“Wherewith shall I come before the Lord? Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?—He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.” Micah 6:6-8.
2. By this question, and the answer to it, the prophet teaches us, wherein the true worship of God properly consists; not in ceremonies and sacrifices, since we are not able to give anything to God, because all is his own already; not in offering up human sacrifices, which he does not require at our hands, but detests and abhors, because they are injurious to Jesus Christ, the great propitiatory oblation which God appointed to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29): but the true worship of God consists in pure faith, which, from the visible effect of it, the prophet here describes, by “doing justly,” that is by the exercise of faith in righteousness, in charity and mercy, (which is more pleasing than all sacrifices); and in true humility and contrition, as it is said: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” Ps. 51:17.
3. To this divine worship, founded within the heart, and proceeding from faith, love, and humility, St. Paul powerfully exhorts us in Rom. 13:8-10. His admonition contains in it both the praise of Christian love, and the perpetual duty in which we stand engaged to our neighbor, and without which it is impossible to serve God aright. For truly there is no other way of serving God, except by that which he himself works in our hearts: so that to serve God, is nothing else but to serve our neighbor, and to do him all the offices of Christian love and humanity which we are able to perform.
4. The apostle calls love a summary of all virtues, and the “fulfilling of the law.” Rom. 13:10. Not that we are able by any acts of charity, to fulfil perfectly the divine law, or that consequently we can merit eternal life thereby; (which cannot possibly be, except our love were complete in every respect, and arrived to a consummate [pg 086] perfection): but the apostle desires to suggest thereby the wonderful excellency of this virtue, and to incline us, at the same time, to an unfeigned love. As to our righteousness, it is not grounded on any work of ours, but only on the merits of Christ applied to us by faith.
5. From this righteousness of Christ, apprehended by faith, springs love to our neighbor, together with the whole train of Christian virtues, called by the apostle “fruits of righteousness, which are to the glory and praise of God.” Phil. 1:11. But since the dignity of this virtue is so very eminent, it will be proper to set forth further motives by which the practice of it may be endeared to us.
6. The first and strongest of all motives, is that which St. John uses: “God is love; and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16). For who would not wish to be in God, and to remain in Him; and that God should be and remain in him? And who, on the contrary, would not abhor to be in Satan, and to have Satan dwelling in him? And yet this is the ordinary consequence, as often as charity is repulsed, and unnatural animosities are admitted into the heart. For as God is a lover of men, ready to save them from eternal destruction, so the devil is a hater of men. This is further explained by St. John: “He that loveth, is born of God, and knoweth God.” 1 John 4:7. And again: “In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.” 1 John 3:10. Now, can there be anything more desirable than to be ranked among the children of God, to be begotten of God, and to know God truly and experimentally? But whoever has his heart void of this love, and has never felt its force and energy, nor tasted its goodness and gentleness, long suffering and patience, this man knows not God, who is pure love. For the knowledge of God must proceed from enjoyment and experience. And how is it possible that a man should know Christ, whilst he is a stranger to love, and to that loving intercourse which subsists betwixt Christ and the soul? Hence it follows, that he that is without love, is without Christ also. But he who is earnest in the exercise of love, shall not be left barren in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ: “For 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.” 2 Pet. 1:8.
7. The second motive is found in what our Lord himself says: “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 13:35. Now, in order to be a disciple of Christ, it is not enough to be a Christian in name, or by a mere verbal profession; but to be a disciple of Christ implies much more. Such a one must believe in his name; must love him, imitate him, live in him. He must, in a peculiar manner, adhere to him; must feel the love of Christ infused into his soul, and freely partake of all the gifts and benefits purchased by him. Whoever has not this love of Christ abiding in him, is not Christ's disciple, nor can he pretend to have any share in his merits. For how is it possible that Christ should know a man who has neither faith in, nor any love to him? As a flower is known by its fragrance, and fruit by its flavor, so a true disciple of Christ is known by his love.
