Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2013 http://archive.org/details/truechristianity01arnd_0 A TREATISE ON SINCERE REPENTAKCE, TRUE FAITH, THE HOL^ WALK OF THE TRUE CHRISTIAN, ETC. BY THE VENEUAELE JOHN ARNDT, GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT OF ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS IN THE PRINCIPALITY OF LUNEBURG. ORIGINALLY TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY REV. A. W. BOEHM, GERMAN CHAPLAIN AT THE COURT OF ST. JAMES, AND PUBLISHED IN LONDON, A.D. 1712. % lltto American (!BbitiaiT, REVISED, CORRECTED, AKD FURNISHED WITH ADDITIONAL MATTER FROM THE ORIGINAL GERMAN, TOGETHER WITH A GENERAL INTRODUCTION, By CHARLES F. SCHAEFFER, D.D., PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY IN THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY OF THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH, AT PHILADELPHIA. PHILADELPHIA: THE LUTHERAN BOOK STORE, No. 117 N. Sixth Street. 1872. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 186iJ, Bt JOSEPH A. SEISS, In the Clerk's Office of the Distiict Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania OAZTON PRESS OF SUERMAN k CO. CONTENTS. Introduction. By the Editor, xi Preface. By the Author, xxxix BOOK I. WHEREIN TRUE CHRISTIANITY, SINCERE SORROW FOR SIN, REPENTANCE, FAITH, AND THE HOLY LIFE OP THE TRUE CHRISTIAN, ARE CONSIDERED. Chap. I. Showing what the image of God in man is, 1 Chap. II. Of the fall of Adam, 4 Chap. III. Showing how man is renewed in Christ unto eternal life, .... 7 Chap. IV. Of true repentance, and the true yoke and cross of Christ, .... 11 Chap. V. Wherein does true faith consist ? 14 Chap. YI. Showing how the vital power of the Word of God should be manifested in man through faith, . . , 17 Chap. VII. The law of God, written in the hearts of all men, convinces them that in the day of judgment they will be without excuse, 19 Chap. VIII. No one can find comfort in Christ and his merits who does not truly re- pent, 22 Chap. IX. The unchristian walk of many persons in our day, is a cause of the rejection of Christ and of the true faith, 26 Chap. X. The children of the world are against Christ, and, consequently, their life and their Christianity are both alike false, 27 Chap. XI. Showing that he does not truly repent, is not a Christian, and not a child of God, who does not, in his life and conduct, follow Christ; also, wherein the new birth and the yoke of Christ consist, 29 Chap. XII. The true Christian dies unto himself and the world, and lives in Christ, . 34 Chap. XIII. The Christian ought willingly to die unto himself and the world, for the sake of the love of Christ, and for the sake of that future and eternal glory, for which we were created and redeemed, .... .... 37 Chap. XIV. The true Christian, who imitates Christ, hates his own life in this world, and forsakes the world, 41 Chap. XV. Showing how the "old man" daily dies, and the "new man" is daily re- newed, in a true Christian ; also, wherein self-denial consists, and what is meant by the Christian's cross, 45 Chap. XVI. A conflict is constantly maintained in the Christian between the Spirit and the flesh, 48 ( iii ) CONTENTS. PAGE CnAP. XYII. The inlioritance and possessions of Christians are not of this world; they should, therefore, regard themselves as strangers in it, while they make use of earthly things, 50 CiiAP. XVIII. .Showing how greatly God is offended, when man prefers things that are temporal to those that are eternal ; and how great the evil is, when our affections cleave to the creature and not to the Creator, 54 Chap. XIX. He who is most of all conscious of his misery, is most of all acceptable to God ; and his Christian knowledge of his misery, urges him to seek the grace of God, 67 Chap. XX. A truly Christian sorrow for sin promotes the daily amendment of the life of man, makes him meet for the kingdom of God, and fits him, in an increasing degree, for eternal life, ......... ... 61 CnAP. XXI. Of the true worship of God, 66 Chap. XXII. A true Christian is known primarily by love, and by a daily amendment of life, 72 Chap. XXIII. He who, in Christ, desires to grow in grace, is often compelled to with- draw from worldly society, 74 Chap. XXIV. Of the love of God and our neighbor, 77 Chap. XXV. The love of our neighbor more particularly considered, .... 83 Chap. XXVI Wherefore our neighbor is to be loved, ....... 85 Chap. XXVII. Wherefore our enemies are to be loved, 89 Chap. XXVIII. Showing how the love of the Creator should be preferred to that of all creatures ; and how our neighbor is to be loved in God, 91 Chap. XXIX. Of that reconciliation to our neighbor, without which God withdraws his grace, 94 Chap. XXX. Of the fruits of love, 98 Chap. XXXI. Pride and self-love corrupt and destroy even the best and noblest gifts, . 103 Chap. XXXII. Great gifts do not demonstrate a man to be a Christian, but faith that works by love, 106 Chap. XXXIII. God has no respect to the works of any one ; but judges of works ac- cording to the heart, 108 Chap. XXXIV. Showing that God alone, without any human aid, is the author of our salvation, and that we arc to submit unreservedly to his grace; also, that Christ's merit is not imputed to the impenitent, 109 Chap. XXXV. All wisdom, arts, and sciences, yea, even the knowledge of the whole Scripture, are vain, without a holy and Christian life, 113 Chap. XXXVI. He who does not live in Christ, but gives his heart to the world, has only the outward letter of the Scriptures, but he does not experience their power, or eat of the hidden manna, 116 Chap. XXXVII. He who does not follow Christ in faith, holiness, and continued re- pentance, cannot be delivered from the blindness of his heart, but must abide in eternal darkness ; and he cannot have a true knowledge of Christ, or fellowship with him, 122 Chap. XXXVIII. Showing that an unchristian life leads to false doctrine, hardness of heart, and blindness ; also, treating of the eternal election of grace, . . . 129 Chap. XXXIX. Showing that the purity of the doctrine of the divine Word, is main- tained not only by discussions and publications, but also by true repentance and holiness of life, 132 Chap. XL. Sundry rules for leading a holy life, 137 CONTENTS. V Chap. XLI. The whole of Christianity consists in the restoration of the image of God in man, and the destruction of the image of Satan, 142 Chap. XLII. In this concluding Chapter the reasons for adopting the method observed in Book I, are explained ; the duty of guarding against spiritual pride is described, and the truth is set forth that true spiritual gifts cannot be obtained without prayer, 153 Preface to the Second Book, ........ . . 157 BOOK II. Chap. I. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is given to us by our Heavenly Father as our help against the damnable and deadly poison of Original Sin, and the pernicious fruits thereof, as well as a protector against all the calamities and evils both of the body and the soul, 159 Chap. II. The manner in which the Christian should apply and appropriate to himself the consolation, noticed in Chapter I, 163 Chap. III. Our righteousness before God, consists solely in the perfect obedience and merit of Christ Jesus, and in the remission of sin apprehended by faith, . . . 168 Chap. IY. Showing that saving faith in the true Christian, produces manifold fruits of righteousness, and that these must proceed from the depth of the heart ; also, that the character of our outward works, depends, in the judgment of God, upon the state of the heart, 172 Chap. V. Showing that the evidence of true Christianity does not consist in the knowl- edge and the hearing of God's word, but that he is a Christian, in whose life God's word is manifested, and who beseeches God in sincerity that this word, as a divine seed, may be quickened in him, and bear fruit, 177 Chap. YI. The perfection and salvation of men depend on union with Christ by faith ; but to this they can contribute nothing, whereas they rather interfere with the grace of God by their perverse will ; but Christ, and He alone, accomplishes the work in us, 182 Chap. YII. Showing that, in order to understand the true nature of repentance, we must necessarily know the distinction between the old and new man ; or, how in us Adam must die, and Christ live ; or, how in us the old man must die, and the new man live, 184 Chap. YIII. Showing how graciously God invites us to repentance, and how necessary it is that it should not be delayed, ... 188 Chap. IX. Showing what repentance is, and the manner in which the sinner truly re- pents ; also, how the goodness of God leads us to repentance, 193 Chap. X. The four properties of true repentance, 201 Chap. XI. Showing that the fruit of conversion is the new creature ; also, that the Christian is, by faith, a lord over all, and, by love, a servant of all; and, that the life of Christ is a mirror for us, 206 Chap. XII. Showing that Christ is the only way and end of true godliness; and that man goes astray, when God does not guide and direct him, 207 Chap. XIII. Showing that Jesus Christ is the true Book of life, and that his poverty teaches us to despise the glory of the world, 209 Chap. XIY. Showing how Christ, by the shame and contempt which he endured, and by his self-denial, teaches us to despise the honor and glory of the world, . . 212 Chap. XY. Showing how we should, through Christ, bear and overcome the trials and contempt of the world, 214 CONTENTS. lAQM Cbap. XVI. Showing how Christians are to seek and obtain favor and glory through Christ, in Heaven, 218 Chap. XVII. Showing how we may through Christ, and after the example of all the saints, overcome the calumnies of men, 220 Chap. XVIII. Showing how the sorrows and pains of Christ should teach us to subdue the lusts of the flesh, 230 Chap. XIX. Showing how we should behold in the crucified Christ, as in the Book of life, both our sins, and also the displeasure, the love, justice, and wisdom of God, . 232 Chap. XX Of the power and necessity of prayer, in these holy contemplations, . . 234 Chap. XXI. Of the power of the noble virtue of humility, 238 Chap. XXII. All the works of a true Christian must be done in humility, or they will, otherwise, become an abomination and idolatry, 241 Chap. XXIIT. A man who does not perceive his own emptiness, and does not give all the honor to God, commits the greatest of sins, and falls like Satan, , . . 244 Chap. XXIV. Of the noble virtue of love, and of its power, soundness, and purity, . 245 Chap. XXV. Sundry signs by which we may ascertain whether we truly love Christ, . 249 Chap. XXVI. Five kinds of works of love, in which the grace and goodness of God are egpecially revealed, 251 Chap. XXVII. Showing how the Lord Jesus manifests himself to the loving soul as the highest love and the highest Good, ......... 255 Chap. XXVIII. Showing how the highest Good is perceived and tasted in the soul, . 256 Chap. XXIX. Showing how the loving soul considers God in his benefits as the most liberal bountifulness, ............. 258 Chap. XXX. Showing how God manifests himself to the loving soul, as the supreme beauty, 262 Chap. XXXI. Showing how God manifests himself to the loving soul as the infinite omnipotence, .............. 26 Chap. XXXII. Showing how the loving soul knows God as the highest righteousness and holiness, 264 Chap. XXXIII. Showing how the loving soul considers God as the eternal wisdom, . 266 Chap. XXXIV. Showing how a man should seek the wisdom of God by prayer; con- taining also a useful Treatise on Prayer, wherein the reader is taught how the heart is to be moved unto prayer, and brought into a quiet sabbath, so that prayer may be wrought in us by the Lord ; the whole being set forth in Twelve Sections, . 269 Sect. I. All that we have lost in Adam, we recover fully and completely in Christ, . 269 Sect. II. The evils that follow the neglect of prayer, . . ^ . . . . 270 Sect. III. The benefits of continual prayer, 271 Sect. IV. The true Christian chooses the narrow way in Christ, rather than the broad way in Adam, 273 Sect. V. Considerations which should move the heart to commune with God in prayer, 274 Sect. VI. The omniscient God knows what we stand in need of, before we ask him, 275 Sect. VII. That God invites and engages all men to the exercise of prayer, and promises to hear their petitions, 276 Sect. VIII. God is no respecter of persons, but has an impartial love for all his crea- tures, 277 Sect. IX. Showing that it is equally sinful to pray to God upon the presumption of our own merit, and to forbear on account of our unworthiness, .... 279 CONTENTS. Tii PAOl Sect. X. The true worshipper ought not to seek after God in any particular place ; for he finds him everywhere in spirit and in truth, 280 Sect. XI, The worshipper is not restricted to certain times of prayer, but may at any hour address God in prayer, provided that he does not hinder himself, . . 281 Sect. XII. The considerations stated above, not only dispose the heart to true prayer, but also furnish various useful lessons, 284 Chap. XXXV. Prayer is the sign of a true Christian, that is, of one who is anointed of the Lord, 285 Chap. XXXVI. On the benefits and power of prayer, and on its true ground or founda- tion, 287 Chap. XXXVII. Keasons why God certainly hears our prayers, 291 Chap. XXXVIII. Seven helps or aids for our infirmities in prayer, .... 298 Chap. XXXIX. The conversation of a believing soul with God, 301 Chap. XL. A conversation between faith and the mercy of God, 304 Chap. XLI. The great benefits, and the great efficacy of praise oflfered to God, . . 305 Chap. XLII. The reasons for which we ought daily to ofier praises to God, . . . 309 Chap. XLIII. To praise God is the highest and most honorable employment of men, . 315 Chap. XLIV. Of patience, which triumphantly endures the cross, and waits for the promised glory, .............. 318 Chap. XLV. Divine consolation produces patience under afflictions, .... 322 Chap. XLVI. Motives to patience ; and, the benefits of the cross, .... 326 The benefits of the cross, .......... 328 Chap. XLVII. Sentences, and examples of patience and consolation, .... 329 Chap. XLVIII. There is no affliction for which God has not provided appropriate consolation. The consolation which he affords is always greater than our misery ; this consideration should sustain and confirm our patience, ..... 332 Chap. XLIX. The truth of God and the certainty of his promises, ought to dispose us to patience, ............... 336 Chap. L. Showing how hope is tested in seasons of adversity ; it m'aketh not ashamed, 341 Chap. LI. Comfort for those that are weak in faith, 344 Chap. LII. Comforting instructions for those that are laboring under great tempta- tions in spirit, .............. 349 Chap. LIII. Consolations for those who labor under great spiritual temptations, . . 355 Chap. LIV. Comforts under secret and spiritual temptations of the devil, . . . 361 Chap. LV. The reasons for which God sometimes delays his comfort and assistance, . 365 Chap. LVI. Showing that in seasons of trial the consideration of the exalted patience of Christ, and of the future and eternal glory, will alleviate the burden of the cross, 367 Chap. LVII. Consolations against the fears of death, 368 Conclusion of the Second Book, 374 Preface to the Third Book, 375 BOOK III Chap. I. Of the great internal treasure of an enlightened believer, .... 378 Chap. II. True faith, and converse with the soul, the only means of attaining to this inward treasure, 381 viii CONTENTS. PAGS Chap. III. The whole treasure of the inner man depends on faith, namely, God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the kingdom of God, 384 Chap. IV. The believing soul seeks God internally, in itself; its beauty and blessed- ness when it is united with God, 388 Chap. V. Showing liow a man may be drawn to God; also, wherein spiritual poverty consists ; and, what the degrees of humility are, 3S9 Chap. VI. The seat of God in the soul, 390 Chap. VII. Of the dignity of the soul; of true repentance; and, of divine mercy, . 392 Chap. VIII. The calling of God is earnest and sincere, and directs us to come to him, 393 Chap. IX. The purifying influence of true faith, 395 Chap. X. Showing how the natural light in us must disappear, and the light of grace shine forth, 397 Chap. XI. God, the light of the soul, directing us not to judge our neighbors, . . 399 Chap. XII. The Christian ought daily, once at least, wholly to abstract himself from all external objects, and retire into his own soul ; the advantages of this course, . 401 Chap. XIII. Showing how the love of God enters into the soul, when it is empty of the love of the creatures, ............ 402 Chap. XIV. Of the exercise of patience and love, 404 Chap. XV. Showing how Christ, the eternal Word of the Father, perfects his work in the hearts of the faithful, by love and humility, 405 Chap. XVI. Showing how the Holy Spirit operates in our souls, 408 Chap. XVII. Signs of the presence of the Holy Spirit in us, 409 Chap. XVIII. Showing how worldly pleasures drive away the Holy Spirit, . . 410 Chap. XIX. Of inward prayer, and of the true use of the Lord's Prayer, . . . 412 Chap. XX. Showing that humility must first be laid as a foundation in the heart, and all our works must rest on it ; its blessed influences, 414 Chap. XXI. Showing that a man ought to rest in God alone, and not in his gifts; and that he must deny himself, 415 Chap. XXII. Showing how our works may be rendered acceptable to God, . . . 416 Chap. XXIII. Of the mystery of the Cross, by which we are drawn to God, . . 419 Preface to the Fourth Book, 423 BOOK lY. PAKT I. TEEATING OF THE WORKS OP THE SIX DAYS OF CREATION, IN GENERAL. Chap. I. Of light, the work of the First Day, 425 Chap, II. Of heaven, the work of the Second Day, 429 Chap. III. Of the separation of the waters from the land, the work of the Third Day, 431 CONTENTS. ix 7A0I Chap. IV. Of the sun, moon, and stars, the work of the Fourth Day, .... 440 Chap. V. Of the waters, and their productions, the work of the Fifth Day, , . . 446 Chap. VI. Of the living creatures, the work of the Sixth Day, 450 PAKT II. TREATING SPECIALLY OF MAN. Chap. I. God, an infinite and eternal Being, 458 Chap. II. God, the Supreme Good, 459 Chap. III. Man, the most noble of all creatures, and made for the service of God, . 4G0 Chap. IV. God made man in his own image, in order that he might delight in him, . 4G0 Chap. V. That God by his love bestows himself upon us, ..... . 4G1 Chap. VI. Showing how much man is indebted to God for his everlasting love, . . 462 Chap. VII. Of the things that instruct and comfort the soul, 462 Chap. VIII. Of the obligations under which men lie to God, ..... 463 Chap. IX. Man even more indebted to God for inward, than for outward blessings, . 464 Chap. X. Of the wisdom which God has shown in the formation of man, . . . 465 Chap. XI. Of the obligations man lies under to God, 465 Chap. XII. Of answering the obligations which man lies under to God, . . . 466 Chap. XIII. Showing that God's love appears in all his works, even in his chastise- ments, ................ 467 Chap. XIV. Showing how, and on what account, man is obliged to love God, . . 468 Chap. XV. Showing that all the creatures continually remind us of the love which we owe to God, 469 Chap. XVI. A general rule teaching us how to answer our obligations to God, . . 469 Chap. XVII. Showing that the Christian who loves not God is without excuse, . . 470 Chap. XVIII. Showing tljat our duty to God tends to promote our own happiness, . 471 Chap. XIX. The service which the creatures render to man, compared with that which man renders to God, ............. 471 Chap. XX. All things are preserved by the hand of God, 472 Chap. XXI. Showing that from the service of man and the creatures, a union takes place between the visible world, man, and God, 473 Chap. XXII. From the love which we owe to God, proceeds that which we owe to our neighbor, . 474 Chap. XXIII. Man is made in the image of God, 474 Chap. XXIV. That man is obliged to love his neighbor as himself, .... 475 Chap. XXV. All mankind are to be considered as one man, or as being many mem- bers of one great body, 476 Chap. XXVI. Charity, the foundation of the greatest strength, 477 Chap. XXVII. Of the nature, properties, and fruits of love, 477 Chap. XXVIII. Love unites him who loves with the person loved, and transforms into the same nature, 478 Chap. XXIX. Nothing is worthy of our love, but that which can make us more noble and pure, 479 X CONTENTS. PAOK Chap. XXX. Our chief love is due to God, as the first and last, the beginning and the end of all things, 479 Chap. XXXI. He who principally loves himself, actually sets up himself in God's stead, 480 Chap. XXXII. Love to God, the source of all that is good; self-love, the source of all evil, 481 Chap. XXXIII. Of the love of God, and the love of self, 482 Chap. XXXIV. Love to God, the only source of peace and unity, , . . . 483 Chap. XXXY. Showing how we ought to love God, 483 Chap. XXXVI. Divine joy, the fruit of divine love, 484 Chap. XXXVII. Of the evil fruits of self-love, 485 Chap. XXXVIII. Everlasting sorrow and death, the end of self-love and carnal joy, . 486 Chap. XXXIX. All that we have must be oflfered and consecrated to God, . ... 487 Chap. XL. He can never praise and glorify God, who seeks his own glory, . . . 488 Conclusion, 488 Index, 491 INTRODUCTIOK BY THE AMEKICAI^^ EDITOR. "OOTII the general purpose of the venerable John Arndt in writing his True Christianity," and also his own character and spirit, will be best exhibited by submitting to the reader a statement referring to his per- sonal history. He was born, December 27th, 1555, in Ballenstadt, a town in the Duchy of Anhalt, where his father. Rev. Jacob Arndt, long labored as the chaplain of Duke Wolfgang, and the pastor of one of the Evan- gelical Lutheran congregations of the place. The latter was a devout and faithful minister of the Gospel, and a wise and affectionate father. He had, from the earliest period, devoted much attention to the religious education of his son, in the performance of which holy duty he was faith- fully sustained by his excellent wife. Their efforts were abundantly blessed. The son, even in his early years, took great pleasure in reading the writings of Luther, and also acquired a fondness for those of Thomas d Kempis, of Tauler, and of others who breathed the same spirit of devo- tion. That this feature of his religious character did not undergo any essential change in his riper years, appears from the circumstance that he was one of the first who collected, arranged, and republished the religious tracts of Stephen Prsetorius, a Lutheran divine of an eminently devout spirit. These were subsequently re-edited by Martin Statins, who pre- fixed the title: Spiritual Treasury (Geistliche Schatzkammer), to the col- lection. This book of devotion was highly prized by Spener, has often been reprinted, is found in many German households, and well deserves to be translated, and thus made accessible to the English religious public. § 2. In his tenth year Arndt lost his father, but the orphan soon found friends who, in the good providence of God, enabled him to continue the studies which he had commenced with distinguished success under the guidance of his father. After completing his preparatory education in the schools of Halberstadt and Magdeburg, he proceeded, in the year 1576, to the university of Helmstedt, which had recently been established. ( ) xii INTRODUCTIOK In tlic course of the following year, 1577, he went as a student to the university of Wittenberg, soon after the official recognition of the princi- ples embodied in the Formula of Concord (published in 1580), by which that institution received a strictly Lutheran character, and every tendency to any other doctrinal system was successfully arrested. It was here that he formed a very close union, first as a student, and then as a personal friend, with the eminent Polycarp Leyser, the elder of that name, whose firmness and devotion in sustaining the distinctive features of Lutheran- ism have assigned to him a high position in the history of his Church. — After Arndt had, even at this early age, acquired distinction as an accom- plished private lecturer on Natural Philosophy, etc., as well as on the Epistle to the Romans, Leyser furnished him with an unusually favorable recommendation to the professors in Strasburg. This city, the govern- ment and population of which were exclusively Lutheran, had not yet been subjected to that great calamit^Mvhich afterwards befell it, when the despot and bigot, Louis XIV., incorporated it w^ith the French monarchy, and by assigning undue privileges to papists, and adopting other tyranni- cal measures, opened an avenue for the introduction, not merely of an inferior Romanic language, but also of the errors and superstitions of the Church of Rome. § 3. Arndt continued his theological studies in Strasburg, under the direction of Prof. Pappus, who was also distinguished for his devotion to the genuine Lutheran faith. In the j-ear 1579 he proceeded to Basel, where, under the gentle sway of S ulcer, the Lutheran faith had acquired influence and authority. In this cit}^ he was temporarily engaged as the tutor of a young Polish nobleman ; the latter, on one of their excursions, when Arndt had accidentally fallen into the Rhine, succeeded in seizing his sinking preceptor by the hair of his head, and thus became the means, in the hands of God, of saving a life of incalculable value, designed to prove an ever-flowing source of blessings to the Church. §4. During this whole period Arndt occupied himself with the study of medicine, in connection with his strictly theological studies; it is pos- sible that he would have ultimately chosen the practice of medicine as the business of his life, if a severe illness had not intervened. After his recovery, he believed it to be his duty to renounce his personal tastes, and he thenceforth consecrated himself entirely to the service of the Church. His medical and chemical occupations, although not abandoned, were afterwards regarded by him only as a recreation. § 5. He returned, in 1581 or 1582, to his native place, and labored for some time as a teacher, until he was called by his prince, Joachim Ernest, to be the pastor of the congregation in Badeborn, a village in the Duchy of Anhalt ; he was, accordingly, ordained in the month of October of the same year. It was here, too, that he was married, October 31, 1583, to Anna Wagner, the daughter of an eminent jurist, with whom he passed INTEODUCTION. xiii the remaining thirty-eight years of his life in unclouded domestic happi- ness. She was a dev^out Christian woman, who cheered and encouraged Arndt amid his many cares, alleviated every burden to the extent of her ability, and was always regarded by him with tenderness and gratitude. They were childless ; but many an orphan found that their hearts could overflow with love towards the young and destitute — a love as full of warmth as beloved children have ever experienced parental love to be. §6. In this first pastoral charge of Arndt, the unhappy state of affairs subjected him, particularly during the latter part of the seven years which he spent in it, to a "Lutheran martyrdom," as Tholuck expresses himself (Herzog. Encyk. I., 636). The duke, John George, who now reigned (a relative of the palsgrave, or count palatine, Casimir, a zealous Calvinist), after various inward struggles, abandoned the Lutheran faith, and, in the year 1596, publicly adopted the Reformed faith, a few years after the transactions to which we now refer. Even Protestant rulers, who had not yet learned the theory that a union of church and state can operate only perniciously, perpetually interfered in the internal affairs of the church. — At this period it was the custom of Lutheran pastors, when they administered the rite of Baptism, to follow the liturgical form which prescribed " exorcism." This feature of the whole baptismal form, which was introduced as early as the third century, or even earlier (before the da^-s of TertuUian and Origen), consisted simply in a sentence adjuring the evil spirit to depart from the subject of Baptism. The early practice had, like others, been gradually associated, after the rise and develop- ment of popery, with superstitious ideas, such as was also the case with the Lord's Supper, until it assumed an absurd and even revolting form. At the period of the Reformation, Zwingli and Calvin (Inst. IV., c. 15, 19; c. 19, 24) rejected the whole form of exorcism. Luther and Alelanchthon, on the other hand, after discarding the popish excrescences, believed that the scriptural doctrine w^hich the early form involved or suggested, author- ized the retention of the practice, when restricted to a very plain and simple formula, expressive of a scriptural truth. — ]^ow, at that period, as it is well known, unfriendly feelings, engendered by various causes, ex- isted to a certain extent, between the heads respectively of the Reformed and the Lutheran churches, in consequence of which even harmless customs which none would, under ordinary circumstances, either advocate or con- demn with partisan feeling, assumed a confessional character. Such was the case with the purified and simple Lutheran baptismal sentence con- taining the " exorcism." § 7. Arndt's course in this matter has often been misunderstood ; as it, however, demonstrates him to have been alike a very firm and conscien- tious man, and also an uncompromising supporter of the distinctive doc- trines and usages of the Lutheran Church, the following details may be appropriately furnished. — The language which Luther retained in his form xiv INTRODUCTION. for Biii)t\sm (Taiffbuchlew), after omitting all popish and superstitious prac* tices, was the following. Between the prayer and the reading of Mark 10 : 13-16, the pastor says: "I adjure thee, thou unclean spirit, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, that thou go out and depart from this servant of Jesus Christ, Amen." — Luther understood the form to be a declaration or distinct confession of the doc- trine of Original Sin, and a renunciation of Satan. Still, the Lutheran Church, as such, never recognized the necessity of this ancient form, and its confessional writings never allude to it. After the excitement of feel- ing peculiar to Arndt's age, had been allayed by time, the Lutheran Church regarded the whole as a mere adiophoron^ that is, a "thing indiffer- ent, " not essentially involving any principle whatever, inasmuch as the doctrine of Original Sin had already been very explicitly set forth and confessed in her Symbolical Books. Such was the opinion of the eminent Lutheran dogmatical writers, Gerhard, Quenstedt, Hollaz, etc.; and men like Baier and Baumgarten even advocated the discontinuance of the practice. It is no longer retained in any prominent manner in the Lutheran Church. — But in the age in which Arndt lived, who was not a man that would obstinately cling to a mere form, the rejection of the for- mula of Exorcism did involve a principle; for, under the peculiar circum- stances, that rejection might be understood to be, first, a rejection of the doctrine of Original Sin, and, secondly, an afiirmation that the children of believing parents were in the kingdom of heaven, even before they had received Baptism. But all this seemed to conflict with the Pauline doctrine that all are "by nature the children of wrath." Eph. 2:3. While, then, J. Ben. Carpzov, the distinguished interpreter of the Sym- bolical Books, who died in 1557, decides that the "Exorcism" is in itself a matter of indifference, and may without scruple be dropped, he never- theless holds that if the omission of it should be understood as a denial of the Scripture doctrine of the corruption of human nature (Original Sin), it becomes, in such a case, a matter of principle to retain the for- mula. (Isagoge, etc., p. 1122 ff. ; 1608.) "Walch, the other eminent inter- preter of the Symbolical Books (Introdiictio, etc.), does not refer to the matter at all, as it is no essential part of the Lutheran Creed. But Arndt, who w^as a calm, sagacious, and conscientious observer, and who may justly be considered as claiming that, in forming a judgment respecting him, we should not overlook the spirit of his times, apprehended that the suppression of the "exorcism" was secretly designed to be the fore- runner of the suppression of the entire Lutheran faith, which constituted the life of his soul ; he could not, under such circumstances, consent to endanger his most precious treasure* § 8. Now the duke, John George, after his virtual adoption of the Ee- formed faith and practice, issued a peremptory order that the formula of Exorcism should no longer be employed in his dominions at the baptism INTRODUCTION. XV of any infant. Arndt, who was characterized by a cliildlike submission to those in authority', as long as matters of principle were not involved, could not renounce his faith in God's word, and, especially, his personal conviction of the natural depravity of the human heart. He might have consented to drop a mere form ; but he saw here an entering wedge, which justly alarmed him. His apprehensions were subsequently proved to have been only too well founded, when, soon afterwards, Luther's Catechism was suppressed, and another substituted in its place. Hence, as ho could not renounce a prominent feature of the Lutheran creed, he firmly and positively refused to obey the ducal command. He remarked, in the written statement which embodied his reasons for refusing to obey, and which was submitted to the civil authorities, that his conscience would not allow him to comply with such a demand of the secular authority — that the orthodox fathers, who had, during thirteen centuries, connected " exorcism " with Baptism, understood it in accordance with the mind and true sense of the Scriptures {ex niente ei vero sensu Scripiurce) — that it was, therefore, by no means " an impious ceremony " (as the civil ruler, a lay- man, had thought proper to designate it), — that he must necessarily abide by the decision of his conscience — and, that he would humbly submit to any sentence which his prince might pronounce in the case. The date which he affixed to the document, is Sept. 10, 1590. That sentence, which was soon afterwards proclaimed, deposed Arndt from his office, and ban- ished him from the ducal territories. The reader of Book 1. of the ''True Christianity," will now understand, after observing the earnestness with which the author insists on the doctrine of Original Sin, or the depravity of human nature, that he could not conscientiously take any step which would, even indirectly, involve a denial of that sad truth of the Bible, — a truth to which his knowledge of his own heart daily testified. § 9. But the Divine Head of the Church did not depose this faithful minister. At the very time when Arndt seemed to be homeless and friendless, two important posts were ofiTered to him — one in Mansfeld, the other in Quedlinburg, an important city, which, after belonging to various rulers, has at last been incorporated with the monarchy of Prussia. The city adopted the Lutheran faith in 1539. Arndt decided to make this place his home, and he labored here with eminent success, during a period of seven years, as the pastor of the church of St. Nicholas. How- ever, he also endured much affliction in this new charge, and his holy zeal and devout spirit, while fully appreciated by intelligent and enlight- ened believers, were misunderstood and even hated by others, so that he lonsred to be transferred to another field of labor. § 10. He was at length permitted to depart, and removed to the city of Brunswick, situated in the territory of the duke of Brunswick; it aspired at that time to become a " free city," subject directly to the German emperor. The warfare between the duke and the city, during Arndt's B xvi INTRODUCTION. residence in the latter, subjected him to many sore trials. His abode in it, extending from 1590 to 1608, is specially interesting, as he then pre- sented to the religious community Book L of his " True Christianity." Dr. A. Wildenhahn, who has, in recent times, furnished us with various charming volumes, descriptive of the times, respectively, of Luther, Spener, Paul (3erhardt, etc., in which he combines "fiction and truth," Las selected this period of Arndt's history, as the one to which he dedi- cates his two delightful volumes, entitled "Johannes Arndt" (Leipzig, 18G1). This author complains that he found it a difiicult task to collect full and authentic accounts of Arndt's life. Still, he obtained access to vai-ious documents in the archives of the city of Brunswick, and in the royal library in Dresden, which had not been previously examined even by Arndt's best biographer, the Rev. Frederick Arndt, of Berlin ; and these materially assisted him in preparing his own work.* § 11. During the earlier years of Arndt's residence in Brunswick, as a co-pastor of the church of St. Martin, his life was comparatively peaceful and happy. The [)urity of his character, the soundness and power of his doctrine, and the diligence and fidelity manifested in his pastoral labors, could not fail to command the respect, and attract the love of all candid persons. But he was at length subjected to trials of a new and painful character, and became the victim of the hostile and persecutiijg spirit of men from whom a very difterent course of conduct might have reasonably been expected. The origin of these new difficulties has not always been clearly understood ; while some have regarded Arndt as worthj^ of the censures of those who assailed him, others are disposed to condemn those assailants in unqualified terms. It is strange that, even at this compara- tively remote period, such judgments are sometimes expressed in language which betrays personal feeling rather than it announces the calm judg- ment of a later and disinterested generation. § 12. It is here necessary to cast a glance at the history of the times which preceded and followed the eventful year 1555, in w^hich Arndt was born, a year ever memorable as the one in which the signing of the arti- cles of the Peace of Augsburg secured a temporary external repose for the Lutheran Church. This "Peace" terminated at least the horrors which had followed the introduction, in 1548, of the Augsburg Interim, by which the newl3'-established Protestant doctrine was seriously endangered. The provisions of this Interim were enforced with such merciless tyranny by popish authorities, that in South Germany alone about four hundred * A very accurate and interesting " Life of John Arndt," was published in English by- Rev. Dr. J. G. Morris, of Baltimore, in 1853, which presents the principal events that belong to Arndt's history, and furnishes a faithful portraiture of his personal character. Wilden- hahn's work, admirably translated by Rev. G. A. Wenzel, now of Pittsburg, Pa., was pub- lished as a serial in the " Lutheran and Missionary," about three years ago. This work, in a permanent form, would be a rich addition to our English religious literature. INTRODUCTION. xvii faithful Lutlieraii pastors, who couhl not conscientiously acccMlc to an arrangement which might possibly restore the full authority of the errors and superstitions of Rome, were driven, as exiles, with their families, from their homes. The spirit of the Christian martyrs of the early ages of the Church revived in these heroic men, and they clung with undying tenacity to their holy faith. § 13. That faith now encountered new enemies, who did not resort to fire and the sword, but who adopted more insidious means for corrupting divine truth; and again, assaults like theirs, only increased the jealousy with which the genuine Lutherans guarded the purity of their doctrinal system. It was the only gift of heaven, which sin and Satan could not touch, and which retained all its unsullied holiness. The soul of man had become corrupt; the body was subject to disease and death; the w^orld, fair as it was, and rich in the gifts of God, had nevertheless been made by sin to bring forth thorns and thistles. But the Gospel truth, which conducted men to Christ and heaven, remained in all its purity and power. These men w^ere willing to suffer and die, but while they did live, they could not relax the grasp with which they held fast to evangelical truth. N'ow, amid the political and religious commotions of that stormy age, could we expect that devout men should say, " Peace, peace ;" when there w^as no peace? (Jercm. 