SERMON XIV.

ON THE LOVE OF GOD.

PART II.

ON THE MOTIVES WHICH SHOULD INDUCE US

TO LOVE GOD.

JESUS said to him: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind. MATT., c. xxii. v. 37.

In a discourse in which, from the text which I have just adduced, I recently took occasion to address you on the subject of the love of God, I endeavoured to explain to you the nature of that divine virtue, and to describe to you the marks by which it might be ascertained. My object, this day, is to expose to you the motives which should stimulate you to the cultivation of it. God of Charity!—who hast declared to us in the words of thine Apostle, that if a man speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have not charity, he is become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal-light up, I beseech thee, this day, in the breast of thy minister the sacred flame of thy divine love, that, by the assistance of thy grace, he may thus become the means of diffusing it abroad amongst those who are

now listening to him, and of causing it to glow with unextinguishable ardor in their inflamed hearts!

There is no duty which recommends itself to us by a greater variety and strength of motives than that of loving the Lord our God. It is a duty which reason evidently demonstrates to be incumbent upon us, which nature proclaims in all her works, which Christianity confirms by the most important discoveries, which it enjoins in positive terms, and to the discharge of which it prompts us by considerations capable beyond any other of affecting the human heart. Instructed by the dictates of reason alone, we are induced to form conceptions of the Supreme Ruler of the universe which compel us to acknowledge his just title to the warmest tribute of our affections. What object in reality can demand more imperiously our most ardent attachment than a Being whose very essence is perfection ?-whose nature, that is to say, contains an assemblage of excellencies exceeding the utmost stretch of the faculties of the human mind to conceive? Such, however, my friends, is the Being whom we are commanded to love. In him are harmoniously blended, without the smallest mixture of defect, power, wisdom, justice, goodness, and every other great, good, and endearing attribute. Whatever is calculated to excite admiration, to produce esteem, or to conciliate affection, enters into the idea which we are led to entertain of his adorable essence. All the most exalted and at

tractive qualities which have recommended the

most distinguished of the sons of men to the love and veneration of their fellow-creatures are but faint resemblances of those divine attributes which characterise exclusively the One Supreme. In him, as in one bright focus, are collected together all possible perfections, unbounded, unchangeable, unalloyed. Can any object be imagined more deserving in itself of the warmest affections of our hearts than a Being of this description? Is it possible to conceive a more lovely union of the most captivating charms than that which here presents itself to our minds ?

The Being, it is true, whose matchless perfections are calculated to excite the most lively feelings of veneration and love, is not visible to the human eye. But that circumstance, if properly considered, should not prevent us from presenting to him the tributes which he so justly challenges. For, in perusing the histories of other times and nations, how do our bosoms glow with admiration when we meet with characters, now no more, who have nobly signalised themselves in the service of their fellow-creatures! How sensibly are we affected by the recital of uncommon deeds of beneficence performed by persons we have never seen, and whom we never even expect to see!-and how naturally do we bestow on them our veneration and esteem! How expres

sively, on such occasions, does the silent tear which trickles down the cheek-amiable betrayer of the inward emotion which labours to be concealed-disclose the sentiments which worth unseen is capable

of exciting! When removed from our sight, do they for whom we cherish an affection cease to be objects of our esteem and regard? And even when death has consigned them to the tomb, does not our affection still survive?-does it not eagerly pursue them beyond the grave, and cling with fond attachment to their memory? Groundless, therefore, and deserving of no attention, is the unwarrantable pretension that the invisibility of the adorable Author of our existence prevents him from becoming an object of our love: "whom having not seen" says St. Peter, "you love."

If, from the consideration of the transcendent excellence essentially inherent in the One Supreme, we call in to our assistance the aid of the senses; if, through the medium of the senses, we take a survey of the face of nature, and observe that immense variety of beautiful and interesting scenes which it exhibits to our view, we shall thence discover additional claims to our most devoted attachment to him. The heavens, the earth, the sea, the air, with the numerous inhabitants which they contain; the vicissitudes of the seasons, the alternate succession of day and night, whilst they proclaim emphatically the glory of their Eternal Author, announce, with equal energy, his benevolent regard to the well-being of the human race. Behold, then, O man! in all these fair and stupendous works of nature, so many visible tokens of his goodness in your behalf. Behold in them expressions the most unequivocal of his partiality and affection, the clear

est manifestations of his providential attention to all your wants, conveniences, and delights. And finally, Oman! cast your eyes upon yourself-yourself, the paramount animal of the earth on which you dwell-yourself, the goodliest flower in God's terrestrial paradise-yourself, a microcosm, a little world-yourself, the connecting link in the chain of beings which unites the material with the immaterial parts of existence. Consider, attentively, the wonderful structure of your corporeal frame, the admirable formation of its limbs, its erect and majestic port, its expressive features of countenance, the superior mechanism of its organs of sense, and every other eminent and distinguishing characteristic, which may contribute to mark its high preeminence in the sublunary works of God. Contemplate the immortal soul which animates it. See, in the faculties with which it is endowed, so many bright emanations from the Eternal mind. How vast its powers! Its operations, how stupendous! What promptitude of will! What rapidity of thought! What ability to conceive, combine, compare, deduce! What susceptibility of refined and delicate sentiments! Oh! my friends, is it possible for man, thus constituted-thus favoured by his beneficent Creator-made by him little inferior to the angels" -"crowned with glory and with honor”—raised to a rank of such distinguished pre-eminence above all the other works of his hand; himself a miracle in the midst of miracles-surrounded on all sides by objects which reflect upon his sight the benignity