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22 - Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse II - Sermons on Several Occasions · Wisdom of the Ages Library

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Upon our Lord's sermon on the Mount Discourse two. Blessed are the meek,
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for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst
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after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for
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they shall obtain mercy Matthew five five through seven, when the winter is past,
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when the time of singing is come and the voice of the turtle is
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heard in the land, When he that comforts the mourners is now returned,
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that he may abide with them forever. When at the brightness of his presence,
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the clouds disperse, the dark clouds of doubt and uncertainty, the storms
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of fear flee away, the waves of sorrow subside, and their spirit again
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rejoiceth in God their savior. Then is it that this word is eminently fulfilled.
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Then those whom He hath comforted can bear witness. Blessed or happy are
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the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. But who are the meek
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Not those who grieve at nothing because they know nothing, who are not discomposed
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at the evils that occur, because they discern not evil from good. Not
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those who are sheltered from the shocks of life by a stupid insensibility, who
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have, either by nature or art, the virtue of stocks and stones,
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and resent nothing because they feel nothing fruit Philosophers are wholly unconcerned in this matter.
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Apathy is as far from meekness as from humanity, so that one would
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not easily conceive how any Christians of the purer Ages, especially any of the
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fathers of the Church, could confound these and mistake one of the foulest errors
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of Heathenism for a branch of true Christianity. Nor does Christian meekness imply the
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being without zeal for God any more than it does ignorance or insensibility. No,
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it keeps clear of every extreme, whether in excess or defect. It
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does not destroy, but balance the affections which the God of Nature never designed
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should be rooted out by grace, but only brought and kept under due regulations.
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It poses the mind of right. It holds an even scale with regard
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to anger and sorrow and fear, preserving the mean in every circumstance of life,
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and not declining either to the right hand or the left. Meekness therefore
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seems properly to relate to ourselves, but it may be referred either to God
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or our neighbor. When this due composure of mind has reference to God,
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it is usually termed resignation, a calm acquiescence in whatsoever is His will concerning
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us, even though it may not be pleasing to nature, saying continually it
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is the Lord, Let him do what seemeth him good. When we consider
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it more strictly with regard to ourselves, we style it patience or contentedness.
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When it is exerted toward other men, than it is mildness to the good
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and gentleness to the evil. They who are truly meet can clearly discern what
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is evil, and they can also suffer it. They are sensible of everything
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of this kind, but still meekness holds the reins. They are exceeding zealous
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for the Lord of hosts, but their zeal is always guided by knowledge,
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and tempered in every thought and word and work with the love of man as
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well as the love of God. They do not desire to extinguish any of
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the passions which God has for wise ends implanted in their nature. But they
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have the mastery of all. They hold them all in subjection, and employ
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them only in subservience to those ends, and thus even the harsher and more
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unpleasing passions are applicable to the noblest purposes. Even hatred and anger and fear,
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when engaged against sin and regulated by faith and love, are as woes
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and bulwarks to the soul, so that the wicked one cannot approach to hurt
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it. It is evident this divine temper is not only to abide, but
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to increase in us day by day occasions of exercising, and thereby increasing it
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will never be wanting while we remain upon earth. We have need of patience,
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that after we have done and suffered the will of God, we may
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receive the promise. We have need of resignation, that we may, in
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all circumstances say not as I will, but as THOU wilt. And we
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have need of gentleness toward all men, but especially toward the evil and unthankful,
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otherwise we shall be overcome of evil instead of overcoming evil with good.