6 : 14.) § 14. Let us illustrate this subject. Schwenkfeldt, for instance (born in 1490; died, 1561), an opponent of both the Lutherans and the Reformed, as well as of the Papists, and, accordingly, constantly engaged in contro- versies with all parties, declared that Luther's uncompromising determi- nation to maintain the authority of the written word of revelation, the Bible, was equivalent to a worship of the letter. He assigned, in his fanaticism and morbid mysticism, a rank to an inner and direct word of the Divine Spirit, which he asserted that he received, far above that of the written word of God. He refused to make anj- distinction between the divine act of the justification of the believer, on the one hand, and the progressive sanctification of the believer, on the other. He taught that the two natures of Christ, the divine and the human, were so fused together, or, rather, that the flesh of Christ was so absolutely deified or converted into God himself, that no distinction between them remained, — that the regenerate could live w^ithout sin, etc. He succeeded, in spite of the crudeness, one-sidedness, and unsoundness of his doctrines, in attract- ing many disciples. His death, which occurred in 1561, a few years after Arndt's birth, did not terminate the widespread confusion which he had created in the Protestant Church ; the dread of that sickly form of mysti- cism which he attempted to establish, long remained. The fear was natu- rally entertained that it might lead many astray, who, while they did not otherwise fraternize with Schw^enkfeldt in his wild and absurd course, xviii INTEODUCTION. might be deluded by bis claims to superior religious intelligence and holiness. § 15. The disastrous influences of the demagogue Thomas Munzer (born in 1490), and of his fanatical party, the Zwickau prophets, on sound doctrine and sound morals, as well' as the blood which they had shed, were still vividly remembered. — Servetus, the Unitarian, had perished, but he left a seed behind; the doctrine of Christ's deity still remaiued a point of attack. And besides these false teachers, several others, who were originally connected in various modes w^ith the Lutheran Church, promulgated at various times opinions which seemed to be subversive of all Scripture doctrine. — Agricola, who had originally been an active adherent of Luther, gradually departed from the faith. He unquestion- ably betrayed the interests of Protestantism by sanctioning the Augsburg Interim of 1548. He engaged in a controversy, at first with Melanchthon, and then wh\\ Luther himself, on the subject of the proper "Use of the law" — the Antinomistic controversy — maintaining that the law w^as no longer of importance to the believer, and that the Gospel alone should be preached. He died in 1566, when Arndt was about eleven years old. The confusion in the church, which he created by his dangerous senti- ments on several points, was long painfully felt. — The Osiandrian contro- versy, respecting Justification, and its relation to Sanctification, began in 1549, and closed only when Arndt was already a student. — The Majoristic controversy originated in the public declaration made by G. Major, that " good works are necessary to salvation." The fears which such a doctrine, that savored of popery, produced among orthodox and devout Lutherans, were excessive. Those who opposed Major, were alarmed by his un- guarded expressions, and apprehended that the Gospel doctrine of Justifi- cation by faith in Christ alone, wiiliout human ivorks or merit, w^ould be endan- gered, unless they silenced him. The controversy, in its most energetic form, terminated about seven years after Arndt's birth, but the indirect efi*ects of the misconceptions connected w-ith the great topic of this con- troversy, were deeply felt by him. — The Synergistic controversy, relating to the question whether man could co-operate with the Holy Spirit in the work of his conversion, began in the year in wdiich Arndt w^as born, and was maintained with great energy during several years. — The so-called Cryptocalvinistic controversy, referring mainly to the doctrine of the Lord's Supper, and involving certain important questions respecting the Person of Christ, commenced about three years before Arndt's birth, and agitated the church during many years. — These, and other subjects on which also controversies had arisen, were, in the good providence of God, at length calmly considered by learned and devout Lutheran theologians, conscientiously examined in the light of the divine Word, impartially de- cided, and set forth, in the year 1580, in the Formula of Concord, the last of the special Lutheran creeds, all the doctrines of which Arndt cordially INTEODUCTION. xix received, as he repeatedly declared in an official manner on various occa- sions, in his writings, in his last will and testament, and on his death-bed. (See below §§ 24, 25.) The very great reverence wMth which he regarded this noble creed, and his attachment to it, are to be ascribed not only to the spotless purity of the doctrines which it sets forth, but also to the good work which it performed in successfully and permanently deciding several very important questions which had latterly arisen, and on which the preceding creeds had not authoritatively and fully pronounced. It is, however, obvious, that even after these storms subsided, the waves would long remain in commotion, and it was precisely in these troublous times that Arndt labored in the ministry. § 16. The catalogue of the difficulties which awaited him, is not yet exhausted. We have to add, as a part of the history of the times, when an extraordinary number of political and ecclesiastical contentions pre- vailed, the excitement of feeling which certain differences of doctrine between the Lutherans and the Reformed engendered, and wliich would never have risen to the fearful height in which history now exhibits it to us, if political power, controlled alternately by the two religious parties in some of the German principalities, had not been invoked by them. The awful death by fire, which terminated the career of Servetus (Oct. 27, 1553, two years before the birth of Arndt, and more than six years after the death of Luther), was decreed by the civil authorities of Geneva, but was sanctioned by Calvin and even the gentle Melanchthon — a sad example of the clouded views of men at that time respecting religious liberty and the right of civil rulers to punish men for their errors in the faith. § 17. In the Palatinate (the ancient Pfalz, the territories of which are now distributed among Bavaria, Prussia, etc.) the Lutheran Church had been established, and popery ceased to exist. But in 1560, a few years after Arndt's birth, the Elector, Frederick IIL, withdrew from the church, and adopted the Reformed faith and usages. His successor, Lewis VI., endeavored to restore the ascendency of Lutheranism ; but after his brief reign, the authorities which succeeded, established ^' Calvinism" (the term employed in Church History) on a permanent basis. A similar ecclesiastico- civil revolution occurred in Bremen in 1562; fourteen Lutheran pastors and the Lutheran members of the City Council were expelled, and the city became Reformed. Such changes occurred elsewhere. Both parties were undoubtedly more or less honest in adhering to their doctrinal views; ' and both claimed the right to depose and exile those of an opposite faith, whenever the civil and political power was, in either case, directed by them. § 18. Let it now be remembered that these contending Protestants, Lu- theran and Reformed or Calvinistic, were led by men respective!}-, who were confessedly intelligent, learned, and endowed with great abilities, mau}^ of whom were not only honest in expressing their convictions, but also conscientious in their conduct, whether they were governed by an XX INTEODUCTION. erring or an onliorhtened conscience. That the latter is historically true, is demonstrated by their readiness, when they lost power, to submit to im{)risonment or exile, rather tlian to renounce their respective creeds. They were all too well acquainted w^ith Bible truth to look with other feelings than with horror on the popish creed. But while their own Prot- estant creed was very precious to their souls, they could not tolerate any departure from it, even if that departure was not in the direction " towards Eome." That departure must, as they judged, necessarily be equivalent to a denial of God's truth, as they believed that they had found it in the Bible. Thus all were alike sensitive — all seemed to feel that if they toler- ated any error, ihat error could not be trivial — it was, as far as it extended, a denial of God's truth Could they safely assume the shame and guilt of such a sin ? We may add, that we are here speaking only of the honesi leaders of the Lutherans and the Eeformed, of whom each man judged and acted for himself, as one who was accountable to God. 'Bo honest Reformed theologian would have screened a Reformed heretic from con- demnation ; and no lionest Lutlieran would, for a moment, have tolerated a nominal Lutheran, who rejected any part of the creed of the church. § 19. At the same time, all these men were fallible creatures, subject to all the errors of judgment, and to all the passions and infirmities inci- dent to fallen man. They often supposed that their intentions were pure, when selfish niotiv^es governed them, and their jealous guardianship of God's truth was combined with a jealous love for their personal opinions. It was under these circumstances, when each party watched with extreme jealousy over the purity of the faith, as adopted by it, and when, besides, many private interests — personal, political, and pecuniary — exercised vast influence, that Arndt entered on his labors. — We have introduced the above details, in order to explain his declarations in the preface to Book L § 8, that he rejects the Synergistic, Majoristic, etc., errors, and enter- tains no other views except those which are set forth in the Lutheran Symbolical Books. § 20. When he commenced his labors in Brunswick, he was the youngest member of the " ministerium" of the city, that is, of the college composed of the pastors of the several city churches, all of which at that time strictly adhered to the Lutheran creed. He had long lamented that, in consequence of the infelicity of the times, which caused endless doc- % trinal controversies, the parties of which were many. Papists, Mystics, Unitarians, Reformed, Lutherans, etc., the attention of many persons was diverted from the practical duties of a Christian life, and directed exclu- sively to controversies on points of doctrine; the result w^as, that the understanding was actively exercised, but the heart was not properly afiected. Such considerations induced him to write Book L of his " True Christianity." It was his object to show that God demands a holy life, proceeding from faith in Christ, and that no jealousy concerning the INTRODUCTIOK xxi purity of the creed will atone for the absence of the fruits of the Spirit, as exhibited in the life and conduct of the individual. Hence he insists with a warmth unusual in that excited and controversial age, on repent- ance, on faith in Christ, and on a holy life. Possibly, the apparently sweeping assertions which occasionally occur in his writings, to the effect that the majority of his contempoi'aries lacked a heavenly spirit, acquired their sombre hue in consequence of the publicity given to human frailties, and the retirement and shade in which vast numbers of holy men pre- ferred to dwell. His Book L, which constitutes the principal part of the work, was first published in Jena, in the year 1605; a second and improved edition appeared in 1607. § 21. It consisted principally of the matter which he had introduced in a course of practical sermons previously delivered by him on week-days. It attracted great attention, and was rapidly circulated throughout Ger- many. The modest and retiring author, without expecting such a result, at once became a celebrity. ITevertheless, new trials now commenced. An envious feeling seems to have been engendered in the hearts of several of his colleagues in the " ministerium " of the city, when they noticed the honor which the author had undesignedly gained. Perhaps, too, the con- troversial spirit of the times, and the jealousy of good men respecting the faith, which was assailed on all sides — by Papists, Calvinists, Unitarians, fanatics, etc., — may have led them to scrutinize the book with too sus- picious eyes. All held firmly to the Gospel doctrine of Justification by faith alone, without works. Xow, when they found that Arndt insisted with such earnestness on the evidences of faith, as furnished by a holy life, they were morbidly aff'ected, and apprehended that the doctrine of justification by faith alone, which their bittej' enemies, the Papists, de- nounced, had not been guarded with sufiicient care by Arndt. Other expressions, again, which they did not interpret impartially, led them to fear that he was introducing mysticism and other morbid religious systems into the Church. The reproaches which he was compelled to hear, deterred him for some time from fulfilling his promise of adding three other ''Books" to Book I. The complete work may be regarded as consisting of Four Books, as published in 1609. At a considerably later period a fifth, and then a sixth book, were added. The former was designed as an explanation and recapitulation of the Four Books, and the latter, consisting in part of letters addressed to various eminent theologians, besides having the same object in view, w^as intended also to defend the doctrinal and ethical positions assumed in the Four Books. As they partake of the nature of an appendix, and refer, to some extent, to mis- understandings belonging to an earlier age, the Latin versions omit them, and this example was followed by the English translator. § 22. Arndt was freed from the unpleasani relations in which he stood to his colleagues in Brunswick, in which city he had spent about ten years, xxii INTRODUCTION. by a call wliicli he received in 1608 to enter a new field of labor in Eisleben. This city, which, as in the days of Luther (who was born and baptized, and who also died there), still belonged to the territory of the Counts of Mans- feld, is at present incorporated with the kingdom of Prussia (Province of Saxony). It was here that Arndt ventured to publish the whole of the Four Books of his " True Christianity." In this new position, his admirable character and spirit were justly appreciated alike by his patrons, the Counts of Mansfeld, by his colleagues, and by the people. The fidelity with which he remained at his post during the prevalence of an epidemic that cari icd ofi:* many of the inhabitants, his self-sacrificing spirit in the discharge ot his pastoral duties, and his judicious course as an assessor of the local consivstory, demonstrated the true nobility of his soul — the spirit of the divine Redeemer. However, eveu though his relations with all who surrounded him were of the most friendly character, he did not remain longer than about two years and a half in Eisleben. He had been repeatedly invited to assume important charges, which he declined to accept; lor while he had ol'ten found opponents, his great personal merit, his eminent services, both as a preacher of the Gospel and as an author of devotional works, and his godly spirit, had secured for him the respect, confidence, and love of the whole religious public. Duke George of Brunswick-LUneburg, who at that time resided in Celle (Zelle), invited Inm, in the year 1611, to accept the two ofiices of court-preacher and of General Superintendent of ecclesiastical affairs in the principalities of Brunswick and Luneburg. (Celle was subsequently attached to the king- dom of Hanover, but has, in the most recent times, been absorbed, with the contiguous territories, by Prussia.) The Count of Mansfeld very reluctantly consented to A^rndt's removal; the latter, however, believed that it had become his duty to enter the wide and inviting field of labor which Providence had opened to him. The reigning duke, who was deeply interested in the welfare of the Lutheran Church, judiciously and vigorously sustained his new court-preacher in all his labors. The latter, in addition to his ordinary pastoral duties, visited the congregations of the whole territory, introduced various ecclesiastical reforms, and continued till his death, which occurred May 11, 1621, to enjoy the divine blessing himself, and to be a blessing to all whom his influence reached. If he was born during a stormy period, and lived in an age of controversies which wounded his soul, he was, nevertheless, like Luther, very happy in being permitted to terminate his labors precisely at the time when he was called away. For, as Luther closed his eyes in peace during the year which preceded the disastrous battle of Mlihlberg (April 24, 1547), so Arndt lell asleep soon after the Thirty Years' War began, before the world saw those horrors which lano-uao-e fails to describe in their awful extent. He had contracted a disease of the throat, which was subsequently aggra- vated by a violent fever; and his exhausted frame at length yielded to the INTRODUCTIOK xxiii assault of disease. He sent for his friend and brother, tlie Hcv. William Storch, early in the morning of May 0. After being placed on a chair, he liumbly made a general confession of his sins, declared once more thjit he adhered as heretofore to the pure doctrine of God's word and rejected every error, and then, with all the cheerfulness of Christian faith, received the Lord's Sapper. Dr. Morris, in the work referred to, in a note above, quotes from his authorities the following: " Mr. Storch then addressed him (in language similar to that which Dr. Jonas used in speaking to the dying Luther) as follows: ^ I do not doubt, that as you have never enter- tained any doctrine contrary to God's word, but have always continued lirm and steadfast in the pare, unadulterated word, the Scriptures of the prophets and apostles, the Augsburg Confession, and other Symbolical Books of the Lutheran Church, and most heartily and sincerely despised and rejected all contrary doctrines, so you will also by God's grace main- tain to the end the same doctrines and faith which you have publicly preached and professed.' Arndt replied several times, in a weak but intelligible voice, most decisively, * Yes, yes, that I will, even to the end.' " On the 11th of May he began to sink rapidly, but was still able to repeat many of his favorite texts, such as Ps. 143 : 2, and John o : 24. After having slept a short time, he awoke, looked upward, and exclaimed with a comparatively loud voice: We beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1 : 14. Ilis wife asked him when he had seen that glory." He replied: "I saw it just now. O what a glory it is ! It is the glory which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man to conceive of. This is the glory which I saw." — When he heard the clock striking at eight in the evening, he asked what the hour w^as. When it struck again, he re- peated the question. On being told that it was striking nine, he said: "ITow I have overcome all." These were the last words of this ''good soldier of Jesus Christ." 2 Tim. 2:3. He lay perfectly still until after midnight, when he breathed his last. God had given him a peaceful death. The serenity of his soul in his last hours seemed to linger on his features, even after the spirit had departed. § 23. Two dukes of Brunswick-Liineburg followed him to the grave (May 15th), as a testimony of their sense of the great worth of their revered spiritual guide. The text of the funeral sermon, delivered by Rev. Mr. Storch, consisted of the words, "I have fought a good fight," etc. 2 Tim. 4: 7, 8. His remains were deposited in the church at Celle. The tomb exhibits the following inscription : Qui Jesum vidit, qui mundum et daemona vicit, Arndius in scriptis vivit ovatque suis. (That is: Arndt, who saio Jesus, and conquered the icorld and the devil, lives and triumphs in his writings.) xxiv INTEODUCTIOK § 24. ISTothing could be more unjust than any charge affecting the purity of the faitii of Arndt as a Lutheran Christian. His general orthodoxy was always readily admitted; a few unreasonable and prejudiced men, however, who suspected that mysticism and other errors were concealed in the "True Christianity," although the existence of such matter could not be established, nevertheless alleged, Avith a certain morbid feeling, that Arndt did not adopt the entire creed of the Lutheran Church, as set forth in " all her symbolical books." This circumstance accounts for the frequency and earnestness with which he declares his uncondiiioval accept- ance of, and hearty belief in, all the details of the Lutheran faith. Thus the reader will find, ut the close of the Preface to Book L, an emphatic declaration of his recognition of the doctrines of all the Si/mbolical Books, the names of which he enumerates in full. See, also, the conclusion of Book IL, and the conclusion of the Preface to Book lY., where similar declarations occur. He repeats them in his Preface to Book VL, where he employs the following language: My dear reader, inasmuch as our holy Christian faith, the pure evangelical doctrine, has, for about one hundred years, been elucidated, purified, and sufiiciently explained, in accordance with the rule of the holy Word of God, and also been cleansed from many errors through the means of two glorious and praiseworthy confessions of faith, namely, the Augsburg Confession, and the Formula of Concord, which have hitherto been, and still continue to be, my own confession of faith ; and, inasmuch as some have, at the same time, uttered complaints respecting the ungodly manner of life of the present world, with which the Christian faith cannot coexist; therefore, I wrote, some years ago. Four Books on True Christianity, in which I have depicted the internal, and, also, the external Christian life. For although the pure doctrine is the foremost point of true Christianity, I have, nevertheless, not wished to treat of it in a special manner, as this has been copiously and superabundantly done by others, and is still daily done: and 1 have taken only the Christian life as my subject." This Book VL appeared somewhat less than a year before his death, and gives special prominence to the last of the Lutheran confessions of faith — the Formula of Concord — in which the doctrines concerning the Person of Christ, the Lord's Supper, etc., are set forth in all their details; he thus repeats anew his cordial acceptance of the doctrines contained therein. In a letter of thanks addressed to Dr. Mentzer, of Giessen (Book VL, Part IL, Letter 7), he expressly rejects the serious doctrinal errors of Schwenkfeldt respecting the Scriptures, the Person of Christ, the two Sacraments, etc., and adds: "These errors have been publicly condemned and rejected, partly in the Augsburg Confession, and partly in the Formula of Concord, after the pure doctrine was firmly established." lie concurs, of course, in the condemnation of such errors. — Li Letter 8, of the same Book, addressed to Dr. Piscator, of Jena, he says: " I call on the great God, the Searcher of hearts, as my witness, that it was INTRODUCTION. XXV not in my mind, in anjthin^^ which I have written, to depart from the true reh'gion of the Augsburg Confession and the Formula of Concord, and that I had no intention to disseminate erroneous opinions, mucli less to defend any which conflicted with the Symbolical Books of our Church." § 25. On his death-bed he repeated anew, as we have seen, that he con- tinued, as heretofore, to adhere faithfully to the pure evangelical doctrine. In the two copies of his last will and testament, of the years 1610 and 1616, he solemnly declares that he had always held with full consciousness and understanding the doctrines of the Augsburg Confession and the Formula of Concord, and never departed from their contents either in his public teaching or his private views, that he never would adopt any other faith, and that he prayed that the grace of God might sustain him in this frame of mind until his last hour should come. The singularly emphatic manner in which, on every appropriate occasion — and many of such occurred — he declared his sincere belief in the peculiar and distinctive doctrines of the Lutheran Church, in all their details, as set forth in her Symbolical Books, by no means proceeded from a narrow-minded secta- rian feeling. " Christ is all, and in all ' ' (Col. 3 : 11) — these apostolic ^vords indicate the spirit of Arndt's religion. He could not sympathize with the Papist, who robs Christ of the glory which belongs exclusively to his atoning work — not with the Unitarian, who attempts to dethrone Him — not wnth the fanatic, who, even when honest, is misguided by passion and spiritual pride — not with the unbeliever, who flees from the shame of the cross — not even with his Reformed fellow-Christians, whose merits he readily acknowledged, but whose rejection of the Lutheran doctrine re- specting the Person of Christ and the Lord's Supper, as set forth especially in the Formula of Concord, grieved his soul. He had found the precious Gospel truth, which constituted his life, to be identical with the creed of his Church, and with ihai creed alone, in all its glorious fulness. He could not consent to sacrifice one jot or one tittle of the Augsburg Confession, nor could he assign to it an isolated position, even though Zwingli and his associates readily adopted it, with tl>e single exception of Article X. Nor did his heart or his conscience allow him to ignore the other Lutheran Symbols. The Augsburg Confession undoubtedly contained the pure truth of the Gospel, without any admixture of errors; but, owing to the circum- stances and the times in which it originated, when it was the great object of Luther and his associates to justify their course in withdrawing from antichristian Rome, it confined itself to those principles which were then specially debated. Hence Calvin, who difiered so widely on some points from the fully developed Lutheran creed, readily adopted and subscribed it at Strasburg. — The Apology, or Vindication of the Augsburg Confession, set forth, among others, the cardinal doctrine of the Lutheran laith, namely, J ustification by faith alone, with extraordinary power and purity. Its full, lucid, and strictly scriptural character has never been successfully con- xxvi INTRODUCTION. trovortod. For tliis very reason the Apology was rejected by Papists, as it now is practically by Kationalists and others who depend on human merit, and are unwilling to give all lionor to the Saviour alone. — The Smakabl Articles, which Luther prepared in order to set forth the points on which no Protestant or Bible Christian could make any concession to Popery, are also offensive to Papists, to Pationalists, and to the unbelieving and impenitent generally, as they contain the pure evangelical truth, which humbles man, while it exalts God. — The Two Catechisms (the Large and the Small) furnish materials for popular instruction in revealed truth, which have never been equalled by otlier manuals, in their adaptation to the object, their fulness, and their purity. Hence, a friend of divine truth, like Arndt, who took so deep an interest in the religious education of the young, could not do otherwise than regard them as of inestimable value. An enemy of the truth would naturally disavow them. — The Formula of Concord — the last of the series of Lutheran Confessions of Faith, and the one which Arndt appears to have prized most highl}' — was intended, as we have shown above, to determine various important points involved in the controversies which had arisen in the bosom of the Lutheran Church before or at the time when he was born. The very circumstance that this Symbol was demanded by the exigencies of the Church, demonstrates that the Augsburg Confession was not originally designed to be a fall ami complete confession of faith, but only a statement of points discussed during the infancy of the Reformation. While it excludes every error which might dishonor God, and confirm the impenitent sinner in his evil course, it completes the previous Symbols, and forms with them an undivided and harmonious whole, exhibiting with brilliancy, power, and spotless purity the Person of the God-Man, Jesus Christ, and glorifies God alone. A confession of faith which so unreservedly unveils the fearful character of Original Sin, while it so fully explains and establishes the true doctrine of the Lord's Supper, would naturally be unwelcome to an impenitent heart; whereas, the devout Arndt found nothing in it but animating and heavenly truth. Hence he desired to be regarded as simply an Evangelical Lutheran Christian, — an adherent of the Formula of Concord. § 26. Religion assumed an unusually attractive and beautiful form in Arndt, and is strikingly shadowed forth in his True Christianity;" this work is an adtnirable portraiture of his inner man. He was naturally of a grave, but not by any means of an unsocial or gloomy disposition; he would not otherwise have been styled "the Fenelon of Protestantism." Dr. Wildenhahn, whose charming work (entitled Johannes Arndt) embodies strictly accurate historical notices, and derives only subordinate matter, such as incidents in domestic life, conversations, etc., from analogy and a fruitful imagination, exhibits him in the true light, as an affectionate hus- band, a cheerful companion, a generous and self-sacrificing friend of the flick and the poor — in short, as a model in all the relations of life. There INTRODUCTION. xxvil is no exaggeration in this language. lie possessed great firmness of char- acter; indeed, a truly heroic spirit dwelt in him. lie manifested this trait on many trying occasions — not only when he preferred poverty and exile to a denial of a single Gospel truth or Lutheran usage, but also in many other scenes of conflict. The ravages of the pestilence could not alarm his heroic soul; the open and violent denunciations of enemies he always encountered in the spirit of Him who said : " If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why smitest thou me?" (John 18:23.) There was a certain calmness or gentleness in his manner of treating his enemies, which, combined with his earnestness and candor in repelling their calumnies, invariably subdued them. Love — love, not to the amia- ble and good, or to the poor and sorrowing alone, but also to his enemies — was too often and too variously manifested, to leave the spectator in doubt respecting its true source — a genuine faith in Christ, and deep, ardent love to Him. In truth, it is here that the peculiar type of his religion is seen ; he lived more in heaven than on earth. The sacerdotal prayer of Christ (John, Chap. 17) was an unfailing source of light, of hope, of peace and joy to his soul. Expressions like these : " As thou. Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us" (ver. 21) — "I in them, and thou in me, etc." (ver. 23), and language like that of Paul: "Christ in you, etc." (Col. 1 : 27), furnished him virtually with the for- mula : " Christ in me, and I in Christ." Such was his faith in Christ, and such was his love to Him, that he was always calm and hopeful. Hence features appeared in his religious character which his worldly-minded contemporaries could not fully appreciate; they were formed by two dif- ferent series of Gospel doctrines, which cannot come in conflict, but which relate to two entirely different objects — Christ, the Saviour, and fallen man. No one more sincerely embraced the doctrine of Original Sin, as held b}^ the Lutheran Church, than Arndt did ; of this his writings furnish the evidence. His own searching self-examination, constantly maintained in the light of Scripture, revealed to him the utter corruption of his own heart by nature; he found nothing in himself but sin. He was conscious that he could do nothing without Christ, and deeply felt that grace — nothing but grace — could renew his nature, and save him. These convic- tions induced him to insist with such earnestness, in his Four Books, on the true and genuine repentance of the sinner. At the same time, there w^as nothing like sternness, gloom, or despondency connected with his sincere and profound self-abasement. For he received with equal strength of faith another series of truths — he believed with all his heart that " after the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which w^e have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost ; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to xxviii INTRODUCTION. the liope of eternal life." Tit. 3 : 4-7. Here a new tide of emotions flowed tlirouiih liis 80ul. Wonder, joy, gratitude, love, took possession of liim. His large lieart was full of happiness that the lost could be found and saved — that "where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." Eom. 6 : 20. And now, when these two distinct principles appear in him in their practical union, the type of liis religion is clearly developed. He was grave and earnest, humble, and free from all confidence in himself, for lie was "by nature a child of wrath." Eph. 2: 3. But, on the other hand, God had, in pity and in love, given him a Saviour, engrafted him in that Saviour through Holy Baptism, bestowed on him the fulness of grace, and invited him, as a repentant, believing, pardoned child of Adam, to enter heaven. If sin abounded through the first Adam, grace did, through the second Adam (1 Cor. 15 : 45), much more abound. His writings, therefore, now assume a very cheerful character — love is the prevailim^ theme. Nothing morose appears in them — sorrow for sin and repentance — faith in Christ and love to him, are his soul-inspiring themes, and a cheerful spirit, a sense of fervent, joyful gratitude to God, a heav- enly calm, pervade alike his heart and its language as uttered in the *'True Christianity." § 27. The essential features of vital godliness are always the same; yet " there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit." 1 Cor. 12 : 4. Paul insists on faith ; John, on love. Luther's religion was, like that of Arndt, earnest, an.d yet cheerful. Both were enabled by their personal experience to understand the nature of these Christian virtues, and also the distinc- tion between them. Luther dwells with wonderful power on faith. Arndt delights to speak of God's lore. There is something very beautiful in these difierent developments of true godliness in the servants of Christ, w]]ile the influences of the same divine Spirit controls them alike. § 28. It would be an error to suppose that the whole world had risen up in arms against Arndt, after he had assumed his position as an humble and devout Christian. Vast numbers received his First Book on True Christianity with gratitude and joy. It enlightened their minds ; it con- trolled the conscience; it diffused the warmth of life through their souls; and they thanked God that such a book, so full of love, had been given to the world. A comparatively small number of men rose up against him. Certain individuals, such as his colleague, Denecke, a co-pastor of the same congregation in Brunswick, were, no doubt, influenced by envy and per- sonal dislike. But others who opposed him, were by no means governed solely by unworthy personal considerations. Some of them were so much concerned about "questions and strifes of words" (1 Tim. 6:4), that they overlooked and misconceived the heavenly-mindedness of Arndt. Others, who did him injustice, were led astray by the infelicity of the times. We have already referred to the disastrous influences of the mysticism and fanaticism which, in addition to other corruptions of the true faith, had INTEODUCTION. xxix appeared al}out, and after, the period of the birth of Arndt. For instance, the Swiss physician, Paracelsus (who died as a Roman Catholic in 1541), had published various fantastic and mystical writings, in which he professed that he understood both mundane and supermundane mysteries. Now a certain Lutheran pastor in Saxony, named Weigel, who died in 1588, and who had been confessedly a man of an upright walk and conversation, had yielded to a tendency to the mysticism and theosophy of Paracelsus. He was thus led theoretically to undervalue the doctrines of the church, and to represent them as merely allegorical forms, involving truths not known to ordinary men. The natural results of his theory, if its folly had not been exposed, would unquestionably have serioiisly affected the au- thority of the WM'itten Word. Before his writings were published, a friend had communicated to Arndt a short extract from them, which contained none of his errors; the author's name had been withheld. Arndt, in his innocence, inserted the passage in his book, and was thus burdened with the odium of all the Weigelian errors ; but he was subsequently released from all censure, and his freedom from anything like the mysticism of "Weigel was generally conceded. § 29. Another ground of the charge of mysticism which his opponents advanced, was found in his repeated references in the ''True Chris- tianity" to Tauler. Here, too, Arndt made a brilliant defence, by quot- ing the great Luther as his authority. The latter had obtained possession of a manuscript without a title or an author's name, which deeply in- terested him. It dwelt entirely on the communion of the soul with God, and on kindred topics. Luther, whose godliness was healthy and sound, was so much charmed with the work, that he published a part of it at Wittenberg in 1516, and prefixed the title: ''A spiritual, noble little work, explaining the distinction betw^een the old and the new man; showing, also, who are the children of Adam and the children of God, and how Adam must die in us, and Christ live in us." During the course of the next year he published the whole work, with an extended Preface of his own, and adopted the title : "A German Theology"; this general title it has since retained. It was received with unbounded favor, and circulated rapidly throughout Europe, for instance, in three English, seven Latin, four French, etc., translations, besides numerous editions of the original German. It was supposed to have been written by Tauler, a very devout man, who was born in the year 1290. His religious tenden- cies led him, like Luther, to enter a monastery. The sermons and other writings which he left behind, while their general character assign to him a place among those who are denominated '' Mystics," nevertheless abound in holy and devout aspirations, and w^ere dictated by a spirit that sought and found peace in the grace of God alone. — Arndt entertained the opinion that the " German Theology" was a production of his pen, and 80 represents the case in his " True Ohristianity." It is now, however, XXX INTRODUCTION. generally conceded, in consequence of an allusion in the work itself to Tauler as a religious teacher of an earlier day, that anotlier person, be- longing to a later period, was the writer; his name is still involved in impenetrable darkness. — So, too, it is by no means certain that Thomas d Kempis (born in 1380), was the author of the popular book "On the Imi- tation of Christ," of which more than two thousand editions in the origi- nal language, more than one thousand in French, besides innumerable others in German, English, etc., have been published. The historical arguments, adduced chiefly by French writers, intended to support the claims of the eminent Gerson (born in 1363), as the author, although not entirely conclusive, are still possessed of great weight. — Arndt incident- ally remarks in a brief statement respecting the " German Theology," that his copy, printed at Wittenberg in 1520, contained simply the remark that the book had been written by a devout priest of the city of Frank- fort, for devotional purposes, but the author's name w^as withheld. If Luther sanctioned the publication of the "German Theology," Arndt could calmly listen to those who censured him for adopting a similar course. Those extracts at least, which he furnishes in the " True Chris- tianity," are, unquestionably^ evangelical and truly edifying. § 30. It will, perhaps, gratify the reader to observe the skill with which Wildenhahn, to whom we have already referred, illustrates the childlike simplicity of Arndt's character, by combining fiction with truth. During his Brunswick pastorate, the City Council of Halberstadt sent him an urgent call to become the successor of the deceased Rev. D. Sachse, as jiastor of the church of St. Martin in that city. After he had consulted with his intelligent wife, who, like himself, w^as anxious to withdraw to any spot where peace could be found, he resolved to accept the call; and, in accordance with custom and law, applied to the Brunswick City Coun- cil for letters of honorable dismission. When the question was to be decided, Arndt appeared in the presence of the burgomaster. Kale, the syndic. Dr. Boerhand, and other members of the Council, and renew^ed his request. These details are historically true. Wildenhahn now sub- joins the following: "Tell me honestly," said the syndic to him, "have you really, as you allege, taken no steps whatever, in order to obtain this call from Halberstadt?" "Not a single step," said Arndt, in a solemn manner, with his right hand on his heart, "the whole is altogether and exclusively a work of God." But at the moment when he pronounced this solemn declaration, it became evident to those who were present, that a sudden thought had startled him; he changed color; he began to tremble; he suddenly covered his eyes with his left hand. Then, with a voice betraying deep emotion, he added: " Gentlemen, I have borne false witness! I really did do something to obtain this call." "Ah!" said Kale quickly, delighted, as it seemed, to find an opportunity for displaying his official dignity, " You did? Pray, tell us what it was." "I prayed INTRODUCTIOK XX xi to tlio blessed Lord with tears, that he would assign to me some other spot ill his vineyard, no matter how insignificant, if I could only there preach his word in peace." "And was that all ?" inquired the burgo- master, much surprised, and speaking in more gentle tones. That was all," replied Arndt, "and this is true, as God lives! But, doubtless, I erred here, in impatiently attempting to dictate to God, etc." Such sim- plicity of character, such perfect ingenuousness, such a wonderful freedom from artifice and disguise, completely disarmed the members of the Council. They now understood better than previously the artlessness and spirituality of the man before them, and, after that scene, they ac- corded to him entire esteem and coniidence. § 31. The great work of Arndt — the " True Christianity," has probably never had its equal as a popular book of devotion. Tholuck relates the following anecdote as an illustration of the manner in which even Papists .could appreciate the merits of the work. When Prof. Anton, of Halle, visited Madrid in 1687, he examined the library of the Jesuits, and inci- dentally inquired of the librarian respecting the ascetic writer whom they esteemed more than other authors of devotional works. The latter ex- hibited a Latin book, the title-page and last leaves of which were wanting, and declared that it was the most edifying work which they possessed. "When Anton examined it, he discovered that it was a translation of Arndt's ''''True Christianity \ It is only common justice to allow the author to state the objects which he had in view, in preparing the work. The following passage occurs in a letter which he addressed in the last year of his life to Duke Augustus the Younger, of Brunswick: " Li the first place, I wished to withdraw the minds of students and preachers from an inordinate controversial and polemic theology, which has well- nigh assumed the form of an earlier scholastic theology. Secondly, I pur- posed to conduct Christian believers from lifeless thoughts to such as might bring forth fruit. Thirdly, I wished to guide them onward from mere science and theory, to the actual practice of faith and godliness; and, fourthly, to show them wherein a truly Christian life consists, which accords with the true faith, as well as to explain the apostle's meaning when he says: 'I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in rne,' etc." (Gal. 2 : 20.) § 32. The Rev. Dr. Seiss, the author of "Ecclesia Lutherana, etc.," to whose endeavors the religious public is mainly indebted for the appear- ance of the present edition, remarks in a recent notice of the work: " This is one of the very greatest and most useful practical books pro- duced by Protestantism. Though written more than two hundred and fifty years ago, it is still unsurpassed in its department. It stands out with marked and superior distinction in the modern ages. Next to the Bible and Luther's Small Catechism, it has been more frequently printed, more widely read, and more influential for good, than any other book, C xxxii INTRODUCTION. perliaps, that lias ever been written. Boehm has not exaggerated, when he says that its eftects, in the conversion of souls, has been such, that an account of them would make a history in itself. Kor can any one can- didly read it, without finding on every page, scintillations of the sunlike splendors of a mind bathed in the purity, wisdom, and love of heaven." Mr. Boehm, in the Preface to his translation (which is the basis both of the revision of Mr. Jacques, and of the present edition), remarks, that among the learned men in Great Britain, who had read the Latin transla- tion, the distinguished Dr. Worthington had assigned the first rank among devotional writers to Arndt, and quotes the enthusiastic terms in which he extols that "faithful servant of God, John Arndt." And Mr. Jacques closes the Prefiice to his revision with the following words: " Divines of all communions and persuasions, have united in their admiration of this delightful production. The late learned Dr. Edward Williams has in- serted it in his valuable Appendix to the Christian Preacher : and the Rev. John Wesley made a most copious extract from it, comprised in Vol. I. and II. of his Christian Library." § 33. And truly God did not design this great work solely for the com- fort and aid of the German nation during the Thirty Years' War (1618- 1648), but for all nations and all times. It has been translated into the Latin, Danish, Swedish, Bohemian, Polish, Low Dutch, English, French, Turkish, Russian, Malabar, Tamul, etc., languages. At least two edi- tions of the work in a Latin translation were published in England; the last appeared in 1708, with the following title : " Joannis Arndtii, Theolo- gici, etc. : De vero Christianismo. Libri lY. Cura et studio A. W. Boemi. Lond. 1708." 