[pg 087]8. Hence, St. Paul does not hesitate to affirm, that “all gifts without charity are nothing” (1 Cor. 13:2); which is a third motive why we should desire this excellent gift. In truth, neither the knowledge of divers tongues, nor the gift of miracles, nor the understanding of high and sublime mysteries, nor any extraordinary endowments, are sufficient marks by which to know a Christian; this prerogative being entirely reserved to “faith, which worketh by love.” Gal. 5:6. Nor does God require any hard things at our hand (such as the working of miracles), but to exercise love and humility; virtues that may be apprehended by the meanest capacity. Nor will it be demanded of thee in the day of judgment, whether thou hast been versed in arts, tongues, and sciences, or what great parts thou hast possessed in this world; but whether thou hast exercised thyself in faith and love. “I was a hungered,” saith our Saviour, “and ye gave me meat, etc.” Matt. 25:35, etc. And St. Paul says to the Galatians: “In Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision (no gifts, no parts, no endowments, no respect of persons); but faith which worketh by love.” Gal. 5:6.
9. Add to these, as a fourth motive, that passage of St. John: “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? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God, love his brother also.” 1 John 4:20, 21. This all the inspired writers teach, that love towards God cannot possibly exist in the soul without love to our neighbor. For he that hates his neighbor must be an enemy to God; because God is a lover of men, and requires us to be of the same mind.
10. A fifth motive is, that love is the great law of nature, and attended with many things beneficial to mankind, without which we would not be able to live. When any good thing happens to man, it certainly proceeds from divine love. Hence, St. Paul calls love, the “bond of perfectness” (Col. 3:14); and describes, in Rom. 12:9, 10, the excellent fruits that grow upon this stock. And our Saviour himself teaches to the same effect: “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” Matt. 7:12. And this is so universal a truth, that the heathens themselves were, by the very law of nature written in their hearts, convinced of it. Hence they said: “That which you would not should be done to yourself, do not the same to another.” This excellent sentence, the Emperor Severus, a prince adorned with many virtues, had daily in his mouth, and enacted it into a law for the good of the country.
11. A sixth motive is, that love is a beautiful image and a foretaste of eternal life; when the saints shall love each other sincerely; when they shall delight in one another, and converse together with wonderful and ineffable concord, in an inexpressible sweetness, in unfeigned affection, cheerfulness, and joy. Whoever, therefore, would conceive to himself an image of that marvellous love and harmony, and obtain some foretaste of the exquisite pleasures of the eternal beatitude, let him study this love, in which he will find a singular pleasure, with much peace and tranquillity of mind.
12. The more pure and fervent our [pg 088] charity is, the nearer it approaches to the divine nature. This is a seventh motive. In God, in Christ, and in the Holy Ghost, there resides the most pure, fervent, and transcendent love. It is then that our love becomes pure, when we love one another, not for the sake of private interest, but for the sake of the love of God, which is the great and unerring pattern which we ought carefully to follow. For God loves us with a disinterested love: but if any man loves his neighbor for his own private profit and interest, his love is not pure at all, nor does it, in any degree, come up to that sublime example which is set us by God Almighty. This makes also the difference betwixt heathen and Christian charity. A Christian loves his neighbor in God and in Christ, disinterestedly and generously, without debasing himself by any ignoble or selfish design. Thus is his love preserved pure and sincere, free from dissimulation, falsehood, and any counterfeit. Whereas the heathens polluted their deeds with self-honor and interest, and other sinister ends, which mingled with the best of their actions. This Christian love, when it becomes a habit in the mind, produces a true fervency of spirit, to perform still greater acts of love and benignity. And it is then that love is truly fervent, when it inspires the lover with great mercy and tenderness towards his fellow-creatures, and prompts to vigorous efforts to relieve their necessity. When he has the affairs of his neighbor as much at heart as his own, then he is ready even to “lay down his very life for the brethren” (1 John 3:16), if need be, or, after the example of Moses and Paul, to be “accursed” for the brethren, and to be “blotted out of the book of God,” if this possibly could be done. Exod. 32:32; Rom. 9:3.
