Who

I might also have shown, by numerous quotations, that, in the general epistles of Peter, James, and John, the same grand object to which I have been adverting is steadily and uniformly kept in view. The first epistle of John is almost exclusively devoted to the illustration of the love of God and of man; and on this theme, in which his soul appears to be almost entirely absorbed, he expatiates with peculiar energy and delight: "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. soever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath (the principle of) eternal life abiding in him. Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed on us, that we should be called the sons of God! Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God: and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. If any 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?" It is recorded, by some ancient authors, that when this apostle was grown old, and unable to preach, he used to be led to the church at Ephesus, and only to say these words to the people, Little children, love one another." Such was the importance which this venerable apostle attached to love, as the grand and governing principle in the Christian system.

Finally, The procedure of the last judgment will be conducted on evidence, deduced from the manifestations of love. At that solemn period, when the present economy of Divine Providence shall come to a termination; when the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the great globe on which we tread shall be wrapt in flames; when the archangel shall descend, and sound an alarm with " the trump of God;" when the graves shall open, and give forth their dead; and when all the generations of men, "both small and great," shall stand before the throne of God; the eternal destiny of all the millions of mankind will be unalterably determined, on the ground of the manifestations which have been given of the existence and the operation of the principle of love, and of the affections and conduct to which it is opposed. "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory. And before him shall be assembled all nations. Then shall he say to them on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me;

I was in prison, and ye came unto me." And, though ye had no opportunity of performing these offices to me in person, yet," inasmuch as ye did it to one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it unto me." "Then shall he also say to them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye curs. ed; for I was an hungered, and ye gave me Do meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Verily, I say unto you, inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal." For every one shall be rewarded according to his works.-Such is the importance which will be attached to the influ ence of this holy affection over the human mind, at that day of dread, decision, and despair;" for it is quite obvious, that every action here specified in relation to the righteous, is an effect of the love of God and of man presiding in the heart; and, therefore, if we shall ultimately be found destitute of this holy principle, we cannot expect the reward of the faithful, nor "have boldness in the day of judgment."

Thus it appears that it is the great end of all the historical facts, the religious institutions, the devotional writings, the moral maxims, the instructions of the prophets, the warnings, exhortations, promises, and threatenings, comprised in the Jewish revelation, to illustrate and enforce the law of love in its references both to God and to man-that it is explained and illustrated in the various instructions delivered by our blessed Saviour, and enforced by his example-that its numerous bearings and modifications are displayed in the writings of all the apostles, and in their instructions to Christian teachers—and, that its existence in the heart, and its operation in active life, will form the decisive test of our character at the final judgment.

SECTION VIII.

ON THE PRACTICAL OPERATION OF LOVE, AND THE VARIOUS MODES IN WHICH IT SHOULD BE DISPLAYED TOWARDS MANKIND.

We have already seen, that love is a most noble and expansive affection. It is not like a blazing meteor which dazzles the eye for a few moments, and then vanishes from the sight. It does not consist merely in a few transient emotions, and fruitless wishes for the good of others. It does not waste its energies in eloquent harangues on the beauty of virtue, in theorizing speculations on the principles of morals, in framing Quixotic schemes of philanthropy, or in weeping over tales of fictitious wo. It is a substantial and an ever active principle; its energies are exerted for the purpose of communicating happiness

to every rank of sensitive and intellectual beings; and the moral world, as it actually exists, is the grand theatre of its operations. I have already endeavoured to illustrate some of the modifications of this affection, in its relation to God ;* and, in the preceding sections of this chapter, have occasionally adverted to some of its benignant effects in reference to man. It may, however, be expedient, in this place, to enter a little more explicitly into the practical operations of benevo lence, and the various modes by which its influence may be manifested in relation to our brethren of mankind.