2 vols. 8vo. — Another Latin edition was published in Ger- many in 1624. The Tamul translation had the following Latin title: "De vero Christianismo, in Tamulicum convertit Benjamin Schulzius, Mis- sionarius Evangelicus."* § 34. The work had made so deep an impression on learned British Christians, who read it in Latin, that the wish w^as repeatedly and earn- estly expressed that it might be made accessible to English readers. At this period, that is, during the reign of Queen Anne of England (who died in 1714), large numbers of German emigrants from the Palatinate passed through England on their way to the provinces of l^ew York and * The first Latin translation, published at Leipsic in 1704, was prepared by the joint labors of Dr. J. G. Dorscheus and Dr. J. G. Pritius. (The latter published about the same time his Introductio in lectionem N. T., etc., which was highly valued, and passed through several edi- tions ; our own copy is dated 1737.) An extended Preface was furnished by Pritius. The whole is presented in a single and very clumsy volume. — The Latin translation published by Mr. Boehm in London, 1708, and dedicated to his patron, Prince George, appeared in two neat and convenient volumes, and is far superior to the continental edition. Copies of these editions, which are now rarely to be found, were obtained by us from the very rich collection of such works, belonging to Rev. Dr. C. P. Krauth, of West Philadelphia. INTEODUCTIOIs. xxxiii Pennsylvania. The Rev. Anthony William Boehm. a German Lutheran clergyman, had previously been appointed as the court chaplain of Prince George of Denmark, the consort of Queen Anne. His enlightened zeal and devout heart led him to take a deep interest, not only in the tem- poral, but also in the spiritual welfare of these pilgrims, who were on their way to the wilds of North America. He accordingly supplied them, by the aid of certain like-minded friends, with German Bibles and Hymn Books, and also with German copies of Arndt's True Christianity," as well as with other books of devotion. This interesting fact is men- tioned in the letters of Dr. Muhlenberg, published in the well-known Halle Reports {Hallische Nachrichien, pp. 665, 793). But Mr. Boehm also resolved to furnish the people, in the midst of whom he lived, with the great work of his favorite author, in their own language, and accordingly prepared an English translation, which was first printed in London in 1712. § 35. It would be unjust to the memory of this excellent man, if we should fail to refer to his literary labors. His high office at the royal court of England, is an evidence of his personal merit. He was not only a devout and faithful preacher of the Gospel, but also an author who acquired distinction. In 1734 he published a very valuable work in the German language, entitled: Eight Books, on the Reformation of the Church in England, extending from the year 1526, under Henry VIII., to the reign of Charles 11." In a very beautiful eulogy, in manuscript, found in the volume before us, the writer refers to the successful efibrts of Mr. Boehm to provide for the education of the children of the poor in his vicinity. He died May 27, 1722, in his fiftieth year, after having faith- fully labored in the service of Christ. He sustained, with eminent success, the Danish Lutheran missionaries in Tranquebar, by sending pecuniary aid obtained in London, as well as religious publications. Besides his great German historical work, which is the complement of Burnet's His- tory of the Reformation of the Church of England," he also published several English compositions, such as a "Sermon on the doctrine of Orig- inal Sin, Eph. 4 : 22," printed in London, 1711, and a "Sermon on the Duty of the Reformation (Jubilee), Rev. 18 : 4," London, 1718, besides various religious works in the German language. § 36. About the beginning of the present century, the Rev. Calvin Chaddock, who resided in Hanover, Massachusetts, obtained a copy of Mr. Boehm's translation, "accidentally," as he says, and found it to-be so valuable, that he resolved to issue an American edition, which accordingly appeared in 1809, Boston. In his short Preface lie remarks, with great truth, that the language of the translation "appears to be somewhat an- cient, and the sentiments in some few instances obscure." He adds, in reference to his own agency : " The only alterations which have been made, are such as respect redundant and obsolete words, orthography, the addi- xxxiv INTEODUCTION. tion of some words, and the transposition of some sentences; that the ideas of the translator might appear more conspicuous." He might have, with great advantage, been even more liberal than he was, in correcting the style; it still remained in numerous passages heavy and obscure. As the style, even of tlie original German, is somewhat antiquated, and as, besides, occasional obscurities and repetitions occur, a later successor in one of Arndt's pastoral charges, the Rev. J. F. Fedderson, assumed the task of revising and abridging the whole of the original German, improving or modernizing the style, and occasionally adding new matter. Tlie result of liis labors does not appear to liave received the entire approbation of the German religious world ; the original and unaltered work continues so popular, that no permanent place has been secured for the substitute. A portion of Fedderson's production was translated and published in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, in 1834, by the Rev. John Hoffman, Pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran congregation of that place. The translation was never completed. The part which was given, consisting mainly of Book L, has long since been out of print. § 37. In the year 1815, a new edition of Mr. Boehm's English transla- tion was issued in London (evidently without any reference to Mr. Chad- dock's American edition), by William Jacques, A.M., who had already- distinguished himself by his translation, from the Latin, of A. H. Francke's "Guide to the Reading and Study of the Holy Scriptures," of w^hich a re- print, in a very unattractive form, and with omissions, appeared in Phila- delphia, in 1823. He took Mr. Boehm's translation as the "ground-work," which, as he states in his Preface, he did not "edit either hastily or neg- ligently. There is not a single page, nor a single paragraph," he contin- ues, "which has not been subjected to scrutiny," etc. Nevertheless, Mr. Jacques, who does not appear to have compared the translation with the original German, made only verbal changes, which, as it is evident, ma- terially improve the style. But he allowed all the additions of Mr. Boehm, which are generally quite tautological, and various inaccuracies in thought and expression to remain. So many antiquated expressions w^ere retained, that it would have been inexpedient to reprint the work precisely as Mr. Jacques allowed the text to remain. Besides, he curtailed the full titles of the several chapters, and, with very few exceptions, omitted the impor- tant and appropriate texts which Arndt had prefixed respectively to the latter. These circumstances, in connection with others, such as numerous typographical errors, especially in the Scripture references, plainly indi- cated that a revision of the whole was necessary, before the present edition could be presented to the public. § 38. The editor of the present American edition took that of Mr. Jacques as the basis of the translation, but compared every sentence with the original German. He found some cases in which valuable matter had been omitted, and was occasionally required to supply sentences that had INTRODUCTION. XXXV been mutilated or suppressed. But he erased all the verbal additions, and the clauses, or sentences, inserted by Mr. Boehni, where it seemed to have been the object of the latter only to explain remarks that were already perfectly lucid, or to add emphasis by the insertion of adjectives, etc., or else to impart beauty by the adoption of poetical terms or phrases, which were inconsistent with the severe simplicity of Arndt's style. He even represents the author, on one occasion, as quoting from the "Homilies" of the Church of England, which Arndt undoubtedly never read, and cer- tainly does not mention in the original. The American editor has, also, at the request of several friends, who took an interest in securing the pub- lication of the present edition, prepared a somewhat copious I.\l»ex. One of the Latin editions (London, 1708) contains an index, adapted only to its own pages. Another, in German, is found in some of the German editions, for instance, in that of Nuremberg, 1762, also adapted to tlie pages of the particular edition only. As the American editor found none in English, and preferred to adapt the new Index, prepared by him, to the worh itself (specifying the Book, Chapter, and Section), he accordingly completed his task on this plan, after a considerable expenditure of time and labor. It is somewhat difficult to prepare an Index for a work w^hich is so exclusively devotional in its character as the present, and in which the author does not intend to discuss subjects in a strictly scientific manner. Arndt, for instance, employs terms wdiich, when defined with precision, indicate dif- ferent shades of thought, almost as if they were synonj-mous [e. g., the grace, meraj, goodness, love, etc., of God), and often repeats the» same thought in different language. For this we can easily account, when we recollect that the materials of the work were taken from a series of popu- lar sermons of the author, delivered at intervals. The editor allows him- self to hope that the Index w^hich he has prepared, may occasionally be of service to the reader. § 39. But even after having made numerous changes on everg page of the old translation before him, the American editor is conscious that a critical eye will discover many imperfections in the style. It is often antiquated and heavy, and sometimes even quaint. Nevertheless, in all these in- stances he allowed the English text to remain as he found it, content- ing himself with the correction of orthographical and syntactical inaccu- racies, the rectification of Scripture references, the errors in which he found to be unusually numerous, the correction of quotations in accord- ance with the authorized English version of the Bible, in the many cases in which Mr. Boehm, or one of his assistants, translated from Luther's German version, or quoted the English version from memory, etc., etc. § 40. It is eminently proper that a new edition of Arndt's "True Chris- tianity" should appear during the present Jubilee year of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and that it should be undertaken and conducted to a successful issue by members of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Penn« INTEODUCTIOX. Bylvania. The deep spirituality of Anidt, and his active and pure faith, can be luUy understood and aj>preoiated only when we reflect on the doc- trinal pysteni to whicli he had given his heart, and to which we have referred above. This orthodox system found no favor, at a later period, among the Rationalists; they rejected the doctrines of the Bible respect- ing tlie depravity of human nature, the divinity of Christ, the efficacy of the divinely appointed means of grace, and similar truths, and grievously complained of the violence which, as they treacherously alleged, was of- fered to their conscience, when the demand was made, that if they claimed to belong to the Lutheran Church, to occupy its pulpits, and to receive their support from it, they ought also to adopt its faith. Their influence is happily decaying in Europe, and the restoration of the doctrines of the Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church to authority, is coincident with the new and healthy religious life of the Lutheran Church in Germany, Hungary, Scandinavia, and Russia. The sincere Christian, John Arndt, whom we heard protesting before God, with his last breath, as described above, that he believed only the doctrines of the Symbolical Books of the Lutheran Church, and all those doctrines, little thought that more than two centuries afterwards, in the remote Western continent of America, men would arise who w^ould not only reject with scorn " all the other Symbolical Books," which he revered, but also speak contemptu- ously of the Augsburg Confession and its holy doctrines. § 41. The doctrinal system which Arndt so sincerely revered, was brouoflit to this country by the Lutheran pastors who visited our shores at a very early period. Dr. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, an eminently enlightened and holy man, was enabled, by his well-disciplined mind and great administrative powers, to create order among the scattered Luther- ans whom he found in this country. He was exceedingl}^ zealous in main- taining the i)urity of the Lutheran faith, to which he owed all his peace and liis hopes. He gave unusual prominence to the Symbolical Books — to all of them, mentioned b}^ name — in the various constitutions of con- gregations organized or influenced by him, and very properly claimed that none who rejected them could honestly bear the name of Lutherans. We will give only one illustration, of many which might be adduced, to show the fidelity with which he held to the Lutheran Symbolical Books, as enumerated by Arndt in the last paragraph of his Preface to Book L, in this volume. Dr. Muhlenberg states in an official Report for the year 1747, which he transmitted to Halle {Ball Nachr., pp. 234, 235), that he had visited a congregation in Maryland, in which great dissensions pre- vailed at the time, occasioned by eflforts made by certain individuals to alienate the Lutherans from their faith and church. He says, "Before we commenced public worship, I asked for the Church Record, and wrote certain propositions and articles in it in the English language, and among other statements, made the following: That our German Lutherans held INTEODUCTION. xxxvii to the holy Word of God, in the prophetic and apostolical writings; fur- ther, to the unaltered Augsburg Confession, and the other Symbolical Books, etc.* I then read the same publicly to the congregation, and ex- plained it to them in the German language, and added, that every one who desired to be, and to remain, such a Lutheran, should subscribe his name." He informs ns that the genuine Lutherans readily subscribed; the rest, who had unlutheran sympathies, withheld their names. § 42. An unhappy change occurred after Dr. Muhlenberg's day. The Symbolical Books, which he and his contemporaries received, believed, and sustained in their whole extent, with religious veneration, existed at that time only in Latin and German. They gradually receded from the view of many pastors of the church; individuals were received into the ranks of the ministry, who had never studied them; doctrines and usages, hitherto unknown to the church, were introduced into many Lutheran congregations. At one period several of the most intelligent pastors yielded, to a certain extent, to rationalistic influences; then, the opposite extreme, of fanaticism, gained adherents; both rationalism and fanaticism were alike hostile to "the unaltered Augsburg Confession and the other Symbolical Books,'' and a strange combination of elements, derived partly from rationalism, and partly from fimaticism, temporarily held sway. Dependence was now placed on human measures and inventions, de- signed for the conversion of sinners and the edification of believers, rather than on the divinely appointed means of grace, which men like Arndt and Muhlenberg recognized as the only channels through which the Divine Spirit exercises his influence. If they had lived among us during the second, third, and fourth decades of this century, when their doctrines, and their mode of preaching, w^ere regarded by man}^ as anti- quated, or unsuited to a supposed higher grade of religious development, they w^ould have readily predicted the results — fanaticism, latitudinarian- ism in doctrine, an evanescent emotional religion, and, by consequence, the rejection, in whole or in part, of the Augsburg Confession and the other Symbolical Books. § 43. God, in his mercy, has interposed. The doctrines which Arndt, Muhlenberg, and men of the old faith, regarded as the life-blood of a healthy, scriptural religion, are regaining their authority. Many still ^ The term "Symbol" — a word derived from the Greek — was applied, at a very early period of the Christian Church, by Greek-speaking Christians, to the "Apostles' Creed," in the sense of a "token or mark of recognition." He who knew and adopted that Creed, viewed thus as a symbol, was recognized as a Christian ; he who knew it not, or who rejected it, was not a Christian, but a Jew or heathen. After diverse creeds had been formed and adopted in the course of time, the word Symbol was retained, as applicable to a particular creed or confession of faith. Hence the term "Symbols," or its equivalent, "Symbolical Books," was gradually applied to the several Lutheran Creeds which Arndt mentions with such reverence and love, as we have seen above. xxxviii INTRODUCTION. reject tlieni ; tlie old faith of the church — Bible truth, is unwelcome to an ignonint, rationalistic, and unconverted heart. But others have been taught by observation and experience that mere human measures and hi- ventions cannot conduct to a liealthy and permanent religion, and that divine truth, as taught in the Scriptures, and set forth in our Symbolical Books, and the other means of grace given to the Church by its divine Head, are the only sources from which such a healthy religion can pro- ceed. In this spirit Arndt wrote the *'True Christianity," and by this spirit the Synod of Pennsylvania is animated. This ecclesiastical body desires to take away all glory from man, and to give it all to Christ. One of the results of its attachment to our ancient and holy faith, is the publication of the present volume, in which the author so eloquently and afl'ectionately urges all men to repent, to believe in Christ, and to lead a holy life. § 44. The divine blessing has so remarkably attended the use of Arndt's **True Christianity," in the original language, and in its various transla- tions, that the present editor humbly entertains the hope that the time and labor expended by him in preparing this new edition, may also be of avail. And he prays that the "True Christianity" may continue the work which it has already performed, and instruct, guide, and comfort anew the souls of its readers, to the praise and glory of God. C. F. S. Philadelphia, August, 1868. THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE TO THE FIRST BOOK. CHRISTIAN READER! That the holy Gospel is subjected, in our age, to a great and shameful abuse, is fully ])roved by the ungodly and im- penitent life of those who loudly boast of Christ and of his word, while their unchristian life resembles that of per- sons who dwell in a land of heathens and not of Christians. Such an un- godly course of conduct furnished me with an occasion for writing this Trea- tise ; it was my object to show to plain readers wherein true Christianity con- sists, namely, in the exhibition of a true, living, and active faith, which manifests itself in genuine godliness and the fruits of righteousness. I de- sired to show that w^e bear the name of Christians, not only because we ought to believe in Christ, but also because the name implies that we live in Christ, and that* He lives in us. I further desired to show that true re- pentance proceeds from the inmost centre of the heart; that the heart, mind, and affections must be changed ; that we must be conformed to Christ and his holy Gospel ; and that we must be renewed by the word of God, and become new creatures. For even as every seed produces fruit of a like nature, so the word of God must daily produce in us new spiritual fruits. If we become new creatures by faith, we must live in accoi^dance with our new birth. In a word, Adam must die, and Christ must live, in us. It is not sufficient to acquire a knowledge of the word of God ; it is also our duty to obey it practically, with life and power. 2. There are many who suppose that Theology is merely a science, or an art of words, whereas it is a living experience and practical exercise. — Every one now aims at acquiring emi- nence and distinction in the world; but no one is willing to learn how to be devout. Every one now seeks out men of great learning, who can teach arts, languages, and wisdom ; but no one is willing to learn from our only Teacher, Jesus Christ, how to become meek and sincerely humble; and yet His holy and living example is the true rule for our life and conduct, and, indeed, constitutes the highest wisdom and knowledge; so that we can with truth declare, "The pure life of Christ opens all knowledge to us." 3. Every one is very willing to be a servant of Christ; but no one will con- sent to be his follower. And yei he says: "If any man serve me, let him follow me." John 12 : 26. Hence, he w^ho truly serves and loves Christ, wmII also follow him ; and he who loves Christ, will also love the example of his holy life, his humility, meekness, patience, as well as the cross, shame, and contempt which he endured, al- though the flesh may thereby suffer pain. And although we cannot, in our present weakness, perfectly imi- tate the holy and exalted life of Christ (which, indeed, is not intended in my ( xxxix ) xl PEEFACE TO THE FIEST BOOK. Book), iicvcrlliclcss, w c oiiglit to love it, and long to imitate it more fully; for thus \vc live in Christ, and Christ lives in U8. according to the words of St. John: "He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked." 1 John 2:6. It is now the disposition of the world to acquire a knowledge of all things ; but that which is belter than all other knowledge, namely, "to know the love of Christ" (Eph. 3 : 19), no one desires to acquire. But no man can love Christ, who does not imitate his holy life. There are many — a major- ity, indeed, of men in this world — who are ashamed of the holy example of Christ, namely, of his humility and lowly condition; that is, they are ashamed of the Lord Jesus Christ; of them he says : Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of ray words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed," etc. Mark 8 : 38. Christians now desire a Christ of imposing ap- pearance, who is magnificent, rich, and conformed to the world; but no one desires to receive, to confess, and to follow the poor, meek, despised, and lowly Christ. He will, therefore, hereafter say: "I never knew you" (Matt. 7 : 23); ye were not willing to know me in my humility, and there- fore I do not know you in your pride. 4. Not only, however, is ungodli- ness, in all its forms, at variance with Christ and true Christianity, but it is also the cause of the daily accumula- tion of the dis^pleasure of God, and of the penalties which he inflicts; inso- much that he fits all creatures to be avengers, and that heaven and earth, fire and water, are made to contend against us; so that all nature is there- by sorely distressed, and well nigh overwhelmed. Hence, a season of af- fliction must be expected; war, fam- ine, and pestilence; yea, the last plagues are coming in with such vio- lence, that we are exposed to the as- saults of nearly every creature. For even as the terrible plagues of the Egyptians overtook them before the redemption and departure of the chil- dren of Israel from Egypt, so, too, before the redemption of the children of God occurs, dreadful and unheard- of plagues will overtake the ungodly and impenitent. It is therefore high time to repent, to begin another course of life, to turn from the world to Christ, to believe truly in him, and to lead a Chi'istian life in him, so that we may securely "dwell in the secret place of the Most High, and abide under the shadow of the Almighty." Ps. 91 : 1. Such is also the exhortation of the Lord: "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things." Luke 21 : 36. The same is also testi- fied in Ps. 112:7. 5. Now, to this end, my Christian reader, this Book may, to a certain extent, serve thee as a guide, show- ing thee not only how thou may est, through faith in Christ, obtain the re- mission of thy sins, but also how thou mayest avail thyself of the grace of God, in order to lead a holy life; and how thou mayest demonstrate and adorn thy faith by a Christian walk and conversation. For true Christi- anity consists, not in words, nor in any external show, but in a living faith, from which proceed fruits meet for repentance, and all manner of Christian virtues, as from Christ him- self For as faith is hidden from hu- man view, and is invisible, it must be manifested by its fruits; inasmuch as faith derives from Christ all that is good, righteous, and blessed. PEEFACE TO THE FIEST BOOK. xli 6. Now, when faith waits for tlie blessings which are promised to it, the offspring of this faith is hope. For what else is hope but a constant and persevering expectation, in faith, of the blessings which are promised? But when faith communicates to a neighbor the blessings which it has it- self received, love is the offspring of such a faith, imparting to the neigh- bor that which it has itself received from God; and when faith endures the trial of the cross, and submits to the will of God, it brings forth jpa- tience. But when it sighs under the burden of the cross, or offers thanks to God for mercies which it has re- ceived, it gives birth to prayer. When it compares the power of God, on the one hand, with the misery of man, on the other, and submits unresistingly to the will of God, humility is the fruit. And when this faith diligently labors that it may not lose the grace of God, or, as St. Paul says: " worketh out salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil. 2 : 12), then the fear of God is the result. 7. Thus thou seest that all the Christian virtues are the offspring of faith, proceed from faith, and cannot be separated from faith, their common source, if they are indeed genuine, living, and Christian virtues, proceed- ing ultimately from God, from Christ, and from the Holy Spirit. Hence no work can be acceptable to God with- out faith in Christ. For how can true hope, sincere love, persevering pa- tience, earnest prayer. Christian hu- mility, and a childlike fear of God, exist without faith? All must be drawn from Christ, the well of salva- tion (Isa. 12 : 3), through faith, as well righteousness, as all the fruits of righteousness. But take great care, my reader, that thou do not connect thy works, the virtues which thou hast commenced to practise, or the gifts of the new life, wiih thy jus- tification before God. For in this matter, man's works, merit, gifts, and virtue, however lovely these may ap- pear to be, have no efficacy; our justi- fication depends solely on the exalted and perfect merit of Jesus Christ, ap- prehended by faith, even as it is set forth in Chap. Y, XIX, XXXIY, and XLI, of this Book, and in the first three chapters of Book II. Take great care, therefore, not to confound the righteousness of faith, on the one hand, and the righteousness of a Christian life, on the other; but rather to make a clear distinction between them; for here the whole foundation of our Christian religion is involved. Still, thy repentance must be the great concern of thy life, for otherwise thou hast no true faith, such as daily puri- fies, changes, and amends the heart. Thou must, moreover, know that the consolations of the Gospel cannot be effectually applied, unless they have been preceded by a genuine godly sor- row, the result of which is a bruised and contrite heart; for we read that "to the poor the gospel is preached." Luke 7 : 22. How, indeed, can faith give life to the heart, unless that heart has been previously put to death by sincere sorrow and a thorough knowl- edge of sin? Do not, therefore, im- agine that repentance is a slight and easy work. Eemember the solemn and severe language of the Apostle Paul, when he commands us to mortify and crucify the flesh, with the affec- tions and lusts, to offer the body as a sacrifice, to die unto sin, to be cruci- fied unto the world. Col. 3:5; Eom. 6:6; 12 : 1; 1 Pet. 2 : 24; Gal. 5: 24; 6 : 14. Truly, none of these things can result, when we gratify the flesh. xlii PREFACE TO THE FIEST BOOK. Kor do the ho]y prophets employ cheerful terms when they call for a contrite and broken heart, and say: "Ecnd your lieart — weep and lament." Joel 2 : 13, 17; Jer. 4 : 8. But where is such repentance now exhibited? The Lord Jesus Christ, when alluding to it, demands that we siiould deny ourselves, and renounce all that we have, if we desire to be his disciples. Luke 9 : 23; Matt. 16 : 24. Verily, all this can never proceed from a gay, trifling, and light mind; of this the evidence ma}' be found in the seven Penitential Psalms of David. The Scriptures abound in illustrations of the jealousy of God, who demands both repentance and its fruits, with- out which eternal salvation cannot be obtained. But afterwards the conso- lations of the Gospel manifest their power. And both such repentance, and such consolation, are solely the work of the Spirit of God, through the Word. 8. 'Now this Book w^iich I have "written, specially treats of such sin- cere and earnest repentance of the heart, of the exhibition of faith in the life and conduct, and of the spirit of love which should animate all the acts of the Christian; for that which pro- ceeds from Christian love, is, at the same time, the fruit of faith. It is true that I have referred to some ear- lier writers, such as Tauler, Thomas a Kempis, and others, who may seem to ascribe more than is due to human ability and works; but my whole Book is designed to counteract such an error. 1 would, therefore, kindly re- quest the Christian reader to remem- ber the great object for which I w rote this Book. He will find that its main purpose is this : To teach the reader how to perceive the hidden and con- nate abomination of Original Sin; to 1 set forth distinctly our misery and I helplessness; to teach us to put no I trust in ourselves or our ability; to I take away everything from ourselves, and to ascribe all to Christ, so that He alone may dwell in us, work all things in us, alone live in us, and create all things in us, because he is the begin- ning, middle, and end, of our conver- sion and salvation. All this has been plain]}" and abundantly explained in many passages of this Book; and, at the same time, the doctrines of the Papists, Synergists, and Majorists, have been expresslj^ refuted and re- jected. The doctrine, moreover, of justification by faith, has been set forth in this Book, and especially in Book II., in the most pointed and ex- plicit manner. In order, however, to obviate all misapprehensions, I have subjected the present edition to a very careful revision, and I beg the reader to receive the editions which have ap- peared in Frankfort and other places, in the sense in which the present Magdeburg edition is to be received. I also affirm, that this Book, as well in all other articles and points, as also in the articles of Free AVill, and of the Justification of a poor sinner before God, is not to be understood in any other manner than in accordance with the Symbolical Books of the churches of the Augsburg Confession, namely, the first Unaltered Augsburg Con- fession, the Apology, the Smalcald Articles, the Two Catechisms of Lu- ther, and the Formula of Concord. May God enlighten us all by his Holy Spirit, so that we ma}" be sin- cere and without off'ence, both in our faith and in our life, till the day of Christ (which is near at hand), being filled with the fruits of righteousness, unto the glory and praise of God ! Amen. TRUE CHRISTIANITY. BOOK L WHEKEIN TRUE CHRISTIANITY, SINCERE SORROW FOR SIN, REPENT- ANCE, FAITH, AND THE HOLY LIFE OF THE TRUE CHRISTIAN, ARE CONSIDERED. CHAPTER L SHOWING WHAT THE IMAGE OF GOTf IN MAN IS. Be renewed in the sjnrit of your mind ; and . . . 'pat on ike new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. — Eph. 4 : 23, 24. THE image of God in man, is the conformity of the soul of man, of his spirit and mind, of his understand- ing and will, and of all his faculties and powders, both bodily and mental, to God and the Holy Trinity. For the decree of the Holy Trinity was thus expressed: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness," etc. Gen. 1 : 26. 2. It is evident, therefore, that, when man was created, the image of the Trinity was impressed on him, in order that the holiness, righteousness, and goodness of God, might shine forth in his soul; diffuse abundant hght through his understanding, will, and affections; and visibly appear even in his life and conversation : that, consequently, all his actions, both inward and outward, might breathe nothing but divine love, pu- rity, and power, and, in short, that the life of man upon earth might re- semble that of the angels in heaven, who are always engaged in doing the will of their Heavenly Father. In thus impressing his image on man, God designed to delight and rejoice in him, just as a father rejoices in a child born after his own image : for as a pa- rent, beholding himself, or another self ^ in his offspring, cannot but feel the greatest complacency and delight; so, when God beheld the express charac- ter of his own Person reflected in an image of himself, his "delights were with the sons of men." Prov. 8 : 31. Thus it Avas God's chief pleasure to look on man, in whom he rejoiced, and rested, as it were, from all hia labor; considering him as the great masterpiece of his creation, and know- ing that in the perfect innocence and beauty of man, the excellency of his own glory would be fully set forth. And this blessed communion our first parents and their posterity were al- ( 1 ) TRUE CIIEISTIANITY. [Book I. ways to liuve enjoyed, had the}- con- tinued in tiie iiUeness of God, and rested in him and in iiis will ; M ho, as be was their author, was also to be tbeir end. 8. Il iin(louI)tedly is the essential property of every image, that it be a just representation of the object which it is intended to express; and as the reflection in a mirror is vivid in a de- gree proportioned to the clearness of the mirror itself, so the image of God becomes more or less visible, accord- ing to the purity of the soul in which it is belicld. 4. Hence God originally created man perfectly pure and undefiled; that so the divine image might be beheld in him, not as an empt}^, lifeless shadow in a glass, but as a true and living image of the invisible God, and as the likeness of his inward, hidden, and unutterable Ijcaiity. There was an image of the wisdom of God, in the understanding of man ; of his goodness, gentleness, and patience, in the spirit of man; of his divine love and mercy, in i\\Q. ajfeciions o{' iY\f\\\'^ heart. There was an image of tlie righteousness and holines^s, the justice and purity of God, in the will of man; of his kindness, clemency, and truth, in all the words and actions of man; of his almighty power, in man's dominion over the earth, and inferior creatures; and lastly, there was an image of God's eternity, in the inimortality of the hu- man soul. 5. From the divine image thus im- planted in him, man should have ac- quired the knowledge both of God and of Jiimself. Hence he might have learned, that God, his Creator, is all in all, the Being of beings, and the chief and only BEING, Irom whom all created beings derive their exist- ence, and in whom, and by whom, all things that are, subsist. Hence, also, he might have known, that God, as the Original of man's nature, is all that essentially, of which he himself Avas but the image and representation. For since man was to bear the image of the divine goodness, it follows that God is the sovereign and universal goodness essentially (Matt. 19 : 17); and, consequently, that God is essen- tial love, essential life, and essential holiness, to whom alone (because he is all this essentially), worship and praise, honor and glory, might, majesty, do- minion, and virtue, are to be ascribed: whereas these do not appertain to the creature, nor belong to anything but God alone. 6. From this image of the Divine Being, man should lurther have ac- quired the knowledge of himself. He should have considered what a vast difference there was between God and himself Man is not God, but God's image; and the image of God ought to represent nothing but God. He is a portraiture of the Divine Being; a character, an image, in which God alone should be seen and glorified. Kothin^ij therefore ouo-ht to live in man, besides God, Nothing but the Divinit}^ should stir, will, love, think, speak, act, or rejoice in him. For if anything besides God live or work in man, he ceases to be the image of God ; and becomes the image of that which thus lives and acts within him. If therefore a man would become, and continue to be, the image of God, he must wholly surrender himself to the Divine Being, and submit entirely to his will ; he must suffer God to work in him whatsoever he pleases; so that, b}^ denying his own will, he may do the will of his Heavenly Father with- out reserve, being entirely resigned to God, and willing to become a holy in- Chap. I.] TRUE CHRISTIANITY. 