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Nor does meekness restrain only the outward act. As the scribes and pharisees taught
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of old, and the miserable teachers who are not taught of God will not
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fail to do in all ages. Our Lord guards against this and shows the
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true extent of it in the following words. Ye have heard that it was
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said by them of old time, thou shalt not kill, and whosoever shall
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kill shall be in danger of the judgment Matthew five twenty one. But I
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say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be
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in danger of the judgment. And whosoever shall say to his brother raca shall
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be in danger of the council. But whosoever shall say, thou fool shalt
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be in danger of hell fire. Our Lord here ranks under the head of
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murder, even that anger which goes no farther than the heart, which does
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not show itself by an outward unkindness, no, not so much as a
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passionate word. Whosoever is angry with his brother, with any man living,
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seeing we are all brethren, whosoever feels any unkindness in his heart, any
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temper contrary to love, whosoever is angry without a cause, without a sufficient
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cause, or further than that cause requires, shall be in danger of the
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judgment. Anahas us die, shall in that moment be obnoxious to the righteous
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judgment of God. But would not one be inclined to prefer the reading of
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those copies which omit the word aca without a cause? Is it not entirely
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superfluous? For if anger at persons be a tempered contrary to love, how
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can there be a cause, a sufficient cause for it, any that will
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justify it in the sight of God? Anger at sin we allow in this
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sense. We may be angry, and yet we sin not in this sense.
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Our Lord himself is once recorded to have been angry. He looked round
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about upon them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts.
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He was grieved at the sinners and angry at the sin And this is undoubtedly
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right before God. And whosoever shall say to his brother raca, whosoever shall
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give way to anger so as to utter any contemptuous word. It is observed
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by commentators that raka is a Syriac word which properly signifies empty, vain,
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foolish, so that it is as inoffensive an expression as can well be used
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toward one at whom we are displeased. And yet whosoever shall use this,
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as our Lord assures us, shall be in danger of the council rather shall
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be obnoxious. There too, he shall be liable to a severer sentence from
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the judge of all the earth. But whosoever shall say thou fool, whosoever
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shall so give place to the devil as to break out into reveling, into
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designedly reproachful and contumelious language, shall be obnoxious to Hell fire, shall in
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that instant be liable to the highest condemnation. It should be observed that our
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Lord describes all these as obnoxious to capital punishment, the first to strangling,
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usually inflicted on those who were condemned in one of the inferior courts, the
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second to stoning, which was frequently inflicted on those who were condemned by the
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Great Council at Jerusalem. The third to burning alive, inflicted only on the
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highest offenders in the valley of the Sons of henem Gehenna, from which that
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word is evidently taken, which we translate hell. And whereas men naturally imagine
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that God will excuse their defect in some duties for their exactness in others,
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Our Lord next takes care to cut off that vein through common imagination. He
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shows that it is impossible for any sinner to commute with God, who will
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not accept one duty for another, nor take a part of a obedience for
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the whole. He warns us that the performing our duty to God will not
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excuse us from our duty to our neighbor. That works of piety, as
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they are called, will be so far from commending us to God if we
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are wanting in charity, that, on the contrary, that want of charity
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will make all those works an abomination to the Lord. Therefore, if thou
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bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught
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against Thee on account of thy unkind behavior toward him, of thy calling him
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raca, or thou fool, think not that thy gift will atone for thy
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anger, or that it will find any acceptance with God, so long as
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thy conscience is defiled with the guilt of unrepented sin. Lead there thy gift
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before the altar, and go thy way. First be reconciled to thy brother,
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at least to all that in THEE lies towards being reconciled. And then
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come and offer thy gift Matthew five twenty three, twenty four. And let
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there be no delay in what so nearly concerneth thy soul. Agree with an
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adversary, quickly now upon the spot, whilst thou art in the way with
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him, if it be possible, before he go out of thy sight,
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Lest at any time the adversary deliver THEE to the judge, lest he appeal
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to God, the judge of all. And the judge deliver THEE to the
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officer to Satan, the executioner of the wrath of God. And thou be
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cast into prison, into hell, there to be reserved to the judgment of
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the Great day. Verily, I say unto THEE, thou shalt, by
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no means come out, thence till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. But
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this is impossible for THEE ever to do, seeing thou hast nothing to pay.
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Therefore, if thou art once in that prison, the the smoke of
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thy torment must ascend up forever and ever meantime the meek shall inherit the earth.