13. Hence it follows (which is the eighth motive), that we ought also to love our enemies, according to the Lord's precept: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not the publicans the same?” Matt. 5:44; Luke 6:32, etc. Herein consist the excellency and prerogative of a true Christian; namely, to subject nature to this divine principle, to tame flesh and blood, and to overcome the world, and the evil therein with goodness. Rom. 12:21. “If thine enemy hunger, feed him.” Rom. 12:20. It is not enough for a Christian not to hurt his neighbor or enemy; but he is commanded to do him good, and to support him with such aids, as are convenient for him (Exod. 23:4, etc.); whoever refuses to comply with these terms, cannot be a child of God, or a disciple of Christ.
14. The ninth motive is, that whoever does not practise Christian love and charity, separates himself from the spiritual body of Christ, that is, the Church; and forfeits all the privileges of this body, and even the merits of Christ; there being but “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” Eph. 4:5. For as the members when cut off from the body, no longer partake of the life and power of the head, but are dead; so those that do not live in the practice of love and charity, are separate from Christ, the sole Head of the Church, and can receive no power and vital influence out of his fulness. Therefore, St. John says, [pg 089] “He that loveth not his brother, abideth in death.” 1 John 3:14.
15. Lastly, we ought to love one another, because on the wings of this love the prayer of a Christian ascends to heaven. By prayer, all good gifts are to be obtained; and without prayer, all helps and consolations are expected in vain. But then our prayer must spring from the evangelical principle of love; since God gives ear to no prayers, but to those that are grounded on faith and Christian charity: “If two of you agree on earth, as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.” Matt. 18:19.
16. Come then, O man! let this sweet agreement and harmony be established among us upon earth. Let us live in the spirit of love, that peace and union may dwell among us; for where peace is, there is the God of peace (2 Cor. 13:11; Rom. 15:33); and where He is, there “he hath also commanded his blessing and life for evermore.” Ps. 133:3.
The first cause why enemies ought to be loved, is the express commandment of God by his Son; for which he gives this reason, “that we may be the children of our Father in heaven,” that is, “of him that loved us when we were yet his enemies.” Rom. 5:10. As if he had said, “Unless you love your enemies, you cannot be the children of the heavenly Father: and he that is not God's son, what father shall he have?” This commandment of the Lord is little practised; alas! how backward we are in bringing forth such fruits as become the children of God! If we be his children, truly we ought to study the great lesson of loving our enemies, that so, in some degree, we may express the character of our Father in heaven.
2. The Scripture says, “He that loveth not his brother, abideth in death.” 1 John 3:14. And why does he abide in death? Because he has not yet received that vital principle which is to be derived from Christ. The spiritual and heavenly life consists in faith towards God, and in love to our neighbor. Thus, St. John says, “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.” 1 John 3:14. Whence it is manifest, that love is an undoubted sign and effect of spiritual life or restoration to life in Christ; as hatred to men is an infallible proof of spiritual death and separation from God. And this spiritual death here, will end in eternal death hereafter; of which our Lord faithfully warns us.
3. Whoever, therefore, suffers his [pg 090] heart to be filled with wrath and bitterness against his neighbor, ought to know assuredly, that even his best performances, his prayer and attendance on divine worship, and other works of that nature, are altogether vain, and of no account before God. St. Paul says, “Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.” 1 Cor. 13:3.
