Ess. XII.] and Consistent 497 be horribly afraid; be ye very desolate, saith the Lord; for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water!" Jer. ii, 12, 13. The lofty and rebellious spirit of the unbeliever, in the second place, is evinced by nothing more commonly or more clearly, than by his negligence of religion. The information communicated, and the proposals made to us, by divine revelation, are, if authentic, of infinite importance; and no man can with reason deny, that they are accompanied with evidences of their celestial origin, which are, at least, strong enough to demand a diligent and serious examination. But he who is actuated by "an evil heart of unbelief," is, for the most part destitute of any regard for these matters. He passes them by: he searches not into them. Or, if, in any degree, he directs his attention to the evidences of revelation, he approaches not the subject in that teachable and impartial spirit, and with that earnest desire for divine illumination, which are absolutely essential to the comprehension and reception of divine truth. The unbeliever is, therefore, justly condemned as an immoral being-as one who sins against God-as one who is guilty of pride, rebellion, and culpable negligence. Lastly, the evil heart of unbelief is abominable in the sight of God, and is justly condemned, because it prefers darkness to light, and because this preference has no other root than a pertinacious adherence to a corrupt and sinful condition. The infidel secretly cleaves to his iniquities, and, therefore, covets the darkness by which they are concealed. "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God. 498 with Justice. [Ess. XII. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil :" John iii, 18, 19. Those, therefore, who would enjoy the privileges promised to believers in the present life, and lay hold of their eternal reward in the life to come, must strive to avoid, in every respect, the character which has now been depicted. If we take a just view of our own lost condition, humble ourselves in the sight of God, trust in his mercy and power, and submit to his spiritual government-if we give diligent heed to the word of his truth, as well as to the evidences on which it rests -if, above all, we freely open our hearts to that pure light of heaven, which condemns for iniquity, and leads into all honour, glory, virtue, and peace-we shall never be numbered amongst those who believe not, and who, therefore, perish. Although we may be sometimes harassed with doubts, and cast down, for the trial of our faith, into mental darkness and distress, that faith will, nevertheless, be found a substantial, inherent, principle, and will never be destoyed. Finally, since faith is a moral qualification-a Christian grace—a fruit of the Spirit-and, therefore, unquestionably, a divine gift-let us seek it where it may be found, at the throne of mercy-let us not cease to pray, that, together with hope and charity, it may more and more abound in us, to our own peace, and to the glory of God our Saviour! PART II. ON OBEDIENCE. Since God is the Author of our existence, and of every mental and bodily faculty of which we are in Ess. XII.] The Law of God 499 possession-since his power and authority over us are unlimited and supreme-and, since he is himself a perfect as well as an infinite Being-we cannot for a moment hesitate to acknowledge, that he has a right to dispose of us as he pleases, and to regulate all our conduct according to his will; and our conformity to that will, although it may involve the surrender of ourselves, and of all our degenerate inclinations, is plainly nothing more than our "reasonable service." This doctrine lies at the foundation of true morality, which does not consist in our adherence to any system of human invention, however plausible or excellent it may be, but solely in obedience to the revealed willor, in other words, to the law-of the moral Governor of the universe. Such, under a variety of forms, is the clear and frequent declaration of the book of God. In the Bible, and primarily in the Bible only, we are explicitly taught, that all our virtue and happiness depends upon our being conformed to the will of him who is the Creator and Lord of all things, and who is holy, just, and true. While the Stoics lay the stress of their moral philosophy on the "eternal fitness of things," the Academics, on that which may be supposed to resemble "the highest good,”and the Epicureans, on the pursuit of happiness-the sacred writers have superseded all speculation on the subject, by declaring, that the law of God is the only true rule of life-that obedience to his law is righteousness, and the transgression of it sin. In the beginning God imparted his commandments to our first parents; and, while they continued in all things to obey their divine Master, they preserved his image in themselves-they maintained their original character of perfect righteousness. But they were made liable to temptation, and the transgression of his laws their first act of disobedience-was the sin 500 our Rule of Action; [Ess. XII. which caused their own degradation, and the fall of their whole specics. But, degraded as man is under the baneful influence of this mournful event, God has been pleased to bestow upon him, in all ages, those "reproofs of instruction," which "are the way of life:" Prov. vi, 23. He has graciously communicated to us a law, by which we may so regulate our conduct in the world, as to obtain happiness, both here and hereafter. It will, I presume, be without difficulty allowed, that these observations are in a general, yet very important, sense, applicable to all men, whether they are partakers in the benefit of an outward revelation, or are left to that which is usually described as the light of nature. If we admit that mankind, without an outward revelation, are nevertheless sinners, we must also admit that mankind, without such a revelation, are nevertheless in possession of the law of God; for we are expressly told by one apostle, that "where no law is, there is no transgression," Rom. iv, 15; and by another, that "sin is the transgression of the law," 1 John iii, 4;-declarations which obviously correspond with the dictates of sound reason. The law to which I now allude, and which is universally bestowed upon men, is that light in the soul respecting right and wrong, by which the natural conscience is directed and illuminated, and to which, unless perverted by prejudice, or seared by the fatal operation of vice, it never fails to "bear witness." The apostle Paul has adverted, in a clear and forcible manner, to the law which is thus written by the finger of the Deity on the heart of man; he has also described its operation, and has declared, that those persons who obey it "shall be justified." For not the hearers of the law," he says, "are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For, when the Gentiles, which have not the law, (i. e. have not the Ess. XII.] both under the Light of Nature, 501 written law,) do by nature the things contained in the law; these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves; which shew the work of the law written in their hearts; their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another," Rom. ii, 13-15; and, again, in addressing the Jews, he soon afterwards says, "shall not uncircumcision, which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?" ver. 27.6 Thus it appears, that there were individuals, in ancient times, destitute of an outward revelation, who nevertheless obeyed the will of our Heavenly Father, as it is made manifest in the heart-persons who were taught of God, to fear him and to "work righteousness;" and, on the other hand, the multitude of the Gentiles, who gave themselves up to idolatrous and other vicious practices, were condemned for this very reason, that they sinned against the light of nature; and both practised and promoted iniquity, although they knew "the judgment (or the righteous decision?) 6 When we remember the comprehensive account almost immediately afterwards given, by the apostle Paul, of the utter corruption of unregenerate man, Rom. iii, 9—19, and call to mind his subsequent declara. tion respecting himself—“ I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing," vii, 18-we cannot consistently attribute to him the doctrine, that the Gentiles were enabled, by any of their merely natural faculties, to fulfil the law of God. No man surely, since the fall, can possibly have fulfilled that law, except through the influence of the Holy Spirit. It is obvious, that, in Rom. ii, 13-15, 27, a condition of nature is advanced in antithesis not to one of grace but to one in which men enjoyed the benefit of an external revelation. For my own part I beg it may be understood, that by "the light of nature," I mean, simply, the light which God has communicated to the souls of men independently of an outwardly revealed religion. 7 τὸ δικαίωμα του Θεοῦ. These words are well translated in the Horæ Romanæ of R. Cox, M.A., (a valuable little work lately published,) "the rule of right (ordained) by God." |