True Christianity

Part II.

Treating Specially Of Man

Chapter I.

God, An Infinite And Eternal Being

Ah, Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee.—The Great, the Mighty God, the Lord of hosts, is his name; great in counsel, and mighty in work.– Jer. 32:17-19.

God is the origin of the life and being of all creatures: whence it follows, that he was before all creatures, both an eternal Being, and eternal Life itself; otherwise he could not have given life and being to his creatures. But the infinity of God yet more plainly appears from the mind and thoughts of man. For as the mind of man can in a moment run through the whole circle of heaven, and comprehend in imagination all the creatures of the universe; it follows, that God who made him, comprehends all these things in a more perfect manner, and by consequence must be infinite.

2. All the attributes of God are essential to him. As therefore he is infinite, so are his essence and life also infinite. For essence and life are inseparable from him. Moreover, as he has endued the soul of man with wisdom and understanding, it follows that the understanding and wisdom of God must be infinite. For whatsoever is in God, is essentially and eternally in him. And as the unity of the divine nature is so perfect that his wisdom cannot be separated from his essence and life, it follows that both are alike infinite and eternal.

3. But if the wisdom of God be eternal and infinite, it will follow that He knoweth all things from eternity. Moreover, as his essence is unchangeable, equally filling all places; so his understanding does not proceed by way of rational connection, or discursive operation from one idea to another. He knoweth and understandeth all things in an instant, and to him there is nothing past or to come, but the whole circle of eternity is present to him. For as God stands in need of no creature to add anything to the perfection of his being, so neither does he need any creature with respect to his understanding. And as he is God, independently of all creatures; so he penetrates and comprehends all things in himself. So that the sands of the sea, and the drops of the rain, and eternity, are alike known to him. And not so much as a bird of the air, or a hair of our heads, can fall to the ground without him. Matt. 10:29, 30. He knoweth the days of the world, every hour and moment of time, with its several periods and revolutions; nor is anything under the heavens hidden from him. For as by his infinite power he created all things, so by his infinite wisdom he understands and comprehends all things; even the most secret thoughts of man. Ps. 139:2, &c.

4. Moreover, as his essence, life, and wisdom, so also his power is infinite, and all are equally incapable of any addition or diminution. Lastly, forasmuch as no creature can oppose or set bounds to his power, therefore, he is Almighty. All which must necessarily be, forasmuch as his essence, life, wisdom, and power, are inseparable.

Chapter II.

God, The Supreme Good

For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things.– Rom. 11:36.

As He must be the chief and only good, in whom all good things are contained; it follows that glory and praise belong to God alone, because from him, and by him, and for him, are all things.

2. All the goodness that is found scattered up and down among the creatures, is in a most perfect and excellent manner and degree contained in him. So that whosoever turns himself to the creatures, and cleaves unto them, will always find himself poor, needy, and distressed: whilst he that turneth unto God with his whole heart, pursues the chief and most perfect good, and shall be blessed in the enjoyment of it: ever rich, ever at ease, ever blessed in the fruition of his God. By this it appears that perfect happiness is not to be found in the enjoyment of the creatures, and that they who fix their hearts and desires on the world, can expect nothing but anguish, disquiet, and disappointments, both in life and in death; for they have not that chief good, which alone can satisfy and make happy the soul of man.

Chapter III.

Man, The Most Noble Of All Creatures, And Made For The Service Of God

Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.– Ps.100:3.

All the creatures, in their several kinds and orders, were created by God for the use and benefit of man. Thus we see corn and pasture produced, these feeding the living creatures, and all serving for food to mankind. One assists another, the higher wheel setting the lower in motion, and all in a wonderful harmony concurring to one great end, which is the use and benefit of man.

2. Now, if all this be for his sake, he is certainly more noble than they all; and hence he should learn what dependence he has upon God, and what duty and service he owes to Him who has appointed all the creatures, in their order, to minister to his necessities.

3. And, as all the creatures seem to aim at no other end than the use and service of man, and seem to rest and be satisfied in obtaining that end; so ought man likewise to show the same diligence and faithfulness in the service of God, that the creatures show to him. All his works and labors ought to be directed to this one end, namely, to accomplish the will of God, and do nothing but that which is well-pleasing in his sight. For as all things are incessantly employed in serving man, the noblest of all creatures, so there is all the reason in the world that he should be as constant and assiduous in the service of God, who is perfection itself, and to whom alone he is indebted for that superiority which he has over the rest of the creatures.

Chapter IV.

God Made Man In His Own Image, In Order That He Might Delight In Him

My delights were with the sons of men.– Prov. 8:31. —The Lord shall rejoice in his works.– Ps. 104:31.