3 strument in his hands, to do his will and his work. Such a man follows not his own will, but the will of God; he loves not himself but God ; seeks not his own honor, but the honor of God. lie covets no estates nor affluence for himself, but refers all to the Supreme Good; and so being contented to pos- sess him, rises above the love of the creature and the w^orld. And thus ought man to divest himself of all love of himself and the world, that God alone ma)^ be all in him, and work all in him, by his Holy Spirit. Herein con- sisted the perfect innocence, purity, and holinessof man. For, what greater innocence can there be, than that a man should do, not his own w^ill, but the will of his Heavenly Father? Or what greater purit}^, than that man should suffer God to work in him, and to do everything according to His pleasure ? Or, what greater holiness, than to become an instrument in the hands of the Spirit of God ? To resem- ble a child, in whose breast sel[-!ove and self-honor do not yet prevail, is, in truth, the highest simplicity. 7. Of this entire devotedness to the Divine will, our Lord Jesus Christ, while he sojourned in our world, was a perfect example. He sacrificed his own will to God his Father, in blame- less obedience, humility, and meek- ness; readily depriving himself of all honor and esteem, of all self-interest and self-love, of all pleasure and joy; and leaving God alone, to think, speak, and act, in him, and b}^ him. In short, he invariably made the will and pleas- ure of God his own, as the Father himself testified by a voice from Hea- ven : " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Matt. 3 : 17. The Lord Jesus Christ, blessed forever, is the true Image of God, in whom nothing appears but God him- I self, and such manifestations as are agreeable to his nature; namei}^, love, mercy, long-suffering, patience, meek- ness, gentleness, righteousness, holi- ness, consolation, life, and everlasting blessedness: for by him, the invisible God was willing to be discovered and made known to man. He is indeed the image of God in a more sublime sense ; that is, according to his Divinity^ by virtue of which, he is himself very God, the express and essential image of his Father's glory, in the infinite splendor of the uncreated light. Ileb. 1 : 3. But of this point no more can at present be said : our design being to speak of him only as he lived and conversed in his holy humanity^ while he tabernacled upon the earth. 8. It was in such a holy innocence as this, that the image of God was, in the beginning, conferred on Adam, which he should have preserved in true humility and obedience. Suffi- cient it surely was for him, that he was made capable of all the benefits of the divine image; of sincere and unmixed love and delight; of undisturbed and solid tranquillity of mind; of power, fortitude, peace, light, and life. But not duly reflecting that he himself w^as not the chief good, but merely a mirror of the Godhead, formed pur- posely to receive the reflection of the divine nature, he erected himself into a God ; and thus choosing to be the highest good to himself, be w^as pre- cipitated into the greatest of all evils, being deprived of this inestimable image, and alienated from that com- munion with God, which, by virtue of it, he before enjoyed. 9. Had self-will, self-love, and self- honor, been excluded, the image of God could not have departed from man ; but the Divine Being would have continued to be his sole glory. 4 TRUE CIIPJSTIANITY. [Book I. honor, and praise. As everything is capable of its like and not of its con- trary, and in its like acquiesces and delights, so man, being in the simili- tude of God, was thereby prepared to' receive God into himself, who was also ready to communicate himself to man, with all the treasures of his goodness ; goodness being of all things the most communicative of itself. 10. Finally, man ouglit to have learned from the image of God, that by means of it he is united to God; and that in this union, his true and everlasting tranquillity, his rest, peace, joy, life, and happiness alone consist. He should have learned that all rest- lessness of mind and vexation of spirit, arise from nothing but a breach of this union, by which he ceases to be the image of God; for man no sooner turns to the creature, than he is de- prived of that eternal good which is to be derived from God alone. CHAPTER IL OF THE FALL OF ADAM. As hy one man^s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. — KoM. 5:19. THE fall of Adam was disobedience to God, by which man turned away from the Divine Being to him- self, and robbed God of the honor due to him alone, in that he /i^'mse// thought to be as God. But while he thus labored to advance himself, he was stripped of that divine image, which the Creator had so freely conferred on him ; divested of hereditary righteous- ness; and bereaved of that holiness with which he was originally adorned ; becoming, as it regards his understand- ing, dark and blind; as to his will, stubborn and perverse; and as to all the powers and faculties of the soul, entirely alienated from God. This evil has infected the whole mass of mankind, by means of a fleshly gener- ation ; and has been inherited by all men. The obvious consequence aris- ing from this is, that man is become' spiritually dead and the child of wrath and damnation, until redeemed from this miserable state by Jesus Christ. Let not then any who are called Chris- tians deceive themselves with regard to Adam's fall. Let them be cautious, how they attempt to extenuate or lessen the transgression of Adam, as though it were a small sin, a thing of little consequence, and, at the worst, but the eating of an apple. Let them rather be assured, that the guilt of Adam was that of Lucifer, namely, he would be as God : and that it was the same most grievous, heinous, and hate- ful sin in both. 2. This apostasy (for it was nothing less), was, at first, generated in the heart, and then made manifest by the eating of the forbidden fruit. Though man was numbered with the sons of God; though he came forth from the hands of the Almighty spotless both in body and in soul, and was the most glorious object in the creation; though, to crown all, he was not only a son, but the delight of God ; yet not know- ing how to rest satisfied with these Chap. II.] TRUE CHEISTIANITY. 5 high privileges, he attempted to in- vade Heaven, that he might he yet higher; and nothing less would suffice him, than to exalt himself like unto God. Hence, he conceived in his heart enmity and hatred against the Divine Being, his Creator and Father, whom, had it been in his power, he was dis- posed utterly to undo. Who could commit a sin more detestable than this? or what greater abomination is there, that it was possible to meditate ? 3. Hence it was, that man became inwardly like Satan himself, bearing his likeness in the heart; since both had now committed the same sin, both having rebelled against the majesty of Heaven. Man no more exhibits an image of God, but rather that of the Devil ; he no longer is an instrument in the hands of Grod, but is become an organ of Satan, and is thereby ren- dered capable of every species of dia- bolical wickedness : so that, having lost that image which w^as heavenly, spiritual, and divine, he is altogether earthly, sensual, and brutish. For the devil, designing to imprint his own image upon man, fascinated him so entirely by a train of enticing and de- ceitful words, that man permitted him to sow that hateful seed in his soul, which is hence termed the seed of the serpent; and by which is chiefly meant, self-love, self-will, and the am- bition of being as God. On this ac- count it is, that the Scriptures term those who are intoxicated with self- love, ^'a generation of vipers." Matt. 3 : 7. And all those who are of a proud and devilish nature, "the seed (progeny) of the serpent." So the Almighty, addressing the serpent, says, " I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed." Gen. 3 : 15. 4. From this seed of the serpent nothing but deadly and liorrible fruit can possibl}^ proceed ; namely, Satan's image, the children of Belial, the chil- dren of the devil. John 8 : 44. As in every natural seed, how minute soever it may be, are contained, in a most wonderful and hidden manner, the nature and properties of the future plant, all its jiarts and proportions, its branches, leaves, and flowers, in minia- ture; so in that seed of the serpent, Adam's self-love and disobedience (which has passed unto all his pos- terity by a fleshly generation), there lies, as it were in embryo, the tree of death, with its branches, leaves, and flowers, and those innumerable fruits of unrighteousness which grow upon it. In short, the whole image of Satan is secretly traced out there, wMth all its marks, characters, and j:)roper- ties. 5. If we observe a little child with attention, we shall see how this nat- ural corruption displays itself from its very birth; and how self-will and disobedience especially discover them- selves, and break forth into actions that effectually witness to the hidden root from w^hich they spring. Let us consider the child further, as it grows up to maturer years. Observe the nat- ural selfishness of the youth, his in- bred ambition, his thirst after worldly glory, his love of applause, his pursuit of revenge, and his proneness to deceit and falsehood. And now these evils multiply. Soon may be discovered in him vanity, arrogance, pride, blasphe- my, vain oaths, awful curses, frauds, skepticism, infidelity', contemjDt of God and his holy Word, and disobedience to parents and magistrates: wrath and contentiousness; hatred and envy; re- venge and murder, and all kinds of cruelty; especially if outward occa- sions offer themselves, and call forth 6 TEUE CHRISTIANITY. [Book. L into iiction this latent and deiidly seed, and the various evils of Adam's de- praved nature. In proportion as such occasions continue to present them- selves, we shall observe the appear- ance of other vices; wantonness, adul- terous thoughts, lewd imaginations, obscene discourses, lascivious gestures, and all "i\\G works of the flesh:" Ave shall behold drunkenness, rioting, and every species of intemperance; fickle- ness, excessive wantonness, and all that can please the appetite, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. And besides these, there may soon be dis- covered, covetousncsS; extortion, chi- canery, sophistry, imposture, and every description of sinister practice; to- gether Avith knavery, overreaching in trade, and, in short, the whole troop, or rather army of sins, iniqui- ties, and crimes, which are so various and so man}", that it is impossible to recount or declare the number of them; according to the words of the prophet Jeremiah, "the heart is de- ceitful above all things, and despe- rately wicked; who can know it?*' Ch. 17 : 9. And if to those already enumerated there be added, in the last place, the seducing and false spirits; then may be observed schisms in the church, wicked and dangerous her esies, yea, the abjuring of God and Christ, idolatry, the denial of the faith, hatred and persecution of the truth, the sin against the IIol}^ Ghost, with every kind of corruption in doctrine, perversion of the Scriptures, and strong delusion. Now, Avhat are all these but the image of Satan, and the fruits of the serpent's seed soAvn in man ? G. Who could ever have supposed that such a dc])th of wickedness and depravity could be found in such a weak and helpless child ; that so ven- omous a principle, so corrupt a hear^,, lay hid in a babe appai'cntly so harm- less? Who could possibly have be- lieved this, had not man himself, by his sinful and abominable life, by the imaginations of his thoughts (being "only evil continually," and despe- rately bent on what is bad), of his own will brought it to light, and expressed, from his childhood, what was before concealed as in a seed? Gen. (5:5; 8:21. 7. Oh! most vile and most accursed root! from which springs the poison- ous tree that is so fi-uitful in the pro- duction of every kind of plague. Ob, seed of the serpent, most hateful, most dreadful ! from which an imaii-e at once so deformed and foul is generated; and which continually enlarges itself, as it is excit.ed by outward temptations and by the scandals of the world. Full well might the blessed Jesus so sol- emnly and strictly forbid, that an}-, by bad example, should offend little chil- dren ; knowing that the seed of the serpent lurks in them, as the deadly poison in the venomous Avorm, ready to break forth into open acts of sin, Avhenever an occasion presents itself. 8. Learn, then, O man! to know the fall of Adam, and the true nature of Original Sin. Learn, if thou art Avise, to discern it in thyself Examine it, not slightly and carelessly, but deeply, and as the importance of the matter deserves; for this infection is greater, this depravation deeper and more deadly, than can possibly be expressed by Avords, or even be conceived in idea. " Know thyself! " and deeply consider Avhat thou art, O man ! siiiv^e the fall of thy first father; how thou, Avho wast in the image of God, art become the image of Satan, an epitome of all his Avicked tendencies, and art con- formed to Satan in all malice and un- Chap. HI ] TEUE CHRISTIANITY. 7 godliness. For as in the imago of God all the divine virtues and properties are contained, so in the image of tlie Devil, which man, by turning himself from God, has contracted, all the vices and properties arc to be found, and the very nature of the Devil himself For, as man, before the fall, bore the image of the heavenly Adam, that is, was altogether heavenly, spiritual, and divine; so, since the first apostasy, he carries about with him the image of the earthly Adam, being inwardly earthly, carnal, and corrupt. 9. Lo ! he is become as one of the beasts of the field. For Avhat, O fallen man! is thy wrathfulness ? and to whom does it more properly belong, to the lion, or to man? And do not thine envy and thy greediness betray in thee the nature of the doc; and of the wolf? And with regard to thy uncleanness and gluttony, are not these evidences of a swinish nature? Didst thou, indeed, but rightly ex- amine thine own breast, thou wouldst there discover a w^orld of unclean and noxious beasts. Even in the tongue, that "little member," there may be found, according to St. James, a lake of pestilential and creeping things, a hold of every foul spirit, the cage of every filthy and hateful bird (Isaiah 13 : 21 ; Rev. 18 : 2), and, in a word, a "world of iniquity." James 3:6. Of- ten, alas! do we make such progress in wickedness as to surpass in wrath and fury the beasts of prey; in ravcnous- ncss and violence, the wolf; in sub- tilty and cunning, the fox; in malice and virulence, the serpent; and in filthiness and obscenity, the swine. Hence it was, that our Lord termed Ilerod a fox, and the unholy, in gen- eral, dogs and swine; to whom that which is holy should not be given. Luke 13:32; Matt. 7:6. 10. Whosoever, therefore, fails to correct this corruption of nature, by being truly converted and renamed in Christ Jesus, but dies in the state which has been described, must re- tain, forever, this bestial and Satani- cal nature, lie must be arrogant, haughty, proud, and devilish, through- out eternity. And when he shall have neglected the time of his purification here, he shall bear about with him the image of Satan in the blackness of darkness forever ; as a testimony, that while he was in the world, he did not live in Christ, nor was renewed after the image of God. " For with- out are dogs and sorcerers, and who- soever loveth and maketh a lie." Eev. 21 : 8 ; 22 : 15. CHAPTERIII. SHOWING HOW MAN IS RENEWED IN CHRIST UNTO ETERNAL LIFE. In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nvaileth anythij^g, nor uncircumcision, hut a new crea- ture. — Gal. 6 : 15. THE New Birth is a work of the Holy Ghost, by which man, of a sinner, is made righteous ; and from being a child of damnation and wrath, is made a child of grace and salvation. This change is effected through faith, the word of God and the Sacraments; and by it, the heart, and all the powers and faculties of the soul (more par- ticularly the understanding, will, and 8 TEUE CIIRISTIAXITY. [Book I. affections), arc renewed, enlightened, and sanctified in Christ Jesus, and arc fashioned after his express likeness. The new birth comprehends two chief blessings, namely, justification, and sanctification, or the renewal of man. Tit. 3 : 5. 2. The birth of every real Christian iH twofold. The first is ''after the flesh," the second, " after the spirit;" the first is from beneath, the second from above; the first is earthl}^, but the second heavenly. The one is car- nal, sinful, and accursed, as descend- ing from the first Adam by the seed of the serpent, after the similitude and imago of the Devil; and by this, the earthly and carnal nature is prop- agated. The other, on the contrary, is spiritual, holy, and blessed, as de- rived from the second Adam ; after the likeness of the Son of God : and by this is propagated the heavenly and spiritual man, the seed and image of God. 3. There is therefore in the Chris- tian a twofold line of descent; and, consequently, two men, as it w^ere, ex- ist in one and the same person. The fleshly lineage is derived from Adam, and the spiritual lineage from Christ, through faith : for as the old birth of Adam is in man by nature, even so must the new birth of Christ be in him by grace. This is the old and new man, the old and new birth, the old and new Adam, the earthlj^ and heavenly image, the flesh and the Spirit, Adam and Christ in us, and also, the outwavd and inward man. 4. Let us now proceed to notice how we are regenerated by Christ. As the old birth is propagated carnally from Adam, so the new birth is spiritually propagated from Christ, through the w^ord of God. This word is the seed of the new creature : for we are " born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever." 1 Tctcr 1:23. And, again, " Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures." James 1 : 18. The word of God produces faith ; and faith again apprehends the word of God, and in that word em- braces Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost, by whoso spiritual efficacy and virtue man is regenerated or born anew. In other W'Ords, regeneration is effected, in the first place, by the Holy Ghost; and this is what Christ means by being ''born of the Spirit" (John 3:5); secondl}', by faith; whence it is said, — " whosoever be- lieveth that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God" (1 John 5:1); and thirdly, by holy Baptism ; according to that pas- sago of Scripture, " Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." John 3 : 5. 5. In Adam, man has inherited the chief evils ; as sin, divine wrath, death, Satan, hell, and damnation ; but in Christ, he is restored to the possession of the chief blessings, as righteous- ness, grace, blessing, power, a heaven- ly life, and eternal salvation. From Adam, man inherits a carnal spirit, and is subjected to the rule and ty- ranny of the evil spirit; but from Clirist, he obtains the Holy Spirit, with his gifts, together with his com- forting guidance. From Adam, man has derived an arrogant, proud, and haughty spirit; but if he would be born again and renewed in his mind, he must receive from Christ, by faith, an humble, meek, and upright spirit. From Adam, man inherits an unbe- lieving, blasphemous, and most un grateful spii-it ; and it is his duty to Chap. III.] TEUE CHEISTIANITY. 9 obtain from Christ a believing spirit, that will prove faithful, acceptable, and well-pleasing to God. From Adam, a disobedient, violent and rash spirit is inherited; but from Christ, we imbibe, through faith, the spirit of obedience, gentleness, and modesty, and the spirit of meekness and n)od- eration. From Adam, we, by nature, inherit a spirit of wrath, enmity, re- venge, and murder ; but from Christ, we, by faith, acquire the spirit of long- suffering, love, mercy, forgiveness, and universal goodness and benignitj'. From Adam, man, by nature, inherits a covetous heart, a churlish, merci- less spirit, that seeks only to profit self, and grasp at that which is the right of another; but from Christ, is obtained, by faith, the spirit of mercy, compassion, generosity, and mildness. P"'rom Adam proceeds an unchaste, unclean, and intemperate spirit; but from Christ, a spirit of chastity, pu- rity, and temperance, may be obtained. From Adam, there is communicated to man a spirit full of calumny and falsehood; while on the other hand, he acquires from Christ the spirit of truth, of constancy, and of integrity. Lastly, we receive from Adam a brutish and earthly spirit; and from Christ, a spirit from above, which is altogether heavenly and divine. 6. Hence, it behooved Christ to take upon himself our nature, and to be conceived and anointed by the Holy Ghost, in order that we might all re- ceive of his fulness. It was requisite that " the Spirit of the Lord should rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of coun- sel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord " (Isa. 11 : 2), that so human nature might in him, and by him, be restored and renewed, and that we, in him, by him, and through him, might become new crea- tures. This is accomplished by re- ceiving from Christ, the spirit of wis- dom and understanding, for the spirit of folly; the spirit of counsel, for that of madness; the spirit of might, for that of cowardice and fear; the spirit of knowledge, instead of our natural blindness; and the spirit of the iV-ar of the Lord, instead of the spirit of impiety and infidelity. 7. It is in this heavenly change that the new life and the new creation within us consist. For as, in Adam we are all spiritually dead, and in- capable of performing any works, ex- cept those of death and darkness; so, in Christ, we must be made alive (1 Cor. 15 : 22) and do the works of light and life. As, by a carnal generation, w^e have inherited sin from Adam ; so, by faith, we must inherit righteous- ness from Christ. As, by a fleshly descent from Adam, pride, covetous- ness, lust, and all kinds of impurity, are entailed upon us; so by the spirit of Christ, our nature ought to be re- newed, and all pride, covetousness, lust, and envy, be mortified within us. And thus is it necessary that we should, from Christ, derive a new spirit, heart, and mind; even as we derived from Adam our sinful flesh. 8. With reference to this great w^ork of regeneration, Christ is called ^'the everlasting Father" (Isa. 9: 6), and we are renewed in him to life eternal, being here regenerated into his likeness, and made in him new creatures. And if our works ever prove acceptable in the sight of God, they must spring from this principle of the new birth; that is, from Christ, his Spirit, and an unfeigned faith. 9. Henceforth we must live in the new birth, and the new birth in us; we must be in Christ, and Christ in 10 THUE CHRISTIANITY. [Book I us : we must live in the spirit of Christ, | and the spirit of Christ in us. Gal. | 2:20. This regeneration with its iit- tendant fruits, is described by St. Paul, as the being "renewed in tlie spirit of our mind," "putting oif the old man," and the being " transformed into the image of God." He likewise considers it as the being "renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created us," and "the renewing of the Holy Ghost." Eph. 4:23; 2 Cor. 3: 18; Col. 3: 10; Tit. 3:5. It is termed by Ezekiel, " taking away the Btony heart, and giving a heart of flesh." Ch. 11:19. Hence it appears how the regeneration of man proceeds from the incarnation of Jesus Christ. As man, by ambition, pride, and dis- obedience, turned himself from God; so his apostasy could not be expiated and removed, except by the extreme humilit}", lowliness, and obedience of the Son of God. And as Christ, when upon earth, was most humble in his conversation among men, so it is nec- essary, O man ! that he should be the same in thee; that he should dwell in thy soul, and restore the image of God in thee. 10. And now, O man! contemplate the perfectly amiable, lowly, obedient, and patient Jesus, and learn of him ; live as he lived, yea, live in him, and tread in his steps. For what was the cause of his living upon earth? It was that he might become thy exam- ple, thy mirror, and the rule of thy life. He, he on\y, is the rule of life, and the pattern which every Christian should strive to imitate. It is not the rule of any man whatsoever. There is but one example, — Christ; and him the Apostles have, with one consent, set belbre us for our imitation. And in the same manner are we called to view his passion, death, and resurrec- tion : even that thou, O man! should- est with him, die unto sin; and in him, with him, and by him, spiritu- ally rise again, and walk in newness of life, "even as he also walked." Eom. 6:4. 11. Thus may we see, how our re- generation arises from the passion, death, and resurrection, of our gra- cious Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Hence, St. Peter saith, "God hath be- gotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." 1 Pet. 1 : 3. And all the a|)0stles will everywhere be found to lay the foundation of repentance and of a new life, in the passion of Christ. St. Peter, indeed, gives this express charge: "Pass the time of your so- journing here in fear; forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Pet. 1 : 17-19); in which we may observe, that the ransom paid for our redemption is urged as the motive to a holy conver- sation. The same apostle tells us, likewise, that " Christ his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness" (1 Peter 2 : 24); and Jesus himself has said : "Thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day : and that repentance and remission of sins should bo preached in his name." Luke 24 : 46, 47. 12. It is evident, therefore, that from the passion and death of Christ, proceed both the satisfaction made for our sins, and the renewing of our na- ture by faith ; and that they both are necessary to the restoration of fallen man. The latter, as well as the former, is the blessed effect of Christ's passion, Chap. IV.] TRUE CHRISTIANITY. 11 which worketh our renewal and sancti- ficalion. 1 Cor. 1:30. Thus the new birth in us proceeds from Christ. And as a means to attain tliis end, holy Bap- tism has been instituted, wherein we are baptized into the death of Christ, in order tliat we might die with bim unto sin by the power of his death, and rise again from sin by the power of his resurrection. CHAPTER lY. OF TRUE REPENTANCE, AND tllE TRUE YOKE AND CROSS OF CHRIST. They that are Chrisfs have crucified the flesh vnth the affections and lusts. — Gal. 5: 24. REPENTANCE, or true conver- sion, is the work of the Holy Spirit, under the influence of which, man, through the iaio^ acknowledges his sin, and the wrath of God provoked against it; and earnestly mourns over bis offences; and then, understanding, through the Gospel^ the grace of God, by faith in Christ Jesus, he obtains the remission of his sins. By this re- pentance, the mortification or crucify- ing of the flesh, and of all carnal lusts and pleasures, is carried on; together with the quickening of the spirit, or the resurrection of the new man in Christ. Under the exercise of repent- ance, therefore, the old Adam, with his corruptions, dies within us; and Christ lives in us, by faith (Gal. 2 : 20) ; for we must be aware that these two are inseparably connected. The resurrection of the spirit follows the mortification of the flesh; and the quickening of the new man, destroys and annihilates the old man; the ruin of the one, is the life and resurrection of the other. "Thougii our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day." 2 Cor. 4:16. We are, therefore, enjoined to "mor- tify our members which are upon the earth" (Col. 3:5); and to "reckon our- selves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God, through Jesus Christ our Lord." Bom. 6:11. 2. Let us, however, inquire why the flesh is thus to be mortified; and why the whole body of sin is at last to be destroj^ed. It has been remarked (Chap. II) that, by the fall of Adam, man became earthly, carnal, and devil- ish ; without God, and without love: for being without God, he was also without love. Man was now turned from the love of God to the love of the world, and especially of himself; so that in every situation, and under all circumstances, he now studies, fa- vors, flatters, counsels, and applauds himself; and provides ojily for his own interest, honor, and glory. All this is the consequence of Adam's fall; who, while meditating how he might erect himself, as it were, into a God^ was involved, together with all his l^osterity, in the same awful sin and perdition. This depravation of human nature must of necessity be entirely removed; and this can be effected only by serious repentance; by godly sor- row; by a faith that apprehends the remission of sin ; by the mortification of sensual pleasure; and by the cruci- fixion of pride and self-love. For true repentance consists not in putting away gross and open sins only; but 12 TRUE CHRISTIANITY. [Book I. it requires that a man sliould enter his heart, and search into its inmost recesses. The secret parts, the wind- ing's and the turnings of iniquity are to he laid open ] in order that the re- turning sinner may he tlioroughl}' re- newed, and, at length, be converted from tlie h)ve of himself, to the love of God; from the love of the world, to a life of spirituality; and from a participation of earthly pomps and pleasures, to a participation, through faith, of the merits of Christ. 3. Hence it follows, that a man must deny himself (Luke 9 :28); that is, be must mortify bis own will, and suffer himself to be entirely led by the will of God. lie must no longer love, seek, and esteem himself; but he must ac- count himself to be the unworthiest and most miserable of all creatures. He must renounce all he has for the love of Christ; and trample on the world, its pomps, and its vanities. He must pass by his own wisdom and natural endowments, as though he beheld them not; he must confide in no creature, but in God alone ; yea, he must "hate his own life" (Luke 14 : 26), that is, his carnal will and pleasures; his pride, covetousness, lust, wrath, and envy. He must not please, but rather displease himself; nor must he attribute anything to his own strength or ability. In a word, he must be crucified to the world (Gal. C : 14), to the lust of the eyes and the flesh, and to the pride of life. This, and this alone, is that true repentance and mortification of the flesh, without which no man can ever be a disciple of Jesus Christ. ' This only is conver- sion from self, the world, and the devil, unto God (Acts 26: 18); without which no one can receive remission of sins, nor be saved. 4. This is the true cross and yoke of Christ; that of which the Saviour spoke when he said, " Take my yoke upon 3'ou, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart." Matt. 11: 29. As if he had said, ''Thy self-love and ambition must be removed by earnest and inward humility, of which thou hast an example in me; and by the example of my meekness, must thy wrath and desire of revenge be subdued." This, to the new man, is an easy yoke and a light burden; though, to the flesh, it may seem to be a most bitter and afflictive cross. This is to crucify our own flesh, with the affections and lusts. Gal. 5 : 24. 5. They, therefore, who are ac- quainted with no other cross than the tribulations and afflictions of this life, greatly err; being ignorant of that true cross, which we ought to bear after our Lord daily; namely, inward repentance, and the mortification of the flesh; submitting to our enemies with great patience; and overcoming the malice of slanderers by humility and mildness, after the pattern which the Lamb of God has left us. For it becomes us to follow the example of Christ, who renounced all worldly splendor and glory, and everj-thing that is commonly esteemed great and noble. 6. This yoke of Christ is the real cross, which when a man bears he truly dies to the world. It is not to retire into monasteries and cloisters, nor to adopt a set of rules and orders for the regulation of life; for while the heart remains disordered, and the love corrupt; while the man is puffed up with spiritual pride, and a pharisaical contempt of others; while he is de- voted to lust, envy, hypocrisy, secret hatred and malice ; he does not die to the world, but altogether lives to it. This is not the Christian yoke nor is Chap. lY.] TEUE CIIEISTIANITY. 13 it the cross of Christ; for these con- sist in mortifying the flesh, with its sinful propensities; in turning away from tlie world to God; in an inward and constant secret sorrow for our sins; in a daily dying to the world, and living to Christ by faith ; in fol- lowing his steps with sincere lowli- ness and humility; and in confiding only in the grace of God in Christ Jesus. 7. To this unfeigned repentance, this true and inward conversion from the world unto God, hath our blessed Lord called us. The imputation of his righteousness and obedience, to- gether with the remission of all our sins, apprehended by faith, is promised to it alone. If we are destitute of re- pentance, Christ profiteth us nothing; that is, w^e cannot then become par- takers of his grace and favor, nor of the efficacy of his merits; because these can be applied only by a con- trite, penitent, lowly, and believing heart. And truly this is the fruit of the passion of Christ in us, that we die to sin by a sincere repentance ; as the fruit of his resurrection is, that Christ may live in us, and we in him. 8. All this is necessary to render man that new creature in Christ Jesus, without which nothing availeth in the sight of God. 2 Cor. 5 : 17 ; Gal. 6 : 15. 9. Hence, therefore, let us be in- structed in the nature of true repent- ance; lest we be led away into that common error, that the mere relin- quishment of some gross enormity, as theft, fornication, profaneness, blas- phemy, is the genuine and only re- pentance. It is certain, that this is a kind of external repentance; but it is no less so, that all the Scriptures alike inculcate the necessity of an inward repentance, which takes possession of the whole soul. A man under the in- fluence of this repentance, not only supports a fair conversation in the world, but he also denies and hates himself. Eenouncing the world and all he calls his own, and crucifvini^ the flesh, he commits himself by I'ailh to God alone; and offers up to him a broken and contrite heart, as the sac- rifice most acceptable in his sight. This character of inward repentance is eminently set forth in the Psalms of David, and particularly in those termed Penitential.* 10. This is, therefore, the only true repentance, when the heart of the sin- ner is inwardly torn with grief, and weighed down by heaviness; and when, on the other hand, it is healed by faith and the remission of sin, quickened by the infusion of divine joy, provoked to good works, and thoroughl}" trans- formed and chano-ed. Such a frame of mind cannot fail to be attended also with an external reformation of life and manners. 11. But, on the other hand, though a man be very serious in the perform- ance of bodily penances, and, from a dread of punishment, abstain from the commission of notorious sins; yet if he continue unreformed and unregcn- erate in his heart, and enter not upon that new and inward life which it has been our object to describe, he will prove but a castaway (1 Cor. 9 : 27) at last, notwithstanding the whole train of his external acts. It will avail him nothing to cry, "Lord, Lord!" He will hear the tremendous declaration, '-I never knew you!" For most certain it is, that not every one that saith, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the king- dom of heaven, but those only who do the will of their Heavenly Father. * [These are Psalms, 6 ; 32 ; 38 ; 51 ; 102 ; 130; 143.] 14 TRUE CHRISTIANITY. [Book L IMatt. 7 : 21-2:5. And under this awfid sentence of divine majesty, all men are comprised, of what rank or order so- ever, who do not truly and inwardly repent, and who are not new creatures in Christ, for if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, be is none of bis.'* Rom. 8:9. CHAPTER V. WHEREIN DOES TRUE FAITH CONSIST? lV/(OSoever belicveth thai Jesus is the Christ, is born of God. — 1 John 5: 1. FAITH is a sincere confidence, and a fii'm persuasion of the grace of God promised to us in Christ Jesus, for the remission of sin and eternal life; and it is enkindled in the heart, by the word of God and the Holy Spirit. Throua;h this faitb we obtain the forgiveness of our sins, without any merits of our own, of mere grace (Eph. 2:8), and for the sake of the merits of Christ alone; that so, our faith might rest on a firm and solid founda- tion, and remain unmoved by j^erplex- ity and doubts. This forgiveness of sin constitutes our justification before God, which is true, solid, and eternal; for this righteousness is purchased neither by men nor angels, but by the obedience, merit, and the blood of the Son of God himself We ap- propriate and appl}^ it to ourselves b}- faith; and hence the imperfections which still adhere to us cannot con- demn us, since, for the sake of Christ, who now lives and works within us, they are covered with a veil of grace. Ps.'^32: I. 2. By this cordial and unshaken failh, man wholly dedicates his heart to the Almighty, in whom alone he seeks his rest. To him only is he now united, and with him alone he enters into delightlul fellowshi]). lie partakes of all thing's that are of God and of Christ, and is made one spirit with the Lord. From him he receives divine power and strength; together with a new life, attended with new joys, new pleasures, new consolations, in which are found peace, inward ease, and durable satisfaction, together with righteousness and holiness. And thus man is born anew of God by faith. For wherever there is true faith, there Christ is verily present with all his righteousness, holiness, and remission of sin; with all his merits, justifica- tion, grace, adoption, and inheritance of eternal life. This is the new birth and the new creature, springing from faith in Christ. Hence, the apostle calls faith a substance (Ileb. 11 : 1); un- derstanding by it, a sure, solid, and unshaken confidence in "things hoped for," and a lively conviction of '-things not seen.'' For the consolation con- vej'ed by a vital faith is so powerful, as to convince the heart of the divine truth by inward experience, and by the tasting of the heavenly goodness in the soul, and of the peace of God, that passes all understanding; yea, it is so mighty as to enable its possess- ors to die with a joyful heart. In this consist that strength of the spirit, that might of the inner man, that vigor of fiiith, that holy boldness; this is that confidence toward God, that CiiAP. Y.] TEUE CIiraSTIAXITY. 15 exceeding and abounding assuranee, wliicli arc so copiously set forth by the holy apostles. 2 Tim. 2 : 1 ; Eph. 8 : 12, IG ; Phil. 1 : 14 ; 1 John 3:21; 1 Thess. 1:5; 2:2. o. That for which a man will dare to die, must be rooted in the soul, and, by the operation of the Spirit of God, afford an inward assurance. It must be a cordial, powerful, and eternal comfort, infusing heavenly and super- natural strength into the soul, by which the fear of death and the love of the world may both be subdued. Now all this begets so solid a trust in Christ, and so close a union with him, as neither death nor life is able to dis- solve. Eom. 8:38; 2 Tim. 1:12. Hence St. John says : " Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world.'* 1 John 5:4. 4. To be born of God is in truth no vain figure, no empty name; it must necessarily be a lively and powerful change, worthy of the majesty of an omnipotent God. To believe that the livinc; God could beo-et a dead off- spring, that lifeless members and use- less organs could proceed from him, were very wickedness. It is sure and undoubted that God, being a living God, cannot but beget a living man, even the new man in Christ Jesus. And our faith is the victory which overcomes the world. 1 John 5:4. Who can question whether it be en- dued with strength sufficient for the conquest? It is, it must be a lively, v.gorous, potent, divine, and victori- ous principle; but all its power is derived from him who is embraced by it, even Christ. By means of faith, we return into God again, and become one with him; and from Adam, as from an accursed vine, we are trans- planted into Christ, the living and blessed vine. John 15 : 4. In Christ, we possess everything that is good, and in him, are justified. 5. As a scion, when grafted on a good tree, grows, flourishes, and bears fruit, but, without it, withers awa^^ ; so man, when out of Christ, ie as an accursed vine, whose grapes are bit- terness and gall ; and all his works are sin. Deut. 32:32,33; Eom. 14: 23. But when he is in Christ, he is righteous and blessed ; because " he was made to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 2 Cor. 5 :21. 