude, as it does cunning to the flatterer, 
 and insincerity to the ever-assenting. 
 
 Gentleness is a virtue of the heart, renewed by 
 the Spirit of peace and love. The Christian is 
 gentle, because he is humble from a sense of his 
 unworthiness and dependence upon God's grace. 
 He is subdued by contrition, and reverent through 
 devotion. His temper is chastened, and there is 
 no surer sign of a repentance which needeth not to 
 be repented of, than quietness of spirit. "Lord," 
 saith David, "my heart is not haughty, nor mine 
 eyes lofty; neither do I exercise myself in great 
 matters, or in things too high for me. Surely I 
 have behaved and quieted myself as a child that 
 
144 GENTLENESS. 
 
 is weaned of his mother ; my soul is even as a 
 weaned child." 
 
 The Christian is gentle because he is benevo- 
 lent. The same Spirit who taught him quietness 
 before God, has taught him love towards men. 
 All that he does and says will therefore be amia- 
 ble and kind, for he wishes to do them good and 
 to make them happy. Love always desires love 
 in return, and so he will not be satisfied with the 
 consciousness of love for them in his heart, but 
 seek that they may be convinced of his affection, 
 and receive his efforts to serve them as the words 
 and deeds of a generous friend, who finds his own, 
 in their welfare. 
 
 Gentleness is thus opposed to passionateness and 
 irritability. There are some professing Chris- 
 tians, and among those whom, in the judgment of 
 charity, we consider sincere Christians, who seem 
 willing to do every thing for Christ and their fellow 
 men but curb their own temper. They are sound 
 in their religious opinions, faithful in the use of 
 privileges, industrious and liberal in every benevo- 
 
GENTLENESS. 115 
 
 lent enterprise, but at the same time ready to 
 fire at trie slightest shadow of offence, and some- 
 times at the imao-mation of a shadow. The Chris- 
 tian friends who love them most, are never at ease 
 in their presence, lest some unguarded word or 
 gesture, or omission of word or gesture, should 
 excite their anger. Their homes are continually 
 disturbed and unquiet. Their children watch 
 their clouding brows with dread, and fear rather 
 than respect them, for nothing so destroys respect 
 for a superior as his want of self-command. The 
 partners of their bosoms live in a constant anxiety, 
 never knowing at what moment their fitful and 
 unreasonable petulance may break forth. Even 
 their benefactions lose their grace, and forfeit 
 gratitude, for few have strength enough to bear 
 at once the weight of obligation and the insults of 
 anger. The loveliness of Christian character is 
 wanting. The countenance may be fair and the 
 features well-formed, but they will seem hateful 
 and repulsive if distorted by passion ; and the 
 sweetest voice grows harsh and shrill when not 
 13 
 
146 GENTLENESS. 
 
 modulated by kindness. In vain the world looks 
 to them for an earnest of those mild graces with 
 which religion has promised to bless earth and 
 consummate heaven. It is true, much allowance 
 must be made for physical temperament and natu- 
 ral disposition, and such persons, in their peni- 
 tent moments, are fond of saying that none know 
 but themselves the temptations which they suffer. 
 This pleads for our charity; but they should re- 
 member that the influence of religion is to subdue 
 the body, and change the natural disposition. 
 They should think, too, of the scandal they cause 
 to the world, the ill example they set their house- 
 holds, the unhappiness they give their friends, and 
 all this while they bear the peaceful name of Chris- 
 tian, as followers of the gentle Jesus, the Lamb of 
 God, and Prfrice of Peace. They know not what 
 evil they do, or what good they prevent, by each 
 silly burst of idle anger. 
 
 It is opposed to arrogance and haughtiness. 
 There are those who never speak but in a tone 
 of command, or without a manner which seems 
 
GENTLENESS. 147 
 
 to say, I am speaking* to an inferior. Whether 
 this arises from pride of rank, pride of wisdom, 
 or pride of righteousness, it is inconsistent equally 
 with religion and good sense. For while religion 
 levels all ranks, at least so far as to make us all 
 one in Christ Jesus, it is most generally found 
 that those accustomed to an elevated station are 
 the most affable to those less fortunate in life ; and 
 while the world resents and sneers at the airs of 
 those whose heads are turned by new riches or 
 new office, they applaud, without envy, others, who 
 show themselves superior to such weakness as in- 
 toxication from prosperity. True wisdom, the 
 wisdom from above, is ever easy to be entreated, 
 and the apostle James speaks of "the meekness of 
 wisdom." God, the Father of lights, never up- 
 braideth any who ask wisdom of him ; and how 
 can one taught by him be arrogant towards a 
 fellow pupil of the same Teacher ! The wisest- 
 men even in this world's science are ever the most 
 lowly in their pretensions, and the countenance 
 of the true philosopher gains new gentleness and 
 
148 GENTLENESS. 
 
 serenity with every year of study. As for the 
 pride of righteousness, it is an absurdity. For 
 how can a man be proud in humility, and arro- 
 gant in love, and presuming in meekness? We 
 are the witnesses of Christ, his representatives on 
 earth, and none ever came to him or met him in 
 the way, but found him lowly in demeanour and 
 kind in speech. He took infants to his blessed 
 bosom, he comforted the sinner that wept at his 
 feet, and he bade even the woman taken in crime 
 to go and sin no more. There is a dignity in re- 
 ligion, but it is the dignity of goodness, a dignity 
 that can stoop without degradation to the lowest, 
 and seek to raise the vilest without contamination. 
 That is a palty counterfeit, which must preserve 
 one unchanging attitude and a distant reserve, 
 lest a movement should betray the artifice, or a 
 nearer inspection dissolve the charm. The Son 
 of God was gentle, and so must all God's children 
 be. 
 
 There is another spirit which often follows the 
 child into the man, and sometimes into the Chris- 
 
GENTLENESS. 149 
 
 tian, to which gentleness is opposed, and that is 
 sulkiness. This arises not so much from pride, as 
 from a dissatisfaction with one's self, and a ma- 
 lignant wish to communicate dissatisfaction to 
 others. It is chiefly seen in those who have taken 
 offence at some trifle, which they are ashamed 
 even to confess or to charge the offender with ; 
 and in those who, after a quarrel, which they 
 know they ought to make up, are unwilling to 
 show any advances. You will see one of these, 
 on the approach of the object of dislike, with a 
 moody, stupid countenance, a dull and fallen eye, 
 and a pouting, hanging lip. His words are few, 
 reluctant and unmeaning, if he be spoken to ; or 
 he is silent, if none address him. He seems to 
 chill the very atmosphere around, and, however 
 much the company may be disgusted at his sense- 
 less humour, they find it infectious, and one sulky 
 person will destroy the cordiality of a whole cir- 
 cle. This is also unchristian and foolish. The 
 Christian should be slow to take offence, and 
 ready, nay, eager to make the first overtures to 
 13* 
 
150 GENTLENESS. 
 
 reconciliation. "Anger resteth in the bosom of 
 fools ;" and a sulky man feels like a fool, and looks 
 like one. While we remain at enmity with a 
 fellow creature, we are at enmity with God. How 
 much more noble, more Christianlike, to meet an 
 enemy with a smile of kindness, an open hand, 
 and that gentle spirit which turneth away wrath ! 
 The sulky person dll the time despises himself, 
 and in his secret soul must admire the superior 
 virtue of the other, who can do with ease what to 
 him is so difficult — forgive with gentleness. 
 
 Gentleness is opposed to coldness and reserve 
 of wanner. In some this arises from indifference 
 to the society of those around them; in others 
 again from a criminal shamefacedness, which 
 shrinks from going forward to solicit regard. 
 Either spirit is unchristian. The Christian, as we 
 have seen, must have a loving disposition. He 
 must desire to love and be loved wherever he can, 
 as his Master set him the example. He has no 
 right to shut himself up from those, whom God has 
 made his neighbours and brethren. Aversion to 
 
GENTLENESS. 151 
 
 society is a crime, and neglect of Christian fellow- 
 ship a contempt of a principal means of grace. 
 Nor has he a right to select only certain favour- 
 ites and exclude others. We are sent into the 
 world, not merely to enjoy ourselves, but to do 
 good; "not to be ministered unto, but to minister." 
 Our Master had his favourite friends, it is true ; 
 but he was also gentle and affable to all. We 
 must consider how we may be profitable to others, 
 as well as how others may be profitable to us. 
 We cannot be exclusive when we are like the 
 gentle Jesus, or the merciful God. 
 
 Shamefacedness or bashfulness, which deters us 
 from offering kind affections in the name of Christ, 
 is not an innocent weakness, for it interferes with 
 our duty, which is to be kind and courteous to all. 
 It has more to do with pride than men are apt to 
 imagine, for the exclamation of the bashful Chris- 
 tian, when urged to go forward and cultivate op- 
 portunities of usefulness, is, " What will they think 
 of me ? They will condemn me for being too busy 
 and obtrusive." In other words, he fears to follow 
 
152 GENTLENESS. 
 
 Christ, who sought out objects of mercy, lest he 
 should be condemned by his fellow men. But 
 even in this fear he is mistaken, for while he 
 shrinks from advancing to meet others, he wishes 
 that others would come to meet him. Would he 
 censure them for so doing ? Would he not, on the 
 contrary, delight to receive such encouragement? 
 Let him then judge of others by himself. How 
 could we face a martyr's fire, if we bashfully shrink 
 from meeting a fellow man with the gentleness of 
 Christian love ? 
 
 Gentleness is opposed to bluntness and abrupt- 
 ness of manner. Harshness is not named, because 
 it is too obvious to need a formal statement, that 
 violent and rouo*h address or rebuke are in the 
 strongest contrast to gentleness. No one can be 
 harsh without somewhat of anger, or rough with- 
 out disregard of another's sensibilities. Severity, 
 except in some rare instances, and then when we 
 act in God's name, is reserved with vengeance in 
 Jehovah's hands ; and he mingles mercy with judg- 
 ment. Violent and vituperative epithets are strange 
 
GENTLENESS. 153 
 
 sounds from the lips of one that professes to follow 
 Him, " who when reviled, reviled not again." All 
 who have the same spirit with the apostles, "per- 
 suade men, by the terrors of the Lord." Prophecy 
 said of our Saviour, " He shall not strive nor cry, 
 neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. 
 The bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking 
 flax shall he not quench." Even in condemning 
 the hypocritical scribes, whose secret wickedness 
 he saw, his language is rather in sorrow than an- 
 ger, for the word our Bibles have rendered " Wo !" 
 might in equal truth have been translated " Alas 
 for you !" What right then has a sinful follower 
 of his, to be harsh with a fellow sinner ? 
 
 There are those, however, who have too much 
 good feeling to be intentionally harsh, who yet 
 allow themselves in a bluntness and abruptness of 
 speech, which differs often only in intention from 
 positive severity. These never seem to reflect that 
 they require a courteous and modest address from 
 others to themselves ; but think because thev are 
 honest and well meaning, they may say what they 
 
154 GENTLENESS. 
 
 please in what manner they please. The slightest 
 knowledge of hnman nature, the most superficial 
 observation of God's language to men, should con- 
 vince us, that if we would win men and turn them 
 to the truth, we must approach them not only with 
 kindness but due respect. "Honour all men," 
 says the apostle, and we have a beautiful exempli- 
 fication of this principle in the manner of his ad- 
 dress to Agrippa and Festus. " A zealous man 
 hath not done his duty," says Jeremy Taylor, 
 " when he calls his brother a drunkard and a beast 
 . . . but when he is, though severe against vice, 
 charitable to the man, and careful of his reputa- 
 tion, and sorry for his dishonour, and observant of 
 his circumstances, and watchful to surprise his af- 
 fections and "resolutions then when they are most 
 tender and most tenable ; for men will not be in 
 love with virtue, whither they are forced with 
 rudeness and incivility; but they love to dwell 
 where they are invited friendly, and are treated civ- 
 illy." It is a poor excuse that our natural manner 
 is blunt and abrupt, and, therefore, men should take 
 
GENTLENESS. 155 
 
 no offence at it. We show but little benevolence, 
 when, to do men good, we are not willing to mend 
 our manners, but, for want of a little care, disgust 
 and turn them away from our good counsel. The 
 roughest woodcutter sharpens his axe, that he may 
 cut rather than bruise, and the most ignorant ar- 
 tisan will oil his machinery lest it should turn with 
 difficulty and noisy creaking. Should not the 
 Christian avoid blunt words, and give gentleness 
 to his manner? Besides, it is not so certain, that 
 because a man is blunt and rude in speech, he is 
 sincere. There is more sign of sincerity in the 
 man, who shows that he takes pains to be kind. 
 Even if the world give him credit for honesty, it is 
 for honesty in its least lovely form ; and truth is 
 most attractive when most meek and gentle. But 
 the world will not always give him such credit, for 
 one of the best judges of the human heart holds 
 of such a person this strong language : 
 
 " This is some fellow, 
 "Who, having been praised for bluntness, doth affect 
 A saucy roughness, and constrains the garb 
 
156 GENTLENESS. 
 
 Quite from his nature. He can't flatter, he ; 
 
 An honest mind and plain, he must speak truth ; 
 
 An they will take it, so ; if not, he 's plain. 
 
 These kind of knaves I know, which in this plainness 
 
 Harbour more craft, and far corrupter ends, 
 
 Than twenty silky ducking observants 
 
 That stretch their duties nicely." 
 
 Gentleness is, in fine, that kind, pleasant, con- 
 siderate and persuasive spirit, which evinces itself 
 in a kind, pleasant, considerate and persuasive 
 manner, finds its pattern in the character of Jesus 
 Christ, and has its warrant in the command and. 
 mercifulness of God. Such a spirit the Holy 
 Ghost works in the soul of every sanctified be- 
 liever. 
 
 The excellence of Christian gentleness needs but 
 little setting forth. 
 
 It recommends us to our fellow men, and so 
 increases our opportunities and influence for use- 
 fulness. There is a charm in gentleness, which a 
 man must be a savage to resist. Who can wan- 
 tonly ill treat a lamb or a dove ? Who can refuse 
 
GENTLENESS. 157 
 
 the gentle graces of childhood, or of female sweet- 
 ness and winning modesty? Armed only with 
 love, the Gospel made its way, rebuking every sin 
 and resolute against all wrong, though sword, and 
 fire, and chains opposed its gentle conquests, until 
 it has subdued and transformed the institutions of 
 all the civilized world. Thus should the Christian 
 conquer, disarming malice and changing enemies 
 into friends. Talk as men may of courage, con- 
 science never denies the principle that " better is 
 he who ruleth his own heart, than he who taketh a 
 city." God himself subdues and rules his people 
 by gentleness. " Thy gentleness hath made me 
 great," says David; and again, " There is forgive- 
 ness with thee, that thou mayest be feared ;" and 
 the apostle, " The love of Christ constraineth us." 
 So let us make men our friends by gentleness and 
 love, that we may, in the spirit of meekness, make 
 them by God's grace the friends of Christ. 
 
 It is for our own comfort. However it may 
 comport with our petty infirmities at the moment, 
 to be revengeful, or proud, or harsh, or blunt, no 
 14 
 
158 GENTLENESS. 
 
 man ever feels comfortable after having wounded 
 the feelings of another ; but every one has humani- 
 ty enough to enjoy the warm reflection of pleasure 
 he has caused in another. Gentleness is the charm 
 of society, which distinguishes the civilized from 
 the savage. He, who neglects to cultivate this 
 sweet grace, may be tolerated, and sometimes 
 loved, but it will be for some other reason, and 
 despite his lack of gentleness. The diamond 
 may be precious in the rough, but it would be far 
 more so if polished and bright. Christ came from 
 heaven to earth, that we might learn from him 
 how to prepare for heaven, and he was meek, and 
 lowly, and gentle. 
 
 It is pleasing to God. He loves gentleness, be- 
 cause it is a sign of an humble and loving heart. 
 He loves to see the world made happy, and he 
 loves the gentle Christian who seeks to make it so. 
 He loves to see his children useful, and gentleness 
 increases their usefulness. He loves the gentle, 
 for they are like his beloved Son, and like himself. 
 As his rain upon the mown grass, healing its 
 
GENTLENESS. 159 
 
 wounds and repairing its verdure ; as his still and 
 penetrating dews, which fall noiselessly but geni- 
 ally ; so would he have his children's spirit to bless 
 the hearts and lives of men. 
 
 Let us then never forget that Christian gentle- 
 ness is a fruit of the Spirit : 
 
 That we must ask and receive it only at the 
 hands of God for Christ's sake : 
 
 And that, if we would have an answer to our 
 prayers for gentleness, we must cultivate it in our 
 hearts, anoint our lips with it, and rule by it our 
 constant demeanour. 
 
ra 
 
 GOODNESS. 
 
 Goodness, in modern language, is generally 
 another name for virtue ; and Christians, when 
 they call a man good, intend to say, that he is 
 sincerely religious ; but, originally, the word had 
 not so wide a meaning. No man, indeed, can be 
 truly good, unless he be truly religious, or truly 
 religious without being truly good ; yet goodness 
 is a distinct grace among many which religion 
 produces. Here we find goodness to be one of 
 several fruits of the Spirit, which together make 
 up the Christian character; and frequently in the 
 Scriptures we read of goodness in such connections 
 
 14* 16! 
 
162 GOODNESS. 
 
 as render attention to its particular signification 
 necessary. Thus Paul in the Eomans says, " Be- 
 hold the goodness and severity of God." Good- 
 ness, one attribute, is contrasted with severity, 
 another attribute, to the perfect God. " Good and 
 upright is the Lord," said the Psalmist, " therefore 
 will he teach sinners in the way." His goodness, 
 combined with his love of righteousness, moves 
 Him to make sinners happy by making them holy. 
 " that men would praise the Lord for his good- 
 ness, for his wonderful works to the children of 
 men !" The occasion of gratitude is God's bounti- 
 ful providence for our necessity and enjoyment. 
 The good God is a holy God, but the holy God is 
 good in the kindness and compassion which he 
 shows to his creatures. 
 
 In the same manner the apostle says, " Scarcely 
 for a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure 
 for a good man some would even dare to die." 
 More will be done to serve a good man than one 
 merely just. And again the Psalmist: "O my 
 soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, my goodness 
 
GOODNESS. 163 
 
 extendeth not to thee (reacheth not to thee) but to 
 the saints that are in the earth." Goodness can- 
 not, then, be religious duty in general, for God, 
 through Christ, does accept of our obedience ; but 
 some service or kindness of which God stands in 
 no need, but our fellow Christians do. 
 
 Good is that which is necessary to our happi- 
 ness ; as, " There be many that say, Who will 
 show us any good ?" " taste and see that the 
 Lord is good." Goodness, therefore, must have 
 reference to the happiness of our fellow creatures, 
 and we may define it to be, 
 
 A sincere desire for the happiness of others, 
 expressed by conduct calculated to advance that 
 happiness. 
 