4. It is, on the other hand, the property of a noble and divine mind, to pardon injuries. Behold how long-suffering God is, and how easily he is reconciled. Ps. 103:8. Consider the example of Christ, the Son of God, who, in the midst of his exquisite torments, like a patient lamb, did not so much as “open his mouth.” Isa. 53:7. Contemplate the nature of the divine Spirit, who appeared in the form of a dove (Matt. 3:16), with a view that by such a representation he might teach us a dove-like meekness of mind, and recommend to us that tender simplicity of manners, which becomes a true Christian. With what patience did Moses bear the reproaches of the people, thus deserving to be called “very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.” Numb. 12:3. Remember also the conduct of David, and with what lenity of mind he heard the curses of Shimei. 2 Sam. 16:10.
5. True love teaches us to be angry with none but ourselves. True peace consists not in having much wealth, but in bearing patiently whatever goes against our nature. Should a madman rail at the sun, and curse it for being nothing but darkness, the sun would never be darkened by his reproachful language, but continue his course, and enlighten the world as before. So do thou also, and remember that there is no sweeter or better revenge than to forgive. Such wise and excellent rules were practised by many of the heathens themselves. Pericles, the Grecian orator, having patiently heard a man revile him for the space of a whole day, when night came on, kindly invited him to his house, and entertained him in a friendly manner, saying, “It is easier to speak evil of virtue than to possess it.” Thus Phocion, general of the Athenians, when he had deserved well of his country, but through envy was adjudged to death, and was now about to undergo the sentence, being asked if he had any commands for his son, generously made answer: “None, except that he never take measures to revenge this injury, which I suffer of my country.” The Emperor Titus being told that two brothers had conspired to cause his death, scrupled not to invite them both to sup with him; and in the morning went with them to the theatre, and placed himself betwixt them, to behold the play. Thus with marvellous clemency he overcame, at last, their baseness. And when Cato had committed suicide, Julius Cæsar said: “I have lost a glorious victory; for I had intended to forgive Cato all the evil that he has done to me.”
6. But after all, as to the man who cannot be influenced by the unspeakable patience and meekness of the Son of God himself, to forgive and to love his enemies, him neither the example of the saints, nor of heathens, will ever be able to melt into love and forbearance. For what greater injustice and barbarity can be conceived, than that the Son of God should be so shamefully treated by the children of men, be scourged with stripes, crowned with thorns, spit upon, and loaded with all [pg 091] the marks of scorn and derision; and lastly, be nailed on the cross? Nevertheless, he was able to bear, with an unshaken firmness, all the affronts and indignities which the malice of men was able to contrive; nay, and freely to pardon all this barbarous usage, and to pray, “Father, forgive them!” Luke 23:34.
7. And, truly, it was to this very end that our blessed Redeemer set his example before our eyes, that it might be an all-healing medicine for such spiritual diseases as have seized upon us; particularly, that it might abase all pride and loftiness, strengthen what is weak, supply what is defective, and correct what is evil and out of order. Can the distemper of pride be so violent, as not to be healed by the profound humility and lowliness of Christ? Heb. 5:8. Can avarice and covetousness prove so stubborn, as to baffle a remedy derived from that sacred poverty which appeared in Jesus Christ? What wrath is so fierce and vehement, that his meekness and lenity cannot mollify it? What desire of revenge so bitter and barbarous, which his patience cannot assuage and compose? What inhumanity so great and cruel, which the love of Christ cannot warm into a sweet and compassionate temper? And what heart can be so hard and obdurate, as not to be melted with the tears of Jesus Christ himself?
8. Who would not heartily wish to be made like God the Father, his Son, and the Holy Ghost, and to carry within him the excellent image of the sacred Trinity, which chiefly consists in love and forgiveness? For it is the highest of all the divine properties, to show compassion and mercy, to spare and to pardon, to be kind and gracious: and that must be undoubtedly one of the sublimest virtues, which makes us bear the nearest resemblance to the Most High God, and to all such persons as are the most conspicuous for goodness and virtue.
9. Lastly, the highest degree of virtue is, when a man, overcoming himself, is ready at any time to forget injuries, to pardon offences, and to show acts of favor and clemency. “He that is slow to anger,” says Solomon, “is better than the mighty: and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city.” Prov. 16:32. This is the highest step of the soul's ascension in her spiritual exercise; and when she has attained it, she rests in God, and is perfect in him.