6. It is most evident, from what has been advanced, that works cannot possibly justify a sinner; because, be- fore we can perform any good work, we must be engrafted into Christ by faith: and it is equally clear, that justification is entirely the gift of God, freely conferred on man and preced- ing all human merit. How shall a dead man see, hear, stand, walk, or do any good thing, unless he be first raised from the dead, and endued with a new principle of life ? So neither canst thou, O man, who art dead in sins, do any work that is good or ac- ceptable, unless thou be first raised unto life by Jesus Christ. Thus right- eousness proceeds only from faith in Christ. Faith is like a new-born babe, weak and naked, poor and des- titute, and laid before the e3'es of the Saviour; from whom, as from its author, it receives righteousness and sanctification, godliness, grace and the Holy Ghost. 7. The naked child is thus clothed with the mercy of God. He lifts up his hands, receives all from God, and is made a partaker of grace and health, truth and holiness. It is, therefore^ this receiving of Christ in the heartfj that makes a man holy and happy. 16 TEUE CIIEISTIAXITY. [Book I. 8. liigliteoiisness proceeds therefore Bolely from faith, and not from works. Indeed, faith receives the whole Christ, and accepts him, together with all that he has. Then sin and death, the devil and hell, must flee, and are unable any longer to preserve their ground. Xay, so effectually and so powerfully do the merits of Christ justify the sinner, that if the sins of the whole world were charged on one man, they would not avail to condemn him, if he believed in Christ. 9. Inasmuch, therefore, as Christ lives and dwells in thy heart by faith (Eph. 3 : 17), never, O believer ! indulge the thought, that his indwelling in thee, is a dead work unattended with any vital power. Eather believe that it is a quickening principle, a mighty work, and an effectual transformino- of thy mind. Faith effects two things : it first engrafts thee into Christ, and gives him freely to thee, with all that he has; and then, it renews thee in Christ, that thou maj^est grow, flour- ish, and live in him. The wild graft is introduced into the stock, for no other end than that it may flourish and bear fruit. As by the apostasy of Adam and the temptation of the devil, the seed of the serpent was sown in man, growing up into a tree and bearing the fruits of death ; even so by the divine word and the Holy Spirit, is faith sown in man, as the seed of God. See Chap. II. In this seed all divine virtues and properties are, in a most wonderful manner, com- prehended; which gradually expand themselves from day to day. This tree is adorned with a profusion of heavenly fruit; as love, 2:)atience, humility, meekness, peace, chastity, righteousness. And thus the whole kingdom of God descends into man. For true and saving faith renews the whole man, purifies the heart, sancti- fies the soul, and delivers from the love of the world. It unites with God ; it hungers and thirsts after righteousness; it works love; and it brings peace, joy, patience, and com- fort in adversity : it overcomes the world ; it makes us sons of God, and heirs of the treasures of heaven; and it constitutes us joint-heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ. But if any one should not be conscious of that joyful- ness which faith imparts and does not experience its consoling influences, let him not, on that account, despair ; but rather let him trust in the vadcfl the territories of the spirit, it then becomes the part of the spiritual and true Israel not to submit to such a master ; but, after true re- pentance and remission of sin, to col- lect new strength in Christ, and by the grace of God to rise again from his fall, iind earnestly implore Jesus, our true .Joshua, to vanquish for him and in him, the spiritual Canaanite^ the enemy of his soul. When this is accomplishx^d, the sinner is not only forgiven and restored to favor, but he is likewise refreshed and strengthened in Christ, his great Captain in this spiritual combat. With regard, there- fore, to such as continue to feel many infirmities in the flesh, and who can- 'not do the things which they would,. I exhort them to cleave to Jesus as sincere penitents, and to cover their blemishes with his perfect obedience. It is in this order, and in this order alone, that the imputation of Christ's merits becomes salutary and effect- ual; that is, when a man forsakes his sin, and by daily repentance strives against it; repairs his former losses, and guards against future tempta- tions. But while the sinner remains a stranger to brokenness of heart on account of transgression; while ho continues to gratify the unholy pro- pensities of the flesh, nothing can be more absurd than for him to suppose that the merits of Christ are imputed to him; for how can the blood of Christ benefit him who treads it under foot? Heb. 10:29. CHAPTER XYII. THE INHERITANCE AND POSSESSIONS OF CHRISTIANS ARE NOT OP THIS WORLD; THEY SHOULD, THEREFORE, REGARD THEMSELVES AS STRANGERS IN IT, WHILE THEY MAKE USE OF EARTHLY THINGS. Weibrought nothing into this ioorld^ and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment, let us be tJ^erewith content. — 1 Tim, 6 : 7, 8. THE design of the blessed God in creating temporal things, was that ithey might supply man's bodily wants ; and it is right that they should be .used for such a purpose, and be received at the hands of God with gratitude, attended with fear and trembling. In re«^ard to those thinors which are not absolutely necessary, whether gold and silver, food and raiment, etc., they are left to man in order to prove 'him; so that from the manner in which he employs these objects, it may be discovered how he stands affected towards God, while possessed of the goods of this world : whether, on the one hand, he will still cleave to God, and in the midst of earthJy possessions, keep his eye constantly fixed on those which are to come; or whether, withdrawing his love from God, he will attach him- self to this fleeting world, and prefer a fading earthly paradise, to that which is permanent and heavenly. 2. Man is therefore left to his own Chap. XYII.] TRUE CHRISTIAMTY. 51 liberty and choice, in order that he may be judged hereafter according to that which he has chosen here, and thus be without excuse in that da}^ Agreeably to this principle, it was the solemn declaration of Moses to the people of Israel : I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing : therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live." Deut. 30 : 19. 3. The things of this world are then designed, not to fill us with earthly delight and pleasures, but to be tests and trials of our fidelity. In these trials the fall is very eas}', when once we begin to withdraw from God. The pleasures of this world are the fruits of a forbidden tree; of which we are warned by God not to eat, lest our minds going out after them should eventually take delight in them, after the manner of those who know no other pleasures, but such as are de- rived from earthly objects. These persons, by indulging the flesh, con- vert meat, drink, and apparel into snares by which they are turned away from God. 4. It certainly is the duty of every true Christian, to esteem himself a stranger and pilgrim in this world; and as bound to use earthly blessings, not as means of satiating lust or grati- fying wantonness, but of supplying his absolute wants and necessities. We ought not to set our affections on these inferior objects, but on Him alone who is able to satisfy them. To do otherwise, is to expose our- selves to dangerous temptations, and with Eve, to eat daily of the forbid- den tree. The real Christian is not intent upon worldly concerns, or de- licious fare; for his interior eye is di- rected to that bread which endureth unto eternal life. Nor is he solicit- ous about fine and fashior.aljle ap- parel; aspiring rather after robes of divine light, and the raiment of glori- fied bodies. In short, all thinjrs that please the natural man in this world, are, to a true Christian, only so many crosses and temptations, allurements of sin and snares of death, that con- tinually exercise his virtue. What- ever man uses without the fear of God, whatever he applies to the mere gratifying of his flesh, cannot fail to operate as a poison to the soul, how- ever pleasant and salutary it may ap- pear to be to the body. Yet, so far from laboring to know the forbidden tree of worldly pleasures and its vari- ous fruits, man gives himself up to a careless and thoughtless state of life, and yields to the lust of the flesh, not considering that this lust is really the forbidden tree. 5. The Christian, on the other hand, uses all things in the fear of God, and as a stranger and pilgrim on the earth ; avoiding every kind of excess in meat, drink, apparel, houses, and the other things of this life, lest, by an impro- per use of them, he should offend both his Father in heaven, and his fellow- Christians upon earth. He will not so much as gaze on the forbidden tree^ in order that he may not be ensnared ; but Avith the eye of faith, he stead- fastly beholds the future felicity of the soul, and for the sake of this felicity, refuses to yield to the crav- ings of corrupt nature. What does it profit the body that in this world it swims in lusts and pleasures, w^hen, after a short period, it must be de- voured by w^orms, and stripped of all its enjoyments ! " Xaked," says Job, " came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither." Job 1 : 21. W^e bring into the world 52 TPtUE CIIRISTiA^^ITY. [Book T a naked and infirm, a poor and indi- gent body; and even this is the spoil of death ; for when we pass out of this world we leave it behind us forever. C. Whatever w^e enjo}" from the time of our birth to the period of our dis- solution, is all the bread of mercy and affliction, and designed to supply the bare w^ants of this mortal life. At the approach of death all is taken from us again, and we depart out of the world poorer than when we entered it. When man enters the world, he brings with him life and a body, and finds the necessary shelter, meat, and drink pro- vided for him; but, after existing a short time, he is, in a moment, bereft of all, and leaves behind him even his body and his life. Consider then, O man ! whether there can be an^^thing more wretched and poor, more naked and miserable, than man when he dies, if he be not clothed with Christ's right- eousness, and enriched in his God. 7. As, therefore, we are confessedly strangers and pilgrims here, and at the hour of dissolution must leave be- hind us every earthly enjoyment, let us, at least, cease to encumber our souls with things which we cannot carry out of this w^orld, and the use of which is resti'icted to this life only. Is it not a species of madness to heap up riches for a frail body, for a body which we must leave behind us, and which cannot possibly enjoy wealth hereafter? Luke 12:20,21. Are w^e ignorant that ther^ is another and a better w'orld, another body and an- other life, and that, whatever we may appear in the sight of men, we are in the eye of God only strangers and so- journers on the earth? Ps. 39 : 12 ; Lev. 25 : 23. "Ye are," saith the Lord, " strangers and sojourners with me," that is, before my eyes, although ye may not remember it.'' 8. If, then, we are strangers and so- journers, it follows that our country and our home must be elsewhere. This will be most evident to us, if we com- pare time with eternit^r, the visible wnth the invisible world, the earthly tabernacle with the heavenl}^, and things that are frail and perishing, with those that are lasting and eter- nal. Such a comparison will afford us a due insight into time and eternity, and lead us to behold with the eye of faith, such things as remain altogether unknown to the unthinking multitude. It is from the want of this considera- tion, that so many become lax and disorderly in their manners, wallow in the mire of earthly pleasures, and drown themselves in avarice and worldly cares. It is from the want of this reflection, that the major part of mankind, however keen and shrewd in the pursuits of this world, are blind and insensible to the concerns of the immortal soul. They addict them- selves so much to this life, as to esteem it to be the most delightful, the best and noblest of all; while the true Christian, on the contrary, accounts it an exile, a vale of tears, a place of misery, a deep and dark prison. 9. Hence it is that those who love this world, and seek their happiness in it, do not excel even the brute cre- ation in wisdom or understanding; and as they live, so they die like beasts. Ps. 49 : 12, 20. They are to- tally blind as it respects the inward man; they do not even think of heavenly and eternal things ; they never rejoice in God, but only in the low and sordid pleasures afforded by this world. It is in earthly things that they seek their rest and their enjoy- ment; and having obtained their ob- ject after much labor and toil, they sit quietly down and congratulate them- Chap. XYII.] TRUE CHRISTIANITY. 53 selves on their possessions. Wretched, miserable meti ! blind and insensible to the tremendous concerns of their eternal salvation ! here, they lie con- tentedly in the darkness of ignorance, soon to remove hence to that of death and damnation. Luke 1 : 79. 10. In order to our better acquaint- ance with the nature of our pilgrim- age here, we should unceasingly con- sider the example left us by the Redeemer, and earnestly follow him both in his life and doctrine. lie hath set us an unerring pattern of universal holiness. He is our captain and our guide; and to his life and manners, our lives and our manners should be conformed. Go thou, therefore, and look unto him; unto him who, when the greatest of all men, voluntarily chose that life in which nothing of greatness appeared; a life of mean- ness, poverty, and conten)pt of honor, wealth, and pleasure, the threefold deity of this world. All these things, to which the world offers sacrifice, the Lord contemned ; for he himself said, "He had not where to lay his head." Matt. 8 : 20. 11. Such, likewise, was the char- acter of David ; who, before his ex- altation to the throne, was poor and despised; and w^ho, when created king, accounted all his regal splendor as nothing compared with eternal life, and the kingdom of God, to which he w^as called. "How amiable," says he, are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God." — " A day in thy courts is better than a thousand." Ps. 84. As if he had said, I possess indeed a kingdom, and have people subject to my svvaj^; I possess kingly palaces, and the strong hold of Zion; but what are all these in com- parison of thy tabernacle, O Lord of hosts? So, too. Job found comfort in his Redeemer. Job. 19 : 25. 12. Neither Peter, nor Paul, nor any of the apostles, sought the riches of this life, but directed their attention to those which were laid up in another and better world. Hence they freely espoused the despised life of Christ, walking in his charity, lowliness, and patience; contemning the earth, and triumphing over the world, its snares, and its allurements. They 2:)rayed for those who cursed them; they thanked those who reproached them; they blessed those who reviled them. 1 Cor. 4:12; Acts 5:41. When they were persecuted, they glorified God; when scourged, they were immovably patient, professing that" through much tribulation they must enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22); and when slaughtered, thej^ praj^ed (with Christ their Head), "Father, forgive them" (Luke 23:34); "lay not this sin to their charge." Acts 7 : 60. Thus were they, on the one hand, dead to all wrath and revenge; to bitterness, ambition, and pride; to the love of the world, and of their own life also; while, on the other, they lived in Christ and in his love, in his meek- ness and humility, his patience and his resignation. They are, indeed, made alive in Christ by faith, who thus live. 13. To a lover of the world, this excellent way of life is unknown; for with regard to those who do not live in Christ, nor know that the truth is in him, these are still dead in their sins; dead in wrath and hatred, in envy and avarice, in pride and re- venge ; and as long as they so con- tinue, they are in a state of impeni- tence, and have not been quickened by faith in Jesus, be their boasting 54 TEUE CHRISTIANITY. [Book I. what it may. But the genuine dis- ciples of Christ know it to be a duty to follow the steps of their divine Master (1 Pet. 2:21), and to be con- formed to his life, as the supreme and original pattern of all virtue and good- ness. In a word, the life of Christ is their exemplar; he himself is their hool:, whence they derive all solid and substantial learning, as it respects both life and doctrine. Such persons declare with the apostle, "We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." 2 Cor. 4 : 8. And with holy men of old they unite in saying, "Here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come." Ileb. 13 : 14. 14. If, then, from a review of all these considerations, it evidently ap- pear, as it surely does, that in this world we are strangers and have no abiding place, it follows that we were not created for the sake of earthly things as the ultimate end of our being; but that there remain for us another country and other dwellings, to gain which we ought not to hesitate to sacrifice a hundred worlds, or even life itself. These are subjects upon which the true Christian continually meditates with pleasure; and it is his joy that here he has no continuing city, but is created for life eternal. But how sad is the state of those who, occupied wholly in rjursuing the things of this life, lade their souls with a crushing weight of worldly vanities, and thereby expose them to endless perdition C PI AFTER XVIII. SHOWING HOW GREATLY GOD IS OFFENDED, WHEN iMAN PREFERS THINGS THAT ARE TEMPORAL TO THOSE THAT ARE ETERNAL; AND HOW GREAT THE EVIL IS, WHEN OUR AFFECTIONS CLEAVE TO THE CREATURE AND NOT TO THE CREATOR. And the anger of the Lord v)as kindled ; and the fire of the Lord burnt among them^ and consumed them^ etc. — Numb. 11:1. MANY there are, in our day, who, under cover of religion, seek after earthly and carnal things; who use moi'e diligence to become great and aflQucnt by the gospel, than to be good and happy. They love " the praise of men, more than the praise of God." John 12 : 43. They choose rather to gratify the flesh in its sinful propensities, than to bring it down into true repentance and broken ness of spirit. But the character of the true Christian is of an opposite kind. He is more concerned about eternal than temporal things; he seeks the glory that endureth, more than that which passeth away; he thirsts after heavenly and invisible riches, and not after those that are earthly and visible. In short, he mortifies and crucifies the flesh, in order that the spirit may live.j 2. The sum of Christianity is to fol- low Christ. Hence, it should be our chief care to imitate the example Chap. XVIII.] TEUE CHRISTIANITY. 55 which he has left us. Our thoughts and actions, our desires and labors, sliould all terminate in the attain- ment of this one thing needful^ how we may come to Christ ; how be saved by, and united with him to all eternit}^ 3. Never should we cease to consider that endless felicity to which we are called; but cheerfully await the dis- solution of our earthly bodies^ and a translation to that inheritance wiiich is reserved in heaven for us. 4. By these means, which habituate the soul more and more to the pres- ence of God, there is begotten in man a holy thirst after eternal things ; while a desire after earthly objects, which is insatiable in its nature, is at the same time powerfully restrained. This is taught by St. Paul in that precious saying: " Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him." Col. 3 : 17. 5. The name of God, in which all things are to be done, is the honor, praise, and glory of God. Ps. 48 : 10. To this great end of human life, all our works should tend; for then it is that they are wrought in God (John 3 : 21), and will follow us into a blessed eternity. Rev. 14 : 13. 6. In a w^ord. Almighty God, our chief and sovereign Good should be the principle and end of all our designs, if we would not fail of eternal salva- tion. Hence St. Paul says, " But thou, O man of God, flee these things" (1 Tim. 6:11); namely, covetousness and the love of the world. He calls the Christian, " a man of God," because he is born of God, and lives in God, and therefore is the son and heir of God; as, on the other hand, a man of the world, is one who lives in con- formity to the w^orld, wdio "has his portion in this life, and whose belly is filled with the hid treasure" of the earth. Psal. 17:14. From these snares the Christian is required care- fully to flee, and to follow after right- eousness, godliness, faith, love, pa- tience, meekness ; and to lay hold on eternal life, whereunto he is called. 7. When a man refuses to be guided by these salutary maxims, he falls of necessity into every kind of enormous and presumptuous sin,. and will at last be punished with eternal fire. See, for an illustration, Numb.. 11:1. 8. Inundations and w^ar, famine, pestilence, and conflagrations, are, it should be remembered, punishments inflicted by God, on account of our preferring things temporal to things eternal; and because we are more care- ful of a weak and perishing body, than we are of an imperishable, immortal soul. All this betra3's the highest in- gratitude, and an open contempt of the blessed God, deserving to be visited with punishments, both here and here- after. For, does not man by such con- duct set aside an almighty, eternal Being, from whom he derives both his body and his soul; and convert an im- potent creature into an idol, to which he surrenders his love and affection ? He w^ho loves the creature more than the Creator, and things transitory more than those wdjich are eternal, offers surely the highest possible af- front to his Maker, and opposes the great design of the Christian religion. 9. It is no doubt true, that all the creatures of God are good in them- selves; but when men begin to set their affections on then), and by their irregular love to convert them, as it were, into idols, they then become an abomination in the sight of God, and are justly ranked among the most odious imaijres of gold and silver. 10. What else can result from a 56 TRUE CHRISTIANITY. [Book 1. carnal love of the world but hell and djinmiition ! Consider the case of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19 : 2A), and the one in Numb. 11: 1, already nkcntioned. These are illustrations of the eternal fire and damnation which must follow a rejection of God. 11. The love and joy, the wealth and honors of the true Christian, are circumscribed only by eternity itself; for, "where his ^/vrtswrc is, there will his heart be also." Luke 12 : 34. From the lust and love of the world, on the con- trary, nothing can result but eternal damnation. " The world passeth away and the lust thereof; but he thatdoeth the will of God abideth forever" (1 John 2: 17) : and hence, St. John calls upon the faithful entirel}^ to withdraw their affections from the world ; say- ing, "Love not the world, neither the •things that are in the world." 1 John 2:15. These and similar considera- tions powerfully convince us, that God will not permit us to fix our affections on any creature whatsoever. 12. But this will more fully appear from the following reflections: I. Love is the very heart of a man, and the noblest of all his affections; hence, it is due to God only, as the supreme object, and sovereign Good. II. It is absolute folly to love tem- poral things, which cannot love us; whereas the infinitel}^ blessed God de- serves to be loved alone, since from a pure principle of love, he created us unto eternal life, and hath, to the same purpose, redeemed and sanctified us. III. Like things are naturally loved by their li/ie. Hence, God made us after his own image, in order that we might love Ilim; and that, next to himself, we might love our neighbor, created after the same image. lY. The human soul resembles a mirror, representing eveiy object in- differently that is placed before it, whether it be of heaven or of earth. Therefore turn thy soul wholly and onl}'- to God, that this image may be fully expressed in it. Y. The patriarch Jacob, when dwell- ing in Mesopotamia, far removed from his native soil, never abandoned his purpose to return, and, at length, after twenty j'cars' service, demanded his wives and wages; and, cheered by the recollection of the place of his na- tivity, returned thither. So should thy soul, amidst the various engage- ments of this life, and the hurry of outward emploj'ments, long without ceasing after thy heavenly fatherland. YI. Man is made either better or worse by that which he loves. He that loves God, partakes freely of the divine virtue and goodness that re- side in Him ; but he that loves the world, is defiled with all those sins and evils which attend it. Yll. AVhen King Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 4 : 33) was too much controlled by the love of the world, he lost, the very form of a man, and degenerated into that of a beast. So all men, blot- ting from their hearts the image and love of God, are transformed, as it re- spects their inward man, into the na- ture of brutes. For surely those who wholly surrender themselves to the love of this world, are no better. YIII. Lastly, that which a man has loved here, and carried about in his heart, shall be manifested in him here- after; and with this he shall associate himself forever, whether it be God or the world. If the world have been the object of his love in this life, it will never leave him hereafter, but will prove his death and his tormentor to all eternity. Chap. XIX.] TRUE CnEISTIANITY. 57 CHAPTER XIX. HE WHO IS MOST OF ALL CONSCIOUS OF HIS MISERY, IS MOST OF ALL ACCEPTA- BLE TO god; and his christian KNOWLEDGE OF HIS MISERY, URGES HIM TO SEEK THE GRACE OF GOD. To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembletk at my xcord. — IsAiAU GO : 2. THESE comfortable words, our gra- cious and mercital God hath spoken by the prophet, in order to cheer our hearts, when they are most oppressed with misery and sorrow. Be not thou therefore ashamed to be bruised in spirit, and abased in thine own eyes. Humble thyself in the dust, and deem thyself unworthy of all irrace and favor: so shalt thou be raised out of thine own vileness, and obtain, in Christ, acceptance w^ith Al- might}^ God. 2. He who is still something in his own estimation, is not duly humbled and depi-essed in his heart; nor can he expect to be regarded by that Be- ing who looks upon the poor and con- trite ones only. ''If," says the apostle, "a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth him- self" (Gal. 6:3): and the reason of this is, that God is all in all, alone; and the creature must consequently become a bare and empty nothing. So great and so practical is this truth, that man is not only to believe it in his heart, but to express it in his life and conduct. 3. If ever thou designest, then, to give all glory and all honor to God, that He may be all, alone, thou must surely thyself become nothing in thine own eyes; and entertain a very low opinion of thyself, and of thy profiting iu spiritual things. For how is it pos- sible that God should be all in all, whilst thou thyself continuest to be something? 'By this self exaltation thou invadest the sovereignty of God, and appropriatest that to thj'self, which is his proper due and prerogative. "It was before the Lord,'' said David to Michal, who had reproached him, "and I will yet be more vile than tlius, and will be base in mine own sight." 2 Sam. 6:21, 22. 4. A man that will be something, is the matter out of which God is wont to make nothing ; but he, on the con- trary, who loves to be reputed as noth- ing, and who, in his own judgment, is so, is the matter out of which the Al- mighty maketh something. He that w^ill be wise in his own opinion, is the matter out of which God maketh a fool; and he who is truly sensible of his own folly and nothingness, is that of w^hich God forms a wise and great man. He who, before the Lord, sin- cerely confesses himself to be the greatest and most miserable of sin- ners, is, in the sight of God, the first and greatest of all men. He who be- lieves himself to be the chief sinners^ shall be honored by the Lord as the chief of sa/nfs. Matt. 23: 12; Luke 1:52. 5. This is that humility which God exalts ; that misery which he regards ; that nothing from which he createth something. And as, at the creation, the glorious frame of heaven and earth was 68 TEUE CHRISTIANITY. [Book I. brought foi-tli out of nothing, so must man bo reduced to a deep sense of his vileness and nothingness, if ever he be exulted to glory and to dignity. 6. Reflect upon the example of David, whose misery God beheld, and to whom he granted the richest gifts of his grace. Consider, again, the ex- ample of Jacob, who confessed, "I atn not worthy of the least of all thy mer- cies." Gen. 32: 10. 7. But above all, lay to heart the ex- ample of Christ, the grand and blame- less pattern of a Christian, lie was abased below the meanest of men ; Avas made a worm and a curse for our sake (Ps. 22:6), despised and rejected of men. Isaiah 53:3. But the lower he sunk, the higher did he afterwards rise, w^hen he received a name which is above every name. 8. But w^ho is that blessed and lowly one who is nothing in his own ej'es? It is he who inwardly and in his heart esteems himself worthy of no divine benefit, wdiether bodily or spiritual. For he that arrogates anj'thing to himself, esteems himself to be some- thing ; and is, therefore, the farthest removed from divine grace and from this new creation. So destructive is the spirit of self, that it renders even grace of no effect, and shuts out that which contains all things in it. For if a man judge himself worthy of any- thing, he then does not take all things as a free gift from the hands of God. Whatever we are, however, is of grace and not merit; nor can Ave call any- thing our own, except our sins, our helplessness, and our misery. All else belongs to God. 9. A man considered in himself, that is, independently of God, by w^iom he subsists, is no more than a shadow. And as the shadow of a tree con- stantly conforms to the tree on which it depends, so should man conform to the will of God from w^jom he has his very life and being; as the apostle says: "In him we live, and move, and have our being." Acts 17: 28. It is true, the fruit will some- times appear in the shadow of the tree; yet it does not therefore belong to the shadow, but to the tree : so all the good fruits that may appear in thy life and conduct, are not the pro- j duce of thy OAvn self and thy ability, but of God alone, who is the original source whence all good fruits proceed. And as the apple grows not from that gross substance the wood, which is seen by the eye, but from the seminal virtue Avhich the tree contains, and j w^hich is made active from above ; so the new man, and the fruit he bears, spring not up from an3'thing that is gross and visible to the eye, but from a supernatural and invisible seed. 10. Now, man is by nature a dry tree; but God is his strength, whereby life is renewed in him, and he himself is made fat and green in the house of God. God is the "strength of our life" (Psal. 27: 1), says the Psalmist: and hence we "shall bring forth much fruit whilst we abide in Christ." John 15:5. 11. When a man is thus wretched and poor in his own e^^es, and has nothing in the world in which to trust but the pure grace of God, mani- fested in Christ Jesus, then God gra- ciously "looks upon him." This di- vine regard inust be understood in a divine sense. The look or counte- nance of God, is not as the counte- nance of men, destitute of life and virtue: but it is accompanied w^ith a living power and influence that sup- ports and revives the faint and peni- tent sinner. And as none but the humble and contrite are capable of CuAP. XIX.] TEUE CHRISTIANITY. 69 this heavenly regard ; so the more fully they receive the consolation which God grants, the less do ihcy think themselves worthy of it. Such a one deems himself unworthy of all blessings divine and temporal. lie says Avith Jacob, "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth which thou hast shewed unto thy servant:" for behold, since thou gavest me thy Son Jesus Christ, I come with two bands, with the blessings of grace and of glory. Gen. 32 : 10. And truly, if a man should weep a sea of tears, it were by no means sufficient to purchase or de- serve the least part of heavenly com- fort : the grace of God cannot be merited by men, who deserve nothing but wrath and eternal damnation. 12. AVhoever thus acquaints himself in faith with his own miser}', is truly one of those poor and contrite men, to whom the Lord graciously looks. Without this previous brokenness of heart, man cannot expect to enjoy this blessed aspect of God, nor indeed that grace and kindness which is promised to the poor in spirit only. In this weakness and poverty the apostle glories, when he says : " If I must needs glory, 1 will glory of the thinfjs which concern mine infirmities" (2 Cor. 11 :30) : and he adds the reason : "that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 Cor. 12 : 9. For so great indeed is the mercy of God, that he will not see the work of his hands de- stroyed : but the weaker the creature is in itself, the more is it sustained by the power of an Almighty Being. For in the weakness of the creature, the power of God is exalted, as the Lord declared unto Paul : " My grace is sufficient for thee ; for my strength made perfect in weakness." 13. The more vile and miserable therefore a Christian is in his own opinion, the more freely God looks upon him, to the greater manifesta- tion of the riches of his glory. And in bestowing this heavenly consola- tion, he does not look at all on man's merit, but barely on his want and poverty. And this comfort can in no degree be compared with any human comfort, all which it infinitely ex- ceeds. In such a sense, then, God looks to the contrite man and com- forts his spirit. 14. By "the poor and contrite man," is not to be understood, a man that is poor in the outw^ard sense of the word, or who is altogether desti- tute of human help and relief; but he is the poor man, who labors under the load of his sins, and is grieved for them. If sin were not in the world, there could be no misery: but now so much misery cannot befall a man, but that he is still w^orthy of much more. Ps. 103 : 10. Far be it therefore from us to grieve, because we have not many temporal benefits conferred upon us; since w^e are not worthy even of the least of them, no, not of life itself. Our flesh and blood may think this a hard sajang; yet every penitent sin- ner ought to be a severe judge in his own case, and ought not to make the least allowance to his carnal propensi- ties. This is the order in which we are to obtain God's favor and mercy. 15. And what has man now left to boast of, or what lan<>;ua^j:e shall he employ when he opens his mouth? The best course he can take will be to say simply, "Lord, I have sinned; have thou mercy upon me!" And, truly, God himself requires no more from a man than that he humbly de- I plore his sin, and in the unfeigned language of repentance pray for par- don. Whoever neglects this, may be 60 TRUE CHRISTIANITY. [Book I said to have slighted the best and most needful part of his being, Weep not therefore, O Man! on account of thy boihj^ that it is naked and sick, pinched with hunger and cold, in- sulted and persecuted; or because it is confined by bonds and a prison: but humbfe thyself before the Lord, and bewail the woful condition of thy soul, which is constrained to dwell in so wretched a house as thy body is, a house of sin and death. "O wretched man," says the apostle, " who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Rom. 7:24. This free and Christian acknowledgment of thine own inward misery, this godly sorrow, this thirst after divine grace, this faith leaning on Christ alone, open, in Christ, the door of grace, by which God enters into thy soul. " Be zealous, therefore, and re- pent. Behold, I stand," saith the Lord, ''at the door and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with me " (Rev. 8 : 20) : which supper is nothing else than the remission of sin, attended with heavenly comfort, with life and blessedness. This is the door of faith (Acts 14 : 27), through which the Lord, at the right time, enters into the soul ; and after the day of toil and sorrow is over, refreshes her with the light of his countenance. Then it is that " mercy and truth meet to gether; righteousness and peace kiss each other; that truth springs out ol the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven." Ps. 85 : 10, 11 Then it is that the woman, that pooil sinner, but now a penitent, anointf the feet of her Lord, w^ashes then with tears, and wipes them with th( hairs of her head, expressing thereb} all the marks of an unfeigned anc deep humility. Luke 7:37. Then ii is, that the spiritual priest (Rev. 1 : 6) in the holy ornaments of faith, offen up the true sacrifice, even a broker and lowly spirit, wnth the incense of ; true contrition and prayer. Ps. 51 : 19,; Then it is that the true sanctified^ water of purifying (Numb. 8:7) isji applied, — the tears which grief for sir' caused to flow; and now, through faith and by the power of the blood of Christ, the spiritual Israelite i^ washed and cleansed. 16. And thus, O Christian ! is seen how by the sense of thy own misery, and by faith in Christ attending it.j, thou mayest attain the grace and! favor of God. To conclude, the more wretched and miserable any one is in his own judgment, the more dearly he is beloved of God, and the more gra-j cious is the regard which the Lord will bestow upon him. ;hap. XX.] TEUfi CIIBISTIANITY. CI CHAPTER XX. L TRULY CHRISTIAN SORROW FOR SIN PROMOTES THE DAILY AMENDMENT OF THE LIFE OF MAN, MAKES IIIM MEET FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND FITS HIM, IN AN INCREASING DEGREE, FOR ETERNAL LIFE. Jodly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to he repented of : hut the sorrow of the world I worketh death. — 2 CoR. 7 : 10. rRUE Christianity consists solely in pure faith, love, and a holy life, 'his holiness of life springs from true cpentance, sorrow, and self-knowl- dge; so that a man not only more ind more feels his failings and imper- )ctions, but amends them also, and, h this order, partakes of the right- 'ousness and holiness of Christ by lith. 1 Cor. 1 : 30. 2. But in order to regulate the rand work of salvation with the bet- 3r order and care, thou oughtest now walk in a submissive and filial fear f God, guarding against all that would ^ratify the flesh. "All things are law- il," says the apostle, "but all things re not expedient" (1 Cor. 6:12); iat is, " all things edify not." 1 Cor. J : 23. As a dutiful child, confined to le father's house, does not so much s attempt to follow his own humor 1 everything; but, unwilling to of- ;nd his parent, observes his will and ieasure: so a true Christian and child r God will behave himself in his ' ather's house, in so careful a man- 3r, as not to allow his senses any un- wful liberty. He will neither do nor )eak anything without consulting ist his Father in heaven, under hose eye he constantly lives, know- g that He is everywhere present, o. Most men live without any fear God, freely indulging themselves I worldly pleasures and satisfaction. They will not consider that it is far better to have a constant fear of God fixed in the heart, than a constant joy of the world. For as the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and begets a serious frame of mind; so the joy of this world extinguishes all good im- pressions, and banishes true wisdom out of the heart, together with all godly fear and devotion. 4. By daily repentance and mortifi- cation of the flesh, man is daily re- newed in God's image; for "though our outward man perish, yet the in- ward man is renewed day b}" day" (2 Cor. 4 : 16) ; and often, in the midst of his sorrows, is he visited with a taste of heavenly joy and sweetness. Where- as, the pleasure and joy of the world are always attended with heaviness of heart, and an inward sting of a wounded conscience. If the people were but more sensible of the melan- choly effects resulting from Avorldly pleasure, and particularly of that damp which it puts ujoon heavenly comfort, they would certainly dread all loose and worldly enjoyments: since thereby the grace of devotion is quenched, and the soul diverted from those purer pleasures which the Gos- pel of Christ affords. 5. There are two things which pre- vent those who seriously consider them from being influenced either by worldly pleasures or outward calani- 62 TEUE CHRISTIAmTY. [Book I ities. The one is, the eternal pain of the damned; whoever earnestly pon- ders it, will almost find it impossible to be thoroughly merry after the way of the world. The other is, the eternal joy of the blessed in heaven. Whoever has a sound apprehension of so happy a state, will never bo greatly moved with the calamities of the present life; and this arises from the consideration of the eternity of those divine enjoy- ments. But 60 great is the levity of our hearts, that it hinders us from an}^ serious reflection on so important a subject. And hence it is no wonder that we are both without this Avliole- somc contrition and sorrow, and igno- rant of all celestial joys and comforts. 