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Such is the foolishness of worldly wisdom. The wise of the world had
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worn them again and again that if they did not resent such treatment, if
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they would tamely suffer themselves to be thus abused, there would be no living
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for them upon earth, that they would never be able to procure the common
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necessaries of life, nor to keep even what they had, that they could
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expect no peace, no quiet, possession, no enjoyment of anything. Most
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true, suppose there were no God in the world, or suppose he did
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not concern himself with the children of men. But when God ariseth to judgment
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and to help all the meek upon earth, how doth He laugh all this
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heathen wisdom to scorn and turn the fierceness of man to his praise. He
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takes a peculiar care to provide them with all things needs for life and godliness.
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He secures to them the provision He hath made in spite of the force,
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fraud, or malice of men. And what he secures he gives them
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richly to enjoy. It is sweet to them, be it little or much,
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as in patience they possess their souls, so they truly possess whatever God
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hath given them. They are always content, always pleased with what they have.
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It pleases them because it pleases God. So that while their heart,
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their desire, their joy is in Heaven, they may truly be said to
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inherit the earth but there seems to be a yet farther meaning in these words,
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even that they shall have a more eminent part in the new Earth,
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wherein dwelleth righteousness in that inheritance. A general description of which and the particulars
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we shall know hereafter. Saint John has given in the twentieth chapter of Revelation.
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And I saw an angel come down from heaven, and he laid hold
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on the dragon that old serpent, and bound them a thousand years. And
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I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and
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for the word of God. And of them which had not worshiped the beast,
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neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or in
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their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But
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the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.
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This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in
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the first resurrection. On such the second death hath no power. But they
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shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a
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thousand years. Revelation twenty six. Our Lord has hitherto been more immediately employed
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in removing the hindrances of true religion. Such is pride, the first grand
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hindrance of all religion, which is taken away by poverty of spirit, levity,
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and thoughtlessness, which prevent any religion from taking root in the soul till
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they are removed by holy mourning. Search, are anger, impatience, discontent,
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which are all healed by Christian meekness. And when once these hindrances are
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removed, these evil diseases of the soul, which were continually raising false cravings
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therein and filling it with sickly appetites, the native appetite of a heaven born
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spirit returns it. Hungers and thirsts after righteousness. And blessed are they which
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do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled Righteousness. As
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was observed before, is the image of God, the mind which was in
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Christ Jesus. It is every holy and heavenly temper in one springing from,
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as well as terminating in the love of God as our Father and Redeemer,
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and the love of all men for His sake. Blessed are they which do
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hunger and thirst after this. In order fully to understand which expression we should
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observe first that hunger and thirst are the strongest of all our bodily appetites in
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like manner, This hunger and the soul, this thirst after the image of
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God, is the strongest of all our spiritual appetites. When it is once
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awakened in the heart, yea, it swallows up all the rest in that
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one great desire to be renewed after the likeness of Him that created us.
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We should secondly observe that from the time we begin to hunger and thirst,
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those appetites do not cease, but are more and more craving and importunate,
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till we either eat and drink or die. And even so from the time
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that we begin to hunger and thirst after the whole mind which was in Christ,
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these spiritual appetites do not cease, but cry after their food with more
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and more importunity. Nor can they possibly cease before they are satisfied while there
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is any spiritual life remaining. We may thirdly observe that hunger and thirst are
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satisfied with nothing but meat and drink. If you would give to him that
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is hungry all the world beside all the elegance of apparel, all the trappings
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of state, all the treasure upon earth, a thousands of gold and silver,
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if you would pay him ever so much honor he regards it. Not.
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All these things are then of no account with him. He would still
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say, these are not the things I want. Give me food or else
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I die. The very same is the case with every soul that truly hungers
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and thirsts after righteousness. He can find no comfort in anything but this.