The heart of man is so constituted, that it cannot exist without love; it must love God, or the world, or self. If, therefore, man be under so strong a compulsion to love, let him direct his love to God, the supreme Good, and give up that affection to Him, who originally planted it in man, and [pg 092] kindled it by his good Spirit; and who is still ready, at our fervent request, to rekindle this flame in the soul. His love to us is still the great principle that produces our love to him: and if his love to us meet with a suitable return on our side, then his love will, day by day, more ardently embrace us. For love begets love, according to the words of the Lord: “He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father.” John 14:21.
2. Wherever the love of God resides, it disposes the soul freely to love all men, and not only to wish them well, but to do them all proper acts of love and beneficence; this being the property of that love which is grounded in God, and derived from him. Such a lover of God and of his neighbor, will never hurt or defraud any man in word or deed.
3. But the generality of the people are engrossed so much with the love of the world, that they never even admit the love of God into their hearts. This is plain from that false love with which they treat their neighbor, and which, under a show of friendship, seeks nothing but temporal advantage. Nothing in the world should be loved to such a degree, as to injure the love of God, or to come in competition with it; especially since there is so great a vanity and vileness in the world, and so great a worth and majesty in God, as that no comparison can ever be made betwixt them. As God infinitely excels all his creatures, so the love of God infinitely excels in holiness and dignity all the love we can bear to the creature, and is in no wise to be compared with it. No love to the creature ought to have sufficient weight with us, to make us offend the love of God, or to act in opposition to the same.
4. St. Paul says: “Who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof?” 1 Cor. 9:7. These words may not improperly be applied to this case. Who is more worthy of our love, than he that hath planted it in our hearts, and to whose love we owe our life and being? And as we all live by the love of God in Christ, so we should all adhere to this love, and make it our constant support even in the time of adversity. As a pilot in tempestuous weather, does not leave the ship to the mercy of the billows, but secures it by the anchor as well as he can, and stays its unruly motions; so in like manner, when the ship of our faith is tossed about in the sea of this world, and beset on all sides with the temptations of sin and vanity, of wrath and pride, of lust and avarice, we should hold to the love of Christ, and not suffer our hearts to be removed from that spiritual steadfastness, which is to carry us safe through all the tempests of this perverse and boisterous world. Romans 8:38, 39. Thus, when sin and death, the devil and hell, tribulation and persecution, and other miseries, threaten to overwhelm us, we are then to hold fast the love of God manifested in Christ Jesus. This divine love is like that mountain of salvation which was showed to Lot when he went out of Sodom, to escape the fire of that accursed place. Gen. 19:17.
5. The fire of lust, attended with everlasting flames and torments, is worse than that of Sodom. But the love and fear of God are a sovereign remedy against this profane love, and against any motion contrary to its pure and heavenly nature. It was this divine fear and love which preserved Joseph from the enticements of Potiphar's wife, and it still guards [pg 093] us against the snares of an evil world. Gen. 39:9.
6. No man can love the world, but he who has never tasted the love of God; nor can any man hate, defraud, or circumvent his neighbor in anything, but he that does not love God from his heart. Whence arise all the anxious cares of this life, that grief and vexation of spirit with which poor mortals are disturbed? Surely, from nothing but from a want of the love of God. For the sweetness of divine love is so strong and effectual, that it mitigates the sense of all the miseries that are incident to this life. This love renders a man happy even in death itself.