Every artist has a love for the works of his own hands, and that induces him to take so much pains about them. “God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” Gen. 1:31. But if he took so much delight in the general survey of his works, how much greater pleasure must he take in man, whom he created after his own image.

2. For the more anything resembles ourselves, the more tenderly do we love it. A father has a stronger affection for his son, who partakes of his own nature, than for a house which he himself has builded, though ever so exact and regular in itself.

3. Moreover, as God takes pleasure in a creature made to resemble himself, therefore, it was necessary, that after the other creatures were formed, he should create man in his own image, in whom he might rest and delight himself. And as similitude is the foundation of friendship and society, and everything naturally associates with its like, it follows that God, in making man after his own image, intended to delight and rejoice Himself in him; so that man ought likewise to cleave unto his God, and to delight and take pleasure in conversing with Him.

4. Further, as God is the most perfect love, he could not but desire to communicate himself, and all his blessings, to some other being. That could not be done, however, without making some being like himself; and as there was no such being then in nature, capable or worthy of such divine communications, therefore he created man in his own image, which consists chiefly in perfect love.

5. And, lastly, as there is naturally a reciprocal love betwixt the giver and the receiver of any benefit; hence it follows, that it is the duty of man to worship with the highest affection and most ardent love, his heavenly Benefactor, who so affectionately desires to communicate himself, and all the riches of his goodness, to his unworthy creatures.

Chapter V.

That God By His Love Bestows Himself Upon Us

God is love.– 1 John 4:16.

As man devotes himself entirely unto God by love, so God bestows himself entirely upon man also by love. And as that love of his is in the highest degree of perfection, he cannot but give us Himself: for the highest instance of love is to bestow one's self upon the person we love. And as a consequence of this perfect love, He bestowed himself upon us in his only begotten Son.

2. This is the true spring of the incarnation, passion, and death of the Son of God. Thus our blessed Saviour pronounces these words of comfort, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son” (John 3:16); that is, God loved the world with an entire and perfect love, and therefore gave us his Son. But as the eternal love of God is the fountain of eternal life to the world; and that eternal love is manifested by Christ Jesus, in and by whom we have everlasting life, therefore, our Lord further adds: “that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Chapter VI.

Showing How Much Man Is Indebted To God For His Everlasting Love

We love him, because he first loved us.– 1 John 4:19.

In every benefit or gift there are three things to be considered: the giver, the receiver, and the gift itself. As, then, there is a natural obligation upon the receiver to the giver, it is manifest, that since man has received all that he has from God, so he owes all to him, and is under the strictest obligations of love and obedience to his great benefactor.

2. And as man consists of body and soul, so God has abundantly provided for the comfort and happiness of both.

3. As for his body, it is sustained and refreshed by the various productions of nature, so that the whole creation seems to call upon him, and put him in mind of his Creator: “Consider,” it saith, “O man, the benefits which thy Maker has bestowed upon thee, and what returns of gratitude and service thou owest him for the same. I (saith the heaven), give thee daylight to work in, and send darkness in which thou mayest sleep and take thy rest. I give thee the pleasant spring, the warm summer, the fruitful autumn, and the cold winter, in their proper seasons. I (saith the air), supply thee with breath, and every kind of birds. By me (saith the water), art thou washed, and thy thirst is quenched; by me thou art supplied with all kinds of fish. I bear thee and sustain thee (saith the earth), and satisfy thee with bread, wine, and flesh; by all which thou mayest know how much thou art beloved by Him who made thee, and me for thy use; all of whose favors are as so many bonds and obligations upon thee.”

Chapter VII.

Of The Things That Instruct And Comfort The Soul

Ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee.– Job12:7, 8.

Let us now see what provision God has made for the comfort and instruction of the soul of man. Here we shall find every creature in one way or another, subservient to this end. And, first, I shall speak of the pleasure which man receives from the creatures.

2. Man alone has the privilege of really enjoying what he possesses. Other creatures, being void of understanding, have no relish of those blessings from which man receives very great comfort; gold, silver, and precious stones, have no intelligence. But man, being endowed with an understanding mind, reflects with gratitude and pleasure upon the goodness of God, who has provided so many beautiful creatures for his use and benefit. O the wonderful goodness of God, who has made all the excellencies of the creatures subservient to the happiness of man; so that they are the channels of conveying that happiness to us, which they themselves are not capable of enjoying! Thus the sweetness and goodness of the water, the fragrance and beauty of flowers, the light and glory of the sun, moon, and all the host of heaven, yield no pleasure to themselves, but all unite to promote the happiness of man. Nay, without them, man would have no enjoyment at all in this world; nor could he have any notion of the dignity and pre-eminence of his nature above that of other creatures, but by comparing his condition with theirs. This shows him the transcendent goodness of God, manifested to him above all the rest of the creation; this teaches him to be thankful for his beautiful form and stature, his erect countenance, but above all, for his rational soul, created after the image of God. From all which it appears, that the knowledge of a man's self is his highest wisdom, and the want of it, the most deplorable folly.