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He can be satisfied with nothing else. Whatever you offer, besides it is
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lightly esteemed, whether it be riches, or honor or pleasure, he still
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says, this is not the thing which I want. Give me love or
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else I die. And it is as impossible to satisfy such a soul,
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a soul that is a thirst for God, the living God. With what
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the world accounts religion, as with what they account happiness. The religion of
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the world implies three things. One the doing no harm, the abstaining from
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outward sin, at least from such as is scandalous as robbery, theft,
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common swearing, drunkenness. Two the doing good, the relieving the poor,
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the being charitable, as it is called. Three the using the means of
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grace, at least the going to Church and to the Lord's Supper. He
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in whom these three marks are found is termed by the world a religious man.
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But will this satisfy him who hungers after God. No, it is
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not food for his soul. He wants a religion of a nobler kind,
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a religion higher and deeper than this. He can no more feed on this
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poor, shallow, formal thing than he can fill his belly with the east
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wind. True, he is careful to abstain from the very appearance of evil.
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He is zealous of good works, as all the ordinances of God.
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But all this is not what he longs for. This is only the outside
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of that religion which he insatiably hungers after the knowledge of God in Christ Jesus,
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the life which is hid with Christ in God. The being joined unto
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the Lord in one spirit, the having fellowship with the Father and the Son,
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the walking in the light as God is in the light, the being
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purified even as he is pure. This is the religion, the righteousness he
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thirsts after. Nor can he rest till he thus rests in God. Blessed
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are they who thus hunger and thirst after righteousness, For they shall be filled.
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They shall be filled with the things which they long for. Even with
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righteousness and true holiness. God shall satisfy them with blessings of His goodness,
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with the felicity of his chosen. He shall feed them with the bread of
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heaven, with a manner of his love. He shall give them to drink
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of His pleasures, as out of the river, which he that drinketh of
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shall never thirst, only for more and more of the water of life.
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This thirst shall endure forever. The painful thirst, the fond desire, thy
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joyous presence shall remove. But my full soul shall still require a whole eternity
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of love. Whosoever than thou art, whom God hath given to hunger and
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thirst after righteousness, Cry unto him that thou mayest never lose that inestimable gift,
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that this divine appetite may never cease. If many rebuke thee and bid
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thee ho thy peace regard them, not yea cry so much the more Jesus
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Master, have mercy on me. Let me not live but to be holy
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as thou art holy. No more spend thy money for that which is not
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bred, nor thy labor for that which satisfieth. Not canst thou hope to
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dig happiness out of the the earth, to find it in the things of
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the world. Oh, travel under foot all its pleasures, despise its honors,
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count its riches as dung and dross. Yea, and all the things
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which are beneath the sun, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus.
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For the entire renewal of thy soul and that image of God wherein it
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was originally created. Beware of quenching that blessed hunger and thirst. By what
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the world calls religion, a religion of form of outward show, which leaves
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the heart as earthly and sensual as ever. Let nothing satisfy thee but the
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power of Godliness, but a religion that the spirit and life thy dwelling in
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God and God in thee, the being an inhabitant of eternity, the entering
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in by the blood of sprinkling within the veil, and sitting in heavenly places
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with Christ Jesus. And the more they are filled with the life of God,
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the more tenderly will they be concerned for those who are still without God
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in the world, still dead in trespasses and sins. Nor shall this concern
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for others lose its reward. Blessed other merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
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The word used by our Lord more immediately implies the compassionate, the tender
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hearted, those who far from despising, earnestly grieve for those that do not
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hunger after God. This eminent part of brotherly love is here by a common
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figure put for the whole, so that the merciful, in the full sense
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of the term, are they who love their neighbors as themselves, because of
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the vast importance of this love, without which though we spake with the tongues
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of men and angels, though we had the gift of prophecy and understood all
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mysteries and all knowledge, though we had all faith so as to remove mountains.