7. Again, such is the nature of love, that it influences a man to lay aside all thoughts about anything else, and to fix his attention entirely on the beloved object, in order to possess and enjoy that alone. Why then are the children of men so much besotted with the things of this world? Why do they not entirely forget all wealth and honor, lust and riches, that they may enjoy him alone, whom they profess to love? This was in former times the constant practice of the holy men of God; whom the exquisite sweetness of this divine love had so much overpowered, as to make them forget the whole world, and even themselves also. Hence they were accounted fools in the world, when at the same time they were the wisest of all men; and their despisers most deserved the name of fools and madmen, as preferring a handful of frail and transient things, to everlasting and never-fading prosperity. Those are the greatest fools, who call the godly by that name, who, setting their love on things above, are deeply concerned to obtain and eternally enjoy them. 1 Cor. 3:19; 4:10.
8. A true lover of God, loves God as if there were nothing in the whole universe to love but God alone. And for this reason, he finds all that in God, which he sought before in the world. For God hath in himself all things essentially, whatever we can desire. He is true honor and joy; he is peace and pleasure; he is wealth and magnificence. With him are light and life, glory and majesty, and all those delights that the heart of man can desire. All is found in a more substantial and transcendent manner in God, than it is in the world. If, therefore, thou lovest any creature, for the sake of beauty, transfer thy love to God, who is the fountain of all beauty. If thou wouldst love that which is good, fix thy love upon God, who is the eternal source of all goodness, nay, the essential Good itself, and without whom there is no goodness at all. Matt. 19:17. For whatever goodness the creature may seem to possess, it is but an inconsiderable drop derived out of the ocean of the infinite goodness of God, and which is besides impaired by many frailties and imperfections that adhere to it.
9. To conclude—is it not far better to set thy love and affections on God alone, the unexhausted fountain and well-spring of all perfection and goodness? The less a thing has of earthly gravity in it, the lighter it is, and the more easily is it carried upwards. So it is with the soul; the more it cleaves to earthly things, and is pressed down by them to the ground, the less ability has it to raise itself to God, and rejoice in its Maker. In a word, the less a man loves this world, the more will the love of God and of his neighbor prevail in the soul.
10. Hence it follows that he that [pg 094] loveth God, cannot but love his neighbor also, and he that dares to offend God, will not forbear to offend his neighbor.
Every one who desires to be reconciled to God, must of necessity endeavor to reconcile himself to his neighbor; because God takes the injury which is offered to man, as offered to himself, and the evil done to man, as done to himself.
2. When, therefore, any one offends both God and man, he cannot be restored to the favor of God before he is reconciled to man his neighbor; for having offended them both, he must also be reconciled to both, which is expressly attested by Christ himself: “If thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” Matt. 5:23, 24.
3. It will be needful, therefore, to say something further of the love of God and of our neighbor, and to show how impossible it is to separate the one from the other: and again, that this reconciliation, so joined together, proves the true source of brotherly love and affection.
4. This the beloved disciple has expressed as follows: “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? And this commandment have we from him, that he that loveth God love his brother also.” 1 John 4:20, 21. So utterly impossible is it, that the love of God should subsist without the love of our neighbor. Hence, also, it follows, that he who truly and unfeignedly loves God, will also embrace his neighbor with the same sincere affection. And again, if the love which we profess to bear to God be hypocritical and false, then the love with which we seem to love our neighbor, will rise no higher than its principle, but prove false likewise. Therefore, the love of our neighbor is the test of our love of God, by the right application of which, the truth or falsehood of that love will easily be discovered.
5. This consideration gives us a true insight into the love of our neighbor, and that brotherly reconciliation which ought to attend it. There is a twofold object given by God to man, to which all the actions of his life are constantly to tend; namely, the love of God, and of our neighbor. Into this, all our endeavors ought finally to be resolved, and we ought to make a daily progress in this holy exercise; since we are to this very end, created, redeemed, and sanctified. In a word, Christ himself is the one and only scope in which all our actions ought to centre. Now, the more we approach to love, the more [pg 095] we approach to Christ, and the better we imitate his unblamable life.
6. For this end God was made man, or, the Word was made flesh, that he might set before our eyes a most lovely and living image of his infinite love and kindness, and that from hence it might appear, that God was Love itself; love in His own immense, incomprehensible, and unsearchable essence; and that man, by viewing so amiable an object of love as is displayed in Christ Jesus, might be transformed into the same image day by day.