The grand object which love proposes to accomplish is the communication of happiness. And, in order to stimulate and direct us in its operations, the character and agency of God are set before us as our examplar. There is not a more amiable, attractive, nor comprehensive idea of the Divine Being any where to be found than that which is exhibited by the Apostle John, in three words-GOD IS LOVE. He is the eternal, uncreated Source of felicity, from which flow all those streams of joy which gladden the hearts of angels and archangels, cherubim and seraphim; and whatever portion of happiness, sensitive or intellectual, is enjoyed by man on earth, and by all the subordinate tribes of animated nature, is derived from the same inexhaustible fountain. For the purpose of communicating happiness, he called the material universe into existence, to serve as an immense theatre, on which his benevolence might be displayed to countless orders of sensitive and intelligent creatures; and all the perfections of his nature may be considered as so many agents employed for the execution of this noble design. Impelled, as it were, by this essential and characteristic affection of the Divine Mind, all the attributes of Deity are incessantly operating throughout the immensity of creation in the view of the inhabitants of all worlds. His Omnipotence is employed in supporting the worlds already created, and in bringing new systems, and new orders of beings into existence; and his Wisdom, in devising, selecting, and arranging those means which are requisite for accomplishing the plans of benevolence. Towards those wretched beings who have abused his goodness, and wandered from happiness, his Mercy is proclaimed; and his Patience and forbearance are long exercised, in order to lead them to repentance, and to the paths of felicity. His Justice, conjoined with his power, is exercised for the purpose of restraining the efforts of malevolence, for preventing the inroads of anarchy and confusion, and for preserving the order and happiness of the intelligent creation. In this view, all the judgments, however dreadful and appalling, which have been inflicted on the workers of iniquity in every age, have had a tendency

See pages 46–51.

to accomplish the purposes of benevolence, in reference to the universal system. For, the ge neral good of God's universal empire, considered as one whole, must be viewed as the great end which benevolence is accomplishing, and the partial exclusions from happiness, which now happen in the case of certain classes of moral agents, must be regarded as necessary arrangements subservient to this important end. His infinite Knowledge, extending to all events, past, present, and to come; and his Omniscient eye, piercing into the secret purposes of every heart, surveying the various tribes of men, and the circumstances of all the worlds which float in the immensity of space, and comprehending the remotest consequences of all actions throughout infinite duration, enable Him, in every instance, to form those arrangements by which the objects of benevolence may be accomplished on the most extensive scale, and by which the everlasting happiness of the holy and intelligent system may be most effectually secured.

For the purpose of displaying his love to the moral intelligences of our world, he has given us a revelation of his character and will; he has exhibited his law as a law of love; he has promised the agency of his holy Spirit, to produce in us those dispositions which his law requires; and he has given the most affecting display of his love, in the mission of his Son into the world. "In this," says the Apostle John," was manifested the love of God towards us; because that God sent his only-begotten Son into the world, that we might live though him. Herein is love; not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be a propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, how ought we to love one another?"

Now, we are commanded in the Sacred Scriptures to be imitators of God in his benevolent operations, and especially in those cases in which love requires to surmount every obstacle, and to exert all its powers in opposition to hatred, enmity, and ingratitude. "Be ye perfect," says our Saviour, "as your Father who is in heaven is perfect. Love your enemies; bless them who curse you; do good to them who hate you; and pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you. That you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good; and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." So that his enemies subsist on his bounty, and are cheered and refreshed by his providential care. In like manner, the operation of love on the part of man may be consideredas the whole energy of an intelligent, mind, directing its faculties of perception, judgment, reasoning, and imagination, along with its physical powers, to the production of happiness both among friends and enemies, so far as its influence can extend. In the prosecution of this noble end, man

becomes" a worker together with God," a subordinate agent in carrying forward those plans of Infinite Benevolence which will issue in the ultimate happiness of the moral universe. And as the Almighty, in his benevolent operations, preserves the harmony of the universe by certain laws of order which he has established, as is apparent in the arrangement of the planetary system, and in the physical and moral economy of our terrestrial sphere; so it is the duty of man, in all the movements to which love impels him, to imitate his Creator in this respect, and to employ the intellectual faculties with which he is endued, for regulating the exercise of the benevolent principle, for adapting and proportioning means to ends, and for discriminating between rational and enthusiastic schemes of exertion; so that order may facilitate his movements, and that the greatest sum of happiness may result from his active endeavours.

We may now attend more particularly to the practical operations of love, and the objects towards which it should be directed.