3. Moreover, the creatures were made, not only for the delight of man, but also to be his monitors and instructors. For from them we may learn, that our chief good consists not in worldly and outward enjoyments; such as eating, drinking, and the gratifying the other bodily appetites, all which are common to the beasts as well as to us; and this is a convincing argument, that man, being of a more noble frame and nature than they, ought to look for other meat and drink, and other pleasures suitable to the higher nobility of his nature, which the inferior creatures cannot share with him. I need not here mention, that the greatest part of human wisdom arises from the contemplation of the creatures. Thus our music came from the sound of metals; our skill in medicine, from other creatures; and our astronomy, from the stars; which still farther illustrates my first observation, that the whole world was created for the sake of man, for which he owes never-ending thanks to his munificent Creator.

Chapter VIII.

Of The Obligations Under Which Men Lie To God

O Lord, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep. A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.– Ps. 92:5, 6.

The obligations which man lies under to God, are as many and as great, as are the favors which he has received from him, or the excellencies which he has bestowed upon all the creatures. For as every creature was made for his use and benefit, so ought his gratitude to rise in proportion for them all. If a king should bestow great estates and honors upon a company of children in the same family, and but one of the number had age and sense enough to know the greatness of the favor and honor done to them, he alone is certainly obliged to thank him in the name of all the rest, and would be guilty of ingratitude if he did not. So in this world, the rest of the creatures are like children, that know not the worth and value of God's blessings, as man does; he is, therefore, alone obliged to adore and praise him in the name and stead of all the rest, and is highly ungrateful if he does not.

Chapter IX.

Man Even More Indebted To God For Inward, Than For Outward Blessings

And the fear of you shall be upon every beast of the earth.– Gen. 9:2.

As man knows himself to be the most excellent of all creatures, so ought he to be more thankful to God for the perfections of his own being and nature, than for those of all the rest of the world. For as all things else were made for his sake, he must of necessity be more perfect and excellent than they. The sun, the moon, and all the host of heaven, those glorious bodies, all wait upon man, and do him service. This they do, not on account of his body, which, considered in this corrupt state, is less excellent than theirs; but on account of his soul, as to which he is in every respect superior to them. For the very notion of servitude implies a superiority in the person to whom the service is paid: so that it would be unnatural for those glorious bodies to do that service to man, if he had not an immortal soul, and by consequence, a more excellent nature than they.

2. And on account of the immortality of the soul, it is an unworthy thing for a man to fix it upon anything that is mortal and perishing; because it is incapable of uniting with anything but what is immortal, and particularly with God himself. The body, indeed, is connected with corporeal objects, and is capable of terrestrial enjoyments; but the soul should be united solely with God; so that, as a king, he might be enthroned and bear rule in her; and in this consists the excellency of man above all other creatures, that his soul is the throne, the image, and habitation of God. Greater honor than this no creature is capable of receiving; therefore man is the most excellent of all, and is infinitely indebted to the Author and Giver of such inestimable benefits.

Chapter X.

Of The Wisdom Which God Has Shown In The Formation Of Man

O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all.– Ps. 104:24.

There are three orders in the natural body. The first is to the body the same that the husbandmen and laborers are to the state; being employed in raising the appetite, digesting and concocting the food, separating the juices, and in all the other inferior offices of the animal economy. This lower faculty works night and day, for the security and preservation of the others. For such is the constitution of human bodies, that if the lower faculties be out of order, or cease to operate, the superior, which depend upon them, cannot subsist.

2. The next faculty is the sensitive, diversified by the five perceptions of seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and feeling, which are all more or less noble, the one than the other. The sight is more noble than the hearing, because objects are seen at a much greater distance than they are heard. The hearing is more noble than the taste, as being capable of exerting itself at a greater distance. And for the same reason, the taste and smelling are more noble than the feeling, which is the weakest and lowest of all.

3. The third order, which is the highest and most noble of all, answers to the government in the state, and is divided into the reason, the will, and the memory. These govern and command the faculties, having each a function distinct from the rest. These are not corporeal, as the others, but strictly mental faculties; and are, therefore, more noble and excellent. Besides which, they are also endued with that perfect liberty, that they cannot be compelled to anything. For who can force the will to desire that for which it has no mind; or to hate that which it loves? The will is altogether free, and cannot be forced. These are clothed with virtues proper to each of them; as the will with righteousness; the understanding with wisdom; the memory with eloquence, etc. This is the economy settled by God in human nature.