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Yea, though we gave all our goods to feed the poor, and
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our very bodies to be burned, it would profit us nothing. The wisdom
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of God has given us, by the Apostle Paul, a full and particular
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account of it. By considering which we shall most clearly discern, who are
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the merciful that shall obtain mercy, charity, or love, as it were
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to be wished, it had been rendered throughout being a far plainer and less
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ambiguous word. The love of our neighbor, as Christ hath loved us,
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suffereth long, is patient toward all men. It suffers all the weakness,
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ignorance, errors, infirmities, all the forwardness and littleness of faith of the
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children of God, all the malice and wickedness of the children of the world.
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And it suffers all this not only for a time, for a short
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season, but to the end, still feeding our enemy when he hungers,
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if he thirst, still giving him drink, Thus continually heaping coals of fire
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of melting love upon his head, and in every step toward this desirable end,
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the overcoming evil with good love is kind christuitae, a word not easily
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translated. It is soft, mild, benign. It stands at the utmost
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distance from moroseness, from all harshness or sourness of spirit, and inspires the
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sufferer at once with the most amiable sweetness and the most fervent and tender affection.
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Consequently, love envy it not. It is impossible it should. It
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is directly opposite to that baneful temper. It cannot be that he who has
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this tender affection to all who earnestly wishes old, temporal and spiritual blessings,
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all good things in this world, and the world to come to every soul
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that God hath made should be pained at his bestowing any good gift on any
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child of man. If he has himself received the same, he does not
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grieve, but rejoice that another partakes of the common benefit. If he has
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not, he blesses God that his brother at least has and is here and
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happier than himself. And the greater his love. The more does he rejoice
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in the blessings of all mankind. The farther is he removed from every kind
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and degree of envy toward any creature. Love ooh, pe beluitai not warnteth,
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not itself, which coincides with the very next words, but rather as
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a word. Likewise, properly imports is not rash or hasty in judging.
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It will not hastily condemn anyone. It does not pass a severe sentence on
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a slight or sudden view of things. It first weighs all the evidence,
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particularly that which is brought in favor of the accused. A true lover of
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his neighbor is not like the generality of men who, even in cases of
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the nicest nature, see a little, presume a great deal, and so
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jump to the conclusion. No, he proceeds with weariness and circumspection, taking
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heed to every step, willingly subscribing to that rule of the ancient Heathen.
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Oh, where will the modern Christian I bear? I am so far from
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lightly believing what one man says against another, that I will not easily believe
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what a man says against himself. I will always allow him second thoughts,
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and many times counsel too. It follows, love is not puffed up.
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It does not incline or suffer any man to think more highly of himself than
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he ought to think, but rather to think soberly. Yea, it humbles
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the soul onto the dust. It destroys all high conceits engendering pride, and
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makes us rejoice to be as nothing, to belittle and vile the lowest of
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all, the servant of all. They who are kindly affectioned one to another
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with brotherly love, cannot but in honor, prefer one another. Those who,
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having the same love, are of one accord to unlowliness of mind,
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each esteem other better than themselves. It doth not behave itself unseemly. It
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is not rude or willingly offensive to any. It renders to all their due,
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fear to whom, fear honor to whom honor, courtesy, civility,
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humanity, to all the world, in their several degrees honoring all men.
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A late writer defines good breeding, nay the highest degree of it politeness,
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a continual desire to please, appearing in all the behavior. But if so,
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there is none so well bred as a Christian, a lover of all
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mankind, For he cannot but desire to please all men for their good edification.
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In this desire cannot be hid. It will necessarily appear in all his
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intercourse with men, For his love is without dissimulation. It will appear in
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all his actions and conversation Yea, and will constrain him, though without guile,
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to become all things to all men, if by any means he may
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save some in becoming all things to all men. Love seeketh not her own.
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In striving to please all men. The lover of mankind has no eye
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at all to his own temporal advantage. He covets no man's silver or gold,
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or apparel. He desires nothing but the salvation of their souls. Yea.