7. Furthermore, as, in Christ, God and man are united together by an indissoluble tie, so the love of God is so closely connected with the love of our neighbor, that the former cannot exist without the latter. Nay, the love of God and of our neighbor can be no more disjoined or put asunder, than the divine and human natures in Christ. And as he who injures the humanity of Christ cannot but affront his divinity also; so he who offends man, is in like manner guilty of offending the infinite God himself. We cannot be angry with our neighbor, without being, at the same time, angry with God!
8. We will illustrate what has been said, by the following comparison. When a circle is made, and from its centre a number of lines are drawn to the circumference, all these lines, though ever so distant in the circumference, meet together in the point, which is in the middle. Here they are all united in one, and all flow into one, be they ever so wide asunder, yea, even directly opposite one to the other. Not one of all the lines, let their number be ever so great, can be broken from the rest, without losing its communication with the centre itself, wherein they all meet. So God is a point, or a centre, whose circumference is everywhere, extending in a manner, to all men upon earth. Whoever presumes to break off the lines of his love from his neighbor, must, in like manner, disjoin and break them off from God at the same time. And as all these lines cohere and concur in the centre, and therein mutually affect one another, so is there a sort of central sympathy, and a fellow-feeling, as it were, of the sufferings of our neighbor, provided we be but all united in God, the great centre of all good Christians.
9. The truth of what has been said, is forcibly illustrated in the history of Job. When the tidings were brought him, that his temporal goods were destroyed, it appears that he quietly bore the loss of them, without giving any great sign of discontent at the appointments of Providence. He still continued to bless the Lord, and freely to own, that he who had given him his property, had also a right to take it away whenever he pleased. But when he was told, that he had also lost his children, then indeed it went to his heart: then he “arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground.” Job. 1:20. So let every true Christian act when he hears of the calamity of his neighbor (here represented by the children of Job); knowing that he ought more to be affected with the misery of his neighbor, than with the loss of all his worldly substance. For it is the property of true love, to be moved with the miseries of other men more than with our own losses. O, happy men! if they would live together in mutual love and affection! Then frauds would cease; then injuries would be known no more, nor would there be any complaint [pg 096] of unjust ways, or of underhand dealings.
10. In order that this might be the more deeply impressed on the heart, God was pleased to create but one man in the beginning, together with Eve, who was soon afterwards made. Gen. 2:21, 22. This was done, that all mankind, springing up from one original stock, and, as it were, from one root, might all unite in mutual kindness and brotherly affection with one another. This is the reason why God did not create a multitude of men in the beginning, but one only; whereas he created many beasts, trees and herbs at once.
11. The love which God commands us to pursue, is of that agreeable nature, and of that incomparable sweetness, that it does not in the least burden either a man's soul or body. Nay, it renders the mind easy under every event, is most agreeable to our very nature, and in every respect attended with a quiet and blessed life. But if the same God who has enjoined thee to love thy neighbor, had commanded thee to hate him, thou wouldest then have had cause to complain of hard usage, and of a far heavier burden than that which love can possibly impose upon thee. For the spirit of hatred and revenge is a tormentor of the soul, and a daily grief and vexation to those that are enslaved by it. On the contrary, love refreshes the whole man; and is so far from weakening or destroying body or soul (which is the common effect of hatred and envy), that it is a great preserver of both, and exhilarates them by the healing influence which it carries with it. In a word, to those that love God, it is a pleasure to love their neighbor also; but those who do not love God think it a hard and difficult task to embrace their neighbor with brotherly love.