Chapter XI.

Of The Obligations Man Lies Under Towards God

What hast thou that thou didst not receive?– 1 Cor. 4:7.

There are two very general and comprehensive favors, for which man is exceedingly obliged to God; the one visible and corporeal, which is this world; the other spiritual and invisible, which is the love of God.

2. And though this latter is indeed the first, as being the foundation of all his other blessings, which are no more than infinite rivulets flowing from this universal fountain of divine love; yet, because it is invisible, the folly of man hardly considers it as any mercy at all. So that man, being delighted only with visible things, does not regard or consider that the love which is concealed under them, is greater and better than the things themselves. In a word, as smoke is a sign of fire, so are the blessings of God a certain proof of his love towards us.

3. Since, then, the gifts and blessings of God are, as it were, certain steps by which to mount up to God himself, it follows, that his love is as great as his gifts are; and as he made the whole world for the sake of man, and formed all creatures for his use, and regards them only as they serve and minister to his beloved creature, man; as he has exalted and loved him above all creatures, and as this love of God is the most sincere, pure, safe, and in a word, the highest good, which prompted him to form and love man, not for any advantage which He was to reap from him, but out of the overflowings of his free grace and boundless love; from all these considerations, I say, it is plain that man is more indebted to God for this love, than for all the particular gifts and favors that God can bestow, and man receive.

4. There are two things to be considered in every favor: the love that precedes and influences the giver, and the gift itself, which is the consequence of that love. The former is not only more noble and valuable than the latter, but is in all respects equal to the person that shows it. Hence, it follows, that the love of God is as infinitely good and great as God himself. This confirms the position first laid down, that man is more obliged to God for his love, than for any or all of his particular graces and favors. And as man cannot subsist a moment without the favor and mercy of God (for on Him his breath and life entirely depend), it is plain that his obligations to God are greater than those of all the creatures besides.

Chapter XII.

Of Answering The Obligations Which Man Lies Under To God

I will love thee, O Lord, my strength.– Ps. 18:1.

As God has freely and graciously bestowed all his gifts and blessings on man, he thereby obliges him to make some satisfaction and return for all these mercies. Now man can offer and dedicate nothing unto God, but what is entirely in his own power; so that all his outward goods and riches, are not a proper offering for God.

2. But as God has bestowed on him his greatest blessing, which is his love, so he expects to be requited with love again. And as the love of God to man is in the highest degree of perfection, so the love that he requires from us ought to be perfect, “with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength.” Mark 12:30. And how just this return is, both nature and reason may convince us. For nothing is more natural and reasonable than to love them that love us, and to proportion our love to theirs; whosoever does not this, is ungrateful and unworthy of that love which he refuses to requite. And when God does not meet with this reciprocal love from man, as he very seldom does, he has then just reason to complain of injustice and ingratitude; for he requires nothing from man but love, in return for all that infinite love and mercy which he has shown to him.

3. Moreover, such is the nature of love, so sweet, so pure, so free, and so acceptable is it, that neither fear, nor honor, nor any other thing, is good or desirable, but as it is sweetened with love. No man ever was so great, as to despise the love of his inferiors; but the greater a man is, the more does he court the love and esteem of those below him. Yea, so true is this, that God himself, the most mighty and excellent of all beings, is so far from despising the love of mankind, that he earnestly courts and desires it. This then being certain, that love is the greatest treasure any man has, he is obliged to offer it to God, who has bestowed the fulness of his love upon man.

4. By what I have here advanced I would not be understood to mean that this perfect love, since the fall, is wholly in our own power, or that by it we can make a perfect return to God for all his benefits. My only design is to show that we are convinced in our own consciences, not only from the Word of God, but also from the light of nature, that we ought to love God as he has loved us.

Chapter XIII.

Showing That God's Love Appears In All His Works, Even In His Chastisements

He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.– Ps. 103:10.

As love is the root and principle of all the divine acts and operations, it follows that even afflictions, which are the work of God, proceed from love, and ought to be received by man as instances of God's favor. For love is the root of all the operations of God.

2. Hence no man ought to murmur against God when He corrects him, or repine at His chastisements, or quarrel with His judgments. Our sufferings are not chargeable upon God, but upon ourselves. It would become us much better to bear his corrections without remitting our love towards him; even as he punishes us, and yet tenderly loves us still. This would be a true instance and proof of the sincerity of our love to God.