 Love, named by the apostle before, is, as we 
 have seenj a lovingness of heart, or a disposition 
 to cherish an affection for others wherever there is 
 opportunity. But we may love those to wdiom, 
 strictly speaking, we can do no good, as God and 
 his holy angels. Goodness in us implies some 
 want upon the part of those toward whom it ' is 
 
164 GOODNESS. 
 
 felt and exercised. Peace, or peaceableness, and 
 gentleness, with some other Christian virtues, are 
 forms of goodness, but no one of them includes the 
 whole idea, for we must be more than peaceable, 
 and forgiving, and gentle, if we would be good. 
 Mercy is sometimes confounded with goodness; 
 but mercy is, rightly, kindness to the unworthy, 
 while goodness makes no such distinction. 
 
 The best practical definition of goodness is 
 given in the life and character of Jesus Christ : 
 " Jesus of Nazarus, who went about doing good." 
 So far as we resemble Jesus in his devotion to 
 the welfare of men, we possess the grace of good- 
 ness. 
 
 It is, therefore, not to be wondered at, that so 
 eminent and essential a grace of the Christian 
 character should sometimes be named to express 
 the whole of it ; and it were well to learn from 
 this natural interchangeableness of terms, that, if 
 we mean by good men, Christians, to be Christians, 
 we must always be good. 
 
 Goodness, being an active disposition to pro- 
 
GOODNESS. 165 
 
 mote the happiness of others, refers of course to 
 their moral as well as to their physical welfare, 
 their temporal as well as their eternal enjoyment. 
 The goodness of the world seeks, at best, to relieve 
 the afflictions, and add to the comforts of men in 
 this life ; and, so that their few days of this sor- 
 rowful time can be rendered more tolerable, the 
 fate of the undying soul is little thought of. There 
 is also a fanaticism, (for it deserves no better name) 
 which, in supposed eagerness for the salvation of 
 men from eternal misery, overlooks, and even wil- 
 fully disregards their sufferings here. But the 
 good Christian is prompted by the same motives, 
 which urge him to secure to men the hope of 
 heaven, to make them as happy as he can before 
 they get there. The world will have but a poor 
 opinion of their goodness, who are very liberal in 
 offering God's riches, but take care to give none 
 of their own; while the Christian, who is most 
 ready to relieve present trouble, will receive great- 
 er respect for his honesty, when he warns against 
 eternal danger. Thus we find that our blessed 
 
166 GOODNESS. 
 
 Master proved to the world his pity for their souls, 
 by his pity for their bodies. He who gave his 
 own flesh and blood to satisfy our spiritual hunger 
 and thirst, could not look upon a crowd fainting 
 for want of bread, but he must work a miracle to 
 supply them with it ; and his way to the cross, where 
 he offered himself as a ransom for sinners, that he 
 might redeem them from hell, and purchase for 
 them heaven, was besieged by crowds of sick and 
 sorrowful patients, and " he healed them all." 
 The chosen attendants of Him who came to take 
 away sin, which "brought in death and all our 
 wo," were the lame, leaping in the ecstacy of re- 
 covered soundness ; the leper, with his flesh clean 
 and smooth as a child's ; the blind, following him 
 with rejoicing eyes ; the dumb, singing grateful 
 doxologies ; the dead, loosened from his grave- 
 clothes ; and the mourner, with her dead given 
 back to her bosom. Yet the continual earnestness 
 with which he preached the Gospel of the king- 
 dom, and the zeal with which he made every in- 
 stance of healing the body a parable of his readi- 
 
GOODNESS. 167 
 
 ness to be the Jesus of our souls, demonstrated his 
 greater anxiety to save from the wrath of him who 
 is able to cast both body and soul into hell. The 
 good Christian is a follower of Him " who went 
 about doing good." 
 
 As it is, then, the office of Christian goodness 
 to do good unto all men, as we have opportunity, 
 and to be faithful in goodness unto death, there is 
 no need of specifying the many ways and occa- 
 sions of doing good, (for which, indeed, a volume 
 would be insufficient,) but we may with greater 
 economy of time, 
 
 I. Inquire how we may distinguish between true 
 and false goodness. 
 
 II. Consider some principal arguments to the 
 cultivation of so excellent a grace. 
 
 I. The distinguishing marks of true and false 
 goodness. 
 
 True goodness flows from Christian faith. It is 
 not to be denied, that there is a sort of goodness 
 which seems natural to human nature, for which 
 reason we give the name of humanity to pity and 
 
168 GOODNESS. 
 
 mercifulness. God, for wise purposes, permitted 
 our fallen nature to retain a certain pleasure in 
 seeing pleasure, and a certain dislike of seeing 
 pain. In the same manner as we paint pleasant 
 pictures to gratify the eye, and combine harmoni- 
 ous sounds to delight the ear, men may often do 
 good from a satisfaction they have in it, or avoid 
 giving pain lest they might suffer themselves in 
 seeing it ; but the moment it is necessary to 
 neglect, oppress, or give pain to others, that some 
 stronger passion may be gratified, their goodness 
 is at an end. This is no harsh slander of the 
 world. The laws of every corporation, the econo- 
 my of trade, nay, the common rule by which men 
 govern themselves in dealing with others, proceed 
 upon the supposition that every man will be swayed 
 by his personal interest and selfish feelings. Take 
 away responsibility, where there is the slightest 
 seeming interest in doing wrong, and you have 
 gone far to take away goodness. 
 
 This may show itself differently in different in- 
 dividuals, because in different dispositions, differ- 
 
 ._ 
 
GOODNESS. 169 
 
 ent passions may be paramount. One man's ruling 
 passion may be covetousness. He may not be 
 naturally cruel. He has no wish that those with 
 whom he has no concern should suffer want or 
 wounds. But let an unfortunate family be the 
 tenants of one of his houses, and to exact his rent, 
 he will strip them of their all, and turn them 
 shivering and starving into t*he street. Encourage 
 him with the prospect of gain, and he will arm the 
 privateer or the slaver, to pay himself a rich divi- 
 dend, at the cost of blood, and rapine, and un- 
 speakable misery. Nay, show him a wretch that 
 must suffer and perish, unless he take largely from 
 his hoards for his relief, and he will let him suffer 
 and perish, because he has more pleasure in hoard- 
 ing his money than he has pain at the thought of 
 another's distress. 
 
 Another may not be covetous, but he is volup- 
 tuous and sensual, and he will blind his eyes to 
 the future misery of the victims of his licentious- 
 ness ; he will defraud the honest and industrious 
 of their due, rather than deny himself indulgences ; 
 15 
 
170 GOODNESS. 
 
 and revel in luxurious excess, when trie poor man 
 is starving for lack of such crumbs as fall from his 
 table. 
 
 Another is not a sensualist, but he is ambitious, 
 and he will not scruple to trample upon the inter- 
 ests of his whole country, or wade to power 
 through rivers of blood. The same man, who 
 would have wept over a child crushed by the 
 wheel of his carriage in a peaceful street, will ride 
 exultingly over a field of battle, though every 
 tramp of his war horse is upon a gallant bosom, 
 and his artillery is sweeping thousands of husbands 
 and fathers into a miserable eternity. 
 
 Another is neither covetous, licentious, nor am- 
 bitious, but he is indolent ; and so that he can 
 keep himself from the annoyance of knowing that 
 others are in trouble, he will lounge on in sleepy 
 ease, though the world were dying for want of his 
 help. 
 
 These are strong instances, but they illustrate 
 human nature as it is when fairly tried ; though 
 we may individually abhor such crimes, as Hazael 
 
GOODNESS. 171 
 
 once did the assassination of his prince, or David 
 the robbery of the poor man's one ewe lamb, or 
 the youthful Nero his first death warrant. " We 
 know what we are, but we know not what we 
 might be," if the right test were applied. 
 
 We read of the African women who ministered 
 to the fainting Mungo Park, with that touching 
 song, which for plaintive simplicity, is almost un- 
 equalled : 
 
 " He hath no mother to make him bread, 
 No wife to grind him corn ;" 
 
 and we are ready to echo all his praise of woman's 
 goodness. Yet, when we read again of Fulvia 
 tearing the tongue of the dead Cicero with her 
 golden bodkin ; or the bad Elizabeth treacherously 
 giving the gentle Mary to imprisonment and death ; 
 or of the Indian women, foremost in torturing their 
 captured enemies ; we are as ready to believe that 
 there is none so cruel and unforgiving as a revenge- 
 ful, jealous, angry woman. 
 
172 GOODNESS. 
 
 The boasted charity of the world, when ex- 
 amined, will be found to have cost the dispensers 
 of it, little that they valued, or to have purchased 
 an ostentation and applause which they valued 
 more. Half, at least, of its hospitals and asylums 
 have been founded by funds wrung from the 
 wretch 
 
 " Upon the bed 
 " Of sin, delirious with its dread ;" 
 
 or by those who robbed their heirs to make 
 amends for lives of niggardliness ; and the pomp- 
 ous tablet gives them credit for a charity, which 
 no more warmed their bosoms than it does the 
 marble bust that crowns the monument. What 
 becomes of goodness when envy, or jealousy, or 
 revenge, or pride, contends against it ? How small 
 a drop of such subtle poison embitters the whole 
 heart? "Away with goodness," the world then 
 cries ; " crucify it ! crucify it !" 
 
 There is no security for goodness unless in some 
 
GOODNESS. 173 
 
 strong principle, which lifts the heart of man above 
 those things for which the world quarrel, and thus 
 purifies the natural affection of self-love from all taint, 
 of selfishness. That principle is found in Christian 
 faith alone. The true Christian loves his God and 
 Saviour, and seeks his happiness from his love. 
 Transformed into the image of the good God, he 
 delights to imitate him in works of goodness ; and 
 being full of better hopes and treasures than those 
 of earth and time, no worldly interest is sufficient 
 to outweigh his motives to do good. Religion 
 does not destroy his love of himself to make room 
 for the love of others, but causes him to see and 
 feel that their happiness is in a high degree con- 
 sistent with, and contributive to his own. Disin- 
 terested benevolence, or a benevolence without any 
 reference immediate or ultimate to ourselves, is a 
 chimera which cannot exist in the government of 
 a God, who punishes crime and rewards virtue, 
 thus governing intelligence by motive. A man 
 who acts without a motive, is either a madman or 
 a fool. The delight attending a good action is 
 15* 
 
174 GOODNESS. 
 
 one of the strongest impelling motives to it ; and 
 he, who seems to do good without such conscious- 
 ness, and without loving to do good, is not in 
 heart a good man. Jesus served " for the reward 
 set before him." Jehovah himself takes delight in 
 goodness, and devised the plan of redemption for 
 his own glory : and so far from a well-regulated 
 self-love being a sordid affection, it exhalts us to a 
 communion with God and the Saviour. True 
 goodness, therefore, can only be maintained by a 
 faith which supplies higher motives to its exercise, 
 than the world can suggest to the withholding of 
 it. 
 
 The fact, that among us and other ChVistian 
 nations many noble acts of goodness are done by 
 those who do not claim to be spiritual Christians, 
 does not militate against the principle for which 
 we are arguing. They have learned their morality 
 from Christian books, and have been encouraged 
 by Christian examples. None of us, however 
 skeptical we may be, are without the light of 
 Christian truth, or apprehensions of the Christian's 
 
GOODNESS. 175 
 
 eternity. It is religion which binds society to- 
 gether. It hallows the vows of wedlock. An ap- 
 peal to the ever-living God, who is to judge us all, 
 is the last proof of testifying veracity ; and the 
 highest officer of our government, which owns or 
 denies no religion in its constitution, is sworn into 
 office upon the gospels of Jesns Christ. The 
 noblest maxim of heathen ethics is that of Tully, 
 " It is better to suffer an injury than to do one ;" 
 yet how far short does it fall of the Christian's 
 rule to love his neighbour as himself, and to do 
 good even to his enemies ? A comparison of the 
 state of society, where true Christianity prevails, 
 with that of other lands, shows how efficient the 
 Christian's creed is in softening and humanizing 
 the heart ; but it is only when that creed rules the 
 heart entirely, that its goodness is complete. 
 
 Such being the source of true goodness, it is 
 easy to perceive what its distinguishing character- 
 istics are. 
 
 True goodness is not a mere sentiment. Act- 
 ivity enters into its very nature. "Most men/' 
 
176 GOODNESS. 
 
 says the wise author of Proverbs, " will proclaim 
 their own goodness, but a faithful man who can 
 find?" There are some few who have reached 
 such a pitch of depravity as to be utterly indiffer- 
 ent to the very name of virtue, nay, to glory in 
 the effrontery of vice ; but such monsters are rare. 
 Most men wish to appear good to themselves and 
 to others. They will talk much, and perhaps 
 eloquently, about duties to society, humanity, 
 patriotism, and god-like charity. Nay, they resent 
 as a personal affront any doubt expressed respect- 
 ing the natural kindness of the human heart. 
 They are loud in denouncing the tyranny or in- 
 justice of others, and will sympathise, as they 
 think, deeply with some distant people pining in 
 famine, or struggling for freedom, or ground down 
 by despotism. They will melt over the sorrows 
 of some heroine of romance, or the scenic fable of 
 exaggerated wo. The glowing pages of the poet 
 or the orator, descriptive of warm affections and 
 heroic devotion, will kindle a correspondent glow 
 in their bosoms, and they fancy that they also 
 
GOODNESS. 1*77 
 
 are good. They picture to themselves scenes in 
 which they would like to display the benevolence 
 within them, and imagine occasions when they 
 would shine forth in the glory of virtuous enthu- 
 siasm. But alas ! these scenes are never realized ; 
 these great occasions never come ; and though op- 
 portunities for an ordinary and unobtrusive kind- 
 ness abound on every hand, they never seek them 
 out, but rather choose to dream again of ideal 
 goodness and romantic generosity. Because they 
 cannot show their goodness upon a large scale, 
 they will not put it forth at all. It is an excellent 
 observation of Blair, and one which such persons 
 would do well to remember, that "much of the 
 happiness of the world depends upon what are 
 termed little things ; and it is rare that God 
 honours us with heroic and famous distinctions in 
 doing good." It is, if we mistake not, Burke who 
 says, that " a state which lays its foundation in 
 rare and heroic virtues, will be sure to have for 
 its superstructure the basest profligacy and cor- 
 ruption ;" because ordinary service and integrity 
 
178 GOODNESS. 
 
 are thus made of no account, when in truth they 
 are the life-blood of the "body politic. No one can 
 say that he has no opportunities of doing good, in 
 a world where there are so many poor to be fed, 
 so many sorrowful to be comforted, so many 
 youth to be educated, so many strangers to be 
 taken by the hand, so many sick to be nursed, 
 and, above all, so many souls to be saved. He 
 must be blind and deaf, who can see no object 
 of goodness, and hear no call for compassion. 
 Whatever we may think of ourselves and of what 
 we would do, none but those who are actually en- 
 gaged in doing good have any true goodness. 
 Our means of doing good may be small, but each 
 of us has enough to be busy with ; and, like a 
 man trading upon little capital, we should turn it 
 the more often and with greater industry, that it 
 may yield the greater profit. The truly good man 
 is the man who does good. 
 
 " In the sharp extremities of fortune, 
 The blessings which the weak and poor can scatter, 
 
GOODNESS. 179 
 
 Have their own season — Tis a little thing 
 
 To give a cup of water, yet its draught 
 
 Of cool refreshment, drained by fevered lips, 
 
 May give a shock of pleasure to the frame 
 
 More exquisite than when nectarean juice 
 
 Eenews the life of joy in happier hours. 
 
 It is a little thing to speak a phrase 
 
 Of common comfort, which by daily use 
 
 Has almost lost its sense : but on the ear 
 
 Of him who thought to die unmourned, 't will fall, 
 
 Like richest music."* 
 
 True goodness is not merely impulsive, but ra- 
 tional and considerate. There are many who, the 
 moment that they see any one in want or suffer- 
 ing, are so pained at the sight that they instantly 
 strive to comfort themselves by some gift or effort 
 for their relief; and this class of persons, es- 
 pecially if they be rich, are fond of thinking that 
 money is the cure of all human ills, and when 
 they have given money, perchance profusely, are 
 satisfied with their easy redemption. But true 
 
 * Talfourd. 
 
180 GOODNESS. 
 
 goodness, though it feels pain in regarding pain in 
 others, and has pleasure in lessening it, thinks 
 more of the sufferer than itself. It will therefore 
 pause, and be at some trouble to inquire what ser- 
 vice is best, and how it may be rendered. Chari- 
 ty, (we use the word in its large sense) when it 
 is dictated by reason and piety, will be guided by 
 reason and the word of God ; and such charity 
 will often convey a lasting benefit at the price of 
 present gratification, when the man of impulse 
 would have inflicted a lasting injury. Goodness 
 should be willing to give time, and thought, and 
 patience, and even labour ; not merely money and 
 kind words and compassionate looks. 
 
 True goodness is self-sacrificing. Not in the 
 end, for in doing good for God's sake we can 
 make no real sacrifice ; but self-sacrificing in the 
 ordinary sense of the word. Many are willing to 
 give from the superabundance of their money, and 
 think they have done wonders when they give fhe 
 hundreth part of what they pay their milliner, or 
 their wine-merchant, yet would not bate a single 
 
GOODNESS. 181 
 
 feather, or scant their table of a dish. Others 
 give the waste hours of their leisure to charity, 
 and chat well pleased with their goodness among 
 pleasant companions, in session as a committee to 
 do good upon a large scale. Others, again, are 
 proud of using their influence with the world on 
 behalf of some needy client, who in his turn swells 
 the train of their dependents, and feeds them with 
 flattery. Their goodness, it is easy to see, costs 
 them nothing, for it only costs them money or 
 time, or influence, of little or no use to themselves. 
 It is therefore, worth nothing in the sight of God, 
 and next to nothing in the sight of men. Our 
 true goodness can be measured only by the sacri- 
 fices of self which we make for it ; and that poor 
 widow, who cast in the two mites, all she had, and 
 perhaps went without that day's meal, approached 
 nearer the dignity of His mercy, who for our sakes 
 became poor, than he whose name is blazoned 
 high in the lists of princely donors for gifts whichi 
 came from overflowing coffers. 
 
 True goodness is not confined to one or several! 
 ■ 16 
 
182 GOODNESS. 
 
 modes of exhibition, but shows itself in all. The 
 good man is not content with giving to the poor, 
 and relieving the wretched, and exhorting the sin- 
 ner, while he is harsh to his family, and overbear- 
 ing to his servants, and haughty to his neighbours. 
 He is gentle and kind to all; affable, courteous, 
 ever ready to oblige, showing in every word and 
 look, and gesture, that he wishes to see all happy. 
 Wherever he enters he brings sunshine with him, 
 the sunshine of heaven gleaming from his holy 
 heart upon a shadowed world. The grace of God 
 can dwell in strange places, but it is difficult to 
 conceive how a peevish, passionate man, careless | 
 of others' feelings and comforts, can be a good 
 man, though he may have built an hospital, and 
 fed a city with bread. 
 
 For the same reason the good man will never 
 do good to one, at the risk of another's suffering, 
 except it be his own. He is never reckless of con- 
 sequences. He remembers that human interests 
 are strangely complicated and intermingled, and 
 while he tries to do good to the more needy and 
 
GOODNESS. 183 
 
 suffering, he tries to do harm to none. A little 
 patience, and a little pains, by the blessing of God, 
 will soon enable him so to adjust and distribute his 
 kindness, that the general good may be advanced 
 with the individual. 
 