12. But if thy depraved nature should still find it a hard task to love thy neighbor, then consider how much harder it will be to be banished forever from the presence of God, and to endure the pangs of hell to all eternity. Wretched is the man, who makes so sad a choice as to prefer hell-torments to a friendly reconciliation. Our own experience would soon convince us, if we made the trial, that as by faith we enjoy solid peace with God (as the apostle assures us, Rom. 5:1); so by Christian love and reconciliation we enjoy peace with men, together with much ease and tranquillity of heart: whereas, on the contrary, a mind full of rancor and malice frets itself, and has no other reward to expect than the lashes of an unruly conscience.
13. The sum of all this is: Every virtue rewards its followers with peace of conscience; and every vice punishes those that commit it with the recompense which they deserve. Every virtue exalts those that practise it; and every vice covers its slaves with shame.
14. With regard to the order and method by which we are to proceed in working out a sound reconciliation with our offended neighbor, the Scripture is explicit. The terms of reconciliation are these: 1. The offender is to confess his sin to his neighbor whom he has offended. 2. He is faithfully to restore that of which he has defrauded his neighbor; that is, he ought to return not only the principal, but also the fifth part over and above it. 3. If there be none to receive it, he is then to offer it unto the Lord himself. Numb. 5:7, 8.
15. This restitution of things unlawfully taken away, is commanded [pg 097] in such strong and expressive words, as to show that it is absolutely a necessary part of unfeigned repentance. St. Augustine has thus expressed his mind on this subject: “The sin is not remitted, unless the thing unlawfully taken away be restored.”—“When the thing that is taken away may be restored, and is not restored, there is no true, but a feigned repentance.”
16. And truly it is the property of unfeigned repentance to contemn all earthly things, and count them as loss (Phil. 3:8), in respect of that abounding grace which is bestowed upon a penitent sinner. Of this we have a glorious instance in Zaccheus, and in his conversion to God (Luke 19:8); who has had, however, comparatively few followers in this age. Sound conversion to God cleanses the heart, and purifies the conscience, by faith in Christ; it breaks the power of sin, and by influencing a man to restore such things as are wrongfully detained, not only clears the heart before God, but also the outward conduct in the eye of the world. For in the heart and conscience a man is a thief before God, as long as he keeps any thing back that is taken away, however he may cease to steal hereafter. Therefore, in order that repentance may prove true, and the conscience be freed from guilt, all possible restitution is to be made: or if a man be not able to make full restitution, he ought fervently to implore the Lord, that he himself, in his stead, would restore the things taken from his neighbor, and thus do justice.
17. Since a sinner is thus bound in a twofold respect to God and to his neighbor, in order that his repentance may be full and efficacious, it is required that both be satisfied. God does not accept any man's repentance, unless he be first reconciled to his neighbor. Therefore, it is to no purpose if thou shouldest say unto God: “Merciful God, I confess that I have offended and injured my neighbor; I have damaged him by wicked usury and fraud; and have dealt so with him, as I would not that another should deal with me: which iniquity I humbly entreat thee, O Lord, to pardon for thy dear Son's sake.” Be not deceived; God will not be mocked! He repels thy prayer, and saith: “Restore first that which with fraud and usury thou hast taken from thy neighbor, and then thy pardon shall be ready.” Not as if a man merited the pardon of God by this restitution; this is a debt due to his neighbor, and how can he pretend to merit any thing by that restitution which he is so engaged to make, and which the law of God expressly enjoins? For thus hath the Lord commanded: “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” Matt. 7:12. “For with the same measure that ye mete withal, it shall be measured to you again.” Luke 6:38.
18. The same truth is confirmed by the following Scriptures: “Leave thy gift (oblation or sacrifice) before the altar and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” Matt. 5:24. “Cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isa. 1:16-18. And again, by the same prophet the Lord thus reasons: “Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, [pg 098] and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked that thou cover him, and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.” Isa. 58:6-8.
19. All these Scriptures, with one consent, proclaim this great truth,—that God will not accept the repentance of any man, or hear his prayer, or regard his alms and oblations, unless he be first reconciled to his neighbor, and make him all the restitution that is in his power.