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In some sense he may be said not to seek his own spiritual any
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more than temporal advantage. For while he is on the full stretch to save
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their souls from death, he, as it were, forgets himself. He
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does not think of himself so long as that zeal for the glory of God
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swallows him up. Nay, and sometimes he may almost seem, through an
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excess of love, to give up himself, both his soul and his body,
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while he cries out with Moses, Oh, this people have sinned a
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great sin. Yet, now, if thou wilt forgive their sin, and
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if not block me out of the book which thou hast written Exodus thirty five
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two thirty one thirty two, or with Saint Paul, I could wish that
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myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen. According to the
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Flesh Romans nine three, no marvel that such love is not provoked. Ooh,
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praxidetai. Let it be observed the word easily strangely inserted in the translation
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is not in the original. Saint Paul's words are absolute. Love is not
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provoked. It is not provoked to unkindness toward anyone. Occasions, indeed,
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will frequently occur outward provocations of various kinds. But love does not yield to
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provocation. It triumphs over all in all trials. It looketh into Jesus and
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is more than conqueror in his love. It is not improbable that our translators
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inserted that word, as it were, to excuse the Apostle, who,
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as they supposed, might otherwise appear to be wanting in the very love which
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he so beautifully describes. They seemed to have supposed this from a phrase in
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the Acts of the Apostles, which is likewise very inaccurately translated. When Paul
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and Barnabas disagreed concerning John, the translation runs thus, and the contention was
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so sharp between them that they departed asunder Acts fifteen thirty nine. This naturally
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induces the reader to suppose that they were equally sharp therein that Saint Paul,
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who was undoubtedly right with regard to the point in question, it being quite
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improper to take John with them again, who had deserted them before, was
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as much provoked as Barnabas, who gave such a proof of his anger as
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to leave the work for which he had been set apart by the Holy Ghost.
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But the Original imports no such thing, nor does it affirm that Saint
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Paul was provoked at all. It simply says, ehineo un paroxy sismos.
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And there was a sharpness, a paroxysm of anger, in consequence of which
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Barnabas left. Saint Paul took John and went his own way. Paul then
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chose Silas and departed, being recommended by the brethren to the grace of God,
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which is not said concerning Barnabas. And he went through Syria and Cilicia,
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as he had proposed, confirming the Churches Acts fifteen thirty nine through forty
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one. But to return. Love prevents a thousand provocations which would otherwise arise,
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because it thinketh no evil. Indeed, the merciful man cannot avoid knowing
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many things that are evil. He cannot but see them with his own eyes,
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and hear them with his own ears. For Love does not put out
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his eyes so that it is impossible for him not to see that such thing
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as done. Neither does it take away his understanding any more than his senses,
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so that he cannot but know that they are evil. For instance,
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when he sees him and strike his neighbor, or hears him blaspheme God,
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he cannot either question the thing done or the word spoken, or doubt of
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their being evil. Yet uh lgisthetai takatan. The word logiz the Thai thinketh
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does not refer either to our seeing and hearing, or to the first and
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involuntary acts of our understanding, but to our willingly thinking what we need not
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are inferring evil where it does not appear to our reasoning concerning things which we
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do not see, are supposing what we have neither seen nor heard. This
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is what true love absolutely destroys. It tears up root and branch all imagining
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what we have not known. It casts out all jealousies, all evil surmisings,
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all readiness to believe evil. It is frank, open, unsuspicious,
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And as it cannot design, so neither does it fear evil. It rejoiceth
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not in iniquity. Common as this is even among those who bear the name
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of Christ, who's crupled not to rejoice over their enemy when he falleth either
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into affliction or error or sin. Indeed, how hardly can they avoid this?
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Who are zealously attached to any party, How difficult is it for them
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not to be pleased with any fault which they discover in those of the opposite
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party, with any real or supposed blemish, either in their principles or practice.