The principal objects towards which our benevolence should be directed are, intelligent beings; and in the sphere of action to which we are at present confined, man is the chief object whom we have it in our power to benefit by our benevolent exertions. Our benevolent affections, indeed, ought to expand towards all the holy intelligences of which we have any intimation; and, in another stage of our existence, we may have an opportunity of mingling with other orders of intellectual beings, and of co-operating with them in diffusing happiness throughout the universe; but while we continue in this sublunary region, the improvement and happiness of our fellow-men is the chief object to which our exertions must necessarily be confined; and when we view the present state of the moral world in all nations and climates, we behold a field of exertion sufficiently ample to employ all the energies of benevolence that have ever yet been displayed, or perhaps ever will be displayed during the existing economy of our world.

Man may be considered in two points of view: as possessed of a body, which is susceptible of agreeable or disagreeable sensations and feelings; and, as endued with a mind, or spiritual principle which is capable of perpetual improvement in knowledge and virtue, and which is destined an endless existence. In both these respects, love will exert its powers in meliorating the condition and promoting the enjoyments of mankind. In regard to his corporeal system, man has various wants, which require to be supplied, and he is subjected to various suffer ings which require to be soothed and alleviated. He stands in need of food, raiment, shelter from the blasts of the tempests, comfortable lodging and accommodation, light to cheer and enable him to prosecute his employments,

pure atmospheric air to invigorate his animal system, and water to cleanse and refresh him. He is exposed to corporeal weakness and to mental imbecility; to pain, sickness, and dis ease; to the loss of sight, of hearing, and of bodily feelings; to the decrepitude of old age, and to all those lingering disorders which terminate in dissolution. He is also exposed to the afflictions occasioned by the loss of friends and relatives; to dejection of mind, to remorse of conscience, to doubt, despondency, and despair; and to a long train of anxieties, vexations, per plexities, and troubles of various kinds. Now, in reference to the wants of mankind, love, when genuine and ardent, will endeavour to supply them wherever a deficiency is known to exist; and in reference to their calamities and sorrows, it will use its utmost exertions to relieve and assuage them, in as far its powers and influence can extend. In this respect, every one, however low his situation in life, however mited the range of his knowledge, and however contracted the sphere of his influence may be, has it in his power, in a greater or less degree, to communicate blessings to his brethren of mankind. He can visit the sick bed of an afflicted neighbour; he can supply a cup of cold water to cool his parched tongue; he can wipe the sweat from his forehead; he can smooth his pillow; he can turn him round on his bed of languishing, that he may enjoy a more comfort. able repose; and he can cheer him with those expressions of tenderness and affection, which have a tendency above all other acts of kindness to sooth and revive the downcast spirit. He can assist his neighbour by his strength, or by his skill, by his counsel and advice, and by taking a lively interest in his concerns; he can promote his joy by rejoicing in his prosperity and success, by assisting him in his employment, by rescuing him from danger, by forgiving the injuries he may have received, by acknowledging the worth of the skill, virtues, and endowments of which he is possessed, and by listening with patience and complacency to his sentiments, complaints, or grievances. He can even promote the happiness of his neighbour in a negative way, by not injuring him in his character or reputation; by not standing in the way of his prosperity or advancement; by not thwarting him in his schemes and enterprises; by not interrupting him in his innocent amusements; and by refraining from every thing that would tend unnecessarily to injure him in his trade or profession. Such friendly attentions to promote the comfort of his fellow-men, every one has it in his power to bestow: and upon such apparently trivial actions the happiness of mankind in general more immediately depends, than on many of those legislative arrangements which arrest the attention of a whole empire. For, were they universally performed, the greater part

of the miseries which afflict humanity would disappear from the world.