 True goodness is not confined in its objects. As 
 the good man's kindness goes beyond himself to 
 his family, it goes beyond his family to his coun- 
 trymen, and beyond his countrymen to the world. 
 The same word, which has commanded him to love 
 his neighbour as himself, has taught him that every 
 man is his neighbour. It may be right to begin at 
 home, for our Saviour, who loved the world, began 
 his gospel at Jerusalem ; but, if we would love like 
 Jesus, we must embrace the world. The Christian 
 may love his own spiritual household, but wo to 
 that Christian whose goodness is limited by his sect ! 
 Some do good only to those who are grateful and 
 worthy : but true goodness is like His, who causes 
 " his sun to shine and his rain to descend upon 
 the evil and the good, the just and the unjust." 
 Some are good to their friends or those who are 
 
184 GOODNESS. 
 
 r 
 
 indifferent to them, but turn coldly away from 
 their enemies, and treat with marked dislike even 
 fellow Christians who have offended them. They 
 show that their goodness comes not from Christ, 
 who loved his enemies, washed the feet of the 
 traitor Judas, and prayed for his murderers. 
 
 " Speak, servants of the Blessed One who gave 
 The glorious precept, Love your enemies, 
 Is it enough that ye should love your friends, 
 Even as the heathen do ? Is He who bore 
 The flight of friendship, the denial vow 
 Of coward love, the Pharisaic taunt, 
 Judea's maddened scourge, the Roman spear, 
 A world's offences, and the pang of death, — 
 Is he your Master if ye only walk 
 As nature prompts ? If the love-beaming eye 
 Drink fond return reciprocal, the lip 
 That pours your praise partake your sympathy 
 When sorrow blanches it, the liberal hand 
 Win by its gifts the meed of gratitude, 
 What do ye more than others ? But on him 
 Whose frown of settled hatred mars your rest, 
 Who to the bosom of your fame doth strike 
 
 # ; 
 
GOODNESS. 185 
 
 A serpent's sting, your kindest deeds requite 
 With treachery, and o'er your motives cast 
 The mist of prejudice, — say can ye look 
 "With the meek smile of patient tenderness, 
 And from the deep pavilion of your soul 
 Send up the prayer of blessing ? 
 
 God of strength ! 
 Be merciful; and when we duly kneel 
 Beside the pillow of repose, and say 
 'Forgive us, Father, e'en as we forgive,* 
 Grant that the murmured orison 
 Seal not our condemnation."* 
 
 True goodness is untiring. "Be thou faithful 
 unto death/' is the Master's command. " Be not 
 weary in well-doing, for in due season ye shall 
 reap, if ye faint not," is his exhortation and pro- 
 mise. It is only by " patient continuance in well- 
 doing" that we can attain to " glory, honour, and 
 immortal life." This is not our rest, and until our 
 Judge shall say, "Well done, good and faithful 
 servant," we must not " forget to do good and com- 
 
 * Mrs. Sigotirney. 
 
 16* 
 
186 GOODNESS. 
 
 municate." We may work in darkness, and see 
 no present fruit, but we work for a faithful Master, 
 and through his grace our reward is sure. 
 
 II. Some principal arguments to the cultivation 
 of this excellent grace of goodness. 
 
 It is an evidence of the work of God's Spirit in 
 our hearts. The end of the Spirit's work is to 
 make us like God and his Son Jesus Christ. What 
 resemblance of the creature to the Creator, of the 
 Christian to his Lord, can be greater than that of 
 doing good ? Is he not the One who opens his 
 hand and supplies the wants of every thing that 
 liveth ? Is he not the Father of the fatherless, the 
 Judge of the widow, the Consolation of the sorrow- 
 ful, and the God of the stranger ? Did not Jesus 
 love the world, go about doing good to the world, 
 and die for the world ? Only then by doing good 
 can we be like him. In the judgment day, the 
 inquiry will be made not into our opinions or pro- 
 fessions alone, but into our deeds, as proving the 
 correctness of our faith and the sincerity of our 
 professions. Never can we know that we are in 
 
GOODNESS. 187 
 
 the right way, except we walk in the footsteps of 
 Him, who did good in all his life and death. He 
 came from heaven to do good on earth, that we in 
 doing good might tread the path to heaven. 
 
 It is well pleasing to God. It was when he 
 looked upon his Son doing good, that he declared 
 himself well pleased ; and only when we do good 
 is he well pleased with us for Christ's sake. In 
 our goodness to our fellow men, he sees our love 
 to him. He recognizes the character of his chil- 
 dren, and the fruits of his Son's atonement. As 
 he loves himself for his infinite benevolence, so will 
 he love them who are like him in goodness. 
 
 It recommends our religion to the world. The 
 goodness of God is the attribute which worldly 
 men most admire in him ; and when they see the 
 Christian's good works they will recognize the 
 Divinity of the Gospel, and glorify him in heaven. 
 They will never believe that Christianity leads to 
 a better world, unless they see it making this 
 world better. 
 
 For the Master's sake, for God's sake, for the 
 
188 GOODNESS. 
 
 world's sake, we must do good. There are two 
 faithful sayinys recorded in .Scripture, the one, 
 that " Christ Jesus came into the world to save 
 sinners ;" the other, that the " man of God be care- 
 ful to maintain good works." We prove our faith 
 in the first, by obedience to the second. 
 
 It is the source of rich pleasure to ourselves. If 
 God be happy in doing good, every one must be 
 happy who does good like him. None ever tried 
 doing good, that did not find it so. Most other 
 pleasures perish in the using, but the memory of 
 good actions is always sweet. It comforts us in 
 calamity. It sustains us in trial. It makes the 
 wilderness of life blossom, and soothes the pang 
 of death, when the good man enters into the joy 
 of his Lord. 
 
 Our good works enhance our eternal felicity. 
 Christ goes before us to open heaven by his grace, 
 but our good works follow to enhance our reward. 
 How sweet there, as we look upon the Lamb that 
 was slain for us, to remember that we lived for 
 him and those he loved I When the redemption 
 
GOODNESS. 189 
 
 is complete, will it not be the joy of the blessed 
 angels to remember all their acts of ministering 
 kindness to the heirs of salvation ? Will it not be 
 the blessedness of the redeemed to remember their 
 acts of kindness to those, who stand with them 
 around the throne ? Whose joy, whose glory will 
 be the greatest ? His, who did the most good. 
 
 blessed Spirit, whose alone is the fruit of 
 goodness, work that goodness in our hearts, that 
 we, by thy continual help, may live the life which 
 Jesus lived, and share the joy in which he rejoices : 
 Even for his sake. Amen. 
 

vm. 
 
 FAITH. 
 
 It may seem strange to some that the apostle 
 should not have named faith first of all, instead of 
 after several Christian graces, as we are taught in 
 the Scriptures, that faith in Christ is the life of 
 Christian morality, suggesting the affection of love 
 for God and man, and moving us to a correspon- 
 dent course of conduct; and, especially, as the 
 apostle Peter, in a passage almost parallel to the 
 one before us, exhorts his brethren "to add to 
 their faith" some of these very graces here named 
 before it. (2 Peter, i. 5, 6, Y). The explanation, 
 
 191 
 
192 FAITH. 
 
 however, is, that the word is not here to be under- 
 stood in its more common sense. 
 
 Faith, in its pure signification, is belief in testi- 
 mony, as distinguished from personal knowledge. 
 We believe that there is such a country as China, 
 though we may never have seen it ; and that there 
 once lived such a man as Julius Csesar, though he 
 died nearly nineteen hundred years ago, because 
 we have had sufficient testimony to convince us of 
 both facts ; but we know that we exist by our own 
 consciousness, and need no further proof from 
 others to assure us, nor could any testimony con- 
 vince us to the contrary. We speak sometimes 
 figuratively of the testimony of our senses, but 
 strictly, what we perceive by our own senses, we 
 know of ourselves. 
 
 When faith in testimony is exercised about 
 things in which we are personally concerned, it 
 will, in due proportion to its strength, influence 
 our conduct. If a man be ill of some dangerous 
 disease, and is told by a physician in whose 
 veracity and skill he has entire faith, that a cer- 
 
FAITH. 193 
 
 tain remedy will restore him to health, he will 
 take that remedy. If one, whom we believe to be 
 a person of truth and ability, offers ns his friend- 
 ship and aid in difficult circumstances, and we 
 need his kindness, we will rely and count upon it ; 
 or, if we make a bargain with such an one, we will 
 perform our # part of the contract with a strong 
 conviction that he will perform his. Faith in such 
 a case is more than mere belief. It is confidence. 
 Such is the nature of Christian faith, which is 
 based upon the testimony of God in the Scrip- 
 tures ; and no man has true faith in the word of 
 God, unless he believes his soul to be infinitely 
 precious, and commits himself for salvation to 
 Jesus Christ, and follows him in all those holy 
 duties, the practice of which is through grace, the 
 only way to attain everlasting life. Wherefore 
 Paul and James agree, when one says, "Faith 
 without works is dead;" (that is, hath no real 
 existence ;) and the other, " I will show thee my 
 faith by my works." We are not saved by faith 
 without works, for there is no such faith in Christ ; 
 17 
 
194 FAITH. 
 
 neither are we saved by works without faith, for 
 no works, but those which flow from faith, are 
 acceptable with God. 
 
 But that is not the meaning of faith here. It 
 is rather what is usually expressed by veracity, 
 honesty, fidelity, or the observance of truth in 
 all our assertions, promises, and engagements. 
 The supposition of our truth induces others to put 
 faith in us, and the keeping or fulfilment of that 
 truth, is the fruit of the Spirit which is called 
 
 " FAITH." 
 
 This sense of the term, though unusual, is not 
 singular. We find the same Greek word in Titus, 
 ii. 10, where servants are exhorted to show, 'all 
 good fidelity." In Deuteronomy, xxxii. 20, we 
 read, " Children in whom there is no faith," or 
 veracity ; and the word in the Septuagint is the 
 same as here. In Romans, iii. 3, the apostle asks, 
 " Shall their unbelief make the faith of God with- 
 out effect ?" Shall their unbelief make God's de- 
 clarations untrue ? Indeed, it is common for us to 
 speak of plighted faith, of relying upon another's 
 
FAITH. 195 
 
 faith, of acting in good faith, and of the faith of 
 treaties and contracts. 
 
 This use of the word faith itself shows the value 
 of the virtue signified by it. Without such truth 
 there could be no confidence. The boundaries of 
 our personal observation would be the limit of our 
 knowledge. The child would doubt his parent, 
 and the pupil his teacher. History would cease 
 to instruct by the lessons of the past, and the voy- 
 ager to other lands would travel for all but him- 
 self in vain. No bargains could be made except 
 those consummated on the spot, and commerce 
 would dwindle to a momentary traffic. Distrust- 
 ful nations would own no treaties, and perpetual 
 arms be the sole security from perpetual danger. 
 The person of a herald would cease to be sacred, 
 and the white flag of truce and peace be crimsoned 
 with his blood. Society in its simplest, as well as 
 its most extended forms, would be broken up. 
 The same cement, without which the confederacy 
 of affiliated states would crumble into ruin, is 
 necessary to connubial attachment, household 
 
196 FAITH. 
 
 affections, and the charities of neighbourhood. 
 The wildest barbarism is but a remote approach to 
 the confusion and anarchy of a world in which 
 every man would be a liar, a traitor, and sup- 
 planter of his brother, language no longer the 
 interpreter of thought or vehicle of knowledge, 
 and truth itself, in the general distrust, no better 
 than falsehood. A violation of faith is, therefore, 
 not a passing crime, and injurious only to the one 
 or the few immediately deceived. It is rebellion 
 against the God who ordained the laws of so- 
 ciety, with the happiness to be found in them, 
 and treason against society itself. So the con- 
 sent of the civilized world has stamped it. For, 
 though, from the sad corruption of the public 
 moral sense, certain forms of knavery and de- 
 ception, (not less, but, because upon a larger scale, 
 more criminal than the petty cheating of the 
 vulgar rogue,) have come to bear the name of 
 financial tact or clever operations, and breach of 
 trust is, by some strange inconsistency, but a 
 misdemeanour in the eyes of law; yet the last 
 
FAITH. 197 
 
 insult to which a man will submit is to be called a 
 liar, and society frowns away from her circles the 
 detected scoundrel, unless indeed his villany has 
 been lucrative enough to gild his infamy, to 
 dazzle the venal multitude with splendour, or 
 stop the accusing mouth with the luxuries of his 
 table. Even then there is a natural perception of 
 a fitness in truth, which no sophistry can ut- 
 terly blind, and the false and dishonest man 
 carries within his bosom a nest of venomed 
 thoughts, that will hiss far louder than the 
 populace without. 
 
 What the opinion is, which God holds of false- 
 hood, he hath expressed by that terrible sentence, 
 that " all liars (which includes all the deceitful and 
 dishonest) shall have their part in the lake that 
 burneth with fire and brimstone." And, truly, 
 well does he deserve such extremity of punish- 
 ment, who, so far as his influence extends, plucks 
 the corner-stone from the fabric of social con- 
 fidence, extinguishes the light of the world, 
 and insults the all-seeing and holy God to his 
 
 17* 
 
198 FAITH. 
 
 face, that he may deceive and wrong his fellow 
 men. 
 
 The truth or faithfulness here insisted upon, 
 means, primarily, truth and faithfulness toward 
 God in our Christian profession ; but our duty to 
 God necessarily includes those duties to our fellow 
 men which he has enjoined, and the apostle is 
 here speaking of the fruits of the Spirit, or of 
 those graces which prove the Spirit of God to be 
 dwelling in the Christian. It would be impossi- 
 ble, in the narrow limits of this essay, to describe, 
 or even allude to the many forms and occasions 
 of observing truth and faithfulness. We may, 
 therefore, confine ourselves to the purpose of 
 showing, how a true and faithful conscience toward 
 God will preserve the Christian's truth and faith- 
 fulness in all his conduct and example before men. 
 
 The man of truth and faithfulness will be ever 
 cautious lest he should offend. 
 
 As it regards his words. The resolution and 
 the prayer of David should be those of every true 
 Christian. " I will take heed to my ways that I 
 
FAITH. 199 
 
 sin not with my tongue. I will keep my mouth 
 as with a bridle." " Set a watch, Lord, before 
 my mouth. Keep the door of my lips." James, 
 who seems to have been especially anxious to re- 
 commend the daily practice of Christianity in 
 what are termed the common virtues, devotes a 
 whole chapter to the importance of words, and the 
 good or evil they may do. " If any man among 
 you," says he, " seem to be religious, and bridleth 
 not his tongue, that man's religion is vain." And 
 again, " If a man offend not in word, the same is 
 a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole 
 body." Our Saviour too has told us, that "for 
 every Reword" we shall be brought into judg- 
 ment. The Christian will, therefore, cautiously 
 weigh his words and guard his conversation, lest 
 in any thing he may offend against the truth, and 
 so against God and man. He will speak nothing 
 but what he knows to be truth, and that truth only 
 in love. 
 
 There are many, however, who talk so much, 
 that they cannot talk cautiously, and hence talk 
 
200 FAITH. 
 
 much error and falsehood. The briefest pause in 
 conversation is painful to them, and they feel 
 themselves bound to fill it up, and when they once 
 begin, are so charmed with their own voice, that 
 they run precipitately on, lest any other should 
 have an opportunity to disturb their self-delighted 
 eloquence. It must be a clever brain at the best, 
 which can send forth a constant stream of truth 
 and thought, and such persons being usually de- 
 ficient in that organ, they are obliged to avail 
 themselves of the trifles which are uppermost, and 
 such words, for want of better, as rise to their lips. 
 Hence their opinions are crude and hasty, and 
 necessarily often erroneous, or even when correct, 
 so badly expressed that they often seem to assert 
 what they neither mean nor believe ; and as far as 
 their testimony is credited, (though happily it is 
 not much) their hearers go away with false and in- 
 jurious impressions. 
 
 It is not easy to shine in conversation, and yet 
 more difficult for those who would be always co- 
 ruscating. Hence they endeavour after piquant 
 
FAITH. 201 
 
 anecdote, witty paradoxes, marvellous narratives, 
 and illustrative incident. So long as the treasury 
 of their memory furnishes the true and the rea- 
 sonable, they may confine themselves to them ; 
 but, when their frequent drafts cease to be honour- 
 ed, there is a strong temptation, and one they 
 rarely resist, to invent and counterfeit the supply 
 which the occasion needs ; and this especially as, 
 Lord Bacon tells us, " the admixture of a lie doth 
 ever add pleasure," for a romance will have more 
 readers than true history, and a fairy tale than 
 Solomon's proverbs. Every public speaker knows 
 how apt he is in the impetus of his declamation to 
 seize upon words, and even opinions, which in a 
 cooler moment he would reject ; and we have seen 
 the frantic steed become so blind with its own ra- 
 pidity as to rush into a ditch or over a precipice ; 
 but there is perhaps nothing so rashly impetuous 
 or apt to involve itself in foulness or danger, as 
 the careless, talkative tongue. 
 
 Besides, such persons, eager for a new supply 
 of facts and incidents, are seldom scrupulous as to 
 
202 FAITH. 
 
 the sources from which they gather them, and 
 thus become the most busy and mischievous in- 
 struments of scandal and slander. To have the 
 petty triumph of telling a new report, to astound 
 their listeners with the unexpected error of some 
 good man or exemplary woman, (the better the 
 character the more startling the story, for who 
 cares to hear that a thief has stolen again, or a. 
 drunkard has had another debauch ?) is a pleasure 
 your careless talker can hardly deny himself. It 
 is to be hoped that there are but few, at least in a 
 community like ours, who would deliberately and 
 maliciously invent a false report, to destroy the 
 character and peace of his neighbour ; but there 
 are some fully equal to such baseness, else a large 
 proportion of the lies in daily circulation could 
 never have been told. It is a most pernicious 
 maxim, that there must be some foundation for 
 every wide-spread scandal ; or, as the common 
 saying is, " Where there is smoke there must be 
 fire ;" for it accuses the character of Him who died 
 upon the cross, a victim of calumny, and of those 
 
FAITH. 203 
 
 to whom lie said, " Blessed are ye, when all men 
 speak all manner of evil against yon falsely for 
 my sake." How then do such base falsehoods 
 come to be believed? Not certainly upon the 
 credit of the original inventors, but from the repe- 
 tition of them by those of whom the world thinks 
 better than that they could willingly lie to injure 
 another. Let it be graven upon our memories, 
 that the person who repeats a slander, even though 
 he give the name of his author, is no better and far 
 more mischievous than its originator. He endorses 
 the lie by his repetition of it, and, as without his 
 endorsement it could never have gained credit, he 
 is responsible for the mischief by the law of God 
 and man. We would take a spurious note far 
 more readily from an honest man than from a 
 known counterfeiter, and every additional hand it 
 passes through adds to the deception. Besides, 
 slander is more accumulative than a snowball. It 
 is like a salad, which every one will season to his 
 own taste, or the taste of those to whom he offers 
 it ; or like the kite of a child to which additional 
 
204 FAITH. 
 
 exaggerations are attached, each light in itself, but 
 together forming a counterbalancing weight, with- 
 out which the airy trifle would fall again to earth, 
 when, with eager speed, he runs to make it soar 
 aloft ; the mischiefs, the heart-burnings, the 
 disgraceful enmities, which have occurred from 
 otherwise good and well-meaning people repeating 
 the words of those whom they know, or ought to 
 know, to be unworthy of credit ! What is it, 
 tale-bearer, that makes you so credulous of another's 
 faults, but a consciousness within your breast that 
 you are no better than you describe him to be ! 
 