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What warm defender of any cause is clear of these? Ya who is
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so calm as to be altogether free, who does not rejoice when his adversary
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makes a false step which he thinks will advantage his own cause? Only a
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man of love. He alone weeps over either the sin or folly of his
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enemy, takes no pleasure in hearing or in repeating it, but rather desires
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that it may be forgotten forever. But he rejoiceth in the truth, wheresoever
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it is found, in the truth, which is after Godliness, bringing forth
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its proper fruit, holiness of heart, and holiness of conversation. He rejoices
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to find that even those who oppose him, whether with regard to opinions or
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some points of practice, are nevertheless lovers of God, and in other respects
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unreprovable. He is glad to hear good of them, and to speak all
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he can consistently with truth and justice. Indeed, good in general is his
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glory and joy wherever diffuse throughout the race of mankind. As a citizen of
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the world, he claims a share in the happiness of all the inhabitants of
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it. Because he is a man, he is not unconcerned in the welfare
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of any man, but enjoys whatsoever brings glory to God and promote peace and
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goodwill among men. This love covereth all things, So without all doubt Panto's
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de guy should be translated, for otherwise it would be the very same with
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Ponta Hupobene endureth all things. Because the merciful man rejoiceth not in iniquity,
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neither does he willingly make mention of it. Whatever evil he sees, hears,
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or knows, he nevertheless conceals so far as he can, without making
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himself partaker of other men's sins, wheresoever, or with whomsoever he is.
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If he sees anything which he approves not, it goes not out of his
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lips, unless to the person concerned, if haply he may gain his brother.
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So far is he from making the faults or failures of others the matter
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of his conversation that of the absence he never does speak at all unless he
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can speak well. A talebearer, a backbiter, a whisper, an evil
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speaker is to him all one as a murderer. He would just as soon
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cut his neighbor's throat as thus murder his reputation, just as soon would he
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think of diverting himself by setting fire to his neighbor's house, as of thus
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scattering abroad arrows, fire, brands, and death, and saying, am
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I not in sport? He makes one only exception. Sometimes he is convinced
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that it is for the glory of God, or which comes to the saying
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the good of his neighbor, that an evil should not be covered. In
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this case for the benefit of the innocent, he is constrained to declare the
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guilty. But even here one he will not speak at all till love,
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superior love constrains him. Two he cannot do it from a general, confused
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view of doing good or promoting the glory of God, but from a clear
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sight of some particular end, some determinate good, which he pursues. Three.
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Still he cannot speak unless he be fully convinced that this very means is
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necessary to that end, that the end cannot be answered, at least not
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so effectively by any other way. Four He then doeth it with the utmost
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sorrow and reluctance, using it as the last and worst medicine, a desperate
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remedy in a desperate case, a kind of poison, never to be used
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but to expel poison. Consequently, five he uses it as sparingly as possible,
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And this he does with fear and trembling, lest he should transgress the
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law of love by speaking too much more than he would have done by not
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speaking at all. Love believeth all things. It is always willing to think
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the best, to put the most favorable construction on everything. It is ever
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ready to believe whatever may tend to the advantage of any one's character. It
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is easily convinced of what it earnestly desires, the innocence or integrity of any
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man, or at least of the sincerity of his repentance, if he had
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once erred from the way. It is glad to excuse whatever is amiss,
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to condemn the offender as little as possible, and to make all the allowance
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for human weakness, which can be done without betraying the truth of God.
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And when it can no longer believe. Then love hopeth all things, is
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any evil related of any man, Love hopes that the relation is not true,
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that the thing related was never done. Is it certain it was?
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But perhaps it was not done with such circumstances as are related, so that,
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allowing the fact, there is room to hope it was not so,
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ill, as it is represented, was the action apparently undeniably evil, Love
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hopes the intention was not. So? Is it clear the design was evil?