6. It is the p:*erogative of a true Christian to be, on the one hand, but sparingly, if at all, moved with earthly things, or temporal advantages; and, on the other, to be the more deeply im- pressed with the joys of God, and of life eternal. Keither is he immoder- ately dejected in the present advei'S- ities that may befall him; but the loss of the soul grieves him to his vcvy heart, and he counts it worthy of long lamentation. As for the perishing comfort of this life, he knows it can- not be called a loss, since he shall re- ceive a thousand-fold for it in the world to come. But when a soul is once cast away, it can never be restored. 7. Blessed is the man who is affected Avilh godly sorrow, and tastes that ce- lestial consolation w^iich succeeds it. But, alas! how much of our time do we spend in worldly joy and merri- ment, when we have greater reason to bewail our own misery and that of others! There is no true liberty, no solid delight, no substantial satis- faction, but in the fear of God, and in a quiet, serene conscience. But this blessing can never exist without faith, and without a ho]y life and conversa- tion. This faith, attended with godly sorrow, daily proceeds more and more to correct our faults and imperfections. Whoever neglects this daily reform of his life and manners, wastes the most precious part of his time, which he should employ to secure the interest of his immortal soul. He is an adver- sary to the new life; he hinders the kingdom of God in himself; and he can never be cured of the blindness and hardness of his heart, so lona: as he remains in that state. 8. It follows, therefore, that he only deserves the name of a prudent and wise man, who carefully avoids what- ever he understands to be an obstacle to the refoi'mingof his life, and to the improving of himself in heavenly gifts and graces. Happy is he who not only avoids such things as are detri- mental to his body and estate, but also detests those wdiich hinder the soul in her spiritual progress. 9. Be therefore courageous, O Man, and endure hardness as a good soldier of Christ ! 2 Tim. 2 : 3. An evil habit of mind must be overcome with a good one. It is the apostle's exhor- tation : " Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." Bom. 12 : 21. The cure of thy soul is not im- possible. View, in the first place, thy own corruptions, and judge them se- verely, before thou presumest to cen- sure the faults of thy neighbor. Be not too forward in admonishing; and correcting others; but endeavor to heal first tliy evils at home, before thou enterest upon the reforming of those that are abroad. 10. Go on, therefore, O Christian, and learn the lesson of daily repent- ance, sorrow, and contrition of heart. If the world de!!;pise thee upon that account, and decry this wholesome Chap. XX.] TRUE CHPJSTIANITY. 63 exercise as error and as melancholy, be not concerned at such poor and empty reflections. Grieve rather that i thou art called indeed a Christian, but that thou hast not yet arrived at I that strictness of life and purity of manners, which the Gospel requires. Bear the contempt of the world with Christian constancy, and consider the singular benefit w4iich thence accrues to the whole practice of true religion. For, if thou be scorned by the world, ' then God is ready to support thee by fresh supplies of life and comfort, ac- cording to his own declaration: "I dwell in the high and holy place; : with him also that is of a contrite and i humble spirit, to revive the spirit of • the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." Isa. 57 : 15. 11. It is impossible that divine and worldly joy should, at one and the same time, reside in the heart of man ; so very contrary are the}^ to each other, and so inconsistent in their na- tures, causes, and effects. The joy of the world is begotten in prosperity; but that w^hich is from heaven, springs up in the midst of crosses and adver- i sities. I 12. It is true that it is against the 'bent of nature to rejoice in the time of adversity, as the apostle himself seems to intimate : " As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing ; as poor, yet ; making many rich; as having noth- : ing, and yet possessing all things." ; 2 Cor. G : 10. But then it is no less true, that the grace of God cleanses • our nature, and qualifies it for such spiritual exercises. And it was after this change that the apostles rejoiced, ^because the}" were " counted worthy ito suffer shame for the name of Christ." iActs 5:41. I 13. A Christian is become by the igrace of God, a new creature, and hence the tribulations of this life are made easy to him. The apostle de- clared, that he even "gloried in trib- ulations." Rom. 5 : 3. As affliction is a grievous burden to the old man, so it gives ease and joy to the new man in Christ. Again, that joy which is from above, infinitely surpasses that which is from below. Nay, the very reproach and contempt w^hich a Chris- tian undergoes for the sake of Christ, is attended with a secret satisfaction : and the reason we are so little af- fected with these heavenly visitations, is on account of the joy of the world, to which we are still too much addicted. 14. A truly humble man thinks himself worthy of all manner of suffer- ings, and unworthy of an}^ divine com- fort : but the more unworthy he thinks himself in true broken n ess of spirit, the more is he visited with the good- ness of God. And the more he weeps over his sin, the more is he weaned from worldly enjoyments; for the whole world gradually becomes to him a burden and a bitter affliction. 15. A man that seriously views him- self and his inward condition, finds more reason to mourn than to rejoice. And when he takes a survey of the lives of others, he will undoubtedly meet with abundance of objects wor- thy of pity or of compassion, rather than of hatred and envy. Why did Christ weep over Jerusalem, even over that Jerusalem which persecuted and slew him? Luke 19:41. Truly their sin and blindness was the evi- dent cause of it. And in this he has also left us a pattern, and with deep feeling taught us, that nothing in the world should more powerfully melt us into tears and compassion, than our own sins, and the impenitence and carnal security which everywhere abound. 64 TEUE CIIEISTIANITY. [Book I. 1(). Did a man as often revolve in his mind, that he must certainly die, and appear before the judgment-seat of God, as he thinks on the concerns of this life, and how to provide for them, surely he would be abundantly more serious in his conversation, more diligent in the reformation of his life, and more fervent in all the duties of repentance. Did he more- over call to mind the unspeakable and eternal torments of hell, succeed- ingj as they do, a short enjoyment of sin; this consideration would embitter to him the sweets of this world, and in comparison, render all the afflic- tions of this life, pleasant and easy to him. But alas ! the enticements of the flesh are so strong and prevalent, and our compliances in their favor, so for- ward, that we seldom yield to such serious reflections as these. 17. Upon the whole, this should be a Christian's daily consideration : if his body be pampered in lust and luxury ; if the flesh be humored and gratified in its inordinate cravings; then the life of the spirit loses its vigor, and if not seasonably supported, will pine away into death and de- struction. Whereas, if the flesh be crucified with its lusts and desires, the spirit lives and gathers strength. One is the death of the other. If, therefore, the spirit shall live in thee, then thy body must be certainly made a spiritual sacrifice (Eom. 12 : 1), and must spiritually die to the world, and to all conformity with it. 18. This has been the constant prac- tice of all the saints, from the begin- ning of the world until now. They have with thanksgiving eaten and drunk the bread and cup of tears, ac- cording to that declaration of David: "Thou feedest us with the bi-ead of tears, and thou givest us tears to drink in great measure." Ps. 80:5. And in another Psalm: "My tears have been my meat day and night." Ps. 42 : 3. Again, "I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping." Ps. 102 : 9. 19. This has been the "daily bread" of all the saints to this day; yet it has, however, been sweetened to them, faith being mixed with it. This is that godly " sorrow which worketh repentance to salvation, not to be re- pented of" 2 Cor. 7 : 10. 20. But as this godly sorrow is at- tended with life and happiness, so the "sorrow of the world worketh death" itself 2 Cor. 7 : 10. This kind of sor- row arises from the loss of honor, of temporal goods and estates, and other things of that nature. This sorrow has proved so fatal to many, that they have laid violent hands on them- selves, and procured their own ruin and death by various contrivances. Of this there are not wanting many examples in the history both of Pa- gans and Christians: though, indeed, the latter ought better to understand the maxims and doctrines of Christ, who has abundantly taught us, not to set our hearts on objects so frail and perishing. For what is the loss of a handful of fading things, to the life of a man, with which all the goods of this world cannot be compared? 21. Be not, therefore, cast down by the loss of temporal goods, which, by the very laws of nature, we can enjoy but a little while: but lay the more to heart those incorruptible riches, that are laid up in the world to come; and do whatever thou canst to i)revent the loss of them. Death will strip thee at last of all w^orldly possessions. Here shall be an end of pomp and great- ness. This law of death is equally given to all, and the penalty of it at- Chap. XX.] TEUE CHRISTIANITY. 65 tachcs to all alike. The greatest king is seized on the throne, and the mean- est beggar on the dunghill (1 Sain. 2 : 8; Ps. 113 : 7); for as the body of the one is, so is also the bod}^ of the other: both putrefy and turn alike to corruption. Nevertheless, the Lord will remove at length the veil of the shadow of death, wdiich is spread over all nations, and will " swallow up death in victory" (Isa. 25:8), and "wipe away all tears from our eyes." Rev. 7: 17; Isa. 25 : 8. 22. Let these and the like consider- ations, induce thee patiently to bear the loss of earthly things; remember- ing that the whole w^orld does not come up to the price of one soul, for which Christ vouchsafed to die. The more thou withdrawest thy heart from temporal goods and estates, the less will it atfect thee, w^hen thou shalt be obliged one way or other to leave them. Thy grief w411 undoubtedly be the greater, the more thy love has been wrapped up with them. Thus [does the "labor of the foolish weary ievery one of them" (Eccl. 10: 15); [as the wise man expresseth it. j 23. This is the unhappy state into (which the children of this world plunge themselves. They hoard and amass their goods with assiduous pain and labor; they possess them with fear ;and anxiety of mind; and quit them (at last with grief and groans, when jthcy can no longer enjoy them. This iis the "sorrow of this world," which begets no less an evil than death itself 24. We read, that such as adored the beast " had no rest" (Eev. 14 : 11) : so they that adore the great and toil- ■»ome beast of sordid and earthly Mam- ^lon, may be said to have no rest, day lor night. This description of men, nost w^retched and most unquiet as hey are, may be fitly compared to camels, or mules. These animals, trav- ersing rocks and hills, and carrying gold and silver, silken garments and pearls, spices and whines, draw many attendants with them for their better security: but at night, when they aro stabled, all their precious ornaments, their embroidered garments and vest- ments, are taken from them, and they, being wearj^ and stripped, appear to be w^hat indeed they are, poor and miserable beasts of burden. Nothing is now seen upon them but the prints of their stripes, and the marks of the blows w^hich they received upon the road. So, in like manner, that man who in this world shone in gold and silks, in "purple and fine linen" (Luke 16 : 19), when the day of his death is come, has nothing left but the prints and scars of a w^ounded conscience, contracted by the abuse of such riches as w^ere committed to his trust. 25. Therefore, O man ! learn to re- linquish this world, before it relin- quishes thee. If thou break not with the world, the w^orld wnll break with thee, and leave horror and anguish behind it. lie who withdraws his soul from the world, before he quits the w^orld w^ith his body, can joyfully die: since he is loosed from the ties w4iich bound him to these inferior ob- jects. As the Israelites, when they were about to leave the land of Egypt, w^ere daily afflicted with greater bur- dens by Pharaoh, who designed to de- stroy them, and, if possible, utterly to extirpate their progeny (Exod. 5:9); so the infernal Pharaoh, who desires to hinder our eternal salvation, when w^e are now upon the very borders of life everlasting, still attempts to load us with more of the concerns of this life, and thereby to obstruct our pas- sage into a better world. 26. It is certain that we cannot TRUE CHRISTIANITY. [EOOK I. carry with us the least dust of all our earthly possessions into the kingdom of heaven. Na}', our very body must be left behind us until the day of res- urrection. If we know anything, we know that the way leading to life is i^o very strait, as to strip the soul en- tirely of anything that will hinder her passage. "Narrow is the way which leadeLh to life, and few there be that find it." Matt. 7 : 14. As the hus- bandman separates the wheat from the chaff, so death fi*ees the soul from all the chaff and dross of this world, from all riches, and greatness, and w^orldly attire, which now, like the chaff, are driven away. 27. Go therefore, O man, and seri- ously^ ponder in thy mind what the apostle declares : " Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation, not to be repented of : but the sorrow of the world worketh death." 2 Cor. 7 : 10. CHAPTER XXI. OF THE TRUE WORSHIP OF GOD. T/te sons of Aaro7i offered strange fire before the Lord^ and there went out fire from the Lord and devoured them. — Lev. 10: 1, 2. THIS fi^c is called strange, because it was different from that which continually burned upon the altar, and M ith which, according to the command of God, the burnt-offerings were con- sumed. It is, therefore, a type of false worship; and the sons of Aaron were destroyed with avenging flames, be- cause they violated the divine precept. 2. This marked displeasure of the jealous and righteous God, is in like manner provoked by those who, from the motion of their own unregenerate mind, and from a singular presumption of devotion or religious sanctity, in- troduce a new and peculiar worship of God; which, not being enjoined by himself, provokes his indignation, anger, and vengeance; because "God is a consuming fire." Deut. 4 : 24; Heb. 12 :29. 3. In order that we may not incur | the wrath of the divine majesty, let us consider wherein the true worship of i God consists; for the punishment of temporal fire, inflicted on false wor- ship under the Old Testament, is to us : a proof, that the Lord will also, under the New dispensation, take the severest vengeance on all strange worship, not only with everlasting, but also with temporal fire, wars, desolations, and effusion of blood. 4. Now, w^e can learn wherein the true w^orship of God consists, when we com- pare the Old Testament with the New. The ceremonies which the former pre- scribed, referred typically to the Mes- siah. Devout Jews saw, as it were, the Messiah from afar, believed on f him, and, according to the promise, obtained deliverance from sin and death through him. But our worship, according to thei\^ez^ Testament, does Chap. XXT.] TEUE CHRISTIANITY. 67 not consist in external ceremonies; we arc taught to worship God in spirit and in truth, that is, to believe in Christ, who fulfilled the Law. Thus he redeeined us from the curse of the law (Gal. 3:13), and made us free from all Jewish ceremonies (Gal. 5:1); so that now, by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we serve God with a will- ing heart and mind (Jerem. 31:33; Eom. 8 : 14), and our conscience and faith are not bound by human ordi- nances. 5. To true, spiritual, internal Chris- tian worship, three things belong. 1. The true knowledge of God. 2. The knoidedge of si?i, accompanied with unfeigned repentance. And 3. The knowledge of grace, attended with re- mission of sin. 6. The knowledge of God consists in faith, which apprehends Christ, and in him, and through him, knows God, his omnipotence, love, merc}^, right- eousness, truth, wisdom ; all which are God himself. ForwhatisGod? Surely no other than pure omnipotence, pure love and mercy, pure justice, truth, and wisdom. And the same is to be said of Christ, and of the Holy Spirit. 7. But whatever God is, he is not to himself only, but also to me, by his gracious will, made manifest in Christ Jesus. Thus to me is God omnipotent ; to 'me he is merciful; to me eternal righteousness, through faith and re- mission of sins. To me, also, he is everlasting truth and wisdom. Thus [ it is, also, with Christ. He is made to me eternal omnipotence, the almighty Head, and Prince of my life, my most merciful Saviour, everlasting love, un- changeable righteousness, truth, and wisdom; according to the w^ords of the apostle: "Christ is of God made unto us, wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." 1 Cor. 1 : 30. All of which is also true of the Holy Spirit, who is my eternal love, righteousness, truth, and wisdom. 8. This is the true knowledge of God, which consists in faith. It is not some empty and speculative sci- ence, as people imagine; but a cheer- ful, livelj', and effectual reliance on God, in which I feel the ra3'S aitd in- fluences of the divine Omnipotence really descending upon me, so that I perceive how I am upheld and pre- served by him; how "in him I live, and move, and have my being." Acts 17:28. I must also taste the riches of his goodness and mercy. Is not that which the Father, Christ, and the Holy Spirit, have done for thee, for me, and for us all, the effect of pure love ? AYhat more perfect and complete righteousness can there be than that, b}^ which he rescues us from sin, hell, death, and the devil? And do not his truth and wisdom most conspicuously appear in all that he has accomplished for us? 9. This, therefore, is the true and substantial faith, which consists in a living and effectual reliance on God, and not in empty words. In this knowledge of God, or faith, we must, as becomes the children of God, make daily advances, and abound more and more. 1 Thess. 4 : 1. Hence the apos- tle pours out most fervent prayers, '•that we may know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge." Eph. 3:19. As if he had said, " Though it were the sole care of our lives to learn the depth of the love of Christ, yet would there still remain continual and never-failing matter for further inquiry." Neither is it to be supposed, that this knowledge consists in a bar- ren acquaintance with the universal love of Christ, extending itself over the whole world ; but we must also G8 TEUE CIIRISTIAXITY. [Book I. taste it in our own hearts; we must experience the sweetness and delight, the power and vital influx of this im- mense kindness displa3'ed in the Word, and embraced by Aiith. Can he say that he knows the love of Christ, who never tasted its sweetness? Hence it is said of some that were endued with this experimental sense, that they had ''tasted of the heavenly gift, and the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come." Ileb. 6 : 4. All this is effected by fiiith through the "Word. The same expei-ience of the divine love is also intimated by the ''shedding abroad of the love of God in our hearts by the Holy Ghost." Rom. 5:5. In this consist the fruit and efficacy of the Word of God. And this only is the true knowledge of God, proceeding from experience, and founded on a living faith. For this reason the Epistle to the Hebrews calls our faith a substance^ and a cer- tain and well-grounded evidence. Heb. 11 : 1. And this knowledge of God, that arises from a living faith, is one part of the inward and spiritual wor- ship of God. In a word, faith is a spiritual, living, and heavenly gift; yea, the very light and power of God. 10. When, therefore, this true knowl- edge of God is attained, by which God offers himself, as it were, to be touched and tasted by the soul, according to that Psalm, "O taste and see that the Lord is good" (Ps. 34:8); it is im- possible that a sincere repentance should not immediately ensue; that is, a real renovation of the mind, and reformation of the life. For, from a sense and knowledge of the divine Omnipotence, proceeds humility ; since he must necessarily submit himself unto the mighty hand of God, who has perceived its iri-esistible power ar.d energy. From the experience of the divine mercy arises charity to our neighbor; for no man can be unchari- table who has ever been affected by a sense of the divine compassion. Who can refuse to lend to his neighbor, that considers that God, from pure mercy, has bestowed himself upon us? From the long-suffering of God, pro- ceeds Qui patience towards our neigh- bor; so that were it possible that a true Christian could be killed seven times a day, and as many times be re- stored to life again, yet would he al- wa}' s freely forgive his murderer, and this on account of the boundless mercy of God conferred upon himself. From the divine justice flows the knowledge of sin, as the prophet teaches us: " Eighteousness belongeth unto thee, O Lord, but unto us confusion of faces." Dan. 9:7. " Enter not into judgment with thy servant, for in thy sight shall no man living be justified." Ps. 143 : 2. " If thou. Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?" Ps. 130 : 3. From the knowl- edge of the truth of God, flow fidelity and candor towards our neighbor; and all fraud, deceit, lying, and other such sinister practices, are, in consequence, freely abandoned. The sincere Chris- tian reasons thus with himself : "God forbid that I should deal deceitfully with my neighbor; for then I should offend the truth of God, which is God himself; since he has dealt so faith- fully with me, it would be the blackest impiety were I to act otherwise by my neiirhbor." The consideration of the eternal divine wisdom produces the fear of God. For whoever knows God to be the Searcher of hearts, viewing the most secret recesses, must neces- sarily dread the eyes of the divine majesty. " He that planted the ear, shall he not h.ear? He that formed the eye, shall he not see?" Ps. 94:9. Chap. XXI ] TRUE CIIPJSTIANITY. 69 Therefore, " Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they Bay, Who eeeth us? arid who knoweth us? Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay : for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? Or shall the thing framed, say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?" Isa. 29:15, 16 ; see also Jer. 23 : 24, and 32 : 19. 11. From the true laiowledge of God, arise the knowledge of sin, and conse- quent repentance. This repentance brings renovation of mind, and reno- vation of mind is accompanied with amendment of life. And this knowl- edge, together with those things that attend it, makes up the other part of the inward worship of God ; and it is that sacred fire which, by the appoint- ment of God, is to be used with the sacrifices, lest his wrath should be kindled against us, and we be con- sumed by the fire of his vengeance. 12. The injunction of God to the priests, not to drink wine or strong drink when they were about to enter the tabernacle (Lev. 10 : 9), is an il- lustration of this repentance; and in a spiritual sense, it extends itself to all Christians. For if we would enter into the tabernacle of God, even into life everlasting, it is necessary that we should abstain from the lusts of the Tv^orld and of the flesh, and from all that tends to bring the spirit in bondage to the body. For the love of the world, the love of pleasure, pride, and other vices, are like palatable wine, by which the power of the soul and spirit is clouded, and at last brought under subjection to the flesh. Man, so subjected, is restrained from entering into the tabernacle of God ; that is, he cannot arrive at the knowl- edge and the sanctuary of Gofl ; con- sequently he is deprived of that dis- cerning faculty, which distinguishes between things sacred and pi'ofane, clean and unclean; so that he under- stands nothing of divine and heavenly operations, and therefore is unfit to instruct those in sound doctrine who are committed to bis care. His under- standing and thoughts are not en- lightened from above; but being over- come with the wine of worldly lust, are eventually involved in gross dark- ness. This repentance, contrition, and grief for sin, and this true faith in Christ, are followed by the knowledge of grace and remission of sin; which, as it proceeds from the merit of Christ onl}^ so the benefit of this merit can be claimed by no man without rei^ent- ance. Repentance w^as therefore nec- essary, even to the thief upon the cross, that his sin being first remitted, he might accompany Christ into para- dise. And that his repentance pro- ceeded from a heart affected with a holy contrition, appears from the re- proof which he gave his companion: "Dost not thou fear God? We receive the due reward of our deeds; but this man hath done nothing amiss" (Luke 23:40), and from the request he ad- dressed to Christ: "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy king- dom." Verse 24. These are most undeniable proofs of a contrite heart, embracing Christ and his merits by faith. 13. This gracious absolution from sin, which is apprehended in faith by a penitent heart, supplies all those de- fects under which we labor: but it is entirely the effect of the death and blood of Christ. All our offences are as completely annulled by his abund- ant satisfaction, as if they had never been committed. The merit of Christ 70 TRUE CHRISTIANITY. [Book I. is of that extent and ])0\ver, that David cxelainiH : "Purge me with hyssoj), and I shall be clean : wash me, and I shall be (not only as white, but even) whiter than snow." Psal. 51:7. 14. Hence also it is, that God is said to mention the sin no more when the sinner returns to his duty. Ezek. 18 : 22; 33 : IG. For whatever is fully and completely paid for, yea, blotted out too, must of necessity be buried in eternal oblivion. Isa. 43 : 25. But conversion must go before remission, according to the order proposed by the prophet himself: "Wash ye, make you. clean, put away the evil of your doings from before niine eyes; cease to do evil. Come now and let us reason together: Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." Isa. 1 : 16. As if he had said : " Ye who require your sins to be forgiven, according to my covenant and promise, come forward and call me to an account. I do not indeed deny, that I promised you remission of sins; but it was on no other terms than that you should first repent. Where is your repentance? wdiere is your true and living faith? If you have these, all is well! It shall not be my fault, if your sins (though as crimson in grain, though so deeply dyed, that neither heaven nor earth can blot them out), be not wholly par- doned and made whiter than snow." Repentance, therefore, is the true con- fession of sin ; and if 3'ou have this in yourself, namely, sorrow for sin mixed with faith, be assured, that Christ, by virtue of his death and blood, will en- tirely forgive you your sins. This blood, as it is shed for us, so it cries to God in heaven, and procures a full re- mission of sin. 15. When a man is thoroughly af- fected with this sense of sin, he has- tens in spirit to those cities of refuge, of which three, Bezer, Ranioth, and Golan, were set apart on this side Jor- dan, by Moses, being appointed by him, in order that he who had inadver- tently killed his neighbor, might flee unto them and be preserved. Deut. 4:41-43. 16. And, alas! O Lord, how often have we inadvertently slain our neigh- bor with thoughts, words, hatred, envy, anger, revenge, and un merciful- ness! Let us, therefore, fly upon the wings of faith and repentance, to the sanctuary of the grace of God, and to the merit and cross of Christ. No sooner do we arrive there, but we are safe; nor will the avenger measure to us again with that measure with which we served our neighbor. For by those cities of refuge, Christ Jesus is signi- fied and represented. He is the true Bezer, that is, a fenced tower, according to that saying of Solomon: "The name of the Lord is a stron;, love and kindness, clemency and pa- tience, truth, comfort, peace, joy, life, and happiness. All this he has laid up in Jesus Christ. Whoever, there- fore, has Christ, is thereby put into the possession of all these heavenly- virtues. And whoever loves God, must also of necessity love God's truth and mercy, his goodness and kindness, and the whole train of divine virtues. 16. For, atrue lover of God has alove to all that God loves, and an aversion to all that God hates. If any man loves God, he must love truth, mercy, and righteousness, because God is all this himself. He must also delight in humility and meekness, since'thereby he is rendered conformable to that meekness and lowly-mi ndedness which resided in Jesus. On the other hand, a true lover of God cannot but abhor all ungodliness, with all the works of iniquity; because all manner of im- piety is enmit}^ against God, and is the work of the devil himself. A lover of God hates a lie, because the devil is the father of lies, and was a liar from the beginning. And this is the reason that every one who loves lies, injustice, and other vicious workings of nature, must needs, in that sense, be the offspring of the devil (see John 8 : 44) ; and again, whoever loves Christ, his Lord and Saviour, loves also the example of his pure and holy life, his humility and meekness, his pa- tience, and the other heavenly vir- tues that appeared in his conduct. And such a one must of necessity be adopted into the number of the chil- dren of God. 17. This love, proceeding out of a "pure heart," must be obtained from God by prayer and supplication. And truly, God is willing to enkindle in us this heavenly flame through the lovo Chap. XXIY.] TEUE CIIEISTIANITY. of Christ, if he bo but cnrnostly so- licited, and if the heart be everyday and every moment laid open to his divine influence. If thy love should grow cold and weak at any time, arouse th}' heart, faint not, but stir up the grace of God within thee, and be not too much discouraged at it. In the name of God arise again, set to work, and renew the acts of th}^ first love. As thou art sensible of th}^ coldness in love, thou mayost be as- sured from that circumstance, that the eternal light of divine love is not wholly extinguished, although it be eclipsed, and at present give but little heat. Doubt not that thy Saviour will ; enlighten thee again, and fire thy I heart with his love; so that thou may- est sit once more under his shadow, land rejoice in the light of his counte- ! nance. At the same time be earnest lin prayer and supplications, lest here- lafter the flame of this heavenly love should be again deadened in thy heart. Such is love " out of a pure Iheart," unmixed with love of the 'world. I 18. Let us now consider, in the third place, Love, as arising from a "good ;conscience," and as it respects our neigiibor. The love of God and the love of our neighbor are so closely united, that they can never be sepa- rated. The true touchstone of our [love to God, is the love which we :bear to our neighbor. " If a man say, |[ love God, and hateth his brother, he sa liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can le love God whom he hath not seen ? \nd this commandment have we from lim, That he who loveth God, love lis brother also." 1 John 4:20, 21. ^or the love of God cannot dwell in a nun who is filled with hatred or mal- ee, or divested of all bowels of love and compassion. If thou hast no pity on thy brother, who stands in need of thy help, how canst thou love God, who needs not anything that is thine, and has commanded thee to express thy love towards him, by bestowing marks of it upon thy brother? 19. As faith unites to God, so love unites to our neighbor; and as a man is made up of body and soul, so faith and love (that is, the love both of God and of our neighbor) make up a true Christian. Thus he that '-dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God." lJohn4:16. And since God effectually desires the good of all men, it follows, that he who loves in like manner is of one heart with God; and that he who is other- wise aff'ected is against God, and has not the mind of the Lord, but is the enemy of God as well as of his neigh- bor. He is, unquestionably, an adver- sary to God who is an enemy to men. 20. It is the property of this love to bewail and compassionate the irifirm- ities of others. Gah 6: 1. Indeed, the failings and weaknesses of our fellow- creatures represent to us, as in a mir- ror, our own imperfections, and re- mind us of the various defects that en- cumber our nature. Therefore, when thou seest another overtaken in a fault, consider that thou also thyself art but a man; and learn from thy own infirm- ities, to bear those of others with pa- tience, meekness, and humility. Eom. 15 : 7. 21. Such especially as sin, not from malice or determined wickedness, but who are surprised into a fault by weak- ness and inadvertency; and who, com- ing soon to themselves again, repent of that which they have done, and firmly resolve to watch the more against the snares of Satan for the future; such souls as these are surely 82 TRUE CIIPvISTIANITY. [Book 1. to be pitied and assisted. He that does \ otherwise, shows tluat he lias nothing in him of ll)e merciful and forbearing Bpirit of Christ. When a man hastily | condemns the faults of his neighbor, without feeling any love or compas- sion, it is an evident sign that he is altogether void of God, and of his mer- ciful s])irit. On the contrary', a true Cliristian, being anointed with the spirit of Cnrist, treats all men as one that has a fellow-feeling with them, and bears with them in a sympathiz- ing Christian love and tenderness, ac- cording to the example of Christ, which he has left us to follow. Therefore, if any man, upon serious search into his inward condition, finds that he has not the love of his neighbor abiding in him, let him know, assuredly, that the love of God remains not in his soul, and that he himself is without God. This should strike him with horror and in- dignation against himself; it should influence him the more speedily (after repenting of his sin from the bottom of his heart) to reconcile himself to his neighbor, that, in this order, the love of God may also return to him again. Then all his i\ctions, while he continues in this love and faith, are good, holy, and divine; and this love, dwelling in his heart, will actuate him freely and willingly to embrace all men, and with great affection and joy to do them all manner of kindnesses; so that he will "rejoice over them to do them good," even as God himself. Jer. 32:41. 22. Without this love, whatever is in man, is diabolical and altogether evil. Nor is there, indeed, any other cause why the devil can do no good, but because he is utterly destitute of love both towards God and man. Hence, all which he docs is radically evil, and deprived of all intrinsic good- ness. In all that he sets about, he designs nothing but God's dishonor, and man's destruction. He cunningly contrives ways to vent his enmity both upon God and man; and. therefore, he seeks for such hearts as he can fill with spite and envy, and then dis- charges through them his malice and wrath. "And hereby it is manifest who are the children of God, and the children of the devil." i John 3 : 10. 23. Lastly, Love must be "out of faith unfeigned," that is, we must love God equally in prosperity and ad- versity. Whoever loves God sincerely, accepts with joy all the dispensations of his Providence, after the example of Christ; who, with a cheerful and ready mind, took up the cross, which" he knew that the will of his Father imposed on him. " I have," says he, "a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened (and in pain) till it be accomplished!" Luke 12:50. la 1 the same manner have all the holy , martyrs carried with joy their crosa ^ after him. 24. To those that unfeignedly love , God, the cross, which Christ enjoins | us to bear, does not prove grievous or i burdensome; and this for no other i reason, than because it is the yoke of Christ. Matt. 11 : 29. If the magnet attracts the heavy iron, Avhy should not that heavenly loadstone, the love of God, attract the burden of our ^ cross, and render it light and agreea- i' ble; especially after the heart is af- fected with a touch of the divine . love? If the sugar sweeten such herbs j as are bitter by nature, why should | not the sweetness of the love of God fi make that pleasant and easy, which ' to the flesh is nothing but a cross and affliction? And truly it was from the fulness of this love, that the blessed martyrs bore the most exquisite pain i CiiAi>. XXV.] TEUE CriEISTIANITY. 83 with patience and joy; being trans- ported with it to such a degree, as to be almost insensible of their very tor- ments. CHAPTER XXV. THE LOVE OF OUR NEIGHBOR, MORE PARTICULARLY CONSIDERED. Of whom a man is ovcrcomcy of the same is he brought in bondage. — 2 Peter .2 : 19. THERE is no bondage more hard and grievous, than to be under the yoke of the passions : but of all these, none is so cruel as hatred, which so weakens and depresses all the pow- ers both of body and mind, as not to leave to the man one free thought. On the contrary, he who lives in love \s free. He is no slave to anger, envy, covetousness, pride, lying, or calumny ; and being delivered from these by love, he suffers not himself to be subdued by evil desires, but continues Christ's freeman (1 Cor. 7 : 22) in the liberty of the Spirit: for "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." 2 Cor. 3 : 17. Whosoever, therefore, walks in the love of Christ, is no iong-er a slave to sin, or a servant to carnal affections; for the Spirit of God's love has freed and purified him from carnal concupiscence. And we see that the love of God extends over all men; of which we not only find sufficient proofs in Scripture, but the footsteps of his universal benignity are also everywhere displayed in na- ture. We are all equally covered with the heavens, and have all the use of the sun, the air, the earth, and the water; as well they who are of high degree, as they who are of the mean- est condition. And the very same mind that is in God towards us, ought also to be in us towards men; God himself having set us a pattern of universal kindness for our imitation. He regards not one more than an- other, but loves all with an equal af- fection. With him there is no respect of persons, of dignity, or merit; but he beholds all alike in Christ. This is for our instruction. Now, as God acts towards us, so ought we to act to- wards our neighbor. And truly, after the same manner as we deal with man, so God will deal with us again. We need not go far to inquire what favor we have with God Almighty. If we but enter into our own conscience, it will impartially tell us, what mind and affection we bear to our nciirh- bor; and as we have done to him, so w^ill God certainly do to us again, and return our works into our own bosom. And in this sense it is said of God, that "with the pure he shews himself pure; and with the fro ward, shews himself frovvard" (Ps. 18: 26); that is, if thou bearest an evil mind to thy neighbor, God will be thine adversary also. 2. Since, therefore, God has no need of our service, he has substituted our neighbor in his place, to receive our charity, and has commanded us to pay it as to himself. He has made this love of our neighbor the very touch- stone by which we are to examine the sincerity of our love to God. 84 TRUE CHRISTIANITY. [Book I. 3. And it is for tliis reason that he has enjoined the love of our neighbor with so great earnestness, requiring us to show constantly the same love to him which God shows to us. For unless a man be fully reconciled to, and be in perfect charity with his neighbor, he cannot have the favor or grace of God. And although all the sins of the world arc atoned for by the death of Christ, and a full pardon obtained, yet all mankind may in some sense be said to be in the same cir- cumstances with the servant in the parable, who had not wherewithal to pay; the king freely remitted him all his debts: but when he afterwards behaved himself cruelly towards his fellow-servant, the king revoked his pardon, and condemned the servant, on account of the hard usage with which he treated his neighbor. Matt. 18 : 23, etc. This parable Christ con- cludes with the remarkable expres- sion : "So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother, their trespasses." Yerse 35. And, " With the same measure that ye mete withal, it shall be measured to you again." Luke 6 : 38. 4. Hence, it plainly appears, that man was not created for himself alone, but for his neighbor's sake also. So strict is the commandment of loving our neighbor, that when it is broken, the very end of our creation is de- stroyed, and the love of God is im- mediately withdrawn from the soul. Nothing is left but the severest justice, judging and condemning all that are void of this charity. 