 As it regards promises. When men wish to 
 make an assertion more binding, they confirm 
 it with an oath, which is nothing else than de- 
 claring that they make it in the presence of God 
 as a witness. Few men, it is to be presumed, 
 certainly no true Christian, would engage to do a 
 thing by an oath lightly. They would weigh well 
 their capacity and opportunity to perform, before 
 they thus bound themselves. But the faithful 
 Christian believes himself ever to be in the 
 
FAITH. 205 
 
 presence of God, and that He is a witness of 
 all his engagements. So with him every pro- 
 mise will have the sanctity of an oath, and, there- 
 fore, will not be lightly made. There are those, 
 however, who are apt, in the enthusiasm of the 
 moment, to pledge themselves earnestly to their 
 neighbour and society, to do what they find them- 
 selves either unable or unwilling to perform, when 
 the excitement of the occasion has subsided. They 
 then, it is true, see that, they were rash and im- 
 provident in their pledges, and perhaps hold them- 
 selves excused for neglecting their fulfilment. But 
 their neighbours or the world think of the promise 
 itself, not of the circumstances. They have per- 
 haps relied upon it, made their own arrangements 
 accordingly, or are looking for the reality of a 
 virtue which promised so well. The failure of 
 one to perform his promise may be cause of failure 
 in others who are innocent; and if a professing 
 Christian be the promise-breaker, the plea of 
 enthusiasm will not do much to save his religion 
 from reproach. Probably few have done more 
 18 
 
206 FAITH. 
 
 mischief to the public character of the Church of 
 God, than those who are loud in their professions 
 and engagements during some religious excite- 
 ment, yet, when it is over, fall into lukewarmness 
 and worldly-mindedness ; and but for more steady 
 and cautious Christians, who at such times, were 
 perhaps reproached for coldness and unbelief, 
 the cause of religion would long since have been 
 stranded. 
 
 Upon the same principle, we may well doubt 
 the propriety and safety of vowing or publicly re- 
 solving upon an extraordinary morality, or diffi- 
 cult and singular courses of conduct, which the 
 Scriptures, and the example of Christ and his 
 apostles, have not enjoined. Such resolutions 
 are like the vauntings of the boaster, rarely indi- 
 cative of firm moral principle, but rather serving 
 to cheat the resolver himself into a belief of a de- 
 termination he does not possess. The effect may 
 be, to sustain him for a season by the unusual 
 effort which the fear of shame may excite, but in 
 the end, like every other substitute for calm and 
 
FAITH. 207 
 
 rational virtue, they will fail and bring disgrace. 
 Vows of duty to God, and pledges of truth in our 
 engagements with each other, are highly proper ; 
 but, except in matters clearly revealed by precept 
 and example, they should be made with the great- 
 est caution. The man, who cannot be kept in 
 virtue by the simple rules of God's law, will never 
 be restrained from vice by any transcendental 
 morality of human devising. The spasmodic ex- 
 ertions of a frame when diseased, may show more 
 strength than its healthy efforts, but the very 
 strength of those spasms prove the absence of 
 health, and are sure to be succeeded by a corres- 
 pondent depression and inaction. It is to this 
 error in attempting virtue that the wise man refers, 
 when he says, " Be not righteous over-much ; 
 neither make thyself over-wise : why shouldest 
 thou destroy thyself?" And again : u Better is it 
 not to vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not 
 pay. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to 
 sin, neither say thou before the angel, that it was 
 an error : wherefore should God be angry at thy 
 
208 FAITH. 
 
 voice, and destroy the work of thy hands? For 
 in the multitude of dreams and many words there 
 are also divers vanities : but fear thou God."* 
 "We have strong proofs of this in the Pharisaism 
 of a Saviour's time, and the supererogatory vows 
 and penances of later times, by which monstrous 
 and unnecessary difficulties received the name of 
 eminent virtue, and a breach of common morality 
 became but a venial offence. Virtue lies not in 
 promising extravagantly, but in doing well. And 
 as has been observed by another, " We must not 
 needlessly multiply vows upon our souls. The 
 more care we take before we utter any thing with 
 our lips, the more secure shall we be of fulfilling 
 what our lips pronounce ; though there is no in- 
 convenience of solemn engagements to God to do 
 what his law hath made our duty_before."f 
 
 This caution should especially be used by Chris- 
 tians in their contracts of business. Such con- 
 tracts are engagements, which require special 
 attention. For as the world are apt to think more 
 
 * Eccles. v. 5, 6, 7. t Dr. Watts. 
 
FAITH. 209 
 
 of those arrangements which respect the things 
 upon which they have set their hearts,, so, few 
 things are more likely to bring scandal upon a 
 Christian's profession than the want of punctuality 
 and strict probity in his worldly affairs. Yet there 
 is reason to fear, that the Christian in his business 
 sometimes forgets the precision and inflexibility 
 of Christian morality. Credit is necessary to busi- 
 ness, but, because it is so necessary, the abuse of 
 confidence is the more criminal. It is like that 
 mighty vapour which, when duly controlled and 
 regulated as to its power of expansion, gives 
 energy to effect the grandest purposes, but when 
 extravagantly applied, explodes and shatters the 
 whole economy into ruin, and brings destruction 
 upon the many for the folly of the few. What 
 may be the maxim of the world upon this subject, 
 it is not our duty to know, but no Christian can 
 venture, for his own gain, another's interest who 
 has confided in his integrity, and be guiltless be- 
 fore God. Unforeseen calamities may happen to 
 the best of men and in their wisest projects, but a 
 18* 
 
210 FAITH. 
 
 rash speculator and an over-grasping adventurer 
 with other men's means, breaks, in the eye of 
 Christian morality, that commandment which says 
 " thou shalt not steal," *as really as the man who 
 picks a pocket or robs on the highway. The man 
 true and faithful to his God will, in all his deal- 
 ings with his fellow man, remember the caution 
 of his Bible, " He that hasteth to be rich hath an 
 evil eye, and considereth not that poverty may 
 come upon him." And again : " They that will 
 be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into 
 many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men 
 in destruction and perdition. For the love of 
 money is the root of all evil ; which, while some 
 coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and 
 pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 
 But thou, O man of God, flee these things, and 
 folio w after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, 
 patience, meekness." 
 
 The man of truth and faithfulness will not be 
 satisfied with conforming, however strictly, to the 
 laws of men. 
 
FAITH. 211 
 
 Although in its spirit the world is at enmity 
 with God, it has paid an unintentional homage to 
 the excellence of God's law, by prescribing many 
 of its rules as necessary to the good order of social 
 interests. Hence there is a certain resemblance 
 between the external conduct of the man of world- 
 ly honour and that of the Christian, and the laws 
 of men are, to a certain extent, agreeable to the 
 laws of God. Yet it must happen, partly from 
 the imperfection of every thing human, and partly 
 from their unwillingness to bind themselves by a 
 morality so strict, that our legislators will omit 
 many things which the law of God requires. 
 The Christian, however, while he conscientiously 
 obeys the human government under which he 
 lives, remembers the higher responsibility which 
 he owes to God, as our Lord commanded us to 
 "render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, 
 and unto God the things that are God's." There 
 may be many obligations to his neighbour which 
 the laws do not compel him to fulfil, or which he 
 may resist by the aid of cunning counsel and pro- 
 
212 FAITH. 
 
 traded litigation, that are yet required by the ra e 
 to do unto others as he would have them do unto 
 him ; and so there may be frequent opportunities 
 of demanding from his neighbour advantages 
 which the letter of the law will enable him to 
 exact, that he should cheerfully give up, ac- 
 cording to the rule which bids him love his 
 neighbour as himself. In many of these in- 
 stances, the public opinion of a trading com- 
 munity would justify his adhering to the de- 
 cision of the courts, and count it no shame for 
 him to insist upon the words of the bond, though 
 they were u the money or the pound of flesh ;" 
 and professing Christians, in the exciting pursuit 
 of gain, sometimes observe a legal rigidness and 
 exactness in matters of business, which is far from 
 consistent with integrity of conscience and charity 
 of heart. Because other men avail themselves of 
 the laws to the utmost, they justify themselves by 
 the example of sinners, and think it necessary to 
 foil wrong with its own weapons, forgetting that it 
 becomes them to return evil with good. 
 
FAITH. 213 
 
 The faithful man will be known by his super- 
 adding equity to law, mercy to justice, and clemen- 
 cy to right. He will so govern his conduct in 
 business, that he will not fear to open his books 
 with his heart before the eyes of God, or to meet 
 the final appeal of both debtor and creditor to the 
 Judge of quick and dead, who discerns the 
 thoughts and detects the most secret sin. So 
 far from reducing Christian character to the stand- 
 ard of human legislation, he will endeavour, as his 
 influence may enable him, to elevate human legis- 
 lation to the standard of Christianity. Thus will 
 he avoid the charge which our Lord brought 
 against the unbelievers of his time, that they 
 " sought honour from men, and not the honour 
 which flows from God only." It is but an empty 
 hone?ty in the sight of God, which is compelled 
 by fear of commercial discredit, a sheriff's writ, or 
 a cell in the penitentiary. It is no better than the 
 wearing of a garment cut in the fashion of the day, 
 for laws may change their fashions as garments do. 
 Nor will it be a good excuse for the Christian in 
 
214 FAITH. 
 
 the day of judgment, that, though he broke God's 
 law in defrauding another of what was his due, or 
 in exacting more than he could righteously claim, 
 the law of the courts below was on his side. 
 Verily, from such an one God will demand the 
 debt due to himself for his broken precepts ; for 
 as we judge " we shall be judged, and with what 
 measure we mete, it shall be measured to us again ;" 
 and the sentence will be, to " deliver him over to 
 the tormentors, not to go thence till he has paid 
 the uttermost farthing." 
 
 The man of truth and faithfulness will neither 
 be seduced nor intimidated by mere public 
 opinion. 
 
 The moral sympathies of our race are quite as 
 strong as the physical, and there is a magnetic in- 
 fluence which mind has over mind that no one can 
 doubt who has studied his own heart, or the con- 
 duct of others. In no other way can we account 
 for many violent and wide-spread excitements that 
 have prevailed in the world, and for which subse- 
 quent and cool investigations could discover no 
 
FAITH. 215 
 
 just cause ; or for the tenacity of the public in re- 
 taining many barbarous and silly customs, the 
 propriety of which each individual of that public, 
 if questioned singly and by himself, would be 
 ready to doubt. It is the seduction of public 
 opinion which has led to the perpetration of many 
 a wrong, and the dread of that opinion which 
 deters many a coward soul from doing what is 
 right. 
 
 If public opinion be on the side of our supposed 
 interests, the sophistry of self readily persuades us 
 to make a summary decision that so many cannot 
 be in error, when a sober examination of the word 
 of God w T ould rebuke and abash us. The orator 
 pleads for us, the wit makes our scruples con- 
 temptible, and the voice of conscience is hushed 
 in the approving hum or acclamations of the 
 crowd. It is fashionable to sin, and often do 
 fashion's harlot arts paint the cheek of crime with 
 the semblance of virtue's healthful bloom, and 
 hide the diseased and loathsome form of corrup- 
 tion under gay and attractive robes. Yet of what 
 
216 FAITH. 
 
 is public opinion generally made ? How many are 
 there in the multitude, whose united persuasions 
 gain our willing ear, to whom, as individuals, we 
 would go, relying upon their candour, their good 
 sense, and high principle, to ask advice in the 
 regulation of our conduct ? " Popular fame," says 
 Cicero, " is the consent of knaves and fools ;" and 
 if we reflect how rare honest and wise men are, 
 we must confess he is not far from the truth. It 
 is obvious, also, that there are many depraved 
 tendencies common to all men, and that, with the 
 exception of those few who steadily and from 
 principle resist those tendencies, the general voice 
 will be given in palliation of their indulgence, so 
 that by agreeing with public opinion, we are often 
 only " following the multitude to do evil." 
 
 Besides, men naturally associate with their like, 
 the rich with the rich, the powerful with the 
 powerful, the learned with the learned, the poor 
 with the poor, the good with the good, and the 
 vile with the vile ; what seems to be public opin- 
 ion in one circle is not public opinion in another, 
 
FAITH. 217 
 
 what would be glorious in this would be infamous 
 in that; and in choosing our association, we 
 choose what we wish public opinion to be, con- 
 firming ourselves in evil or good as our bias may 
 incline. 
 
 There are many methods, also, of controlling 
 and even making public opinion, A few may 
 have the power, by indirect bribery or intimi- 
 dation, to rule the rest, and the very talent 
 which they thus display is cited as a proof of 
 the value of their opinions. Hence we find in- 
 stances of whole communities being led astray by 
 some general though corrupt influence, until it 
 becomes infamous to stand up for the right, and 
 no man can insist upon the obligation of pure 
 honesty without being written down a knave. The 
 moral sense of the community becomes perverted 
 upon other, though kindred, questions, and each 
 man, seeing roguery upon a large scale justified 
 and gilded, is less chary in venturing upon his 
 petty personal deviations from the one straight 
 path of true virtue. 
 19 
 
218 FAITH. 
 
 The man, therefore, who would be faithful to 
 his God, will mark his course through life by His 
 holy word, not swept about by the eddies of 
 human opinion, but steering by the fixed and 
 bright stars of heavenly truth, which shine in a 
 lustre undimmed, and in orbits unbiassed by the 
 attractions of earthly interests and prejudice ; or, 
 if he choose to strengthen and regulate himself by 
 others' example, it will be the example of the good 
 and the godly. He would rather be rebuked by 
 the wise and religious, than applauded by the 
 foolish and profane. It is said of an ancient, re- 
 markable for unyielding integrity, that on being 
 applauded by the crowd for some sentiments he 
 had expressed, he turned to a friend and asked, 
 "What foolish thing have I said?" And our 
 Saviour has left us this emphatic warning : " Wo 
 unto you when all men shall speak well of you, for 
 so did their fathers of the false prophets." The 
 faithful man looks for the judgment of God alone, 
 and the judgment of men is valuable to him only 
 when it coincides with the Divine. 
 
FAITH. 219 
 
 Some, however, who will not allow themselves 
 to be seduced by public opinion into overt acts 
 of wrong, are deterred, by the fear of it, from 
 doing right. They have perhaps a yielding and 
 courteous disposition, and dislike to set up and 
 maintain their opinion against that of others. It 
 seems to them doubly rude, not only to differ from 
 the company they are in, but to differ in such a 
 way as to pronounce it morally in the wrong. 
 Hence, though they give no audible assent to error 
 and irreligion, they will say nothing against it, 
 nay, even refrain from doing what is right, lest the 
 example should cast reproach upon the general 
 laxity of morals. 
 
 Or they fear to be thought pragmatical, bigoted 
 and singular, and think their criminal bashfulness 
 to be the modesty and meekness of an unobtrusive 
 religion. 
 
 Or they dread the charge of insincerity and hy- 
 pocrisy in pretending to be better than they really 
 are, a charge the world is sure to fix upon any who 
 greatly outshine them, not conceiving the possi- 
 
220 FAITH. 
 
 bility of a virtue which is so far above their own 
 pitch ; and become unfaithful to God from the 
 dread of seeming insincere before men. 
 
 Or, yet more frequently, they shrink from the 
 laugh of the world, and " the slow, unmoving fin- 
 ger of scorn." Ridicule, though it has been so 
 called, is not a test of truth, but rather the strata- 
 gem of a weak cause ; yet it is a severe trial of 
 faithfulness. Multitudes have been found who 
 were ready to contend for distinction even at the 
 cannon's mouth, but scarcely ever a bosom so 
 shielded by moral firmness as to be impenetrable 
 by the shafts of wit. In the records of all the 
 persecutions of Christian people by the rack, the 
 fire, and the sword, we rarely find an instance of 
 open apostacy from the impulse of terror. But 
 how frequent on the other hand, in these days of 
 comparative safety, has truth been laughed into 
 corners, and religion made to hang its head and 
 blush, by the polished sneer of profane witticism ? 
 The same Peter, who flew in the face of an armed 
 guard, and smote with his ready sword the ser- 
 
FAITH . 221 
 
 vant of authority, was made to lie and blaspheme 
 by the sarcastic question of a kitchen maid. 
 
 Yet after all, we ask again, what is the opinion 
 or the laugh of the world ? Did it not mock Noah 
 all the hundred and twenty years that the ark was 
 building ? Did it not mock Lot when he warned 
 his sons-in-law of the fires which were about to 
 descend upon guilty Sodom ? Did it not deride 
 Jesus himself on the way to the cross ? Has it 
 not often murdered the martyr in one year, and 
 canonized him the next ? One day enthroned the 
 bloody conspirator in almost regal pomp, and on 
 the morrow shouted execrations as it dragged him 
 to the scaffold ? Is it of such a world that the 
 man of God is to be afraid ? Good St. Bernard 
 well says, " Among the good it is safe to be good ; 
 but among the bad to be good deserves praise. 
 For when it is safe, it is easy ; but among the bad 
 to be good, is difficult in proportion to the good- 
 ness." 
 
 For what purpose is the Christian sent into the 
 world, but to show the sins of its opinions and 
 19* 
 
222 FAITH. 
 
 practices by the contrast of his own ? Is it not 
 then a base desertion of duty to put his light 
 under a bushel lest men should accuse him of im- 
 modesty in letting it be seen ? Has not our Sa- 
 viour told his people that they should be as cities 
 set upon a hill, which cannot be hid ? A good 
 man will be singular, when found among wicked 
 men ; but is it not his duty to be singular ? That 
 very singularity is his praise. What has made 
 any of the glorious dead remarkable for their 
 worth, but their singularity in it, as Aristides, who 
 was called the Just ? Why do we so mourn over 
 a single error of one otherwise illustrious in 
 goodness, but because it shows him not wholly 
 above the corruption of the mass, as did the brib- 
 ery of Bacon? Excellence is, by its etymology, 
 singularity. It proves its possessor to act from 
 high motives within his own bosom, and not from 
 mere fashion, and a moral aggregation with the 
 mass about him. It shows him to be not of men, 
 though among them ; above the world, though in 
 it. And thus our Saviour said, " Let your light 
 
FAITH. 223 
 
 so shine before men, that they, seeing your good 
 works, may glorify your Father which is in 
 heaven," admitting the divinity of religion, be- 
 cause its virtues are above those of unassisted 
 humanity. 
 
 Besides, as this last quoted text leads us to ob- 
 serve, it is by this example of singularity the 
 world is to be reformed. The light of a good 
 man's life is like a gleam of light shed down from 
 heaven upon our darkened earth. The humblest 
 Christian, if faithful in goodness, may shed an in- 
 fluence widelv around him. 
 