But, in cases where a high degree of intellectual talent, of wealth, and of influence is pos. sessed, love is enabled to take a wider range in its beneficent operations, by endeavouring to counteract public evils, and to promote rational schemes of general philanthropy. When we take a survey of the condition of the great mass of the lower orders of society, we find thenr labouring under many physical evils and inconveniences, which have a tendency to injure their health and their comfort, and to obstruct their moral and intellectual improvement. In their private habitations, we find multitudes of them residing in places where they are almost deprived of light and of pure air, and surrounded with noxious effluvia, putrid smells, and every thing that is insalubrious and offensive to the senses. We find whole families packed into a narrow apartment of twelve feet square, in a narrow lane, where the rays of the sun never penetrate, where the refreshing breeze is seldom felt, and where the beauties of nature are never beheld. In public manufactories we find hundreds of men, women, and children, with pale faces and emaciated looks, breathing a polluted atmosphere half-poisoned with deleterious fumes, steam, smoke, or noxious gases. In large cities, we find numbers of children, through the carelessness and unprincipled disposition of their parents, left to wallow in filth and wretchedness, without even rags to cover their nakedness, and encouraged in the haibits of pilfering, and of every other vice which can debase their minds and render them pests to society; and we behold others doomed to the degrading employment of chimney-sweeping, deprived of the attentions which flow from the tender affection of parents, and subjected to the harsh treatment of unfeeling masters. We behold multitudes of human beings torn from their families and their native land, cooped up in an infernal floating dungeon, carried to a foreign land, sold like cattle to an avaricious planter, and held in the chains of perpetual slavery. In reference to all these and similar evils which exist in human society, love will exert its energies, either to alleviate or to remove them. It will induce one individual to investigate their causes, to point out the proper means of remedy, and to publish to the world the result of his deliberations and researches. It will induce another to apply the discoveries of natural science and the inventions of art to the purpose of improving the physical condition of mankind. It will induce a third individual, in conjunction with others, to form rational plans of melioration, and to organize societies to carry them into effect; and it will impel others to come forward with their wealth and influence to provide the means for carrying forward on the most extensive scale the plans of general bene

ficence. In short, the whole machinery of nature and art, of mind and matter, of religion and literature, of science and legislation, would be set in motion to promote the external enjoyments of mankind, were love a predominant principle in human society. Cottages on commodious and healthy plans would be reared for the industrious poor; streets would be formed and gardens aliotted them for their pleasure and accommodation; public manufactories would be arranged and regulated in such a manner as to contribute to health, to comfort, and to rational improvement; the children of the poor would be fed and clothed, and trained up to habits of industry and virtue; employment would be provided for all classes of labourers and mechanics, and subsistence furnished when employment could not be procured; idleness would be universally discouraged, and honourabie industry would be rewarded in such a manner as to afford not only the comforts, but even many of the luxuries of life; slavery in every shape, with all its injustice and cruelties, would be abolished, and rational liberty would be proclaimed among all ranks and in every clime.

Thus the man in whose heart love presides, takes a lively and sincere interest in every thing that has a tendency to promote the external comfort and welfare of his neighbour. He is compassionate and merciful, gentle and indulgent, kind and tender-hearted, generous and humane; he feels for the sorrows of suffering humanity, and his wealth and activity are directed to relieve the distresses of the poor and the afflicted, to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to protect the widow and the orphan, to encourage honest industry, to meliorate the condition of the useful mechanic, and to increase and extend his comforts and enjoyments. Of such a one it may be said, in the language of Job, "He is eyes to the blind, feet to the lame, and a father to the poor. When the ear hears him, then it blesses him, and when the eyes sees him, it gives witness to him; because he delivers the poor that cries, and the fatherless, and him that hath none to help

Some may be disposed to insinuate, that such attempts would be altogether visionary, and could never be realized. But I would ask such persons. Have such schemes ever been attempted to be realiz ed on an extensive scale? Has the promotion of the health and comfort of the industrious poor ever be. come a particular object of attention to the legislature, to men of rank and influence, and to the whole class of opulent manufacturers? Is it not a fact, that while the acquisition of wealth is made the main object of attention, the melioration of the condition of the industrious labourer and mechanic is either altogether overlooked, or viewed as a very subordinate object of attention? He is generally left to shift for himself the best way he can, and left to breathe in an impure atmosphere without any particular sacrifice being made to remedy the evil. I venture to affirm, that were the comfort of the lower orders of society made as particular an object of attention as is the acquisition of wealth, every obstacle to its accomplishment would soon be removed.

him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish comes upon him, and he causes the widow's heart to sing for joy."

But the activities of benevolence are not confined to the communication of sensitive enjoyinents. Man is a rational and immortal, as well as a sensitive being; and the operations of genuine love will have for their ultimate object the promotion of his best interests as a moral and intellectual agent, and as an heir of immortality.