5. If we dul}^ considered these things, we should never be angry with one another; neither would "the sun ever go down upon our wrath." Eph. 4 : 26. It is true, on the one hand, that Christ by his death on tho cross has offered a full and complete atonement for all our trespasses, and in this respect, has remitted all our sins at once; yet is it, on the other hand, an awful consideration, that the whole extent of the merits of Christ will be of no avail at all to us, if we continue to hate our brother, and will neither pardon nor love him. We shall be entirely cut off from all the bene- fits that flow from the atonement. 6. Hence it appears how important the love of our neighbor must be in the sight of God, binding us even to such a degree, that God refuses to be loved by us, unless we love our neigh- bor also ; so that if we fail in our be- nevolence toward the latter, we fall at the same time from grace and di- vine charity. And for this reason, we were created all equal and of the same nature, that we might not de- spise one other; but, like children of one common parent, live in peace and love, and endeavor to maintain a good and serene conscience. 7. Now, whoever hates and despises his brother, hates and despises God also, who has forbidden all such ani- mosities in the severest terms. If thou contemnest thy brother, God also contemns thee; which hastens thy judgment and condemnation, and deprives thee of all interest in the merit and redemption of Christ, by which sin .is forgiven. 8. For it cannot be possible that a heart filled with wrath and bitterness, should in any degree reap a saving fruit from the blood of Christ, which was shed from a motive of pure love. Yea, the above parable (Matt. 18 : 35) plainly convinces us, that God was less offended at the debt of ten thou- sand talents, than at the barbarous cruelty of which the servant was Chap. XXYI.] TEUE CHRISTIANITY. 85 guilty; he Clin overlook tlie debt, but i with which the Lord concludes the he cannot overlook the want of love. parable: "So likewise Khali my heav- Let us, therefore, ponder the words I enly Father do also unto you." CHAPTER XXV 1. WHEREFORE OUR NEIGHBOR IS TO BE LOVED. Owe no man any thinr/, but to love one another ; for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the Za?^.— Rom. 13 : 8. t'TTTIIEREWITH shall I come \V before the Lord? Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased w4th thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil ? Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul ? — lie hath shewed thee, O man, what is good ; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God." Micah 6 : 6-8. 2. By this question, and the answer to it, the prophet teaches us, wherein the true w^orship of God properly con- sists ; not in ceremonies and sacrifices, since we are notable to give anything to God, because all is his own already; Dot in offering up human sacrifices, which he does not require at our hands, but detests and abhors, because they are injurious to Jesus Christ, the great propitiatory oblation which God appointed to takeaway the sins of the world (John 1 : 29) : but the true wor- ship of God consists in pure faith, which, from the visible effect of it, the prophet here describes, by doing justly," that is by the exercise of faith in righteousness, in charity and mercy, (which is more pleasing than all sac- rifices); and in true humility and contrition, as it is said: "The sacri- fices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heai*t, O God, thou wHlt not despise." Ps. 51 : 17. 3. To this divine worship, founded within the heart, and proceeding from faith, love, and humility, St. Paul pow- erfully exhorts us in Eom. 13 : 8-10. His admonition contains in it both the praise of Christian love, and the perpetual duty in which we stand en- gaged to our neighbor, and without which it is impossible to serve God aright. For. truly there is no other way of serving God, except by that which he himself works in our hearts : so that to serve God, is nothing else but to serve our neighbor, and to do him all the ofiices of Christian love and humanity w^hich we are able to perform. 4. The apostle calls love a summary of all virtues, and the "fulfilling of the law." Eom. 13: 10. Not that we are able by any acts of charity, to ful- fil perfectly the divine law, or that consequently we can merit eternal life thereby; (which cannot possibly be, except our love were complete in every respect, and arrived to a con- 86 TEUE CIIEISTIANITY. [Book 1. Biimmatc perfection): but the apostle desires to siir^gest thereby the won- derful excellency of this virtue, and to incline us, at the same time, to an un- feigned love. As to our righteousness, it is not grounded on any work of ours, but only on the merits of Christ applied to us by faith. 5. From this righteousness of Christ, appreliended by faith, spi'ings love to our neighbor, together with t!ie whole train of Christian virtues, called by the apostle "fruits of righteousness, which are to the glorj^ and j^raise of God." Phil. 1:11. But since the dig- nity of this virtue is so very eminent, it will be 2:)roper to set forth further motives by which the practice of it may be endeared to us. 6. The first and strongest of all mo- tives, is that which St. John uses: "God is love; and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him" (1 John 4 : 16). For who would not wish to be in God, and to remain in Him; and that God should be and remain in him ? And who, on the con- trary, would not abhor to be in Satan, and to have Satan dwelling in him? And yet this is the ordinary conse- quence, as often ascharilj^^ is repulsed, and unnatural animosities are admitted into the heart. For as God is a lover of men, ready to save them from eter- nal destruction, so the devil is a hater of men. This is further explained by St. John : " lie that loveth, is born of God, and knoweth God." 1 John 4 : 7. And again : " In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil : whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother." 1 John 3 : 10. Now, can there be anything more desirable than to be ranked among the children of God, to be be- gotten of God, and to know God truly and experimentally ? But whoever has his heart void of this love, and has never felt its force and energy, nor tasted its goodness and gentleness, long suffering and patience, this man knows not God, who is pure love. For the knowledge of God must pro- ceed from enjoyment and experience. And how is it possible that a man should know Christ, whilst he is a stranger to love, and to that loving intercourse which subsists betwixt Christ and the soul? Hence it fol- lows, that he that is without love, is without Christ also. But he who is earnest in the exercise of love, shall not be left barren in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ: "For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Pet. 1 : 8. 7. The second motive is found in what our Jjord himself says: '"By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." John 18 :35. Now, in order to be a disciple of Christ, it is not enough to be a Christian in name, or by a mere verbal profession ; but to be a disciple of Christ implies much more. Such a one must believe in his name; must love him, imitate him, live in him. He must, in a peculiar manner, adhere to him ; must feel the love of Christ infused into his soul, and freely partake of all the gifts and benefits purchased by him. Whoever has not this love of Christ abiding in him, is not Christ's disciple, nor can he pre- tend to have any share in his merits. For how is it possible that Christ should know a man who has neither faith in, nor any love to him? As a flower is known by its frag'-ance, and fruit b}^ its flavor, so a true disciple of Christ is known by his love. Chap. XXV J.] TRUE CIIRrSTIANlTY. 87 8. ITciice, St. Paul does not hesitate I to affirm, that "all gifts without char- ; ity are nothing" (1 Cor. 13: 2); which ! is a third motive why we .should de- ; sire this excellent gift. In truth, nei- I thcr the knowledge of divers tongues, nor the gift of miracles, nor the un- derstanding of high and sublime mys- j terics, nor any extraordinary endow- ments, are sufficient marks by which to know a Christian; this preroga- tive being entirely reserved to faith, ' which worketh by love." Gal. 5 : 6. Nor does God require an}' hard things at our hand (such as the working of miracles), but to exercise love and hu- milit}'; virtues that may be appre- hended by the meanest capacity. Nor will it be demanded of thee in theda}^ of judgment, whether thou hast been versed in arts, tongues, and sciences, or what great parts thou hast pos- sessed in this world; but whether thou hast exercised thyself in faith and love. "I was a hungered," saith our Sav- iour, " and ye gave me meat, etc." Matt. 25 : 35. etc. And St. Paul says to the Galatians: "In Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision (no gifts, no parts, no endowments, no respect of persons); but faith which worketh by love." Gal. 5 : 6. 9. Add to these, as a fourth motive, that passage of St. John : " If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen ? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God, love his brother also." 1 John 4 : 20, 21. This all the inspired writers teach, that love towards God cannot possibly exist in the soul without love to our neighbor. For he that hates his neighbor must be an enemy to God ; because God is a lover of men, and requires us to be of the same mind. 10. A fifth motive is, that love is the great law of nature, and attended with many things beneficial to mankind, without which we would not l)e able to live. When any good thing hap- pens to man, it cei-tainly pi-oceed3 from divine love. Hence, St. Paul calls love, the ''bond of perfectness" (Col. 3 : 14) ; and describes, in Rom. 12 : 9, 10, the excellent fruits that grow upon this stock. And our Sa- viour himself teaches to the same ef- fect: "All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." Matt. 7 : 12. And this is so universal a truth, that the heathens themselves were, by the very law of nature written in their hearts, con- vinced of it. Hence they said: "That which you would not should be done to yourself, do not the same to an- other." This excellent sentence, the Emperor Severus, a prince adorned with many virtues, had daily in his mouth, and enacted it into a law for the good of the country. 11. A sixth motive is. that love is a beautiful image and a foretaste of eternal life; when the saints shall love each other sincerely; when they shall delight in one another, and con- verse together with wonderful and ineffable concord, in an inexpressible sweetness, in unfeigned alfection, cheerfulness, and ^oy. Whoever, therefore, would conceive to himself an image of that marvellous love and harmonj', and obtain some foretaste of the exquisite pleasures of the eter- nal beatitude, let him study this love, in which he will find a singular pleas- ure, with much peace and tranquillity of mind. 12. The more pure and fervent oui 88 TRUE CHRISTIANITY. [Book I. charity is, tlic nearer it approaches to tlie divine nature. This is a seventh motive. In God, in Christ, and in the Holy Ghost, thei'C resides the most pure, fervent, and transcendent love. It is then that our love becomes j^ure, when we love one another, not for the Bake of private interest, but for the sake of the love of God, which is the great and unerring pattern which we ought carefully to follow. For God loves us with a disinterested love: but if any man loves his neighbor for his own private profit and interest, his love is not pure at all, nor does it, in any degree, come up to that sublime example which is set us by God Al- mighty. This makes also the differ- ence betwixt heathen and Christian charity. A Christian loves his neigh- bor in God and in Christ, disinterest- edly and generously, without debasing himself by any ignoble or selfish design. Thus is his love preserved pure and sincere, free from dissimula- tion, falsehood, and any counterfeit. Whereas the heathens polluted their deeds with self- honor and interest, and other sinister ends, which mingled with the best of their actions. This Christian love, when it becomes a habit in the mind, produces a true fervency of spirit, to perform still greater acts of love and benignity. And it is then that love is truly fer- vent, when it inspires the lover with great mercy and tenderness towards his fellow-creatures, and prompts to vigorous efforts to relieve their neces- sity. When he has the affairs of his neighbor as much at heart as his own, then he is ready even to "lay down his very life for the brethren " (1 John 3 : 16), if need be, or, after the exam- ple of Moses and Paul, to be "ac- cursed" for the brethren, and to be ''blotted out of the book of God," if this possibly could be done. Exod. 32:32; Rom. 9:3. 13. Hence it follows (which is the eighth motive), that we ought also to love our enemies, according to the Lord's precept : "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not the publicans the same?" Matt. 5 : 44 ; Luke 6 : 32, etc. Herein con- sist the excellency and i:)rerogative of a true (christian ; namely, to subject nature to this divine principle, to tame flesh and blood, and to overcome the world, and the evil therein with good- ness. Rom. 12:21. "If thine enemy hunger, feed him." Rom. 12: 20. It is not enough for a Christian not to hurt his neighbor or eneni}^; but he is commanded to do him good, and to support him with such aids, as are convenient for him (Exod. 23 : 4, etc.); whoever refuses to comply with these terms, cannot be a child of God, or a disciple of Christ. 14. The ninth motive is, that who- ever does not practise Christian love and charity, separates himself from the spiritual body of Christ, that is, the Church ; and forfeits all the privi- leges of this body, and even the mer- its of Christ; there being but "one Lord, one faith, one baptism." Eph. 4:5. For as the members when cut off from the body, no longer partake of the life and power of the head, but are dead; so those that do not live in the practice of love and charity, are separate from Christ, the sole Head of the Church, and can receive no power and vital influence out of his fulness. Therefore, St. John says, Chap. XXYII.] TEUE CHRISTIANITY. 89 "He that lovcth not his brother, abideth in death." 1 John 3 : 14. 15. Lastly, we ought to love one another, because on the wings of this love the prayer of a Christian ascends to heaven. By prayer, all good gifts are to be obtained; and without prayer, all helps and consolations are [ expected in vain. But then our prayer I must spring from the evangelical prin- i ciple of love; since God gives ear to no prayers, but to those that are j grounded on faith and Christian char- I ity : "If two of you agree on earth, i as touching anything that tliey shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven." Matt. 18; 19. 16. Come then, O man! let this sweet agreement and harmony be es- tablished among us upon earth. Let us live in the spirit of love, that peace and union may dwell among us; for I where peace is, there is the God of peace (2 Cor. 13:11; Eom. 15:33); and where He is, there "he hath also commanded his blessing and life for evermore." Ps. 133 : 3. CHAPTER XXYII. WHEREFORE OUR ENEMIES ARE TO BE LOVED. Love your enemies^ bless them that curse you^ do good io them that hate you^ and pray for them which despitefuUy use you and persecute you ; that ye may he the children of your Father which is in heaven. — Matt. 5 : 44, 45. THE first cause why enemies ought to be loved, is the express com- mandment of God by his Son ; for which he gives this reason, " that we may be the children of our Father in heaven," that is, "of him that loved ' us when we were yet his enemies." Eom. 5 : 10. As if he had said, "Un- • less jou. love jour enemies, you can- j not be the children of the heavenly I Father: and he that is not God's son, what father shall he have?" This commandment of the Lord is little practised ; alas ! how backward we are in bringing forth such fruits as become the children of God ! If we be his children, truly we ought to study the great lesson of loving our enemies, that so, in some degree, we may express the character of our Father in heaven. 2. The Scripture says, "He that loveth not his brother, abideth in death." 1 John 3 : 14. And Vv^hy does he abide in death? Because he has not yet received that vital principle which is to be derived from Christ. The spiritual and heavenly life con- sists in faith towards God, and in love to our neighbor. Thus, St. John says, "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren." 1 John 3 : 14. Whence it is manifest, that love is an undoubted sign and effect of spiritual life or res- toration to life in Christ; as hatred to men is an infallible proof of spirit- ual death and separation from God. And this spiritual death here, will end in eternal death hereafter; of which our Lord faithfully warns us. 3. Whoever, therefore, suffers his 90 TRUE CHRISTIANITY. [Book I. heart to be filled with wrath and bit- terness against his neighbor, ought to know assuredly, that even liis best performances, his praj'er and attend- ance on divine worship, and other works of tiiat nature, are altogether vain, and of no account before God. St. Paul says, '^Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing." 1 Cor. 13 : 3. 4. It is, on the other hand, the property of a noble and divine mind, to pardon injuries. Behold how long- suffering God is, and how easily he is reconciled. Ps. 103:8. Consider the example of Christ, the Son of God, who, in the midst of his exquisite tor- ments, like a patient lamb, did not so much as " open his mouth." Isa. 53 : 7. Contemplate the nature of the divine S2'>irit, who appeared in the form of a dove (Matt. 3 : 16), with a view that by such a representation he might teach us a dove-like meekness of mind, and recommend to us that tender sim- plicity of manners, w^iich becomes a true Christian. With what patience did Moses bear the reproaches of the peojile, thus deserving to be called ''very meek, above all the men which w^ere upon the face of the earth." Numb. 12 : 3. Remember also the con- duct of David, and with what lenity of mind he heard the curses of Shimei. 2 Sam. 10 : 10. 5. True love teaches us to be angry with none but ourselves. True peace consists not in having much wealth, but in bearing patiently whatever goes airainst our nature. Should a madman rail at the sun, and curse it for being nothing but darkness, the sun would never be darkened by his reproachful language, but continue his course, and enlighten the world as before. So do thou also, and remember that there is no sweeter or better revenge than to forgive. Such wise and excellent rules w e r e p r a c t i se d bjMn a n y o f t h e h e a t h e n s themselves. Pericles, the Grecian or- ator, having patiently heard a man re- vile him for the space of a whole day, when night came on, kindly invited him to his house, and entertained hiru in a friendly manner, saying, "It is easier to speak evil of virtue than to possess it." Thus Phocion, general of the Athenians, when he had deserved well of his country, but through envv was adjudged to death, and was now about to undergo the sentence, being asked if he had any commands for his son, generously made answer : "None, except that he never take measures to revenge this injury-, which I suffer of m}- country." The Emperor Titus being told that two brothers had con- spired to cause his death, scru])led not to invite them both to sup with him; and in the morning w^ent with them to the theatre, and placed himself be- twixt them, to behold the play. Thus with marvellous clemency he over- came, at last, their baseness. And when Cato had committed suicide, J u- lius Caesar said: "I have lost a glori- ous victory ; for I had intended to for- give Cato all the evil that he has done to me." 6. But after all, as to the man who cannot be iijfluenced by the unspeak- able patience and meekness of the Son of God himself, to forgive and to love his enemies, him neither the example of the saints, nor of heathens, will ever be able to melt into love and forbear- ance. For what greater injustice and barbarity can be conceived, than that the Son of God should be so shame- fully treated by the children of men, be scourged with stripes, crowned with thorns, spit upon, and loaded wiih all Chap. XXVIII.] TEUE CHRISTIANITY. 91 [the marUs of scorn and derision; and lastl}', be nailed on the cross? Never- theless, he was able to bear, with an junshaU'cn firmness, all the affronts and 'indignities which the malice of men was able to contrive; nay, and freelj^ jto pardon all this barbarous usage, 'and to pray, " Father, forgive them !" Luke 23 : o4. j 7. And, truly, it was to this very rend that our blessed liedecmcr set his _ example before our eyes, that it might I be an all-healing medicine for such "spiritual diseases as have seized upon us; ])articularly, that it might abase all pride and loftiness, strengthen what ;is weak, supply what is defective, and I correct what is evil and out of order. Can the distemper of pride be so vio- lent, as not to be healed by the pro- found humility and lowlinessof Christ? Heb. 5 :8. Can avarice and covetous- Tiess prove so stubborn, as to baffle a remedy derived from that sacred pov- erty which appeared in Jesus Christ? What wrath is so fierce and vehement, Ithat his meekness and lenity cannot mollify it ? What desire of revenge so bitter and barbarous, which his pa- tience cannot assuage and compose? What inhumanity so great and cruel, which the love of Christ cannot warm i into a sweet and compassionate tem- per? And what heart can be so hard and obdurate, as not to be melted with the tears of Jesus Christ himself? 8. Who would not heartily wish to be made like God the Fathei*, his Son, and the Holy Ghost, and to carry within him the excellent image of the sacred Trinity, which chiefly consists in love and forgiveness? For it is the highest of all the divine properties, to show compassion and mercy, to spare and to pardon, to be kind and gra- cious: and that must be undoubtedly one of the sublimest virtues, which makes us bear the nearest resemblance to the Most High God, and to all such persons as are the most conspicuous for goodness and virtue. 9. Lastly, the highest degree of virtue is, when a man, overcoming himself, is ready at any time to forget injuries, to pardon offences, and to show acts of favor and clemency. "He that is slow to anger," says Sol- omon, " is better than the mighty : and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city." Prov. 16 : 32. This is the highest step of the soul's ascen- sion in her spiritual exercise ; and when she has attained it, she rests in God, and is perfect in him. CHAPTER XXVIII. SHOWING HOW THE LOVE OF THE CREATOR SHOULD BE PREFERRED TO THAT OP ALL creatures; and how our NEIGHBOR IS TO BE LOVED IN GOD. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. — 1 John 2 : 15. THE heart of man is so constituted, that it cannot exist without love ; it must love God, or the world, or self. If, therefore, man be under so strong a compulsion to love, let him direct his love to God, the supreme Good, and give up that affection to Hira, who originally planted it in man, and 92 TEUE CHRISTIANITY. [Book ! lundlcd it by his g-ood Spirit; and who is still ready, at our fervent request, to rekindle this flame in the soul. His love to us is still the great principle that produces our love to him : and if his love to us meet with a suitable return on our side, then his love will, day by day, more ardently embrace us. For love begets love, according to the words of the Lord: "He that loveth me shall be loved of my Fa- ther." John U: 21. 2. Wherever the love of God re- sides, it disposes the soul freely to love all men, and not only to wish them well, but to do them all proper acts of love and beneficence ; this be- ing the property of that love which is grounded in God, and derived from him. Such a lover of God and of his neiirhbor, will never hurt or defraud any man in Avord or deed. 3. But the generality of the people are engrossed so much with the love of the world, that they never even admit the love of God into their hearts. This is plain from that false love with which they treat their neighbor, and which, under a show of friendship, seeks nothing but temporal advantage. Nothing in the world should be loved to such a degree, as to injure the love of God, or to come in competition with it; especially since there is so great a vanity and vile- ncss in the world, and so great a worth and majesty in God, as that no comparison can ever be made betwixt them. As God infinitel}^ excels all his creatures, so the love of God infinitely excels in holiness and dignity all the love we can bear to the creature, and is in no w^ise to be compared with it. No love to the creature ought to have sufficient weight with us, to make us ofiend the love of God, or to act in opposition to the same. 4. St. Paul says: "Who planteth ; vinej'ard, and eateth not of the frui thereof?" 1 Cor. 9 : 7. These word may not improperly be applied to thif case. Who is more worthy of our love than he that hath planted it in oui hearts, and to whose love we owe oui life and being? And as we all live b} the love of God in Christ, so we should all adhere to this love, and make it our constant support even in the time of adversity. As a pilot in tempestu. ous weather, does not leave the ship to the mercy of the billows, but se- cures it by the anchor as well as he can, and sta3^s its unruly motions; so in like manner, when the ship of our faith is tossed about in the sea of this world, and beset on all sides with the temptations of sin and vanity, of wrath and pride, of lust and avarice,^ we should hold to the love of Christ, and not suffer our hearts to be re- moved from that spiritual steadfast- ness, which is to carry us safe through all the tempests of this perverse and boisterous world. Eomans 8 : 38, 39. Thus, when sin and death, the devil and hell, tribulation and persecution, and other miseries, threaten to over- whelm us, we are then to hold fast the love of God manifested in Christ Jesus. This divine love is like that mountain of salvation which was showed to Lot wdien he went out of Sodom, to escape the fire of that ac- cursed place. Gen. 19 : 17. 5. The fire of lust, attended with everlasting flames and torments, is worse than that of Sodom. But the love and fear of God are a sovereign remedy against this profane love, and against any motion contrary to its pure and heavenly nature. It was this divine fear and love which pre- served Joseph from the enticements of Potiphar's wife, and it still guards ::;nAP. xxviii ] TEUE CIIEISTIANITY 93 as against tlie snares of an evil world. Jen. 39 : 9. 6. No man can love the world, but he who lias never tasted the love of ijod; nor can any man hate, defraud, )r circumvent his neighbor in any- :,hing, but he that does not love God !Tom his heart. Whence arise all the mxious cares of this life, that grief ind vexation of spirit with which poor nortals are disturbed? Surely, from lothing but from a want of the love bf God. For the sweetness of divine 'ove is so strong and effectual, that it j-nitigates the sense of all the miseries Lhat are incident to this life. This ove renders a man happy even in ;ieath itself i 7. Again, such is the nature of love, hat it influences a man to lay aside all ;houghts about anything else, and to ix his attention entirely on the be- oved object, in order to possess and pnjoy that alone. Why then are the fhildren of men so much besotted with ihe things of this world? Why do jhey not entirely forget all wealth and lonor, lust and riches, that they may ;njoy him alone, whom they profess |o love? This was in former times the constant practice of the holy men of jod; whom the exquisite sweetness j)f this divine love had so much over- powered, as to make them forget the ivhole world, and even themselves also, lence they were accounted fools in ihe world, when at the same time they [vere the wisest of all men ; and their lespisers most deserved the name of bols and madmen, as preferring a landful of frail and transient things, o everlasting and nevei'-fading pros- •erity. Those are the greatest fools, vho call the godly by that name, who, .etting their love on things above, are 'eeply concerned to obtain and eter- ally enjoy them. 1 Cor. 3 : 19; 4 :10. 8. A true lover of God, loves God as if tiiere were nothing in the whole universe to love but God alone. And for this reason, he finds all that in God, which he sought before in the world. For God hath in himself all things essentially, whatever we can de- sire. He is true honor and joy ; he is peace and pleasure; he is wealth and magnificence. With him are li«rht and life, glory and majesty, and all those delights that the heart of man can de- sire. All is found in a more substan- tial and transcendent manner in God, than it is in the world. If, therefore, thou lovest any creature, for the sake of beauty, transfer thy love to God, who is the fountain of all beauty. If thou wouldst love that which is good, fix thy love upon God, who is the eter- nal source of all goodness, nay, the es- sential Good itself, and without whom there is no goodness at all. Matt. 19 : 17. For whatever goodness the crea- ture may seem to possess, it is but an inconsiderable drop derived out of the ocean of the infinite goodness of God, and which is besides impaired by many frailties and imperfections that adhere to it. 9. To conclude — is it not far better to set thy love and affections on God alone, the unexhausted fountain and well-spring of all perfection and good- ness? The less a thing has of earthly gravity in it, the lighter it is, and the more easily is it carried upwards. So it is with the soul ; the more it cleaves to earthly things, and is pressed down by them to the ground, the less ability has it to raise itself to God, and re- joice in its Maker. In a word, the less a man loves this world, the more will the love of God and of his neigh- bor prevail in the soul. 10. Hence it follows that he that 94 TEUE CHRISTIANITY. [Book I loveth God, cannot but love his neigh- bor also, and he that dares to offend God, will not forbear to offend hi.' neiirhbor. CHAPTER XXIX. OF THAT RECONCILIATION TO OUR NEIGHBOR, WITHOUT WHICH GOD WITHDRAW HIS GRACE. First be reconciled to thy brother. — Matt. 5 : 24. EVERY one who desires to be rec- onciled to God, must of necessity endeavor to reconcile himself to his neiirhbor: because God takes the in- jury which is offered to man, as of- fered to himself, and the evil done to man, as done to himself 2. When, therefore, any one offends both God and man, he cannot be re- stored to the favor of God before he is reconciled to man his neighbor; for having offended them both, he must also be reconciled to both, which is expressly attested by Christ himself: It thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rcmcmberest that thy brother hath aiight against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way ; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." Matt. 5 : 23, 24. 3. It will be needful, therefore, to say something further of the love of God and of our neighbor, and to show how impossible it is to separate the one from the other: and again, that this reconciliation, so joined together, proves the true source of brotherly love and affection. 4. This the beloved disciple has ex- pressed as follows : " If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: lor he that loveth not his brother whom ho hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen ? And this commandment have we from him, that he that loveth God love his brother also." 1 John 4 : 20, 21. So utterly impossible is it, that the lovel of God should subsist without the love of our neighbor. Hence, also, it fol- lows, that he who truly and unfeign- edl}^ loves God, will also embrace his neighbor with the same sincere affec-! tion. And again, if the love which we profess to bear to God be hypocritical and false, then the love with which we seem to love our neighbor, will rise no higher than its principle, but prove false likewise. Therefore, the love of our neighbor is the test of our love of God, by the right application of which, the truth or falsehood of that love will easily be discovered. 5. This consideration gives us a true insight into the love of our neighbor, and that brotherly reconciliation which 1^ ought to attend it. There is a twofold object given by God to man, to which all the actions of his life are constantly to tend; namely, the love of God, and of our neighbor. Into this, all our en- deavors ought finally to be resolved, and we ought to make a daily progress in this holy exercise; since we are to this very end, created, redeemed, and sanctified. In a word, Christ himself is the one and only scope in which all our actions ought to centre. Now, the more we approach to love, the more Chap. XXTX.] TEUE CHRISTIANITY. 95 we approach to Christ, and the better we imitate his unblamable life. 6. For this end God was made man, or, the Word was made flesh, that he might set before our eyes a most lovely 'and living image of his infinite love and kindness, and that from hence it might appear, that God was Love itself; love in His own immense, in- comprehensible, and unsearchable es- sence; and that man, by viewing so i amiable an object of love as is dis- ! played in Christ Jesus, might be trans- formed into the same image day by day. 7. Furthermore, as, in Christ, God and man are united together by an in- ; dissoluble tie, so the love of God is so I closely connected with the love of our i neighbor, that the former cannot exist I without the latter. Nay, the love of I God and of our neighbor can be no more disjoined or put asunder, than the divine and human natures in Christ. And as he who injures the humanity of Christ cannot but affront his divin- ity also; so he who offends man, is in like manner guilty of offending the infinite God himself We cannot be angry with our neighbor, without being, at the same time, angry with God! 8. We will illustrate what has been said, by the following comparison. When a circle is made, and from its centre a number of lines are drawn to the circumference, all these lines, i though ever so distant in the circum- ference, meet together in the point, which is in the middle. Here they are all united in one, and all flow into one, be they ever so wide asunder, yea, even directly opposite one to the i other. Not one of all the lines, let I their number be ever so great, can be broken from the rest, without losing its communication with the centre it- self, wherein they all meet. So God is a point, or a centre, whose circum- ference is everywhere, extending in a manner, to all men upon earth. Who- ever presumes to break off the lines of his love from his neighbor, must, in like manner, disjoin and break them off from God at the same time. And as all these lines cohere and concur in the centre, and therein mutually af- fect one another, so is there a sort of central sympath}^, and a fellow-feel- ing, as it were, of the sufferings of our neighbor, provided we be but ail united in God, the great centre of all good Christians. 9. The truth of what has been said, is forcibly illustrated in the history of Job. When the tidings were brought him, that his temporal goods were destroyed, it appears that he quietly bore the loss of them, without giving any great sign of discontent at the appointments of Providence. He still continued to bless the Lord, and freely to own, that he who had given him his property, had also a right to take it nway whenever he pleased. But when he was told, that he had also lost his children, then indeed it went to his heart: then he "arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground." Job. 1 : 20. So let every true Christian act when he hears of the calamity of his neighbor (here represented hy the children of Job) ; knowing that he ought more to be affected with the misery of his neighbor, than w^th the loss of all his worldly substance. For it is the prop- erty of true love, to be moved with the miseries of other men more than wnth our own losses. O, happy men ! if they would live together in mutual love and affection ! Then frauds would cease; then injuries would be known no more, nor would there be any com- 96 TEUE CHRISTIANITY. [B(DOK I. plaint of unjust ways, or of underhand dealings. 10. In order that this might be the more dec])!}' impressed on the heart, God was pleased to ereate but one man in the beginning, together with Eve, who was soon afterwards made. Gen. 2:21, 22. This w^as done, that all man- kind, springing up from one original stock, and, as it wei-e, from one root, miirht all unite in mutual kindness and brotherly affection with one another. This is the reason why God did not create a multitude of men in the be- ginning, but one only ; whereas he cre- ated many beasts, trees and herbs at once. 11. The love which God commands us to pursue, is of that agreeable na- ture, and of that incomparable sweet- ness, that it does not in the least bur- den either a man's soul or body. Nay, it renders the mind easy under every event, is most agreeable to our very nature, and in every respect attended with a quiet and blessed life. But if the same God who has enjoined thee to love thy neighbor, had commanded thee to hate him, thou w^ouldest then have had cause to complain of hard usage, and of a far heavier burden than that which love can possibly impose upon thee. For the spirit of hatred and revenge is a tormentor of the soul, and a daily grief and vexation to those that are enslaved by it. On the con- trary, love refreshes the whole man ; and is so far from weakening or de- stroying body or soul (which is the common effect of hatred and envy), that it is a great preserver of both, and exhilarates them by the heal- ing influence which it carries with it. In a w'ord, to those that love God, it is a pleasure to love their neighbor also; but those who do not love God think it a hard and difficult task to embrace their neighbor with brotherly; love. 12. But if thy depraved nature should still lind it a hard task to love thy neighbor, then consider how much harder it will be to be banished for- ever from the presence of God, and to endure the pangs of hell to all eternity. Wretched is the man, who makes so sad a choice as to prefer hell-torments to a friendly reconciliation. Our own experience would soon convince us, if we made the trial, that as by faith we enjoy solid peace with God (as the apostle assures us, Rom. 5:1); so by Christian love and reconciliation we enjoy peace with men, together with much case and tranquillity of heart: whereas, on the contrary, a mind full of rancor and malice frets itself, and has no other rew^ard to expect than the lashes of an unruly conscience. 13. The sum of all this is: Every virtue rewards its followers with peace of conscience; and every vice punishes those that commit it with the recom- pense w^hich they deserve. Every vir- tue exalts those that practise it; and every vice covers its slaves with shame. 14. With regard to the order and method by which we are to proceed in working out a sound reconciliation with our offended neighbor, the Scrip- ture is explicit. The terms of recon- ciliation are these: 1. The offender is to confess his sin to his neighbor whom he has offended. 2. He is faithfully to restore that of which he has defrauded his neighbor; that is, he ought to re- turn not only the principal^ but also the ffth part over and above it. 3. If there be none to receive it, he is then to offer it unto the Lord himself. Numb. 5 : 7, 8. 15. This restitution of things un- lawfully taken away, is commanded OiiAP. XXIX.] TRUE CHRISTIANITY. 97 in such strong and expressive words, as to show that it is absolutely a nec- essary part of unfeigned repentance. St. Augustine has thus expressed his mind on this subject: " The sin is not remitted, unless the thing unlawfull}^ taken away be restored." — When the thing that is taken away may be re- stored, and is not restored, there is no true, but a feigned repentance." IG. And truly it is the property of unfeigned repentance to contemn all earthly things, and count them as loss (Phil. 3:8), in respect of that abound- ing grace which is bestowed upon a penitent sinner. Of this we have a glorious instance in Zaccheus, and in his conversion to God (Luke 19:8); who has had. however, comparatively few followers in this age. Sound con- version to God cleanses the heart, and purifies the conscience, by faith in Christ; it breaks the power of sin, and by influencing a man to restore such things as are wrongfully de- tained, not only clears the heart be- fore God, but also the outward conduct in the eye of the world. For in the heart and conscience a man is a thief before God, as long as he keeps any thing back that is taken away, how^- ever he may cease to steal hereafter. Therel'ore, in order that repentance may prove true, and the conscience be freed from guilt, all possible restitu- tion is to be made: or if a man be not able to make full restitution, he ought fervently to implore the Lord, that he himself, in his stead, would restore the thinn;s taken from his neii^hbor, and thus do justice. 