 " How far a little candle throws his beams 1 
 So shines a good deed in a naughty world." 
 
 It is not the virtue which makes itself conspicuous, 
 but the blackness of prevailing sin. In the day- 
 light the candle would "pale its ineffectual fire," 
 and if the world were all good, goodness would 
 cease to be remarkable. But how could virtue be 
 
224 FAITH. 
 
 known, if none were to show themselves virtuous t 
 The same general corruption, which makes good- 
 ness singular, renders the display of it more neces- 
 sary. 
 
 " Heaven does with us, as we with torches do, 
 Not light them for themselves : for if our virtues 
 Did not go forth of us, 't were all the same 
 As if we had them not." 
 
 ft 
 
 Were it not for the few good men the world 
 always has in it, it would be all crime. Their ex- 
 ample has been the salt which has saved the mass 
 from utter putrefaction, and will be, by God's 
 blessing, the leaven which shall yet leaven the 
 whole lump. 
 
 For his own sake, therefore, for the world's 
 sake, for God's sake, the faithful Christian will 
 never be deterred by fear of the world's opinion, 
 from avowing his opinions, combating error, and 
 doing what God hath made his duty to do, ac- 
 counting, as Barrow nobly expresses it, that " it is 
 
FAITH. 225 
 
 a glorious infamy which one sustain eth for the sake 
 of righteousness." 
 
 The man of truth and faithfulness is constant to 
 his piety in all circumstances. 
 
 " The righteous man will hold on his way." 
 "The path of the just is as the shining light, 
 which shineth more and more unto the perfect 
 day." He has one rule, one path, one aim, at all 
 times. 
 
 But there are some, seemingly very zealous 
 Christians while, in th*]jr youth, they have com- 
 paratively few cares, who yet loose all their zeal, 
 or, at least, greatly decline in it, when business 
 opens to their industry, and the ambition of gain 
 seizes upon their hearts. 
 
 Some, while they are poor and have few oppor- 
 tunities of worldly indulgence, are very rigid in 
 their notions of Christian self-denial and modera- 
 tion ; yet, when they get the means, by some 
 change of fortune, become more extravagant 
 and luxurious than those whom they once cen- 
 sured. 
 
226 FAITH. 
 
 Others again, while rich and comfortable, are 
 cheerful and pleasant in their religious duties ; yet, 
 when reverses come upon them, are querulous and 
 impatient, and part, perhaps, even with their in-, 
 tegrity. 
 
 Some are themselves rigid in their separateness 
 from the world, condemning its most innocent 
 amusements, and countiug it a sin even to smile ; 
 yet, when their children grow up around them, 
 and are to be established in society, forget 
 their former scruples, and indulge them to an 
 excess in worldly fashions, which makes Christians 
 weep. 
 
 Some are loud in their professions among 
 Christians, but among the world are like the 
 world. 
 
 Some are good Christians at home and in the 
 Church, and in social life, but carry nothing of it 
 into their business. 
 
 Some, who in private life or in their individual 
 conduct would shrink from any stain of dishon- 
 our, will forget all their morality for the maxim 
 
FAITH. 227 
 
 that " all is fair in politics ;" or as members of 
 corporations, seem to believe, that because corpo- 
 rations have no souls, they lose theirs when they 
 enter one. 
 
 While some who, where they are known, care- 
 fully guard themselves from all irregularity, will 
 indulge themselves, if they go abroad, as though 
 they had left their God and conscience behind 
 them. 
 
 There is no need of showing the wickedness 
 of such inconsistency, or the shame and reproach 
 it will bring upon the Christian name. The true 
 Christian, in whom the fruit of the Spirit is faith, 
 will always, and in all places, and with all com- 
 panies, be a Christian. Never extravagant in his 
 professions, he will be always firm to his 
 principles. Temptation will be to his faith 
 what fire is to the gold. It will purge its 
 dross, and make it more pure and shining. 
 Like Moses, he will endure " as seeing Him 
 who is invisible :" like Paul, fighting the good 
 fight, running the race to the end, and keeping 
 
228 FAITH. 
 
 the faith : like Jesus, looking for " the reward set 
 before him." The world did not give him his re- 
 ligion, neither can the world take it away. " His 
 life is safe with Christ in God." 
 
 Who is sufficient for these things ? None but 
 he who is " strengthened with all might both in 
 the inner and outer man," The seat of faithful- 
 ness is in the heart where the Holy Spirit dwells. 
 Let us then not rely upon any resolution or firm- 
 ness of our own ; but, while we put forth every 
 effort and observe every caution, trust in the Spirit 
 of Christ alone to make us faithful even unto 
 death, ever mindful that we go nowhere where 
 God is not, and that for every thought, and word, 
 and deed, we must give an account. He alone, 
 who walks with God on earth, will attain the bless- 
 edness of walking with God in heaven. The con- 
 flict is arduous, but the victory is sure, and the 
 glory eternal. " This is the victory which over- 
 cometh the world, even our faith." There is no 
 virtue so rare as honesty, but the rarer the jewel, 
 
FAITH. 229 
 
 the more precious it is. Happy is the man who 
 has it, and rich will he he in that better world, 
 where none wear jewels hut those whom God 
 honours as his own. 
 
 20 
 
IX. 
 
 MEEKNESS. 
 
 The holy honesty, devoted charity, and ardent 
 zeal of Paul, gave to his style a fullness, force, and 
 grandeur, which have excited the admiration of 
 every one who has studied his writings. Nowhere 
 do we find those qualities combined as they are in 
 him. In some authors we have great energy and 
 rush of thought and language, in others great 
 copiousness and clearness ; hut the former are apt 
 to be rash and inaccurate, if not superficial, sweep- 
 ing us to the conclusion they wish us to reach, 
 with a torrent-like rapidity, which will not allow 
 us to examine the successive stages of the argu- 
 
 231 
 
232 MEEKNESS. 
 
 ment, and this, perhaps, because they are conscious 
 that the argument will not bear a close scrutiny : 
 the latter, from an anxiety to be thorough and 
 lucid, are apt to become dull even to stagnation, 
 and we find difficulty in following them from their 
 cautious beginnings to their prolix close. Of the 
 first, the scholar has a notable instance in Demos- 
 thenes, who cared not to convince his Athenian 
 auditors with logical truth, if he could infect them 
 with the enthusiasm he assumed; of the others, 
 the ethical writers of every age furnish frequent 
 examples. But the style of Paul, while it hastens 
 on with an earnest and resistless energy, is at the 
 same time, deep, broad, and clear, drawing into 
 its stream continually fresh supplies of thought, 
 omitting nothing necessary to prevent misconcep- 
 tion, or remove error. His aim is to set forth 
 nothing but truth, and that truth, not for his per- 
 sonal success, or the end of a party, but for the 
 good of his fellow men, and the glory of God. 
 Hence, though it has been less noted by critics, 
 there is a nice delicacy in the selection of his 
 
MEEKNESS. 233 
 
 works, and the arrangement of his thoughts, as 
 worthy of admiration as his power and sublimity. 
 Every word of it has its purpose and meaning, and 
 even when he seems at first glance to have heaped 
 synonyme upon synonyme, and inclosed parenthe- 
 sis within parenthesis, a careful examination will 
 prove him to have been guilty of neither tautology 
 nor disorder. 
 
 These remarks have been suggested by his in- 
 troduction of the grace of meekness after that of 
 faith, or faithfulness. He has spoken before of 
 love and peace, and long-suffering and gentleness, 
 all of which bear a strong resemblance to the quiet 
 beauty of meekness, yet having named faithfulness, 
 he immediately adds it to the rest. There is a 
 reason for this. The faithful man must be a firm 
 and decided man. The grace itself supposes its 
 possessor to be exposed to opposition, ridicule, 
 and even persecution. The apostle well knew 
 how prone the mind is to be chafed and irritated ; 
 how likely indignation against error is to excite 
 anger against the errorist; how zeal in a good 
 20* 
 
234 MEEKNESS. 
 
 cause oftentimes moves a man to mingle with it 
 desire of personal distinction and success, which 
 if baffled, stirs up anger and revenge against op- 
 ponents ; and, therefore, he instantly insists upon 
 faithfulness being followed, or rather accompanied 
 by meekness. The same Spirit, which produces 
 the one, produces the other, for the fruit of the 
 Spirit is meekness. 
 
 That meekness is a grace of very high order, we 
 are taught : 
 
 By the frequency with which it is enjoined in 
 the sacred Scriptures : " Walk with all lowliness 
 and meekness." (Ephes. iv. 2). " Put on there- 
 fore meekness and long-suffering." (Col. iii. 12). 
 " Follow after meekness." (1 Tim. vi. 11). "Show- 
 ing meekness to all men." (Titus iii. 2). 
 
 By the prominence which is given to it, as one 
 of our Saviour's principal characteristics : " Learn 
 of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart." (Matt. 
 xi. 29). "I beseech you, by the meekness and 
 gentleness of Christ." (2 Cor. x. 1). 
 
 By the declaration of its necessity to the prof- 
 
MEEKNESS. 235 
 
 itable reception of gospel truth : " The Lord will 
 beautify the meek with salvation." (Ps. cxlix. 4). 
 " To preach good tidings to the meek." (Is. lxi. 
 1). "The meek shall increase their joy in the 
 Lord." (Is. xxix. 19). "Receive with meekness 
 the ingrafted word." (James i. 21). And again, 
 "The meekness of wisdom." (James iii. 13). 
 
 And by the fact, that temporal as well as eternal 
 blessings are promised in reward of it, in both the 
 Old and New Testament: "The meek shall in- 
 herit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the 
 abundance of peace." (Psalm xxxvii. 11). A 
 promise our Saviour repeats in his Sermon on the 
 Mount : " Blessed are the meek, for they shall in- 
 herit the earth." (Matt. v. 5). 
 
 Besides which, Peter tells us that " a meek and 
 quiet spirit is in the sight of God, of great price," 
 or estimation. (1 Peter iii. 4). 
 
 How serious and devout should be our endeav- 
 ours to understand and possess a grace, to which 
 the Holy Ghost so often exhorts, which is so es- 
 sential a badge of Christ's true followers, is so 
 
236 ' MEEKNESS. 
 
 necessary to growth in Christian knowledge, gives 
 on earth so rich a foretaste of heaven, and adorns 
 the soul with a loveliness God delights to look 
 upon and to bless ! 
 
 In defining gentleness (which we considered to 
 be, a sweet and obliging temper manifested by 
 sweet and obliging words and manners) we distin- 
 guished it from meekness, as being more of an 
 active nature, while meekness is rather a passive 
 virtue, and consists in the maintenance of a calm 
 and forgiving disposition under provocations and 
 affronts ;* and perhaps the most simple and accu- 
 rate definition that can be given of it is, A temper 
 of mind not easily stirred up to resentment Yet, 
 though passive in the sense we have stated, it is 
 not a mere latent or negative quality, but one 
 which must exert a positive and visible control over 
 our external deportment, and should therefore be 
 assiduously cultivated. 
 
 Meekness toward God is an humble and acqui- 
 
 * Macknight on the passage. 
 
MEEKNESS. 237 
 
 escing submission of the soul to the truth of all 
 his doctrines, however they may through their 
 mysteriousness oppose the pride of human reason ; 
 to the excellence of all his commandments, how- 
 ever severely they may tax the vicious inclina- 
 tions of our nature ; and the paternal wisdom of 
 all his providence, however it may defeat or post- 
 pone the wishes our hearts have formed, and 
 afflict us with present sorrow. It is thus, the fruit 
 of the Spirit, which works in us faith to receive 
 the Divine testimony in all things, and contrition 
 of repentance to feel our ill desert and our need of 
 salutary chastisement. 
 
 Meekness toward men is a refraining from re- 
 venge or anger, however much our patience may 
 be tried by their injuries or tiynr crimes. It is 
 not weakness nor cowardice, which bears because 
 it cannot or dare not resist, for it is the accom- 
 paniment of faithfulness, which fears nothing but 
 the displeasure of God. Nor is it insensibility or 
 stoicism, for it is the accompaniment of love, and 
 goodness, and gentleness, and fidelity, toward all 
 
238 MEEKNESS. 
 
 men. But it is a rational, benevolent, and heroic 
 temper, wrought in the soul by the Spirit of God, 
 through the influence of Divine truth. Moses was 
 meek above all men that were upon the face of the 
 earth, and presided with the most devoted love 
 over the children of Israel, while they continually 
 insulted him, and rebelled against God. Jesus 
 Christ was meek, and, though he might have 
 swept his impudent and persecuting enemies to 
 instant death, he continued to intreat them with 
 his love, and offer them salvation even to the end. 
 In the estimation of the world at large, it is con- 
 sidered infamous to brook an insult, or suffer an 
 injury unrevenged, and they call it honour to wash 
 out a hasty aspersion in the blood of the reviler. 
 But the brute of the field, nay, the meanest reptile 
 that crawls, shares in such a spirit. Meekness is 
 the elevation of the soul above such brutal im- 
 pulses, and he, who practises it, aspires to rule 
 over his own heart, a nobler conquest than the 
 Macedonian or the Corsican ever won. " Better," 
 said the wise man, " is he that ruleth his own 
 
\ 
 
 MEEKNESS. 239 
 
 heart, than he that taketh a city;" because the 
 task is more difficult, more rarely accomplished, 
 and, when accomplished, has more valuable results. 
 Not to feel the wounds of insult and wrong, is to 
 be like a stone ; to feel and desire revenge, is to 
 be like the brute ; but to bear and to forgive, is 
 to approach as near the glory of God as human 
 nature can. 
 
 The Christian is meek, because he traces, in all 
 he is called to endure, the hand of his God. No- 
 thing, not even the insults and injuries of wicked 
 men, can occur without his wise and gracious per- 
 mission, as Attila, who poured his desolating fury 
 over the fairest portions of Europe, was called 
 "the scourge of God." The Christian will look 
 beyond the scourge to the hand that wields it. 
 He dares not be angry, he dares not be otherwise 
 than meek, because to be angry would be to rebel 
 against his God. Our beloved Master, the pattern 
 of our meekness, looking forward to the shame 
 and tortures of the cross, prayed for the wicked 
 hands which crucified and slew him, and submitted 
 
240 MEEKNESS. 
 
 to them as unto God, saying, " Not my will, but 
 thine he done." In the same spirit, the dying 
 Stephen would not have his martyrdom laid to his 
 murderers' charge, while he looked upon his cruel 
 death as a shorter passage to heaven's glory. We 
 condemn ourselves for murmuring against the 
 chastisements of God, when they come in the 
 form of sickness and bereavement ; but sickness 
 and death are no more his instruments than our I 
 fellow men are. We know that those afflictions 
 are necessary to the discipline of our spirits, to 
 the trial of our faith, and the development of our 
 Christian virtues, and for this reason we should re- 
 joice in them ; but upon what principle shall we 
 justify impatience and anger, when the discipline 
 is administered by the agency of men ? 
 
 The Christian remembers what God hath borne 
 with and forgiven him. No insults he can receive 
 from men, no wrongs they can do him, can com- 
 pare with those of his sins against God. Yet God 
 has released him from his debt of ten thousand 
 talents, and can he now take by the throat his fel- 
 
MEEKNESS. 241 
 
 low servant, who owes him but a hundred pence ? 
 The joy of being forgiven so great a debt, should 
 readily reconcile us to forgive such petty claims ; 
 nay, in justice we should consider God's kindness 
 to have cancelled them all. Can he demand square 
 accounts with his neighbour, who cannot settle 
 his account with God ? 
 
 Besides all that we suffer for righteousness' 
 sake, we suffer in the cause of God. We follow 
 the Captain of Salvation to the war, and with him, 
 notwithstanding all, we shall be more than con- 
 querors. The true soldier rights, not from malice, 
 but for glory. He strikes, not because he thirsts 
 for blood, but that he may win his way to fame. 
 He sinks, from the warrior into the murderer, 
 when he burns with hate. He loves the difficulty 
 of the contest, because it enhances the praise of 
 the achievement. It would be little glory for the 
 Christian to meet with no resistance, no suffering, 
 no wounds, in his faithfulness to God amidst a 
 world of sinners. He must endure hardness as a 
 good soldier of Christ. The taunts, the wounds, 
 21 
 
242 MEEKNESS. 
 
 the dust of the conflict, are all necessary to the 
 splendour of his crown. God will recompense him 
 for all, and according to all, that he suffers; and 
 they who stand highest in the glory and blessed- 
 ness of heaven, are " the most noble army of the 
 martyrs," who have " come out of great tribula- 
 tion." Shall the Christian then be angry at that 
 which opens a way to higher blessedness ? Shall 
 he strike in revenge of a wound, which pensions 
 him upon the eternal bounty of his God ? Shall 
 he permit the malice of sinful men to rob him of 
 his crown ? The weapons of his warfare are not 
 carnal, but spiritual. He loves the world, but his 
 warfare is with his own heart, and he even rejoices 
 in wrongs from others, for they teach him how to 
 subdue it. This is the sense of the apostle's ex- 
 hortation, " For consider Him that endured such 
 contradiction of sinners, against himself, lest ye be 
 wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet 
 resisted unto blood, striving against sin." The 
 struggle is not against sinners, but against sin ; and 
 the apostle goes on to say, "Despise not the 
 
MEEKNESS. 243 
 
 chastening of the Lord, neither faint when thou 
 art rebuked of him ;" thus teaching us, that the 
 contradiction of sinners is the chastisement and 
 rebuke of the Lord. 
 
 The Christian is meek from his anxiety to pre- 
 serve and recommend the honour of religion. The 
 Christian lives not merely for himself, but for God 
 and the world. The seeds of Divine truth are to 
 be sown and cherished in his heart, but the verdure 
 and fruits which germinate from them, appear in 
 the character and actions of his daily life. His 
 virtue, to indicate its Divine original, must shine 
 superior to that of the world; and perhaps no 
 quality is so demonstrative of higher principle as 
 meekness under insult. It was the unresisting and 
 meek suffering of the early martyrs, that made 
 them conquerors over the rack, the flame, and the 
 wild beasts of the theatre. They had no other 
 defence, no other weapon. They professed the 
 religion of a meek and lowly Jesus, and it was to 
 drive them from that religion that their enemies 
 tortured them to the death. If one of them had 
 
244 MEEKNESS. 
 
 railed from his stake, or cursed from his cross, or 
 gnashed his teeth, and shaken his impotent fist at 
 his tormentors, their victory would have been as 
 complete, as by his recantation. The nobleness of 
 his courage would have been lost, and the sublimi- 
 ty of the scene destroyed. It was the meekness, 
 more than the blood of the martyrs, which was the 
 seed of the Church. Courage and endurance were 
 virtues, of which the heathen world had ten thou- 
 sand examples, before Jesus was crucified on Cal- 
 vary, or Paul beheaded at Kome. But meekness 
 in suffering, and forgiving love toward enemies, 
 even in the sharpest extremities of oppression, 
 were new virtues, which despite of sophistry and 
 malice, and power, established the religion of God 
 over the hoary pride of the most ancient supersti- 
 tions. Thus it is with the Christian and the world 
 now. Well doth the devil know, that if he can 
 distort the Christian's face with envy and anger and 
 revenge ; if he can pervert the Christian's tongue 
 to revilings and stormy rebuke ; if he can arm him 
 for quarrel instead of love ; if he can substitute 
 
MEEKNESS. 245 
 
 the venom of his own serpent malice for the meek- 
 ness of the Lamb of God ; he has destroyed the 
 attraction of Christianity, seduced his enemy to 
 his own ground, and made the victory complete. 
 The querulous irritability, the morose sulkiness, 
 the gusty passions of crabbed Christians, under the 
 provocations of the world, and, especially, the 
 provocations of fellow Christians, do more for the 
 devil, than all their prayers, and professions, and 
 moneyed gifts can do for God. When Christians 
 quarrel, whoever seems to win, the devil is the only 
 gainer. They may get the shells, but he has the 
 kernel. It is indeed necessary often to contend 
 for truth, and even with good men, but the contest 
 should ever be in love and meekness ; and they are 
 the best advocates of truth, who " speak the truth 
 in love," and " show, out of a good conversation, 
 their works in meekness of wisdom." 
 