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Too? Yet might it not spring from the settled temper of the heart,
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but from a start of passion, or from some vehement temptation which hurried
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the man beyond himself. And even when it cannot be doubted, but all
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the actions, designs, and tempers are equally evil, still Love hopes that
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God will at last make bare his arm and get himself the victory, and
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that there shall be joy in heaven over this one sinner that repenteth more than
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over ninety and nine just persons that need no repentance. Lastly, it endureth
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all things. This completes the character of Him that is truly merciful. He
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endureth not some, not many things, only not most, but absolutely all
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things, whatever the injustice, the malice, the cruelty of men can inflict,
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he is able to suffer. He calls nothing intolerable. He never says
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of anything this is not to be borne. No, he can not only
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do, but suffer all things through Christ, which strengtheneth him. And all
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he suffers does not destroy his love, nor impair it. In the least.
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It is proof against all. It is a flame that burns even in
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the midst of the great deep. Many waters cannot quench his love. Neither
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can the floods drown it. It triumphs over all. It never faileth either
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in time or in eternity. In obedience to what Heaven decrees. Knowledge shall
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fail and prophecy shall cease. But lasting charities, more ample sway, nor
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bound by time, nor subject do decay. In happy triumph, shall forever
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live and endless good, diffuse and endless praise receive. So shall the merciful
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obtain mercy, not only by the blessing of God upon all their ways,
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by His now repaying the love they bear to their brethren a thousandfold into their
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own bosom, but likewise by an exceeding and eternal weight of glory in the
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kingdom prepared for them from the beginning of the world. For a little while,
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you may say, woe is me that I am constrained to dwell with
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Mesek and to have my habitation among the tents of Kadar. You may pour
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out your soul and bemoan the laws of true, genuine love in the earth
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lost. Indeed, you may well say, but not in the ancient sense.
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See how these Christians love one another. These Christian kingdoms that are tearing
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out each other's bowels, desolating one another with fire and sword. These Christian
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armies that are sending each by thousands by ten thousands, quick into hell.
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These Christian nations that are all on fire with Intestine broils, party again,
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party faction against faction. These Christian cities where deceit and fraud, oppression and
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wrong yeay, robbery and murder go not out of their streets. These Christian
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families torn a saunter with envy, jealousy, anchor domestic jars without number,
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without end yea, what is most dreadful, most to be lamentable? These
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Christian churches churches tell it not and gad but alas, how can we hide
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it either from Jews, Turks or Pagans that bear the name of Christ,
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the Prince of Peace, and wage continual war with each other, that convert
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sinners by burning them alive, that are drunk with the blood of the saints.
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Does this praise belong only to Bablon the Great, the mother of harlots
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and abominations of the earth. Nay, verily, but reformed churches so called
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have fairly learned to tread in hirsts. Protestant churches too know to persecute when
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they have power in their hands, even unto blood. And meanwhile, how
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do they also anathematize each other, devote each other to the nethermost hell?
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What wrath, what contention, what malice, what bitterness? Is everywhere found
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among them, even where they agree in essentials and only differ in opinions or
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in the circumstantials of religion? Who follows after only the things that make for
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peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. Oh God, how long
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shall they promise fail? Fear it? Not, ye little flock against hope.
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Believe in hope. It is your Father's good pleasure. Yet to renew
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the face of the earth. Surely all these things shall come to an end,
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and the inhabitants of the earth shall learn righteousness. Nations shall not live
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that sword against nation, neither shall they know war anymore. The mountains of
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the Lord's House shall be established on the top of the mountains, and all
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the kingdoms of the earth shall become the kingdoms of our God. They shall
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not then hurt or destroy in all his holy mountain, but they shall call
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their wall salvation and their gates praise. They shall all be without spot or
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blemish, loving one another, even as Christ hath loved us. Be thou
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part of the first fruits. If the harvest is not yet, Do thou
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love thy neighbor as thyself. The Lord God fill thy heart with such a
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love to every soul, that thou mayest be ready to lay down thy life
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for his sake. May thy soul continually overflow with love, swallowing up every
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unkind and unholy temper, till He calleth thee up into the region of Love,
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there to reign with him forever and ever. In a section twenty two