When we consider man as an intellectual being, standing in various important relations to his God and to his fellow-creatures, we behold numerous evils which require to be remedied, as well as in the circumstances of his physical condition. Though the human mind is capable of vast expansion, of acquiring an immense number of sublime and interesting ideas, and of enjoying the purest pleasure in contemplating the objects which lie within its range, yet it is a melancholy fact, that in all ages, mental darkness has enveloped the great majority of our race; and that the grossest ignorance of the most important truths, accompanied with the most degrading affections, still prevails among the greater part of the population of every region of the globe. We need not go to the frozen climes of Lapland and Labrador, to the filthy huts of the Greenlander and the Esquimaux, to the rude savages of Nootka Sound, to the degraded tribes of NewHolland and Van Dieman's Land, to the wild and wretched Boshemen and Caffres, or to the swarthy sons of Central Africa, in order to be convinced of this lamentable truth. We need only to look around us among the various ranks of our own population, and we shall not fail to see ignorance, in all its diversified forms, exerting its malign influence over the minds of men, accompanied with superstition, enthusiasm, bigotry, intolerance, and every grovelling affection that can debase the human mind. Multitudes of the young, both in the city and in the country, are suffered to shoot up from infancy to manhood, as if they were mere animal existences, ignorant of the character and operations of God, of the duties they owe to their Creator and to one another, and of the eternal state of existence to which they are destined. Even in many of those places where instruction is attempted to be communicated, what a pitiful picture is exhibited of the results of education, and of the folly which attaches itself to the character of man! The pronunciation of a number of unmeaning words, the reciting of passages which the young cannot understand, the repetition of a few propositions in religion to which no ideas are attached, and the casting of a few accounts, are considered as sufficient to lead them forward in the path of knowledge and virtue; and are substituted in the place of those definite and luminous instructions which are requisite to expand the opening intellect, to convey distinct ideas to the mind, to unfold the

scenes of creation and providence, to display the character of God, and to train up the youthfal mind to glory and immortality.

Now, in reference to the ignorance which prevails in the world, love to man, as an intellectual being, will excite to active endeavours in order to counteract its influence. It will prove an excitement to the erection of seminaries of instruction wherever they are deficient; it will patronize every scheme and every exertion by which knowledge may be increased; and will diffuse mental illumination as far as the sphere of its influence extends. It will not rest satisfied with the form of instruction, without the substance; with the elements of language, without the elements of thought; with the key of knowledge, without knowledge itself; but will devise rational plans for conveying substantial information to the minds of the young, so as to win their affections, arrest their attention, and carry them forward with pleasure in the paths of improvement. It will not offer them stones and ashes instead of bread, but will spread before them an intellectual feast, and "feed them with knowledge and understanding." It will not confine its attention merely to the instruction of the young, but will endeavour, by writing, by conversation, by lectures, by lending and circulating books, by establishing public libraries, and by organizing rational and scientific institutions, to diffuse the rays of intellectual light among men of all ages, ranks, and professions; and will never cease its exertions till ignorance, with all its degrading accompaniments, be banished from society, and till the light of truth illminate the inhabitants of every land. In a word, it will endeavour to render every branch of knowledge subservient to the illustration of the character and the revelation of God, and to the preparing of mankind for the employments of that nobler state of existence to which they are destined.

Again, as man is possessed of an immortal nature, and in his present state of sin and degrada tion is exposed to misery in the future world, so it is one of the highest offices of love to endeavour to promote the eternal salvation of mankind. For the accomplishment of this important object, all its activities are concentrated, and all its other labours are rendered subservient. To improve the physical condition of man as a sensitive being, and to enlarge his knowledge as an intellec tual, while we overlook his eternal interests, is to neglect one of the most important duties of Christian philanthropy. The sensitive enjoy ments of man are conducive to his happiness so long as they continue; and "knowledge is pleasant to the soul." But what are all the acquisitions and enjoyments of time, when compared with the concerns of eternity! and what will they avail, if their possessor be found unqualified for the employments of an endless life! If the soul of man be an immortal principle, and if the least