 We must not forget, however, that the same 
 spirit of meekness, which calmly and patiently en- 
 dures insults, will also be slow to provoke others 
 to anger. It is but little credit to us, if, while we 
 21* 
 
246 MEEKNESS. 
 
 maintain our own composure of mind, we wanton- 
 ly, or through neglect, disturb the serenity of 
 others. The meek man will therefore be not only 
 kind in his feelings, but courteous in his manners. 
 Many professing Christians would be startled at 
 the idea of impoliteness being a sin and courtesy 
 a duty, yet the apostle commands us to be cour- 
 teous. The hollow politeness of the world is hy- 
 pocrisy, but Christian politeness is the reality of 
 that to which the world pretends. So far from 
 courteousness being conformity to the world, the 
 w r orld in its courtesy outwardly conforms to the 
 rules of Christianity. The Gospel enjoins, "in 
 honour preferring one another," and the polite 
 man imitates it by giving place to his neighbour, 
 and calling himself his " obedient servant." No- 
 thino* is more rude than egotism and arrogance, or 
 a selfish insisting upon our own convenience to 
 the inconvenience of others ; and meekness teaches 
 us to lay aside all these, so that the meek man can 
 scarcely fail to be a courteous man. But this has 
 
MEEKNESS. 247 
 
 been already treated at large under the head of 
 Gentleness. 
 
 The meek man will" govern his tongue. "Out 
 of the fulness of the heart the mouth speaketh." 
 The meek man cannot be harsh in speech. We 
 do not find brambles growing on grape-vines, nor 
 thistles on fig-trees ; neither do we hear vitupera- 
 tive and annoying language from a gentle and for- 
 giving spirit. " A soft answer turneth away wrath, 
 but grievous words stir up anger." Rough words 
 are like oil, which make the flame of anger burn 
 the fiercer; meek words often, like water, put it 
 out. " And what," asks Tertullian, " is the differ- 
 ence between the man who is irritated, and the 
 man who has irritated him, except that the last did 
 wrong first, and the first afterward ?" Even when 
 we rebuke, it is to be done with meekness, as the 
 apostle exhorts, "In meekness instructing them 
 that oppose themselves ;" and again, " If a brother 
 be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual 
 restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, con- 
 sidering thyself lest thou also be tempted." How 
 
248 MEEKNESS. 
 
 meekly did Christ bear with his disciples, " being 
 grieved for the hardness of their hearts !" Nay, 
 meekness often requires th'at we speak not at all, 
 as Paul tells the pious slaves, u to please their mas- 
 ters in all things, not answering again ;" and as our 
 Lord was like " a lamb dumb before his shearers, 
 opening not his mouth." It was said of the 
 heathen Socrates, that it was known when he was 
 angry, by his being silent. The tongue is an un- 
 ruly evil, and it is best sometimes to keep it im- 
 prisoned by the teeth, which God has given us to 
 fence it in with, than to let it blab us into trouble. 
 The lion, when he is angry, lashes himself into a 
 passion with his tail ; but men lash their rage with 
 their tongue, and the faster and longer they talk, 
 the more angry they become. " I have known," 
 says Cicero, " many sin by speaking, few by keep- 
 ing silence ; it is therefore more difficult to know 
 how to be silent than how to speak." There is a 
 Spanish proverb to the same effect ; "Any fool may 
 babble, but it takes a wise man to hold his 
 tongue." 
 
MEEKNESS. 249 
 
 The meek man will meet insult with kindness, 
 for, as kindness to all men at all times is a Christian 
 duty, the Christian in his meekness will allow 
 nothing to interrupt it. " Christ," saith Peter, 
 " also suffered for us, leaving us an example that 
 we should follow his steps ;" and what was that 
 example but blessing even his enemies I Kindness 
 meekly, not ostentatiously rendered, will soften 
 any heart in which a spark of humanity yet lin- 
 gers. Oh ! is it not a glorious revenge to convince 
 our enemies of their error, and turn them into 
 friends ? Yet it is a triumph none but the meek 
 can achieve ; for to set about showing kindness, 
 with the selfish aim of mortifying those who have 
 done us evil by a proud display of superior virtue, 
 will, instead of putting coals of fire on their heads, 
 only burn our own hands. Meekness is the con- 
 quering charm. 
 
 The spirit of meekness must be assiduously cul- 
 tivated. It is one of the hardest lessons in the 
 school of Christ, where, indeed, nothing can be 
 learned but by hard study and diligent practice. 
 
250 MEEKNESS. 
 
 It is not a virtue by itself, but a sweet consequence I 
 of many others. 
 
 If we would be meek, we must not be ambitious I 
 
 after worldly good. Ambition is an aspiring to I 
 
 1 
 be above others, and, therefore, a struggle with I 
 
 them, for none are willing to be undermost, j 
 Hence come envy, hate, slander, malice, re- J 
 venge. We must root out the bramble, if we 1 
 would not have its thorns ; and when thistles J 
 are once in a field, it requires no small husban- | 
 dry to get rid of them. But a meek Christian, 
 with his hopes set upon a better country, will 
 never be so anxious about the distinctions of this ; ] 
 and being content to be quiet, others will let him 
 enjoy what he asks. "Such a man," says the 
 excellent Leifchild, "walks in a calm and seques- 
 tered vale, and hears only at a distance the clash- 
 ing of ambitious interests in the regions above 
 him. He hears, but he is not attracted thither." 
 
 There is much of true though quaint philosophy 
 in this page of John Bunyan : " We will come 
 
MEEKNESS. 251 
 
 again to this Valley of Humiliation. It is the 
 most fruitful piece of ground in all these parts. 
 It is a fat ground, and as you see consisteth much 
 in meadows. Behold how green the valley is, 
 aud how beautiful with lilies ! I have known 
 many labouring men who have got good estates 
 in this valley (for God resisteth the proud, but 
 giveth grace to the humble). Some also have 
 wished that the next way to their Father's house 
 might be here, that they might be troubled no 
 more with hills or mountains to go over ; but the 
 way is the way, and there is an end. 
 
 "Now as they were walking along and talking, 
 they espied a boy feeding his father's sheep. The 
 boy was in very mean clothes, but of a fresh and 
 well-favoured countenance, and as he sat by him- 
 self he sung .... 
 
 " He that is down, needs fear no fall ; 
 He that is low, no pride ; 
 He that is humble, ever shall 
 Have God to be his guide. 
 
252 MEEKNESS. 
 
 I am content with what I have, 
 
 Little it be, or much : 
 And, Lord, contentment still I crave, 
 
 Because thou savest such. 
 
 Fulness to those abundance is, 
 
 That go a pilgrimage ; 
 Here little, and hereafter bliss, 
 
 Is best from age to age." 
 
 "There, said the guide, do you hear him? I 
 
 will dare to say this boy lives a merrier life, and 
 
 I 
 wears more of the herb called heart's-ease, in his I 
 
 bosom, than he that is clothed in silk and velvet, j 
 
 And so we will proceed with our discourse." 
 
 It is this very freedom from worldly ambition, 1 
 to which our Saviour refers when he says, 
 "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the 1 
 earth." Surely they who live in quiet get more I 
 good of the earth, than those who are in continual 1 
 trouble, and struggling to get more. 
 
 Vanity, which is a base form of ambition, must 1 
 also be laid aside if we would be meek. For they, I 
 
MEEKNESS. 253 
 
 who are continually anxious to get the admiration 
 of others, can never seem meek or amiable in 
 their eyes. To desire the praise of God is noble, 
 but the praise of men is not worth its cost. It is 
 at tbis the apostle strikes, when speaking of Chris- 
 tian women; for in his day, as now, it seems 
 they were fond of attracting notice by gay dresses, 
 A strange, though common, error; since if a 
 woman have beauty she impairs it by decoration, 
 and if she have it not, the decoration makes her 
 homeliness .the more remarkable. Brilliants are 
 always set plain, and all the tinsel in the world 
 cannot turn paste into a diamond. "Whose 
 adorning," says he, "let it not be the outward 
 adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of 
 gold, or of putting on of apparel ; but let it be the 
 hidden man of the heart in that which is not cor- 
 ruptible ; even the ornament of .a meek and quiet 
 spirit, which in the sight of God is of great price." 
 Meekness is thus more than the cestus of Venus, 
 charming God and man. What is true of that 
 
 22 
 
254 MEEKNESS. 
 
 form of vanity which he particularly rebukes, is 
 true of every other. 
 
 We must study also the great examples of tri- 
 umphant meekness, which are written for our 
 learning in the word of God ; for there we find 
 meekness the rarest, as well as the most excellent 
 character ; and we can never hope to keep com- 
 pany with Abel, and Noah, and Isaac, and Moses, 
 and Samuel, and Job, and Jesus, and his early 
 people, in heaven, unless we follow their meek 
 footsteps upon earth. 
 
 We must, above all, humble ourselves before 
 God in prayer, asking for that Spirit to dwell in 
 our hearts, one of whose fruits is meekness. For 
 none but he who is humble with God has learned 
 to be lowly among men. Therefore it is, that he 
 chastens us to make us meek, if we will not learn 
 to be so without it. Oh ! let us anticipate the end 
 of his discipline by lying low at his feet, as it be- 
 comes sinners to do, who have nothing to demand, 
 though all to ask. The spirit of Christ is the 
 
MEEKNESS. 255 
 
 spirit of meekness, which none bnt God can give ; 
 yet "if any man have not the spirit of Christ, he 
 is none of his." 
 

TEMPERANCE. 
 
 To have a just acquaintance with an author's 
 meaning, it is very necessary, especially if he 
 wrote in another age or language, to ascertain 
 the exact sense in which he used his terms. For 
 a word often comes, for various reasons, to differ 
 widely from its original signification, and by at- 
 taching our own idea to it, we make the author 
 say something else, or more, or less, than he 
 meant to say. This is particularly true of the 
 word temperance, and it therefore requires a care- 
 ful definition, that we may know what the apostle 
 
 22* 
 
 25T 
 
258 TEMPERANCE. 
 
 intends by the fruit of the Spirit which he calls by 
 this name. 
 
 The Greek term, by its etymology, is self-com- 
 mand, or the governing of one's self. The earlier 
 ethical writers among the Greeks (those of the | 
 school of Socrates) first determined its meaning to 
 be, continence , or a proper moderation of our pas- 
 sions and appetites, but especially those for food 
 and drink. Afterwards Aristotle (who exerted a 3 
 greater influence over the opinions of the world 
 than any other uninspired writer, ancient or mo- 
 dern,) distinguished carefully between continence 
 and temperance, understanding, by continence, | 
 merely the denial of indulgence to any irregular 
 desires or inclinations we may feel, and by tern- 
 perance, the healthful regulation of our desires and 
 appetites themselves, preventing their excess. The 
 one, it is easy to see, may be the result of virtue 
 or not ; the other is a virtue itself. A thief, who 
 abstains from intoxication merely that he may 
 more securely commit crime ; a prize-fighter, who 
 denies himself indulgences while training for the 
 
TEMPERANCE. 259 
 
 ring; an invalid, who fears the inroads of excess 
 on his life ; or one who refrains only from a dread 
 of worldly disgrace, can scarcely be called virtuous, 
 though he may exert some self-command. It is in. 
 him one selfish principle overcoming another that 
 is weaker. But the man who learns to control his 
 desires themselves, and keep them within their 
 proper limit, because he considers an nndue incli- 
 nation sinful, is truly virtuous, because sincerely 
 temperate. The one is abstinence from the overt 
 act, the other a purification of the heart. The one 
 may tolerate an intemperate soul in a temperate 
 body, the other rules the soul itself. The one 
 might yield to temptation if it could be done 
 with safety, the other maintains an unshaken firm- 
 ness. 
 
 Socrates was accustomed to say that a man of 
 true science would not be intemperate ; and if he 
 meant by true science, true virtue, which is not 
 only the knowledge of what is right, but a hearty 
 love for it, he spoke truth ; but if he meant only 
 knowledge, he erred, as daily experience and ob- 
 
260 TEMPERANCE. 
 
 servation prove to us, for men are continually 
 doing what they know to be wrong, and often 
 what they know to be hurtful. Medical men, of 
 great skill in their profession, have become glut- 
 tons and drunkards ; nay, have written learnedly 
 upon gout, and surfeits, and delirium tremens, 
 while qualifying themselves for those very dis- 
 eases. The temperate man would not exceed, be- 
 cause he hates not merely the consequences, but 
 the vice itself. 
 
 There are those again, who, by their constitu- 
 tion of body, seem to have no tendencies to crimi- 
 nal indulgence of this character, and, therefore, 
 are not subject to temptations; yet, though this 
 may in some respects be a happy nature, it can- 
 not be called virtue, for it belongs to the body, 
 and not to the soul. Temperance is the restrain- 
 ing of propensities which, if unchecked, would be- 
 come excessive. For every appetite, the excessive 
 indulgence of which is criminal, was implanted by 
 God in our natures, and the rule of it committed 
 to the soul. Adam in his innocence had all the 
 
TEMPERANCE. 261 
 
 appetites which we naturally have, and the hu- 
 manity of our blessed Lord was " tempted like as 
 we are, yet without sin." A man without pas- 
 sions or appetites, if we could conceive of such an 
 one, would be an imperfectly constituted, not a 
 virtuous man. Indeed, he would not be of the 
 same nature with us, and, therefore, incapable of 
 virtues required of us. A spiritual angel, who, 
 having no need of food or drink, has neither hun- 
 ger nor thirst, cannot be said to be temperate in 
 those respects ; wherefore our Lord, when he 
 wished to give us a pattern of human virtues, and 
 of temperance among the rest, took not on him 
 the nature of angels, but flesh and blood. For 
 the same reason, the presence of naturally strong 
 appetites is not criminal in itself, but the undue 
 indulgence of them ; and the man, whose appetites 
 are stronger, and yet restrains them, has a higher 
 virtue than he, whose appetites, being weaker, are 
 governed with less difficulty. 
 
 Neither does temperance suppose the entire 
 eradication of these tendencies, for they are more 
 
262 TEMPERANCE. 
 
 or less necessary accidents* to our present mode of 
 being, and to attempt to put off our being, is a 
 sort of suicide, and a rebellion against God. It is 
 said of Origen, an early father of the Church, that 
 he held such an opinion, but deeply repented of it 
 on mature consideration. Well he might, for an 
 old man in his doting decay, cannot be called 
 virtuous, because years have relieved him of pas- 
 sion and appetite, neither do we become virtuous 
 as we approach the frigidity of age. Paul, in 
 vehement disgust at the temptations of appetite, 
 earnestly prayed to be delivered from his body of 
 sin and death, but an honest review of the con- 
 nection will show that his prayer was for grace to 1 
 control his body ; and in another passage, (2 Cor. 
 xii. 7, 8, 9, 10,) he thus speaks of himself: "Lest 1 
 I should be exalted above measure through the j 
 abundance of revelations, there was given to me j 
 a thorn in the flesh, (which Bishop Bull, Grotius, 
 and others, consider to have been some distressing | 
 and deforming bodily disease,) a messenger of 
 Satan sent to buffet me, lest I should be exalted 
 
TEMPERANCE. 263 
 
 above measure. For this thing I besought the 
 Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And 
 he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee ; 
 for my strength is made perfect in weakness. 
 Most gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmi- 
 ties, that the power of Christ may rest upon me . 
 
 for when I am weak, then am I strong." 
 
 Now, whether the opinion given by Grotius and 
 Bull be the correct one or not, the principle is just 
 in reference to any infirmities. We must subdue 
 and control them by the help of God, and not seek 
 the annihilation of the natural qualities from which 
 they arise. The notion of superior purity and ad- 
 vantage in a state of seclusion from those relations 
 which constitute the closest bonds of social life, 
 is erroneous from the fact, that we so refuse to 
 discharge the duties the Scripture makes incum- 
 bent upon us ; and the Saviour, though, for wise 
 reasons, he remained without many ties which 
 God intended should connect us with happiness, 
 blessed them and honoured them. ' But the best 
 answer to that opinion is, that the eradication of 
 
264 TEMPERANCE. 
 
 these tendencies is impossible, and not promised 
 in this life even by the grace of God ; which 
 should teach us to resist temptation here, en- 
 couraged by the blessed hope of that better life 
 where our bodies like our souls shall be pure, and 
 neither hunger nor thirst, but be for ever beyond 
 the reach of temptation. To be above these 
 temptations would be to have a higher life on 
 earth than our Saviour had, and to be exposed to 
 worse temptations of pride and self-sufficiency 
 Every thorn in our flesh is necessary as a goad to 
 quicken the Christian pilgrim on his way to 
 heaven ; and observation has shown that those, 
 who are unnaturally placed beyond the reach of 
 any appetite, are not in heart more pure, but less 
 so than others. 
 
 The Latin word, from which our term temper- 
 ance is taken, expresses this idea. If a probable 
 derivation of it be correct, it means the timely use 
 or regulation of ourselves. But it was easily 
 brought to mean restraint or moderation. 
 
TEMPERANCE. 265 
 
 "Who can refrain (temperate) himself from tears?"* 
 
 asks a Roman poet. The Latins speak also of 
 tempering the strength of wine with water, as we 
 do of tempering steel ; or, as in the oft-quoted 
 beautiful expression, " God tempers the wind to 
 the shorn lamb ;" or, in that touching petition of 
 our evening prayer, " So temper our sleep that it 
 be not disorderly."! Indeed, our common word 
 temper means the proper adjustment of our pas- 
 sions, our moral disposition ; for, though vulgarly 
 it is said, that " a man shows temper," when the 
 idea is that he is angry, it is a wrong use of the 
 word ; since, on the other hand we say, "a man 
 shows admirable temper," when we mean that 
 lie preserves his calmness in difficult circum- 
 stances. 
 
 These pains have been tak^n with the definition 
 of the word, to show that the temperance of which 
 the apostle speaks has its seat in the soul. 
 
 * Quis talia fando temperet a lachrymis? Virg. 
 
 t Evening Prayer in the Liturgy of the Reformed Dutch Church. 
 
