CHRISTIAN MODES.

PART I.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN CHRIST.

CHAPTER VI.

EVIL OBJECTIVE CHARACTERISTICS.

SEC. III.

IRRELIGIOUS-ON INCIDENTALS.

1, Profanation.-2, Sacrilege.

"Will a man rob God?”—MAL. iii. 8.

THE property of irreligion or ungodliness in general may be stated as the opposite of religion or godliness above described; and as that is righteousness, so this is unrighteousness—with a view to God, more properly called Sin or Ungodliness, as at present. We know that all the offences which are proscribed by law in any state must be offences against the authority by which that law is made and upheld: and so likewise every offence in the kingdom of God, or every action that he has proscribed will be, however indirectly, an offence against God, and generally come within the meaning of Ungodliness; but some offences being more immediately directed against the divine Majesty than some, will therefore be more particularly signified by the expression; as in an earthly state some

VOL. II.

offences being particularly directed against the sovereignty, are therefore called Majestatis crimen, or Treason. Whereby it may appear, how "all unrighteousness is sin" (John I. v. 17) or ungodliness, but some more directly than

some.

The share that is taken in the production of evil generally by the sole Author of good has been already intimated; and it may now be further observed, with respect to the cause of objective evil particularly, and of that sort more particularly in such cases as reflect more directly on that Good Being, that whatever share the ungodly sinner may have therein, the greatest stroke towards its consummation at last is given by God himself; who, if He be not the Author of sin has certainly more to do with its constitution or formation than any other authority. For what can constitute the form of sin in thought, word, or deed more clearly and decidedly than the divine law by which it is prohibited? This is the drift of St. Paul's argument in Rom. vii., where he gives a practical illustration of the doctrine of One Supreme Intelligence, being the author of both good and evil; as making good by evil and evil by good in the law of life. "Wherefore the law is holy, (says he) and the commandment is holy, just, and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid! (Not the law, or the commandment, which is good, was made death unto me) but sin, that it might appear sin working death in me by that which is good; THAT SIN BY THE COMMANDMENT MIGHT BECOME EXCEEDING SINFUL"

(Rom. vii. 12, 13). "For we know, that the law is spiritual" (Ib. 14) says he. Or we may know it, if we will: and avoidable ignorance being one species of folly, can be no excuse for sin; as one species of unrighteousness is not to be palliated or excused by another: This makes it worth while for a person to understand somewhat both 1 generally; 2 particularly; and 3 more particularly, or in detail, of that sin which is made so exceeding sinful by the commandment; not with a view to practice how

ever, but to avoid it; as sin is made sin, not by an observance of the law, but by a defiance of the same. And

ness.

First, considering the matter generally; we shall find the several forms of sin or ungodliness to be rather more spiritual than intellectual, and more of the aversive than of any other cast of spirit; as might have been observed with regard to immorality, the other branch of unrighteousWe have seen before, how " love is the fulfilling of ́the law" (Rom. xiii. 10): and now we may observe on the contrary, how hatred is its infraction, and particularly when directed against the forementioned adorable Object. "For God is love" (John I. iv. 8). Every contravention, therefore, to the dictates of love is unrighteousness, whoever may be its direct or immediate object; but with the Fountain and very Principle of love for its object, such contravention is nothing in the world but positive ungodliness, whether it be expressed in deed or in thought, in action, or in simple aversion, and a part or constituent of the hostile subject. It is one of the acts or accidents composing the property or habit of turning from God-for such acts or accidents, being naturally reproductive of themselves, as before observed of the subject, there cannot naturally be one of them alone; and its extent is to be estimated by the frequency or prevalence of the habit of aversion in this respect, and the value, greatness, or extent of the matter averted: of which the first may be incessant, in fact, as well as power, and the second equivalent to all the properties, whether incidental or constituent, which the subject may happen, either to own outwardly, or to comprehend within the limits of his own existence. But,

Considering in the next place particularly in what this ungodly aversion, or this turning from God, may consist, we should recollect what THE TURNING TO GOD or delighting in Him has been defined; namely, as a delighting in godlike properties, or in properties which are attributed to God, that is in his attributes; (for God does not consist of properties) such as righteousness, mercy, truth, &c.,

to all which a man may be, and naturally is averse. And he is not averse to them, partially either, nor in any single respect; but in all their particulars—and in all his own likewise, whether of body, mind, or fortune; also in all times and in all places-in short, no aversion can be more complete than this of the natural man to his Maker. His body, mind and fortune are invariably turned in a wrong direction and averted from God, the author and giver of each in his mind he hates God, in his person he opposes Him, or flies from his presence, while with his fortune he also bribes or compels others, as many as he can, to do the like. Wherefore the state of nature is justly described as a state of hostility to God; "Wherein (says St. Paul to some of his gentile converts)" Wherein ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience; among whom we all (Jews as well as gentiles) had our conversation in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath even as others" (Eph. ii. 2, 3).

It matters nothing to say, that a man is not always shewing this aversion to God and goodness; or that he is not always staining himself with such exhibitions of folly, injustice, cruelty, falsehood, oppression, lust, impiety and the like, as are most proper to denote the same, for he has it, if he does not shew it; as personally he is always falling, though he may not always be breaking his neck, because God keeps him out of this extreme calamity. And when St. Paul wrote Among whom we all had our conversation in times past," &c., he could not name one, himself not excepted, but might also have had his conversation among the children of wrath at that moment. Of this unpleasant truth we may be farther persuaded, if we

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Thirdly, consider the subject more particularly, or in detail, as we did its contrary, the good objective class of godliness; observing this time, 1, how the said ungodly

aversion is shewn or exercised, 1 on the incidentals, 2 on the constituents of this divided kingdom; though in fact they are all one, namely, ungodliness exercised on incidentals, and ungodliness rankling in constituents. But still distinguishing as well as we can, and considering at present evil objective characteristics on the first head only; the effect of the natural aversion of the Creator, or of the aversion to Him in a state of nature before mentioned, will appear to be such, that not only the Creator and his attributes, or properties as we consider them, are hated for their own sakes, but persons and places otherwise indifferent are also hated on their account. So the persons of the regenerate, or of those in whom the love of God predominates, will be odious to the natural man for the sake of their benefactor, as he tells them-" The children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake" (Matt. x. 22), that is-the servants will be hated expressly, if not avowedly, for the sake of their Lord. And even the house as well as the household, the house of God as we call it, THE PLACE WHERE HIS HONOUR DWELLETH, shall also be odious to the natural man, just as either would be dear to the regenerate, for his name's sake. "Their device is only HOW TO PUT HIM OUT WHOM GOD WILL EXALT" (Ps. lxii. 4): and while these endeavour to engross the temples which godly men have erected to the honour of their Maker for the gratification of appetites long since renounced, other haters of God would knock to pieces, if they could, and "break down all the carved work thereof with axes and hammers" (Ib, lxxiv. 7): just as the device of the regenerate is not only how to fulfil their religious engagement, but also to honour and exalt the persons and places most dear to God, or which, savour most of his presence; and David, as before cited, for one who says, O pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within the walls, and plenteousness within thy palaces. FOR MY