the terms and nature of this first law. It is not said—“thou shalt obey the Lord thy God, with all thy powers, and in every particular;"-for although God, by his sovereign authority, might have imposed such a commandment, yet this would have been a mere decree of a Being, who conscious of his power, did not condescend to supply his despised subjects with any other motive to obedience, than the simple knowledge of his will; and we know that the proud spirit of man would have been very apt to hazard the consequences of rebellion against a law, whose only sanction was superior power. Neither are the words, "Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God;" authority, that is supported by Fear alone, gives but little satisfaction to him who possesses it, and is felt as so sore an oppression by those who live under it, that every act of submission is, as it were, extorted from them by force, and instead of being ready and willing servants, their whole study is how they may disobey with impunity. So that if God were of such a nature, as to desire to rule by power and fear alone, great and awful as He is, He would exercise an unenvied dominion over a discontented and reluctant world, ever pregnant with the spirit of rebellion, ever struggling against the chains that hold them captive, ever cursing in their hearts the sword suspended over

their heads. Lord ?"

But is such "the law of the Most unlike it. "God is love." The king is a father; the subjects are children; the throne of heaven is a " mercy seat;" the sceptre of the Almighty is an olive branch, a wand of peace; his crown is a crown of glory indeed, but the pure light of that glory is Goodness; the object of all His laws is to promote the happiness of the whole rational creation; and the very first and greatest in that code demands but a return of love and affection.

I will not spend any time in endeavouring to persuade you, that much more powerful, and more readily obeyed, is that authority which is founded in Love, than any other kind whatever. Where mutual kindness exists among men, there is always a mutual anxiety to please, and to be of service. No man needs a command to compel him to fulfil the wishes of a friend, to whom he is sincerely attached; it is a pleasure to him to be instrumental to the other's happiness; he is amply repaid for any trouble it may cost, by the gratification which he feels in bestowing it. For want of higher ideas, ideas more worthy of the great subject, we must consider the relation between God and man, as of the same nature, as an intercourse between friends; God, the kind benefactor, the author of "every good gift, and

of every perfect gift," who "loveth us, and poureth his benefits upon us ;"-man, the humble receiver of such inestimable favours, bound to Him by the strongest ties of gratitude. If we know and feel this to be the nature of our connection, we cannot fail to "love" Him; our delight (as the Psalmist says,) will be "in the law of the Lord; we shall have pleasure therein." Observe how David (“a man after God's own heart,") expresses himself on the subject, in the 119th Psalm; see with what frequent repetition, and in what earnest terms, he declares the supreme satisfaction that he felt, in studying and doing the will of God. I would read passages to you, were they not so very numerous, merely to show you, in one signal instance, by the recorded sentiments of a man of true piety, what are the feelings of him, who obeys God through the motive of Love, and how very much more efficacious that principle must be, than any other. But although I refrain from occupying your time with all these quotations, I will take the liberty to request you to read that Psalm with attention, and serious minds, this very day. You will find it a perfect model of pious writing, and if, by the blessing and help of God, sought for in devout prayer, you catch a portion of the spirit which breathes throughout it, you will have derived

more practical benefit from this one short sentence of advice, that I have now given, than from the whole of my discourse besides.

towards us, and Now "no man hath

But I will suppose you ready to grant, (what I am sure you cannot doubt) that Love is the firmest pillar of authority, and that they are always the most cheerful and faithful servants, who have an affection for their master; still you may say, we cannot feel such Love to God, merely because it is required of us; love cannot be forced into the heart, even by a divine command; it must grow out of an acquaintance with the person to be believed, out of a knowledge of his amiable qualities, out of a sense of gratitude for kindness felt favours conferred upon us. seen God at any time; and how can we love Him whom we have not seen? He is a vast Spirit; His nature far above our comprehension; His paths so hidden, that we cannot trace Him; His dwelling so remote that we cannot approach Him. Can we "by searching find out God? Can we find out the Almighty unto perfection? it is as high as heaven; what can we do? deeper than hell ; what can we know? the measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea." As Pharoah asked of Moses-"Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice?" so we

in the same ignorance, may reasonably enquire, who is the Lord that we should love Him?

My brethren, were I a heathen, without any knowledge of a revelation, I could make no reply to these arguments; I should follow, perhaps, the example of that ancient philosopher, who when a certain King asked him for his opinion concerning the nature of the Deity, demanded a day to consider; at the expiration of that time, were the same question proposed, again, like him, I should demand two days more to reflect upon my answer; and so I should proceed, as often as you came to me for satisfaction, postponing my reply to a more distant period, and requesting more and more time for meditation; till at length, when wearied with my delay, you should insist on knowing the reason of my strange silence, I should fairly own with the wise man whom I have mentioned, my reason to be this ;— "because the more I reflect upon the subject, the more obscure and difficult does it appear to me." I say, were I a heathen, unacquainted with such a book as the Bible, I think this is the course I should pursue. Were I to be asked why man ought to love God, I could not answer,"because God created him;" for I should not know whether that creation were a blessing or a curse. I could not answer, because God loves him; for