the glory of God*. What then have we cause to think of ourselves, if we love not him who himself is love t; if such acts of kindness make none or faint impressions on our hearts; if we reflect but seldom upon them, and are influenced but little by them? Is there, or can there be, an instance of ingratitude from man to man, that bears the least proportion to the unworthiness of such a temper? For that God hath no need of our acknowledgments, as our fellowcreatures often have, only proves his goodness to be the greater; and therefore ought not surely to make our sense of it the less. Now, if these things are thus evident to our view, in how much stronger a light must they appear to his all-seeing eye? And with what dislike and indignation must he look on so shocking a depravity, as that of refusing him the very affection which he purposely and principally formed us to exercise towards himself, its most deserving, its only adequate object? For, as all that in a moral sense is good in his whole creation, is but the shadow of divine perfection; so the esteem and love of what is good must ever be essentially defective, till it leads us to, and terminates in, the love of Him. But let us now consider also the effects of this principle on other parts of our duty. We must set our hearts on something. Worldly things are all of them trifles. Many of them are not to be attained, but by unlawful means: however attained, fondness for them debases and corrupts us. We see and feel it every day: all the wickedness that prevails on earth springs from it. Therefore, to avoid this danger, men have been directed to fix their attention on the rightness, the amiableness of virtue and right and amiable it is, no question. But, without having re course to unhappy experience, the plainest reason shews, how weakly and how transiently the bare idea, the abstract notion of moral excellence must affect such creatures, surrounded with such temptations as we are, compared with an affectionate regard to Him, in whom the fulness of it dwells, and overflows on all the works of his hands. Every sort, indeed, of regard to God, is a more powerful incitement to virtue, than any other motive: but love hath a peculiar force; often in beginning a change from evil to good, but always in carrying it on and completing it. While we obey only from fear of him, we are unwilling and backward, imagine difficulties, contrive excuses; and think it a point gained, if we can persuade ourselves, that this or that needs not to be done. If hope be added to it, without any inducement more generous, we shall still be in danger of aiming to get our reward by doing as little for it as we can. But those, whom we love, we serve with alacrity and zeal; forget our own inclinations to adopt theirs, hate every thing that displeases them, despise every thing that doth not recommend us to them, look on their commands as favours and honours, rejoice to encounter difficulties for their sakes, and think we can never do enough to testify our attachment to them. What noble improvements then must love to God make in the performance of our duty; and how can it fail, III. Of increasing our happiness, even in this world, as well as the next! For want of cultivating this delightful affection, the thoughts of him are dreadful to the generality of men. Too many are tempted to wish in their hearts, if they durst, that he were not; or had no regard to human conduct; and if any of them can but persuade themselves for a while, on the strength of some poor cavil, t to hope what they wish, they triumph in the imagined discovery, that sets them so much at ease. From the same default, humbler and righter minds consider him very often in no better light, than as a rigid law-giver, arbitrarily exacting a number of almost impracticable duties, and inforcing them with the dread of insupportable punishments: whence they are ready to sink under the terrors of religion, even while they are conscientiously fulfilling its precepts. Looking on God as the object of love would rectify these mistaken conceptions intirely. We should all see and feel, that a Being of infinite goodness, directed by infinite wisdom, is the highest blessing; and the want of such a one would be the greatest calamity, that is possible: we should be satisfied, that the strictest of his laws, and the severest of their sanctions, are means which he knows to be needful for our good; that his mercy will forgive on repentance our past transgressions of them, that his grace will strengthen us to keep them better, and that he will never reject a soul affectionately devoted to him. In proportion then as we are so, all terrifying apprehensions will vanish from us. There is no fear in love, saith St. John; Fear hath torment; but perfect love casteth out fear*. Another sort of men there is, who have not much uneasiness, but little or no pleasure in religion. What they call performing their devotions, is commonly nothing more than going heavily through a few customary shews of respect, and repeating by rote a certain number of good words, without any life, or almost any meaning. No wonder if the benefit of such worship seems to be so small, that more than a few, whose consciences would not suffer them * 1 John iv. 18. to neglect it, cannot however help considering it as a burthensome task, enjoined them, they scarce know why. But were these forms and shadows turned into substance, by the real exercise of that devout affection which is professed in them, we should none of us any longer think hardly or meanly of the highest and happiest employment of the human soul. We should be filled with pleasing reverence in doing homage to the gracious Lord of all, celebrate his perfections as interested in every one of them, give ease to our hearts by a penitent confession of our offences, make our claim to his promised mercy with most joyful gratitude, vow to him chearfully a more vigilant obedience, feel a double satisfaction in every comfort from having received it as his gift, and disburthen ourselves of every anxiety, by committing to his providence all our wants, and all our cares. Every other love may cause the acutest misery. The object of our tenderest earthly regards may be insensible or ungrateful; may prove many ways inferior to our expectation; may be wretched and make us so; may be snatched away on a sudden for ever. But love to God is subject to no disappointment; is indeed a cure for all that can possibly happen to us. While we set our affections on things above*, the chief treasure of our soul must ever be safe: even those things, that seem to be the most against us†, we are expressly assured, are working together all the while for our good: and the more of our inferior enjoyments God requires us to sacrifice to him, the fuller opportunities he gives us of manifesting that supreme value for him, which he seldom fails to reward amply here, by infusing into us a sense of his favour, greatly superior to all wordly pleasure; but Rom. viii. 28. Col. iii. 2. + Gen. xlii. 36. at least he hath prepared in Heaven for them that love him, things which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man*. Indeed, how large a part, that love itself, which we have preserved inviolate through the trials of life, will then make of our felicity; when we shall be raised above all our present low objects of desire, and have every faculty of our souls adapted to embrace the only worthy one; when we shall experience his immediate beatific presence, feel joys unutterable, flowing directly from him, and be completely assured, that this God is our God for ever and ever†: how transporting the movements of our affections towards him may then become, is not for us now to say or conceive. But so much apprehension of it we must surely have, as will shew that our most important interest lies in forming ourselves to that disposition of heart towards him in this life, which is necessary to our blessedness in the next. For the principal felicity of Heaven consists in God: and unless we love him, we cannot enjoy him, or be happy with him. Let us therefore proceed to consider, IV. The methods which infinite wisdom hath taken to cultivate so excellent a principle in our minds. Love owes its being to goodness; and so may be produced, either by a general contemplation of its amiableness, or by favours personally received from it. That we are capable of the former and purer sort of love, delight in a benevolent character, though we have never been benefited by it, nor possibly can be, is a truth, of which every day gives proofs with respect to our fellow-creatures, whom we affectionately esteem, though inaccessibly distant from us, though dead many ages before us. And therefore we are * 1 Cor. ii. 9. VOL. I. R + Psalm xlviii. 14. |