 23 
 
266 TEMPERANCE. 
 
 The fruit of the Spirit is " temperance." 
 It is altogether of a higher nature, requiring a 
 far greater degree of moral strength, than that 
 temperance which belongs to the body alone, 
 which, indeed, is a consequence of temperance, 
 not spiritual temperance itself.^ The mind was 
 made to rule over the body, and unless the ruler 
 be well regulated, the subject cannot be. The 
 effect of sin has been to invert the order of nature, 
 by giving the senses and appetites rule over the 
 soul ; and the triumph of grace is the restoration 
 of the soul to its original supremacy over the body, 
 which is done, not by weakening the body, but 
 strengthening the soul. The soul is strengthened, 
 as our holy text tells us, by the influences of the 
 Spirit of God. The quickening of spiritual life is 
 in regeneration, but afterwards it is increased by 
 the effects of faith, hope*, and love. 
 
 The Christian has full confidence in the wisdom 
 of all God's requirements, recognizes that his very 
 heart is visible to God's all-seeing eye, and that 
 he is responsible at the judgment for every thought 
 
TEMPERANCE. 
 
 267 
 
 and motive as well as act. He therefore conforms 
 his heart to the Divine will, cultivates communion 
 with God, and keeps his thoughts with all dili- 
 gence, for they are the issues of life. He believes 
 fully in the redemption of his soul by the merits 
 of Christ, and the sufficiency of Christ to sustain 
 him even to the perfection of glory. 
 
 Difficult then as may be his struggles with 
 temptation, he has hope in his conflict, the hope 
 of victory, and hope of reward. 
 
 Such faith and hope in God must awaken love 
 to him ; and this love makes his efforts cheerful 
 and pleasant. He loves to be what God loves, and 
 this he cannot be without governing his sinful pro- 
 pensities. So that, where faith, and hope, and love 
 abide, temperance abides. As the apostle says, 
 " Whether ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, 
 do all to the glory of God." 
 
 " Temperance," says Jeremy Taylor, "consists 
 in the action of the soul principally, for it is a 
 grace which chooses natural means in order to 
 proper, and natural, and holy ends. It is exer- 
 
268 
 
 TEMPERANCE. 
 
 cised about eating and drinking because they are 
 necessary, but, therefore, it permits the use of 
 them only as they minister to lawful ends." Cer- 
 tainly he that eats and drinks thus, will be guilty 
 of no excess. 
 
 The first rule, then, for the cultivation of tem- 
 perance, should be the entire consecration of the 
 heart to the glory of God. The heart is the foun- 
 tain, and all the issues from it must be like itself. 
 The pure in heart have a more than Midas-touch, 
 transmuting the occasions of temptation into aids 
 of holiness. With the helmet of hope, the shield 
 of faith, the breast-plate of righteousness, and 
 greaves of the preparation of the Gospel of peace, 
 the Christian is unconquerable. Repeated bap- 
 tisms in the blood of Jesus, and the pure waters 
 of holy truth, have the double effect of washing 
 away guilt and preserving the soul invulnerable. 
 We should not degrade the grace of temperance 
 into a mere habit of earthly expediency, and satisfy 
 ourselves with an outward conformity to its rules. 
 It is not ascetic self-torture that recommends us to 
 
TEMPERANCE. 269 
 
 a holy God. None but " the pure in heart" can 
 " see God." If you would be temperate, be a 
 Christian. 
 
 Yet, in considering the influence of the mind 
 over the body, we must not forget the influence of 
 the body over the mind. The sin of intemperance 
 does not lie only in the abuse of God's bounties at 
 the moment, but in the evil consequences of such 
 abuse to the soul itself. It is sufficiently notorious, 
 that no excess of indulgence can be permitted to 
 the body without discomposing the mind, and pol- 
 luting the moral temper. The drunkard not only 
 loses discretion of thought, but is disposed to un- 
 cleanness, anger, and every vicious passion. The 
 glutton stupefies his mind, and sensualizes his 
 spirit in the same manner. A very large propor- 
 tion of crime is committed under the provocations 
 of intemperance, and though drunkards are more 
 notorious, gluttons are hardly less numerous. It 
 must be, therefore, that in proportion as we exceed 
 the limits of moderation, and approach the degree 
 
 23* 
 
270 TEMPERANCE. 
 
 of drunkenness or gluttony, we become guilty of 
 the crimes to which those excesses prompt. 
 
 Self-denial in the use of food and drinks is thus 
 another rule for the cultivation of temperance. If 
 we allow our inclinations to carry us to the utmost 
 verge which reason permits, it will require but a 
 slight temptation to make us cross the almost im- 
 perceptible line which divides it from wrong. Our 
 propensities are downward, and increase in impetus 
 as they descend ; we must arrest them in time, 
 before Ave reach the limit, or we shall be carried 
 over it. Besides, we must accustom ourselves to 
 the conflict, before temptation comes ; and as the 
 fencer plays with foils, before he adventures with 
 ground weapons, we must skill ourselves in self- 
 denial of things lawful, if we would acquire the 
 habit of defence from sin itself. Thus the three 
 rules for perfection, which the Saviour gave us, 
 are, " to deny ourselves," " to take up (not wait 
 for it to be laid upon us) our cross daily," and " to 
 follow him." The Apostle Paul took a lesson in 
 this from the Athletes of the games, who were in 
 
TEMPERANCE. 27l 
 
 training sometimes for years in order to win the 
 prize, by abstaining from all diet which would un- 
 duly stimulate, or practices which would enervate 
 the system. " Every man," says he, " that striveth 
 for the mastery, is temperate in all things. Now 
 they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we 
 an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncer- 
 tainly. So fight I, not as one that beateth the air. 
 But I keep under my body, and bring it into sub- 
 jection ; lest that by any means, when I have 
 preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." 
 From which we see, that he considered this dis- 
 cipline of self-denial essential to his success in 
 gaining the crown of life, and that all his faith and 
 knowledge would not prevent him from apostacy, 
 if he did not subdue his body by such careful 
 regimen. 
 
 In another passage he has a yet more significant 
 illustration. " Know ye not that ye are the temple 
 of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in 
 you ? If any man defile the temple of God, him 
 shall God destroy, for the temple of God is liohj, 
 
272 TEMPERANCE. 
 
 (that is, consecrated to him,) which temple are 
 ye." And again, u What ! know ye not that your 
 body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in 
 you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your 
 own?" The body of the Christian is, by the 
 Spirit of God dwelling in him, made a habitation 
 of God. With what care should we guard and 
 preserve it from the least shadow of defilement? 
 Every abuse of appetite is as a sacrilege in the 
 house of God, and temperance is the ministering 
 angel to keep the temple pure. 
 
 In Romans he uses another figure : " I beseech 
 you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, 
 that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, 
 holy, (consecrated,) acceptable unto God, which 
 is your reasonable service." Our bodies are to 
 be as sacrifices laid upon God's altar, living yet 
 consecrated, as a reasonable duty in us, which 
 God for Christ's sake will accept. It is difficult to 
 imagine such a consecration of our bodies without 
 a holy and cautious self-denial, for he, who uses 
 his body for God's glory, and not merely for his 
 
TEMPERANCE. 2*73 
 
 own pleasure, will have God's glory more than his 
 pleasure in view, and not push his license to ex- 
 tremes. 
 
 Yet it is not necessary to temperance that we 
 take no pleasure in things permitted, for God him- 
 self has, in his goodness and wisdom, associated 
 pleasure with a proper satisfaction of appetite, 
 which, instead <*f rejecting, we ought to be thank- 
 ful for. There is no reason why a man should 
 choose unsavoury food, rather than that which is 
 at once healthful and pleasing to the taste ; but to 
 be very nice and curious in our meats and drinks, 
 argues a childish and petty idolatry of appetite, 
 even though we should not eat or drink to excess. 
 A proper taste in the choice and dressing of our 
 food may be subservient to temperance and health. 
 A French gourmand, who indulges himself in a 
 great variety of light and well-cooked dishes, is 
 ' : sinful in his devotion to his palate ; but is scarcely 
 so gross and beast-like, certainly not so neglectful 
 of health, as the glutton among us, who gorges 
 himself with heavy meats till his blood almost 
 
274 TEMPERANCE. 
 
 stagnates with thickness, and his humours are 
 heavy and oppressive. It is not in the quantity 
 only, but the quality of our food, that we are to 
 practise self-denial. In general, the simpler and 
 lighter the food, the more favourable to the health 
 of the body and the health of the soul. 
 
 This subject the physician can treat better than 
 the moralist, but it is worthy of our consideration, 
 that the promise of God is, "Thy bread and water 
 shall be sure ;" and that it is most probable neither 
 animal food nor wine were used by men until after 
 the flood. In the paradise of innocence, the hap- 
 py pair ate of the fruits of the garden, and drank 
 of the rivers that watered it, yet they were satis- 
 fied until they fell into sin. " There were then," 
 says Seneca, (for the ancient heathen had dim tra- 
 ditions of that happy time,) " no beds of state, nor 
 ornaments of gold and embroidery, nor the re- 
 morses that attend them, but the heavens were 
 their canopy, and the glories of them their spec- 
 tacle. There was no fear of the house falling, or 
 the rustling of a rat behind the arras .... but 
 
TEMPERANCE. 275 
 
 they had the open air and breathing room, crystal 
 fountains, refreshing shades, the meadows dressed 
 in their native beauty, and they lived contentedly. 
 .... Happy the man that eats only for hunger, 
 and drinks only for thirst ; that stands upon his 
 own feet, lives by his reason rather than by fash- 
 ion, and provides for use and necessity, and not 
 for pomp. Let us curb our appetites, encourage 
 our virtues, and have our riches within ourselves 
 rather than without, for fortune has the least mark 
 of a man when he shrinks himself into a narrow 
 compass. Let my bed be narrow and plain, and 
 my clothes simple. My meat with little expense 
 and little service, and neither a burthen to my 
 purse nor my body. That, which is too little for 
 luxury, is more than enough for nature." Such 
 was the language of the Roman philosopher, (alas ! 
 not the practice of Seneca the courtier ;) how well 
 would it be for many Christians to make it in 
 1 truth their own ? 
 
 A yet further reason for self-denial is, that the 
 limits, which we think are those of lawful indul- 
 
276 TEMPERANCE. 
 
 gencc, are continually though imperceptibly en- 
 larging. He, who once thought a small house 
 would be enough for him, finds himself straitened 
 in a palace ; and he, who once intended to be sa- 
 tisfied with a decent competence, wishes to make 
 his thousands hundreds of them, and his hundreds 
 of thousands millions. You can no more fill the 
 heart of man, by complying with its wishes, than 
 a vessel pierced with holes can be filled with 
 water. The only method is to stop them up, or 
 at least reduce them into narrower compass. 
 Happiness is to be found rather in checking our 
 inclinations than in gratifying them. It is thus 
 with our appetites. The more we indulge them, 
 the more we increase them. There is an Italian 
 proverb, " He who has drunk the ocean, wants 
 another bottle." The only method of safety is to 
 deny ourselves at first. Every day, by such rule, 
 our wants will become less, and our self-denial 
 more easy. Self-denial has its pains as well as 
 pleasures, but it has less pain and more pleasure 
 than indulged appetite. By every decrease we 
 
TEMPERANCE. 277 
 
 make of the body's demands, we give the soul 
 more time and strength to attend to its religious 
 duties. We put off so much of the body of sin 
 and death, and assimilate ourselves to the lot of 
 the blessed. We make our expenses less, and, 
 therefore, have fewer pains to provide for them, 
 less covetousness and idolatry of gain, less envy of 
 riches, and less temptation to dishonesty. " See 
 my dinner of herbs," said a Roman patriot, whom 
 a foreign emissary would have tempted with gold 
 to betray his country ; as if he had said, a man, 
 who can be satisfied with so little, need never sell 
 himself for gold. Happy the Christian, whose few 
 wants never tempt him to betray his Lord ! Plain 
 food and decent furniture have made few bankrupt- 
 cies. Extravagance and defalcations go together. 
 God and man are robbed by intemperance. 
 
 Besides, a self-denying youth, in ordinary cir- 
 cumstances, makes a healthful and vigorous old 
 age ; and the Christian, who has so short a time 
 to serve his Master upon earth, should husband 
 his strength, and make the best use of it to the 
 24 
 
2^8 TEMPERANCE. 
 
 last. That aged Christian is indeed an honoured 
 veteran, who, when most men fail, can yet say, in 
 grateful fidelity to his Master, still 
 
 " Let me be thy servant. 
 Though I look old, yet I am strong and lusty ; 
 For in my youth I never did apply 
 Hot and rebellious liquors in my blood; 
 Nor did I with unbashful forehead woo 
 The means of weakness and debility; 
 Therefore my age is as a lusty winter, 
 Frosty but kindly; let me go with thee, 
 I'll do the service of a younger man." 
 
 This subject might be enlarged upon much 
 more, but let us leave it here. The consecration 
 of the heart to God by faith in his Son; daily 
 prayer for the grace of his Spirit, daily study of 
 his holy word, daily industry in doing good, and 
 the daily denial of our fleshly appetites, that 
 we may have time, and strength, and purity of 
 purpose for the blessed service of God; making 
 
TEMPERANCE. 279 
 
 his glory our chief aim, and our best happiness ; 
 and living, as far as in us lies, free from the shack- 
 les of the flesh and the attractions of earth, that 
 we may be, body, soul and spirit, willing and con- 
 tinual sacrifices to God, are the true methods of 
 cultivating the temperance which is the fruit of 
 the Spirit, for it is that temperance itself. The 
 perfection of the heavenly state lvill be in a spir- 
 itual body as the dwelling place of the holy soul, 
 when the holiness of the soul within shall irradiate 
 and illustrate its temple, as the divinity of Jesus 
 shone through the body of his humanity upon the 
 Mount of the Transfiguration ; the soul all holi- 
 ness, the body all purity. The holy and purified 
 humanity of Enoch, by a life of piety and tem- 
 perance, approached so near to heaven that it 
 needed not death to bear him across the threshold. 
 The true Christian, through a godly temperance, 
 may know by sweet experience something of this 
 transformation ; for, as we see in men of gross and 
 intemperate indulgences, that 
 
280 TEMPERANCE. 
 
 "The soul grows clotted by contagion, 
 Embodies and embrutes till she quite lose 
 The Divine quality of her first being;" 
 
 the reverse is true, that a holy and temperate habit 
 of soul 
 
 "Begins to cast a beam on the outward shape, 
 The unpolluted temple of the mind, 
 And turns it by degrees to the soul's essence, 
 Till all be made immortal." 
 
 Let us conclude our meditation with a prayer, 
 written for us by the good Jeremy Taylor. 
 
 "0 Almighty and gracious God and Father of 
 men and angels, who openest thy hand and fillest 
 all things with plenty, and has provided for thy 
 servants sufficient to satisfy all their needs ; teach 
 me to use thy creatures soberly and temperately, 
 that I may not, with undue meat and drink, make 
 the temptations of my enemy to prevail upon me, 
 or my spirit unapt for the performance of my 
 duty, or my affections sensual and unholy. 
 
TEMPERANCE. 281 
 
 our God, never suffer that the blessings which 
 thou givest us, may either minister to sin or sick- 
 ness, but to health and holiness and thanksgiving; 
 
 7 © © " 
 
 that in the strength of thy provisions I may cheer- 
 fully and actively and diligently serve thee ; that 
 I may worthily feast at thy table here, and be ac- 
 counted worthy through thy grace to be admitted 
 to thy table hereafter, at the eternal supper of the 
 Lamb, to sing an hallelujah to God the Father, 
 the Son, and the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever. 
 Amen." 
 
 24* 
 
XL 
 
 "AGAINST SUCH THERE IS NO LAW." 
 
 After considering, as we have done, the great 
 purity and extent of those virtues, here declared to 
 be the result of the Spirit's influence upon the-x 
 Christian character, we should deprive ourselves 
 of much instruction, encouragement and comfort 
 in the Christian life, were we to omit a proper 
 meditation upon the few words with which the 
 text concludes. 
 
 The apostle has been arguing to show that the 
 new man in Christ Jesus, whose heart is ruled and 
 whose life is ordered by the Holy Ghost, is no 
 longer in bondage to the law, which had so long 
 
 283 
 
284 AGAINST SUCH 
 
 governed the Israelitish worshipper; but that, as 
 one grown to man's estate, is set free from the 
 authority of tutors and schoolmasters, (eh. iv. 1- 
 6,) to guide himself by his own discretion, so the 
 Church, being complete in Christ, is admitted to a 
 spiritual freedom, and set above the law. It is 
 free from the law of ceremonies, (which, from its 
 heavy exactions, might well be said to have been 
 " a yoke of bondage,") because the Spirit of Christ 
 now does for the soul, by his inward grace, all 
 that these ceremonies signified ; and it is free from 
 the moral law, because Christ, by his substitution, 
 righteousness and death, hath magnified the law 
 for us and made it honourable, redeemed the be- 
 liever from that penalty, which he must justly have 
 incurred, as a sinner, and by his Spirit so trans- 
 forms the dispositions and desires of his people, 
 that God's commandments are no longer grievous 
 to them but joyous, a perfect law of liberty, with 
 which they delight to comply. 
 
 The Christian life is not a slavish and reluctant 
 obedience to God's requirements, because we fear 
 
THERE IS NO LAW. 285 
 
 punishment should we transgress ; but a willing 
 surrender of our affections and powers to God and 
 his service, and because we love him for his excel- 
 lent goodness, hope in his mercy, and find plea- 
 sure in those things which he has commanded us 
 to do. The laws he has given are to be studied 
 
 i 
 
 by us, not as affording, through a compliance with 
 
 I them, the only escape from death, but as wise and 
 
 salutary rules of living prescribed for us by our 
 
 | loving and merciful God. They are constant and 
 
 friendly guides, to assist us in finding the way in 
 
 4 which we wish to walk ; and thus, instead of being 
 
 against us, as restricting our pleasures, demanding 
 
 hard and painful services, or threatening us with 
 
 extreme and deserved punishment, they are for 
 
 us, as helping us on in the pursuit of happiness 
 
 in this, and eternal life in the world which is to 
 
 come. 
 
 The heart which is now full of love, jo£, peace, 
 long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meek- 
 ness, temperance, such as we have learned those 
 graces to be, must have been converted from its 
 
286 AGAINST SUCH 
 
 natural tendencies, which are adverse to the pure, 
 meek, loving and beneficent spirit of Christianity ; 
 and the believer, thus transformed, will delight 
 humbly, patiently, faithfully and readily, to fulfil 
 that law in all things. 
 
 A sufficient answer is thus given to that most 
 pernicious and fatal error, in these days, happily, 
 seldom avowed, though there is reason to fear that 
 it is not eradicated from the minds of many, which 
 supposes that the salvation of Christ sets us free 
 from any obligation to obey the moral law of God ; 
 and to the objection brought by some enemies of 
 the truth on the other extreme, that the doctrine 
 of justification by faith tolerates a licentious and 
 unrighteous life. The passage which we have now 
 studied, clearly sets forth, that the very object of 
 the Spirit dwelling in the hearts of believers, is to 
 produce in their character all those virtues which 
 are called the fruit of the Spirit ; and that, when 
 they are not found in us, we are destitute of all 
 evidence of our being born again as the children 
 of God, and partakers of the redemption in Christ. 
 