17.' Since a sinner is thus bound in a twofold respect to God and to his neighbor, in order that his repentance may be full and efficacious, it is re- quired that both be satisfied. God does not accept any man's repentance, unless he be first reconciled to his neighbor. Therefore, it is to no pur- pose if thou shouldest say unto God: ''Merciful God, I confess that I have ofi'ended and injured my neighbor; I have damaged him by wicked usury and fraud; and have dealt so with him, as I would not that another should deal with me: which inicjuity I humbly entreat thee, O Lord, to par- don for th}' dear Son's sake." Be not de- ceived; God will not be mocked! He repels thy prayer, and saith : " Restore first that w-hich with fraud and usury thou hast taken from thy neighbor, and then thy joardon shall be ready." Not as if a man merited thi? pardon of God by this restitution ; this is a debt due to his neighbor, and how can he pre- tend to merit any thing b3^ that resti- tution which he is so engaged to make, and which the law of God exjiressly enjoins ? For thus hath the Lord com- manded : "All things whatsoever ye w^ould that men should do to 3'ou, do ye even so to them." Matt. 7 : 12. "For with the same measure that yo mete withal, it shall be measured to you again." Luke G : 38. 18. The same truth is confirmed by the following Scriptures: "Leave thy gift (oblation or sacrifice) before the altar and go thy way ; first be recon- ciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." Matt. 5:24. "Cease to do evil ; learn to do well ; seek judg- ment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though 3'our sins be as scar- let, they shall be as white as snow; though the}- be red like crimson, they shall be asVool." Isa. 1 : lG-18. And again, by the same prophet the Lord thus reasons: "Is not this the fast that I have chosen ? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy bur- 98 TRUE CHRISTIANITY. [Book I. dons, and to let tlio oppressed go free, and that ye break every. yoke ? Is it not to deal thy broad to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are east out to tliy house? when thou seest the naked that thou cover him, and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh ? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily ; and thy righteousness shall go before thee ; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward." Isa. 58 : 6-8. 19. All these Scriptures, with one consent, proclaim this great truth, — that God will not accept the repent- ance of any man, or hear his prayer, or regard his alms and oblations, un- less he be first reconciled to his neigh- bor, and make him all the restitution that is in his power. CHAPTER XXX. OF THE FRUITS OF LOVE Charity svffereth long^ and is kind ; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself^ is not pnffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not Iter own, is not easily provoked, thinkethno evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth hi the imth; beareth all things, believcth all things, hopeth all things, endureih all things. — 1 CoR. 13 : 4-7. EVEN as the tree of life stood in the midst of Paradise (Gen. 2 : 9); so Jesus Christ stands in the Paradise of the Christian Church, in order that all believers might derive life and strength from him. The whole sub- stance of the Christian religion con- sists in faith and love. As by faith in Christ, the life of a Christian is ren- dered acceptable to God (the life which he lives being not so much his own, as the life of Christ in him); so Love proves the fruitful principle of all such charitable acts as relate to his neighbor. And so true is it, that all virtues, ho w shining soever they may be, are of no account without charity; that even faith itself is counted dead if it be without love. James 2 : 17. For although faith, as it respects jus- tification, has no regard to works, either preceding, accompanying, or following it, but to Jesus CimiST only. on whom it lays hold; yet is that faith but mere show and pretence wiiich is not attended with love, though it should even work miracles. For as a body destitute of a soul is dead; so the inward spiritual man, if he have not love, is dead in all his members. Therefore hath the apostle declared, that faith should work by love. Gal. 5:6. It is true that faith justifies a sinner without works (Rom. 4:6): yet when it performs the functions of mu- tual love among men, it will neces- sarily be accompanied with a train of good works; this being the true test by which genuine faith can be dis- tinguished from all counterfeits. This is that faith which works by love; this is the tree which bears abundance of fruits, as from the following con- siderations will farther appear. 2. The first of these fruits is long- suffering. " Charity suffereth long." Chap. XXX.] TEUE CHRISTIANITY. 99 The nfitnrc and constitution of this virtue no. one ever more fully ex- pressed than Christ himself, tlie true tree of life, whose goodly and salutary fruits we ought to eat, and to convert into our own substance and nature. As he by his wonderful long-suffering bore the malice of the world, that thereby sinners might be brought to repentance (Rom. 2:4); so do thou also, O man, order thy life and man- ners, that it may appear evident, that the meek and gentle Christ lives in thee, and that thou mayest continue in him, as a member firmly united to its head. 3. The second fruit is kindness. "Charity is kind." This virtue was also most eminently seen in Christ Jesus, and in that example which he hath set us. David says: "Grace is poured into thy lips." Ps. 45 : 2. And the Evangelist tells us, that "they wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth." Luke 4 : 22. To these words do thou give attention, O man, and follow this great pattern of love and benignity, that so Christ may also speak by thy mouth, and that thou mayest remain united to him in perpetual charity. 4. The third fruit is, not to be envi- ous and revengeful, but to be ready to remit any offence whatsoever. "Char- ity envieth not." Nothing is more agreeable to the nature of God, than to forgive. " The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide, neither will he keep his anger forever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities." Ps. 103:8-10. "If the wicked will turn from all his sins that he committed, and keep all my stat- utes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be men- tioned unto him; in his righteousness that he hath done, he shall live." Ezek. 18 : 21, 22. "Is Ephraim my dear son ? Is he a pleasant child? Por since I spake against him, I do earnestly re- member him still ; therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord." Jer. 31 : 20. And lastly, this divirje goodness is most clearly expressed by Isaiah, and represented as the very character of God: "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions, for my own sake, and will not re- member thy sins " Isa. 43 : 25. There- fore be thou in this respect also like unto the merciful God. Eorgive, I say, and forget the trespasses of thy neighbor, that so, in like manner, Christ may also forgive thine offences and transgressions. It is then that the same mind is in thee which was also in Christ. And in this order alone thou shalt obtain fellowship with him. 5. The fourth fruit is candor. "Cha- rity vaunteth not it&elf " A kind and charitable man does not misjudge his neighbor, vaunt it over him, rashly censure him, or disingenuously de- ride him before others. True love is altogether averse to these unfair pro- ceedings. Whoever sincerely loves his neighbor, shows his heart in his countenance, and does all things in- genuously, and without guile. A visi- ble example hereof Christ himself hath left us, whose deportment was equal both to friends and enemies, and who from the bottom of his heart endeav- ored most earnestly to promote the salvation of mankind. Let this be an example to thee, O man, and follow in thy Master's footsteps, that so the candor which was in Christ, may also 100 TEUE CIIPJSTIANITY. [Book T. shine fortli in tiiy life and conduct. As the Lord has most hearlilj' es- poused our good and interest, so ought we in like manner, to do the same among ourselves also; if we wish to partake of the nature of Christ, and to be united to him, as living mem- bers to their Head and Saviour. 6. The fifth fruit is, not to be "puffed up." Cliarity is not of a haughty and supercilious temper. It is not swelled with high conceit on account of its own deeds and performances. Behold again thy Lord Jesus ! When a wo- man, in a great concourse of people, lifted up her voice and said: "Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked," "Yea," replied he, " rather blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it'' (Luke 11 : 27, 28) ; humbly remov- ing from himself that praise which was entirel}' due to him, and resigning it to those that tvnXy loved the Lord. If thou also rcsolvest to do this, then verily the humble Jesus lives in thee, and thou livest in him; it being the constant character of true charity, to transfer the praises of men to another wliom it esteems rnore worthy of them. 7. The sixth effect of charity is, "not to behave itself unseemly." A man en- dued with love, is not easily soured with discontent, or Avith any morose humor. His conversation is easy, obliging, and so concordant with all the offices of love and humanity, that the kindness residing within may even be read in his countenance. Of this sweetness of temper, the Lord Jesus hath left us a most bright and holy pattern. He did all with a spirit of mildness; and when he conversed with sinners, then pity and compassion vis ibly appeared in his very mien and asi)ect. This sweet temper of Christ ought also to be transfused into our souls, so that our life may prove a transcript of this most blessed origi- nal. 8. The seventh fruit of true love is, "not to seek her own." A true Christian has b}' love obtained such enlargement and liberty of soul, as to serve hisfel low-creatures freelj-, without any vie to self-interest. Nothing is more pleas ing to him than to do good to all with out the least expectation of gain. Thi pure and disinterested love originall dwells in God Almighty. He gives al things freely, without receiving an profit at all. He commands us to fea and worship him, for no other reaso than to make us proper objects of hi divine love and benignity. xVnd, lo what a glorious pattern of disinter ested love Christ has set before us Matt. 20 : 28. As a tree, without r-^ spcct of persons, imparts its fruit t all in the most ample and uni versa manner; so has Christ, and God i Christ, given himself unto us as th greatest and most excellent Good. G now, O man ! and practise the sam virtue; that so Christ, the ever-livin vine^ may bud in thee, and that tho maj'est become a fruitful plantn,tio of the Lord. Isaiah 61 : 3. 9. The eighth fruit of true love i " not to be easily provoked." A ma that has tasted of true love, is not ap to entertain any bitterness, much les to vent it by cursing and railing word. Contemplate again the life of Jesus who did not so much as open his mout' against his enemies, nor pour fort any bitter and vehement speeches, bu gave blessing and life to those tha hated him. Isaiah 11:3; 42:2. An though he, indeed, denounced wrat against Chorazin, Capernaum, an Bethsaida, and uttered many w^oe against the Pharisees (Luke 10:13 Chap. XXX.] TRUE CHEISTTANITY. 101 11 :42); 3'et this did not proceed from a bitter or revengeful temper; but was no more than a serious and earnest exhortation to true and unfeigned re- pentance, that so the offenders might at last be saved. Therefore, let us be cautions, lest any root of bitterness should at any time spring up in us, and so hinder our charity, and thus many be offended. Ileb. 12: 15. 10. The nlniJi fruit of charity is, "to think no evil." This is also the prop- erty of God Almighty, as he himself testifies: "For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." Jer. 29 : 11, 13. Whence it follows that whosoever has thoughts of peace towards his neighbor, has the mind of Christ, and is animated and influenced by his Spirit. 11. The tenth fruit is, "Loverejoic- eth not in iniquity," nor has it pleas- ure in the injury or oppression of good men, as Shimei had when David fled before Absalom. 2 Sam. 16: 5, 6. On the contrar^^, true love imitates Christ Jesus, who, with a tender compassion, beholding with a mournful counte- nance, the fall of Peter (Luke 22 : 61), raised and reclaimed him. and thereby fulfilled the words of the Psalmist: "God raises them that are bowed down." Ps. 146 : 8. And how did he deplore the evil which was hanging over the men of Judea, and the de- struction of their temple and city! Luke 19:41; 15:4. With what fer- vency, with what a hearty desire, did he bring his wandering sheep into the right way ; and with what a sweet and gentle voice did he allure them home ! Let us imitate so great a mas- ter of love; and if any one be over- taken in a fault, let us bewail his case, instruct him in the sj)irlt of meekness, and bear his burden, that so we may fulfil the law of Christ. Gal. 6:2. For he did first bear himself the bur- den of our sins, that we, being made his living members, might be formed to the same temper by him, who is the Head of the Church. 12. The eleventh property of charity is, that it " rejoiceth in the truth," and is exceedingly pleased Avith a Chris- tian order of things. Of this we liave an example in Christ Jesus, Avho, at the return of the seventy disciples, re- joiced in spirit and praised his Father for the success which had attended their function. Luke 10 : 21. Thus also the angels in heaven rejoice (as Christ himself teaches us), over the conver- sion of a sinner. Luke 15 : 10. Who- ever, therefore, seriously lays to heart the practice of so Christian a virtue, manifests thereby an angelical temper of mind: nay, it is a proof that the very mind of Christ, yea, of God him- self, resides in that soul. 13. The twelfth fruit of charity is, to " bear all things," in order to j^reserve the bond of peace and of mutual friend- ship. Love patiently bears the infirmi- ties of others, after the example of St. Paul, who was made w^cak with the weak, that he might profit the weak: nay, he was made all things, if by any means he might be an instrument to save some. 1 Cor. 9 : 22. The same heavenl}^ love helieveth all things, and suspects no evil of its neighbor; hopeth all things, praying and desiring that peace and happiness may constantly accompany our fellow-creatures. And, lastly, true love endureth all things for the sake of benefiting a neighbor; all which our blessed Redeemer, by his own example, has most feelingly taught us. He bore all manner of reproaches 102 TEU^] CHRISTIANITY. [Book I. and injuries for our sins; be underwent most inhuman scourgings and buft'ct- ings, will) exlrenic poverty, tlmt in him, iind by liim, we might obtain cverUisling joy and honor. 14. The thirteenth fruit of love is, •'not to faint or be wear}^," in doing good. Herein it is like God, whose mere}" is from everlasting to everlast- ing upon those that fear him. Ps. 103 : 17 ; Luke 1 : 50. God expeets and waits that he may be graeious unto us. Isa. 30 : 18. In order that he might have mercy on us, he rose up to spare us, and he loves to be exalted in show- ing mercy. His love is stronger than death, which man}^ waters are not able to quench, and from which noth- ing can ever separate us. Cant. 8 : 7. lie hath mercy on us with everlasting mercies. And though he declares, on a certain occasion, that he is " wearj^ with repenting" (Jer. 15 :G); yet is this confined to those only wYio wil- fully reject the tender of his mercy, who despise his grace, and abuse his goodness: and in no wise affects those that heartily fear him. "The moun- tains shall depart, and the hills be re- moved ; but my kindness shall not de- part from thee, neither shall the cove- nant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee." Isa. 54: 10. After this standard of di- vine mercy, we ought also to regulate the love we bear to our neighbor, so that it may never fail or faint in acts of humanity and kindness; no, not even in those which we are bound to bestow on our very enemies. As Christ did, so ought we, 'from a compassion- ate and never-failing love, to pray^ " Father, forgive them." Luke 23:34. 15. In a word, Love is the greatest, the best, and the noblest of all virtues. First, because God himself is love. 1 John 4 : 16. Secondly, because it is the fulfilling and the summary or coni- pi^ehension of the whole law. Rom. 13 : 10. Thirdly, because it is eternal and never-failing, so that it is not like faith and hope, which vanish away when that happiness appears which is the end of faith. 1 Cor. 13:8. Fourthly, because all good works and services done to our neighbor without it, are vain and of no account before God. And lastly, because love gives us an assurance here, that by faith in Christ we shall inherit life eternal hereafter. Hence it follows, that Christian love must excel all other gifts and graces whatsoever, and that our main con- cern ought to centre in so divine a virtue. Nothing, certainly, can be greater than experimental!}- to know that love of Christ which "passeth all knowledge," that we may be filled with all the fulness of God, and the fruits of love. Eph. 3 : 19. Chap. XXXI.] TEUE CHRISTIANITY. 103 CHAPTER XXXI. PRIDE AND SELF-LOVE CORRUPT AND DESTROY EVEN THE BEST AND NOBLEST GIFTS. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels^ and have not charity, I am become as soundmg brass, or a tinkling cymbal, etc. — 1 Cor. 13 : 1, etc. LEST any should wonder why St. Piiul sets forth the virtue of charity with so many high and emi- n'^nt praises; we are to consider that God is love; and that, consequently, the same praise belongs to both: nor can there be a greater virtue in God or man, than love. 2. But our love is twofold: the one true, living, sincere, and undefiled; the other false, polluted, hypocritical, and selfish. The former of these St. Paul lias most amply described, and exhibited all the fruits and proj^erties that attend it, of which we have al- ready spoken. The latter kind, which is false and polluted, may sometimes seem, indeed, to promote the glorj^ of God, and the profit of mankind; yet inwardly, and in the heart, it seeks nothing either in word or deed, but private honor and interest only. Now whatever flows from this fountain of false love, proceeds not from God, but from the devil; for it is a poison in- fecting the very best of works, and the most excellent gifts conferred on man. 3. As a flower, that in sight, taste, and smell, is sweet and beautiful, is re- jected with disgust, if it contain secret venom, because it is hurtful to man; so, though a man be adorned with the most exquisite parts, and the very gifts of angels themselves, if he be void of charity, and full of avarice, pride, self- love, and self-honor, then all those gifts not only prove of no value, but be- come pernicious to him that possesses them. For whatever is really good, always proceeds from God himself, so as to begin and end in him. Whatever deviates from this beginning and end, can never be really good, nor accept- able to the Lord. That which this good God works in thy heart, is truly good, and only good: but it is quite other- wise if self-love, self-honor, and self- interest, bear the sway in thy soul, and influence the actions of thy life. All that springs from so depraved a I principle, must be of the same nature I with the principle whence it flows, corrupt and defiled, since it does not proceed from God as fi'om its original cause and moving principle; God alone is good. Matt. 19 : 17. 4. It is said that it was the wish of a certain saint of old, that he might be of no other use to God, than his own right hand was to himself; an in- strument, ready to give and to receive what was fit, and this in the manner directed by the soul ; arrogating nei- j ther honor nor profit to itself And, j indeed, it is right that we all should I be of the same temper. For as all : things come freely from God to us, so I we should return all things freely to ! our neighbor, from a principle of pure love, and in true singleness of heart, without any desire of glory or self in- terest. For as God alone is the author of all that is good; so it is but just that all honor and glory should be given to him alone. Man is but an in- 104 TRUE CHEISTTA^slTY. [Book I strument. made fit to i-eccive and to deliver what God bestows upon him. 5. Now if a man be witliout tliis sincere and piii-e love, he is, notwith- standini^ all his gifts and endowments, a mere nothing, and of no account in the sight of God. Though he speak with the tongues of angels; though he prophesy, and know all mysteries, and have sue!) faith as even to remove mountains; and though he should moreover bestow^ all that lie has among the pooi*, and give his body to be burned; all this will avail him nothing at last, and stand him in no stead when he is to have his trial. 1 Cor. 18 : 1-3. 6. The reason is plain. Self-love, self-honor, and self-interest, are of the devil, who thereby procured his own downfall from heaven. For after God had created Lucifer a most glorious angel, and adorned him with the most excellent gifts of wisdom, light, and glory, he began to pride himself in his gifts, and to love, honor, and exalt himself This self-complacency pi'oved the very first step to his ruin, lie turned his love from God to himself, and was deservedly driven from his principality, together with all such as adhered to him, and whom he had in- fected with the saine pride and self- love. Not contented with his estate or principality, he aspired too high, and lost all which the Creator had con- ferred upon him, according to St. Jude : " The angels kept not their first estate." Jude 6. See also Col. 2 : 15. 7. By the same sin which had ef- fected his own ruin, Satan attempted the ruin of man, namely, by diverting him from the love of God to the love of himself Hereby self love and self- honor began to act in man, and influ- enced him to seek equality with God himself. Hence he was cast out of Paradise, as Lucifer had been before cast out of heaven, leaving to us all the heritage of pride and selflove. And this is the fall of Adam, which all men in themselves repeat; and which is transmitted through flesh and blood, from one generation to another. 8. The remedy by which a thorough cure may be wrought in fallen man, is wholl}' to be sought in the pi-ecinus 7nerit of Christ apprehended by laith. By this we are renewed in Christ, and the flesh is crucified, with its sinlui desires. Then we love ourselves no more, but on the contrary, even hate ourselves. Luke 14 : 26. We do not honor or extol, but deny and mortify ourselves. We no more seek our own glory and interest; but, denying all we have, we withdraw our pleasure and trust from everything whatsoever it be (Luke 14 : 33), and manfully fight with our own flesh and blood. Who- soever refuses to comply with these terms, can in no case be a disciple of Christ; since this is the only means by which the natural degeneracy of our heart is to be subdued, and a sound conversion is to be efl'ected. 9. Since it was utterly impossible that man, by his ow^n natural strength, should restore himself (for of himself, he can do nothing but love himself, boast of himself, and seek his own ends and interest; or, to sum up all in a word, commit siii); God, in his infinite mercy, was moved to commiserate man's fallen condition, and to make the very beginning of the work of man's restoration. In order to this, the Son of God took the form of a man upon him, thereby to renew our nature, that, being regenerated by him, in him, and from him, we might become new creatures. For as in Adam we are dead both bodily and spirituall}', so we ought to rise again in Christ, and Chap. XXXI.J [be renewed holli in spirit and bod}', jl Cor. 15:22. And as by a carnal idcseent from Adam, sin, self-love and Ipride cleave to our nature; so in IClirist, by a spiritual birth, we must be I justified, and inherit bj' faith his right- eousness. And, as b}' our carnal birth, we draw our sin from Adam, especially jSelflove, pri(]e, and ambition ; so from [Christ, by failh, and by the Holy i Ghost, our nature is to be renewed, .cleansed, and sanctified. All self-love, Ipride, and ambition, are to die in us, in order that we may attain a new heart and a new spirit from Christ, even as t we received our sinful flesh from Adam. jAnd with reference to this new^ birth lin us, Christ is called the everlasting \Father. Isaiah 9 : 6. I 10. Hence it follows, that all the iworks of a Christian, together with his jgifts and talents, ought to proceed Ipurely from the new birth, if ever they jbe acceptable to God; and that they [ought to spring from faith, from Christ, |and from the Holy Ghost. Wherever Ithis principle is wanting, there the most excellent parts, and even miracles themselves, are of no account at all I before God. So with respect to our [neighbor, all things ought to be done ,in Christian charity (1 Cor. 16 : l-l), jwithout any view to private gain, or 'honor; as a pattern of which God has set his Son before us (John lo : 15), in whom there was no spot of self-love 1C5 or arrogance ; no desire of piv^fit or praise; nay, in whom nothing resided but pure and undefiled love and liumil- ity. He is Inwardly to live in our liearts by faith, and outwardly to be expressed in our whole life and con- duct. It is then, that all our works, words^ and knowledge, wholly proceed from Christ, as from their original source. Without this divine principle settled within the mind, all our gifts and works, be they ever so high and angelical, are insignificant, and of no worth. For wdierever self-love sw^ays the soul, there must be a hatred of God; wliere pride rules, it engenders a contempt of God; and how can works springing from so vitiated a principle, ever be acceptable to the Lord? 11. Let us, therefore, most fervently beseech the Lord, to give us true faith and sincere love; a love not defiled with any desire of vain honor, profit, and glory. Whenever this divine tem- per is obtained and established in the heart, it is followed with this happy effect, that thereby not onl^^ great and illustrious endowments and works are made acceptable to God, but also the least and meanest of all, even the gift of a cup of cold water. Matt. 10 : 42. For a small work proceeding from sin- cere love and humility, is far more ex- cellent than all the splendid works that are raised on no other foundation than pride and self-love. TKUE CHRISTIANITY. 106 TEUE CHRISTIANITY. [Booi CHAPTER XXXII. GREAT GIFTS DO NOT DEMONSTRATE A MAN TO BE A CHRISTIAN, BUT FAIT^ THAT WORKS BY LOVE. The kingdom of God is not in v)ord, but in poioer. — 1 CoR. 4 : 20. ST. PAUL, intending to describe a Christian in a few words, says: " The end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeign- ed." 1 Tim. 1 : 5. As if he had said: To be a Clirislian, and to render our- selves acceptable in the sight of God, requires notiiing hard and lofty; no worldly wisdom, no human learning, no great i)arts, no gift of prophesy- ing, no eloquence, no knowledge of tongues, no miracles: but only that a man have faith in Christ; that he do all things in love, and Avith a mind wholly resigned to God ; and that he suffer himself to be led and governed by the good Spirit of God. 2. We should not, therefore, regard how many languages a man speaks, or how eloquent he is in his delivery ; but how he shows forth his faith by love, and by the mortification of the flesh. For they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts" (Gal. 5 : 24) : under which are included self-esteem, self-love, cov- etousncss, vain-boasting, ambition, self- interest, and all else that is carnal. To which purpose also St. Paul says, that " the kingdom of God is not in word," or in great gifts and endowments, "but in power" (1 Cor. 4 : 20); that is, in a living exercise of Christian vir- tues, of faith, love, meekness, patience, and humility. 3. Therefore, no man is in favor with God, or is saved, because he is endued with brighter gifts than others; buti because he is found in Christ Jesus by faith, and lives in him as a new crea-j ture. 2 Cor. 5 : 17. Great gifts do not] make us happy. If a man had at-jj tained to gifts so extraordinary and I marvellous as never any possessed before, yet would he be certainly cast away, unless he lived at the same time in the exercise of daily repent- ance in Christ, in a ready abnegation of the world, and in a denial of him- self, and of all his selfish desires. Nay, if he did not hate and forsake him-i self, so as to place his whole confi-j| dence in God alone, and to cleave to his grace, as an infant to the breasti of the mother, he would be forever! banished from the presence of God,; notwithstanding all his gifts and alljj his endowments. 4. It is certain that gifts and parts are not bestowed upon us in order to make us great here, and happy here- after; but they are wholly dispensed for the edification of the Church. When the seventy disciples, at their return, said with joy, "Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name " (Luke 10 : 17, 20) ; our Lord replied: "In this rejoice not (for neither miracles nor gifts shall save you), but rejoice rather because your names are written in heaven." By faith Moses was saved, not by his miracles. Aaron's eloquence did not the more endear him to God. And Miriam, the sister of Moses, who was Phap. XXXIL] TEUB CHEISTIANITY. 107 ndued with the gift of prophecy, and ly wliom the Spirit of the Lord spoke, vas struck with the leprosy. Numb. 2: 10. 5. The apostles themselves did not nterinto the kingdom of heaven be- ELUse of the miracles which they per- rmed, nor on account of the gift of ingues. conferred upon them, but bc- iausc they believed in Christ, the Sa- I'iour of the world. Those of the first tank, and those of the meanest con- dition, must tread in the same way of 'aith and humility, of repentance and nortification, and become new crea- ures in Christ through faith and love; n whom Christ also may live again )y this faith. Whoever neglects tliis •rder, cannot expect to be accounted me of the family of Christ. 6. Christian love is that new vital )rinciple by which a man is actuated do good. This is attended with the ife of Christ, and the powerful in- Iwelling of the divine Spirit. To this )urpose the apostle desires, that we nay be filled with all the fulness of ^od (Eph. 3: 19): and St. John tells IS, that "God is love, and that he who hvelleth in love, dvvelleth in God, and jod in him." 1 John 4: 16. Whoever, therefore, feels the love of God shed Ibroad in his heart, feels no less than 'jrod himself there. However, in order hat we might not deceive ourselves mih a false and hypocritical, instead of a true and divine love, the apostle has drawn up the character thereof, and represented it as a tree adorned with numerous branches : " Love," says he, "is patient, kind," etc. 1 V.ov. 13. All which are the essential prop- erties of Christians, and consequently the life of the new man. 7. To sum up all in a few words, God the Father is love, God the Son is love, God the Holy Ghost is love. The whole spiritual body of Christ, which is the Church, is also knit to- gether by the bond of love; so that there is but one God, one Christ, one Spirit, one baptism, one faith (Eph. 4:5, 6); and lastl}', eternal life itself shall be nothing else but eternal love. 8. Whoever, therefore, does not live in love, is certainly a dead member of the body of Christ. As a dead mem- ber is not supported by that natural heat which nourishes the body and every living member thereof, nor is sustained with proper food for its daily growth and increase; so a man who does not live in Christian love is des- titute of spiritual life, and is dead to God and to Christ. He is without faith, a withered, lifeless branch; he has no part in God, in Christ, and the Holy Ghost, in the hol}^ Christian Church, and in life eternal; and will be excluded from the presence of that God, who has declared himself to he Love. I TEUE CHRISTIANITY. [Book I CHAPTER XXXII 1. GOD HAS NO RESPECT TO THE WORKS OF ANY ONE; BUT JUDGES OF WORKS ACCORDING TO THE HEART. Every way of a man is 7'ight in his own eyes; but the Lord pondercih the hearts. — Prov. 21 :2. WHEN the prophet Samue], by the commandment of God, went to anoint David king, he entered the 1)0 use of Jesse, and offered to anoint his first-born: but the Lord said to him: "Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him. For the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man look- eth on tlie outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." 1 Sam. IG :7. 2. By this example God declares, on the one hand, that he has no regard to any man's person, be he ever so great and eminent, when his heart is destitute of piety, love, faith, and hu- mility; and on the other, that he es- teems persons and works according to the inward spirit and intention of the mind, and thence allows or disallows them, according to Prov. 21:2. More- over, all gifts and endowments, how considerable soever they be, and how admirable, great, and glorious they may appear in the eyes of men, in no- wise please t'he Lord, unless they be accompanied with a pure heart, a heart that has a steady respect to the honor of God and the profit and edification of our neighbor; and which, at the same time, is freed from pride and arrogance, from self-love, and self-in- terest, and any of those sinister views which are apt to mingle v/ith the worlds of a Christian. 3. Consider the example of Lucifer, the fairest and most glorious angel which heaven contained. No soonci did he stain the gifts of God with self- love and self-honor (not consideriiio that he was bound to advance there' the glory of God, who had conferrr them upon him), than he was trans- tbrmed into a devil, and, being east down I'rom heaven, was shut out from the glorious presence of God. 4. If ever, therefore, our works shall be acceptable to God, they ought to proceed from pure faith towards God and sincere love to our neio-hbor, beinir cleared from the spots of self-love, self- honor, and self interest, as much as possibly can be in this state of infirm- ity. To this end St. Paul says "Though I speak with the tongu of men and of angels, and have noi charity, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal" (1 Cor. 13: 1): that is, 1 am altogether vain and unprofitable. In truth, God re- gards not fluency of speech, but an hunible heart; not arts, learning, wit, or ability, but he w^eighs the spirit of a man, whether it be bent upon pro-' moting its own honor and interest, or the glory of God and the profit of men. Nor does God regard a faith by which mountains might be removed, and the eyes of the beholders be attracted from all sides, if a man seek thereby his own honor and glory. But the Lord looks with the greater affection upon him who " is poor, and of a con- trite spirit, and trembles at his word." Isaiah 66: 2. In short, if a man di3-| •hap. XXXIY.] TEUE CHRISTIANITY. 109 •ibute all that lie has to the poor, or ive up his body to be burned, it will 3 all to no purpose, if the act be sul- ed with self'honor and self-cornpla- ney. It is the heart only and the in- jard intention of the mind, which the ord regards. This fully appears from tany instances recorded in Scripture. 5. Both David and Saul attended the ;rvice of God, but with a different ef- ct. 1 Sam. 15:9; 2 Sam. 24:25. Da- id, Manasseh (2 Chron. 33: 18), Nebu- ladnezzar, and Peter, after repent- ice, obtained mercy; Saul, Pharaoh, id Judas, on the contrary, fell short of , on account of the different principle hich swayed their minds. Pharaoh 5xod. 9:27) and Saul (1 Sam. 15: t), no less than Manasseh, used the ime praj^er, ''Lord, I have sinned I" it they received different rewards, he prayer of Ilczekiah, Joshua, and idcon (Isa.38: 7; Josh. 10:12; Judg. :37), by which they required a sign oni heaven, is approved and praised; le Pharisees doing the same are re- ctcd and reproved. Matt. 12:38; 1G:4. The Publican and the Pharisee prayed both in the temple; but both are not approved. Luke 18 : 14. The Ninevitea fasted (Jonah 3 : 5, 10); the Jews and Pharisees did the Kanie (Matt. 6 : IG) : but the former were re- cei ved, and the latter rejected. "Where- fore (say they) have w^e fasted, and thou seest not?" Isa. 58 :3. The poor wndow, who cast into the treasury but two mites, is praised by Christ; where- as, he that gave more is not. Luke 21 : 3. Herod and Zaccheus both re- joice at the sight of Christ; but they had most different rewards. Luke 19 : 6; 23:8. 6. All this proceeds from no other cause than the heart, and that moving principle by which it is swayed, and which God chiefly regards. He accepts those w^orks only which flov\^from un- feigned faith, sincere love, and true humility; for whatever our gifts or works may be, if pride, self-love, and the contagion of filthy lucre, infect them, they are at once rejected by the Lord. CHAPTER XXXIY. lOWING THAT GOD ALONE, WITHOUT ANY HUMAN AID, IS THE AUTHOR OF OUR SALVATION, AND THAT WE ARE TO SUBMIT UNRESERVEDLY TO HIS GRACE; ALSO, THAT CHRIST's MERIT IS NOT IMPUTED TO THE IMPENITENT. %t of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. — 1 Cor. 1 : 80. N this impressive sentence, St. Paul - teaches us that all things necessary r our salvation are merited by Christ 58U8 our Lord. When we were iixnor- tt of the way of life, he was made i isdom unto us ; when we were sin- ners, he w^as made our righteousness ; when we were an abomination before God, he was made our sanctification ; and when w^e were in a state of dam- nation, he became our redemption. 2. It is therefore most certain, that 110 TRUE CIIPJSTIAyiTY. [Book 1 man does not contribute so ninch as one jot to liis salvation. Sin, indeed, man could commit of himself, but he was not able to justify himself again ; he could lose, but not recover himself; kill, but not restore to life; he could submit himself to the devil, but could not shake off his spiritual fetters. As a dead body cannot quicken itself again, so men "being dead in sins" (Eph. 2 : 1, 5), as the Apostle declares, cannot raise themselves again to life. 3. We did not contribute anything towards our creation, neither do we perform an3'thing towards our redemp- tion, regeneration, and sanctification, which are far greater transactions than the creation itself. 4. Hence it was necessary, that the Son of God should take human nature upon him, to recover all that was lost in Adam, and to revive those that were dead in sins and trespasses. 5. That this may be the better un- derstood, we ought to represent to ourselves the traveller in the Gospel, who, falling among thieves, was cruelly wounded and bruised by them, and at last utterly- disabled from helping him- self again. Luke 10: 30. Him, there- fore, the good Samaritan receives into his arms, binds up his wounds, sets him on his beast, takes him to an inn, and omits nothing that a faithful phy- sician could administer to a sick and wounded person. And as the traveller showed himself obedient to his physi- cian, and strictl}^ followed the direc- tions prescribed by him; so we ought to act if we desii-c to be healed of our disease. We ought to siiffer the heal- ing hand of the Lord, and not to resist, when he attempts the cleansing of our wounds; and when, after having poured in wine and oil, he binds them up. To obtain the blessed effect of these spiritual operations, we must v\'holly resign ourselves to him, wlu alone is able to save us ; and then we may trust to the goodness of Gel that on his side he will not fail to i store us to health and soundness. 6. No sooner does a sinner repent than he begins his happy return to wards the Lord, grieving for his formci transgressions, and suffering that hi. wounds be washed with the sharpi wine of the law, and the oil of consola tion. Whoever comjjliea with the terms, in him, Ciirist, by his gnu works an unfeigned faith, atten-lt with all thefi'uits it produces, — right- eousness, life, peace, jo}^, comfort, and salvation, and thus "worketh in him both to will and to do, of his good pleasure." Phil. 2 : 13. 7. But it is not in the power of num by nature to forsake sin. The Scrijt ture calls the natural man a " servni of sin " (John 8 : 34), and one that "sold under sin" (Eom. 7 : 14), who^ can do nothing but sin ; and the pro- phet says, " Can the Ethiopian char,_ his skin, or the leopard his spots? may ye also do good that are acci; tomed to do evil." Jer. 13 : 23. P.i " the o-race of God that brino-eth salv tion, hath appeared to all men (by t!, Gospel), teaching us that denying un- godliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberl}^, righteously, and godly, in' this present world." Tit. 2 : 11, 12. This is offered us by the word of God : and it is this grace which excite.-, teaches, and allures fallen man ; which urges and influences him to renounce sin, and to submit to the discipline of grace. And these divine admonition furnished through the Word, fiili_ agree with the inward testimony of the conscience; so that a man is con- vinced both from without and from within of his sinful life, and of the necessity of quitting it, in order to L^nAP. XXXIV.] TEUE CIiniSTIAXITY. Ill preserve bis soul from everlasting de- struction, for whoever lives in sin, lives n opposition to God and his own con- jscience. , 8. When a man yields to the sugges- tions and exhortations of divine grace, 'ind, proving obedient to the Word, be- irins to withdraw from his vicious life, :hen the grace of God endows him with all those virtues which the Gos- :-»el requires. It is then that faith springs up in the soul, the original principle of all other virtues. This is 'ollowed by love, and all Christian ijraces, which grow as so many fruits :)n the tree of faith. It is then, also, >hat liirht be