his Son to die for our transgressions. It will also promote in us the love of our neighbour; for "he that loveth not his brother, whom he hath seen, how shall he love God, whom he hath not seen?" Let us not, then, be so engrossed with the things which are seen and temporal, as to forget the things which are unseen and eternal; and let us constantly pray for the blessed influence of God's Holy Spirit, to enable us to set our affections upon things above, and not upon things upon the earth. 102 SERMON IX. CHARACTER AND BENEFITS OF BROTHERLY LOVE. HEB. Xiii. 1. WE often hear the inquiry, What are the doctrines of the Gospel? and a most important inquiry it is for what can be of greater moment than to learn what our Creator has revealed to us; in what relationship we stand towards him; how we may enjoy his favour; what he says of us; what he commands us; what he has done for us; especially all that relates to the redemption of our fallen race through Jesus Christ, his beloved Son, and our pardon and justification through that meritorious sacrifice, freely by faith, with the sanctification of our souls by the indwelling of his Holy Spirit, and the hopes of eternal glory in the world to come. But important as are the doctrines of the Gospel, it is not enough to ask, What must we believe? we must also inquire, What is the spirit of the Gospel, and how must we live? The heart must be influenced as well as the understanding. It is not sufficient to know the will of God, we must also love it; our Saviour must be our pattern as well as our sacrifice; and to copy his blessed example, to live like him in meekness, lowliness, and self-denial, in love to God and to man for God's sake, must be our constant effort and unceasing prayer. This love is the very spirit of the Gospel; but it is a spirit which we are too apt to forget. It is far more easy to attend Divine worship, to take up a form of religion, to be zealous for a system of doctrines, and even to be active in many schemes of seeming charity, than really to live in a spirit of Christian love. Yet this spirit is a distinguishing mark of the truth of our union to Christ, and without it we are none of his. If there be any one of our fellow-creatures, even one who had greatly injured us, to whom we would deliberately act otherwise than in that temper which the Gospel requires, we should be destitute of that powerful evidence of our being true disciples of Christ, which flows from our resembling in spirit our Divine Master, who gave his life for an ungrateful world, and prayed for those who spitefully entreated him, and put him to death. But it is not so much the general duty of love to our fellow-creatures which we are now to consider, as one particular portion of that love; one section as it were of the second table of the Law, which is comprised in the apostolic precept, "Love the brotherhood." It is commanded, Do good unto all men;" but it is added, "especially unto them which are of the household of faith;" or, in the words of our text, "Let brotherly love continue." In discoursing upon this apostolic command, we shall first shew what the Apostle intends by brotherly love; and, secondly, the importance of his exhortation to maintain it. First, then, what is brotherly love? There is, as we have seen, a duty of sympathy and affection which we owe to all our fellow-creatures; a general tie of human nature which binds us to all mankind. All were made by the same hand, all are partakers of the same fallen nature, all are placed in the same scene of trial, all are interested in the same redemption, all are hastening to the same eternal world; and our gracious Creator, who makes his sun to shine alike upon the evil and the good, wills that without distinction of age, or clime, or station, we should love our neighbour as ourselves. This love worketh no ill to our neighbour, and is therefore the fulfilling of the law. There are, again, the more limited ties of country, relationship, and friendly attachment; all of which are sanctioned by the word of God; for we find our blessed Saviour himself weeping over the fated land of his nativity with peculiar tenderness; acknowledging the claims of kindred, even in the hour of his last agony, in consigning his mother to the care of his beloved disciple; and of an affectionate friendship in the case of that disciple himself, who leaned on his bosom, as also in the instance of Martha, and her sister Mary, and Lazarus, whom it is said he loved, and over the mortal remains of one of whom he wept with endearing sympathy. But, distinct from the general ties of human nature, the cement of civil and social union, and the endearments of natural affection, there is a bond of Christian brotherhood, a sacred friendship, a communion of saints, which it is the duty and the privilege of all the faithful in Christ Jesus to maintain. Let us inquire whom this love embraces, and what it demands. 1. Whom does this brotherly love comprise in its hallowed range? The question answers itself; all who are brethren. It has a limit; but it is not the limit of high or low, rich or poor, learned or ignorant; it is not the limit of sect, or party, or nation; of natural inclination or dislike; it is only the limit of their being brethren in Christ Jesus; according to the apostolical benediction," Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity." Wherever the image of Christ is visible |