THERE IS NO LAW. 287 
 
 . The Christian is set free from the law, not by the 
 . destruction of the law, (for Christ and Christianity 
 I came to fulfil the law, not to destroy it,) but by 
 the elevation of the believing soul to such a holi- 
 I ness, and purity of desire and intention, that his 
 conformity to the law is the free and cheerful 
 j actings of his own sanctified will. He who has in 
 I his heart love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentle- 
 j ness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, cannot 
 . lead an unrighteous or licentious life, any more 
 than a sweet fountain can send forth bitter waters ; 
 but, as Peter tells us at the close of a passage 
 parallel to the one before us, " If these things be 
 in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall 
 neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ." These graces in our 
 hearts, and the practice of them in our lives, con- 
 stitute the only, but sufficient, evidence of our 
 \ actual Christianity, as the leaves of a tree and its 
 fruit in season can alone, but do certainly prove 
 e healthful vitality of the tree which bears them. 
 These effects of Divine power in our hearts, are 
 
288 AGAINST SUCH 
 
 the genuine and undoubted testimony of the Spirit 
 with our spirits, that we are born of God ; for as 
 none, but he who believes in Jesus, shall be saved, 
 so no faith is real but that which " purifieth the 
 heart," " worketh by love," and " overcometh the 
 world." 
 
 It were well if professing Christians paid more 
 regard to these plain and easily applied rules for 
 trying their Christian sincerity, and less to those 
 which have been invented by men. It is far safer 
 to compare our daily conduct with the fruits of the 
 Spirit here described, than to rest upon the untan- 
 gible and shadowy evidence of mere emotions, 
 frames, and sensibilities. An angel from heaven 
 ought not to be believed, if he were to assert our 
 Christianity and salvation, when we could find 
 none of these proofs in our lives. For, as Arch- 
 bishop Seeker well observes, " If we are destitute 
 of the fruits of the Spirit, it is bad ; if we find 
 them in our hearts and lives, we have proof enough 
 of our condition being good, and need never dis- 
 quiet ourselves for want of any other. Being able 
 
THERE IS NO LAW. 289 
 
 to tell the very moment when we became pious 
 and virtuous is not material, provided we are so 
 now .... A feeling of immediate and sensible 
 assurance of God's favour, so impressed upon us 
 that we can certainly distinguish it to be of Divine 
 original, from the manner in which it affects us, 
 may be vouchsafed, but is no where in Scripture 
 made necessary ; and all feelings are imaginary 
 and deceptive, unless they be accompanied by that 
 one which the apostle experienced and mentions : 
 'For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our 
 conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity 
 we have had our conversation in the world.' " 
 
 No one need to involve himself in metaphysical 
 casuistry, and make the question of his soul's safety 
 a complicated problem, if he be willing to try his 
 daily life by the simple tests of Scripture. 
 
 Thus, if a professing Christian allow himself to 
 retain hatred, or ill-will, or envy, against his neigh- 
 bour, no supposed spiritual emotions, nor ardour 
 of devotional feeling, should counterbalance the 
 direct testimony of God against his piety ; as we 
 25 
 
290 AGAINST SUCH 
 
 learn from 1 John iv. 20 : " 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 ?" 
 He is destitute of the fruit of the Spirit, which is 
 love. 
 
 If he find the duties and trials of the Christian 
 life grievous and oppressive, so that he is continu- 
 ally downcast and troubled, not finding in his re- 
 ligion a comfort more than compensating for all 
 his trials, which enables him to say, " My soul 
 doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced 
 in God my Saviour ;" no matter what other evi- 
 dences of religion he may imagine himself to pos- 
 sess, it is clear that he does not belong to the 
 same school with him who said, " Rejoice in the 
 Lord alway, and again I say, rejoice ;" neither has 
 he obtained a full entrance to that " kingdom of 
 God," which " is righteousness, and peace, and joy 
 in the Holy Ghost." He has not the fruit of the 
 Spirit, which is joy. 
 
 If he be prone to anger, impatient of contradic- 
 
THERE IS NO LAW. 291 
 
 tion, fond of dispute, and rancorus in controversy ; 
 or if, while he remains calm himself, he is the 
 occasion of unnecessarily disquieting the spirits of 
 others, especially the Church, and trouble instead 
 of peace prevails through him ; he may, like Jehu, 
 profess great zeal for the Lord, and seem very 
 active in the cause of religion, but is far from being 
 a close follower of him, the Prince of Peace, to 
 whom the prophet testified, " He shall not strive 
 nor cry, neither shall any man hear his voice in 
 the streets.-' (Matt. xii. 19). Neither will he be 
 a full reaper in that harvest of righteousness, and 
 praise unto God, " the fruit of which is sown in 
 peace of them that make peace." He has not the 
 fruit of the Spirit, which is peace. 
 
 If he be repining and impatient with his lot on 
 earth, murmuring against the afflictions of provi- 
 dence, and querulous about every deprivation; 
 finding little comfort in the hope which promises 
 an eternal refuge from sin and sorrow, when life's 
 brief pilgrimage is over; it is clear, that he has 
 not the spirit of Christ, who taught us to pray, 
 
292 AGAINST SUCH 
 
 " Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven ;" 
 or of the apostle, who had " learned, in whatever 
 state he was, to be content." He may have much 
 knowledge, and do many acts which religion en- 
 joins, bnt he has not that fruit of the Spirit, which 
 is long-suffering. 
 
 If he be violent in his disposition, noisy and im- 
 petuous, rude in speech and careless of the feelings 
 of others, bent upon having his own way, and un- 
 willing to yield to his neighbour's comfort or 
 honest scruples; instead of "being courteous," 
 "honouring all men," and considering the exam- 
 ple of Him who was meek and lowly in heart : no 
 supposed goodness of intention, or honesty of 
 mind, can make up for the absence of that fruit of 
 the Spirit, which is gentleness. 
 
 If he be selfish in preferring his own ease or in- 
 dulgence to his neighbour's good, bestowing char- 
 ity only when it costs him no sacrifice, or gets 
 him praise and credit among men, and gives not 
 from a principle of love to God and good will to 
 his fellow creatures; he may have, from his op- 
 
THERE IS NO LAW. 293 
 
 portunities and position, the means and ability to 
 bestow largely upon the poor and the Church ; 
 but the life of Christian charity is wanting, for 
 he has not that fruit of the Spirit, which is good- 
 ness. 
 
 If he be not a strict observer of his truth, allow- 
 ing himself to say nothing that might tend to an- 
 other's unjust hurt, or to promise nothing which 
 
 » 
 he is not sure he intends, and will be able, to per- 
 form ; or if he waver from his firm avowal of re- 
 ligious principle and adherence to religious prac- 
 tice, as times, companies, or circumstances vary ; 
 if he be not unfeignedly honest, conscientious and 
 steadfast in his duty to God, while he holds his 
 intercourse with the world around him ; he swerves 
 from that continuance in well-doing, that courage- 
 ous devotion to God, and that equal love to his 
 neighbour with himself, which are the certain 
 marks of a true believer. He has not the fruit of 
 the' Spirit, which is faith. 
 
 If he be proud of his own attainments in re- 
 ligious virtue, or vain of earthly station or person- 
 25* 
 
294 AGAINST SUCH 
 
 al advantages ; or, in any way, regards supercili- 
 ously his fellow Christians or his fellow men, not 
 ascribing to God all that makes him to differ from 
 them ; if his manner be not humble and kind, and 
 his conduct prove that he is willing to forget him- 
 self for their advantage ; no matter what his pro- 
 testations of Christian feeling may be, he ought 
 not to wear the name of that Jesus, who u came 
 not to be ministered unto but to minister ;" for he 
 has not that peculiar fruit of Christ's Spirit, which 
 is meekness. 
 
 Or, if he be undisciplined in his spirit, not sub- 
 jecting his desires and appetites to the rule of 
 God's law, because it is God's law, but indulges 
 himself in " the lust of the flesh, the lust of the 
 eye, and the pride of life," or abstains only from 
 some motive equally selfish ; he may think that he 
 has many evidences of regeneration, but this one 
 is wanting to make the evidence complete and 
 satisfactory, the fruit of the Spirit, which is tern- 
 perance. 
 
 The rule by which the false prophets were to 
 
i THERE IS NO LAW. 295 
 
 be tried, is that by which we should try our own 
 hearts and conditions: "By their fruits shall ye 
 know them." About the fruit there can be no 
 deception. 
 
 Such is the character of these graces, that we 
 cannot exhibit them in our lives, except we have 
 them in our hearts. Words or even actions pro- 
 fessing kindness, when we feel no love, are hy- 
 pocrisies. Smiles and lively thanksgivings, when 
 there is no pious joy within, are hollow and miser- 
 able pretences. The open hand and the smooth 
 speech, when enmity or coldness rule the bosom, 
 are treacherous perfidies. Endurance from mere 
 necessity is not patience ; nor the politic control 
 of tongue and conduct always gentleness ; nor are 
 gifts in charity always goodness ; nor professions 
 and pledges, faithfulness; nor a downcast brow 
 and self-condemning confessions, meekness; nor 
 abstinence from mischievous indulgence, temper- 
 ance. 
 
 "It is easy," says Dr. Abercrombie, "to as- 
 sume the phraseology of religion, to acquire a 
 
296 AGAINST SUCH 
 
 knowledge of its doctrines, to argue ingeniously 
 and acutely on points of faith. It is not difficult 
 to practise with decorum its rites and forms, to 
 observe its ordinances, and to show all that zeal for 
 the externals of religion, by which a man acquires a 
 certain character in the eyes of men. It is easy 
 for those who have the means, and it is gratifying 
 to the feelings which exist in the generality of 
 mankind, to practise much benevolence, and to 
 show much real concern for alleviating the dis- 
 tresses of others ;" and we may add, that it is not 
 difficult for those who are accustomed to polite 
 or even civilized society, to wear a bland and 
 pleasing aspect, to preserve a calm and attractive 
 mode of discourse, to veil an impertinent sense of 
 one's superiority, or displeasure, or to refrain from 
 gross and profligate excesses; but "much of all 
 this, it is to be feared, may and does exist, while 
 there is none of that discipline of heart, without 
 which knowledge is vain, and faith but an empty 
 name." 
 
 "Man looketh on .the outward appearance, but 
 
THERE IS NO LAW. 297 
 
 the Lord looketh on the heart ;" and as God is the 
 judge of our sincerity in religion, it is not merely 
 to our external conduct, but to the temper of our 
 hearts, that we are to look for the evidence of our 
 sincerity. Duties performed merely through fear 
 of God's wrath, or as a painful price paid for future 
 happiness, while the heart is not in them, but 
 revolts from them, are not obedience, but selfish- 
 ness and slavery. The external conduct has no 
 value, except as proof of the inward temper. It 
 is not enough that we have the form of godliness, 
 in our most secret hearts we must confess its 
 power ; for, amiable as the external show of these 
 virtues may be in the sight of men, it is only as 
 fruits of the Spirit, that they are precious in the 
 sight of God. 
 
 We should at the same time not forget, that the 
 world can know us by our external conduct alone ; 
 and, though we are not to make a boast of our 
 religion, nor use it for our own glory among men, 
 yet we are so to "let our light shine," or the 
 power of our religion appear, that men, seeing our 
 
298 AGAINST SUCH 
 
 good works, may glorify our Father which is in 
 heaven. The graces of the Christian religion are, 
 as we have seen, principally, those virtues which 
 men profess to admire and love. The world 
 knows very well how to distinguish right from 
 wrong in such matters; and as religion lays 
 claim to these virtues in a higher degree than 
 any sentiment of worldly honour or unassisted 
 human nature can reach, it will watch the Chris- 
 tian with critical and jealous eyes, and not be 
 satisfied if he be no better than other men. " What 
 do ye more than others ?" will be their reproach- 
 ful inquiry of the Church, if its members be not 
 as distinguished in virtue, as the light of heavenly 
 illumination should be from the twilight of human 
 reason. 
 
 We see also how the main practice of religion 
 lies in such things and such occasions, as we have 
 mostly to do with. God honours some men by 
 making them apostles, and others by making 
 them glorious in martyrdom ; some by giving 
 them great power to use for his service ; others, 
 
THERE IS NO LAW. 299 
 
 by bestowing upon them riches that they may be 
 benefactors upon a large scale ; some, by causing 
 them to suffer great reproach, that their light may 
 appear the brighter, when it emerges from the 
 cloud ; and others, by laying them upon beds of 
 long and painful illness, that their exemplary 
 patience and resignation may give an unusual 
 testimony to their superiority over trial. But 
 every Christian cannot be an apostle, or martyr, 
 or confessor, or a great or rich man, or a hero in 
 any form. The greater portion of us have to walk 
 through life in the usual and thronged paths, and 
 can be distinguished from our fellow travellers 
 only by those virtues which common people may 
 exhibit. If no men were patriots but those who 
 command armies, or take a prominent part in the 
 public councils, it is clear that a country would 
 soon come to ruin. It is so with the Church. If 
 we wait for the exercise of our virtues, until we 
 have an opportunity to make our virtue notable, 
 we shall live and die without it. Love, joy, peace, 
 and the rest, are graces which may adorn the 
 most ordinary and lowly cot, and beautify the 
 
300 AGAINST SUCH 
 
 Christian character around the retired fireside, as 
 well as in the sun-light of public observation. 
 The heart is to be purified from hate, and envy, 
 and discontent, and dishonesty ; and the tongue 
 and the carriage, and the daily living, made orna- 
 mental to the religious profession. He, who is 
 not prepared to serve God daily, in his household, 
 in his business, in his intercourse with men, need 
 not flatter himself with dreams of what he would 
 do, were he permitted to enact his career upon a 
 wider theatre. He might seem more consistent in 
 such circumstances, but it would be his pride, not 
 his godliness, that would render him so. We can 
 therefore, scarce do ourselves greater mischief 
 than to separate a religious life from a good life, 
 and a good life is good living at all times. Religion 
 has its mysteries, its peculiar doctrines, and its 
 supernatural hopes ; but the knowledge of these 
 mysteries, the belief of these doctrines, and the 
 cherishing of these hopes, are not the ends of 
 religion ; they are only the means of it. Religion 
 is love to God, and love to man. 
 
THERE IS NO LAW. 301 
 
 The best guidance we can have in religion, un- 
 der the blessed influence of the Holy Ghost, is an 
 honest and sincere heart. If a man makes the 
 word of God his guide, and the strength of God 
 his stay, and means to do right, he will rarely do 
 wrong. Duty will have its dark places, and its 
 difficult places, but, if he still struggle on toward 
 God and heaven, like Bunyan's Pilgrim in the 
 Slough of Despond, he will get through on the 
 right side. If, on the contrary, he be desirous of 
 having as much of the world as he can, and doing 
 as little for the Church and God as he can, and yet 
 retain the Christian character and the Christian's 
 hope, he will be constantly betrayed into inconsis- 
 tency, and find Christ's burden heavy and his 
 yoke galling. It is the restive bullock, that is 
 galled in the yoke, not the docile and gentle one. 
 If we keep ourselves to those things " against 
 which there is no law," whose excellence is un- 
 doubted and acknowledged by all, we shall stand 
 in danger of no just condemnation ; and, though 
 we cannot escape scandal and censoriousness, we 
 26 
 
3()2 AGAINST SUCH 
 
 shall have the consolation of a good conscience, 
 knowing that we have not deserved them. If our 
 hearts be guarded well, and the Holy Ghost, 
 through prayer and faith, and the study of the 
 Scriptures, and the use of all the means of grace, 
 dwell in them, we shall be spared much anxiety 
 in comparing our external conduct with the stand- 
 ard of truth. We must have a spirit elevated 
 above mere law by love and gratitude and delight 
 in God and goodness, if we would be elevated 
 above the bondage of law, and beyond its cen- 
 sures. 
 
 Let us remember also, that, although these are 
 graces of the Spirit, they are Christian virtues: 
 and that, although we cannot possess them except 
 by God's gift, we must exercise them by our own 
 endeavours. The Holy Spirit uses ourselves as 
 the means of our own sanctification ; and so, if we 
 would be found " serving the Lord," we must not 
 only be " fervent in spirit," but " diligent in busi- 
 ness." The excitement of our sensibilities without 
 any consequences of outward practice, is hurtful, 
 
THERE IS NO LAW. 303 
 
 instead of beneficial, to the moral temper; and 
 one, who has only religious emotions (if that were 
 possible) without religious activity, is sure to meet 
 with the curse of the Master, when he comes 
 " seeking fruit and findeth none." 
 
 It is an awful consideration that we are temples 
 of the Holy Ghost. How clean should that tem- 
 ple, and all its vessels be, in which God dwells ? 
 Our hearts, our members, our eyes, our ears, our 
 tongues, should all be kept holy, because they are 
 set apart to the Lord. As a garden fenced in by 
 his ordinances, watered by his influences, breathed 
 upon by his Spirit, and lightened and warmed by 
 the Sun of Righteousness, should the Christian's 
 life and the Christian Church be, abounding not 
 only in leaves and blossoms, but substantial fruit 
 Then would the Lord God dwell among us, and 
 hold communion with us, as he once did with his 
 holy children among the shades of Paradise, and 
 there " be none to hurt or destroy in all his holy 
 mountain." Then would the stakes of the Church 
 be strengthened, and its cords be extended, until 
 
304 AGAINST SUCH 
 
 Zion should become the whole earth, the " wilder- 
 ness be as Eden, and the desert as the garden of 
 the Lord." 
 
 Our pleasant meditations upon our sweet text 
 must now close. Yet, like him who saw the Lord 
 on the holy mount, we could linger around it and 
 say, " It is good to be here." How pure is the 
 atmosphere, and how calm! Controversies and 
 sectarian jars reach not this elevation. No creed 
 forbids such virtues. How clear the sunshine ! 
 No doubt rests upon the beauty of these Divine 
 graces. How holy the society ! Each virtue, and 
 all, reminding us of Jesus and the shining ones, 
 who followed him on earth and now adore him in 
 heaven. 
 
 Beloved, let us leave our holy thoughts to prac- 
 tise this holy morality ; nay, we can meditate as 
 we practise, and while we walk on earth, our 
 hearts may be in heaven. Happy will the writer 
 be, if God has permitted him to bind up the fallen 
 tendrils of any neglected grace ; to shed the dews 
 
THERE IS NO LAW. 305 
 
 of the Spirit upon one drooping virtue ; or to en- 
 courage into full loveliness one shrinking promise 
 of Christian duty. Happier shall we all be, if 
 knowing the will of our heavenly Father, we do 
 it; that so Jesus may be glorified in us upon 
 earth, and we be glorified in him for ever. 
 
 11 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, 
 whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things 
 are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever 
 things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good 
 report ; if there be any virtue, and if there be any 
 praise, think on these things." Amen. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 fc_. 
 
 26* 
 
I 
 
8^