it is true, that he who perishes, perishes by his own voluntary choice. God has guarded human virtue and happiness. He who treads the course of iniquity does it in opposition to the principles of his moral nature, and to the clearly declared will of Heaven; and, by his very opposition to his Maker, creates within his own bosom the hell, which is to be his torture. SERMON IX. RIGHTEOUSNESS THE TEST OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 1 JOHN III. 7. HE, THAT DOETH RIGHTEOUSNESS, IS RIGHTEOUS. Or the nature of virtue much has been said, and much has been written. But mistakes respecting it are not yet banished from the world. True it is, that, to the man who sincerely and earnestly desires to know and to perform his duty, almost any theory of virtue is safe, so far as his own character is concerned. To any man, whose moral sensibilities are all alive, the path of truth and duty is seldom long hidden. In some respects such a man may be unduly influenced by prevailing errors; but in an enlightened age, his character will on the whole be good. This results from the benevolence of God, who has made the great outlines of duty plain and distinct to the humble and teachable. Yet even they, though estimable in their own characters, and the subjects of the divine approbation, may, through indistinct views with regard to Christian holiness, be distressed for their own safety, and go fearfully to the unseen world. But the great danger is that of those whose moral and religious feelings are weakened and corrupted by earthly influences. To them duty may be painful, and they may be constantly blinded by passion, and ready to calm their consciences by deceitful theories of right and duty. In the following discourse I shall endeavor to administer instruction and consolation to those who fear God, and endeavor earnestly to obey his will, but yet walk in darkness; and to awaken to a sense of their danger, those who with a careless indifference to God and a supreme love of the world, are, on account of the mere want of glaring vices, or the general correctness of their conduct, solacing themselves with a false hope of safety. 1. We remark, in the first place, that virtue consists in acting right from right motives. Suppose the will of God to be the standard of duty, then to act virtuously is to act with a constant regard to the will of God. We go not here into the consideration how the divine will is to be discovered, whether it is to be read in the law written on the human heart, or in the relations of social life, or in the written revelation mercifully vouchsafed for our guidance, or in all these united. What we wish to assert is this, that, whenever the will of God, as it respects us, is known, in whatever way it is communicated, there is a moral obligation to obey it; and that he, who acts in accordance with this obligation, acts virtuously, is a religious man, and will enjoy the happiness which religion promises to the righteous. An action, considered in a moral or religious point of view, derives its character entirely from its motive. When good or ill desert is contemplated, actions cannot be considered abstractly. To of an action that it is good in the proper sense of the word, is to say that it is performed from a right motive. We indeed speak intelligibly when we say, that he who relieves the distressed performs a good deed, though he did it to gain an influence over the suffering man, whereby he might corrupt his virtue. We consider the action abstractly; and to relieve distress is praiseworthy. But we know too, in this instance, that the agent is guilty, and, as moral qualities attach to actions only as they are connected with moral beings, the action itself morally con say sidered is bad. We make these remarks in explanation of the language of the text. He, that doeth righteousness, is righteous; that is, he that acts rightly from right motives is in the sight of God a good man. This supposes a rule of duty, and the rigorous observance of that rule. It supposes a principle of rectitude resident in the sou!, and swaying the conduct. It may be consistent with much imperfection in the character; but cannot be consistent with the known and habitual omission of any duty, or the allowed indulgence of any acknowledged sinful habit. Habits of sin, known and persevered in, are inconsistent with the religious character. The habitual violation of a single duty, known to be a duty, is inconsistent with the religious character; for he, who can habitually give himself up to a single known vice, would with equal temptations be guilty of any other sin. He violates the principle of duty deliberately, perseveringly. He is not a child of God, and can entertain no rational hope of his everlasting favor. But what, it may be asked, have we to do with motives? They are hidden in the heart; we cannot know them. True we know not the motives, which lie concealed in the bosoms of our fellow men; and we have nothing to do with them any further than they are revealed by their conduct. Hence the rule given by our Master, By their fruits, ye shall know them; and hence too the uncharitableness and guilt of condemning others, whose lives are exemplary, on account of motives, which we cannot know to be bad, but which we unkindly and unjustly suppose without knowledge to be so. But with due attention we may in general learn the motives, which govern our own conduct. God knows them, and before him we must soon stand in judgment. In the court of conscience and of heaven, motives must be known, and according to the decisions there made, will be the character and happiness of every man. Hence the importance of regarding the motive as well as the act. man. 2. Thus much we have thought it to be our duty to say with regard to the principle of virtue. We now state in the second place, that the apostle has expressly laid down the principle, that he that doeth righteousness, is righteous; that is, he who habitually acts under the influence of religious motives is in the sight of God a religious man, and will in a future life enjoy the happiness of a religious. The statement here made is a broad one, and easy of application. It is not the greater or less moral danger which has been overcome; it is not the manner in which the moral and religious principle has been developed, whether by some sudden action upon the conscience, which has given excitement to the whole soul, or by the gradual influence of moral causes, carrying forward the growth of right habits almost insensibly, that constitutes a man holy or virtuous. It is the actual possession of virtuous habits. The inquiry is, not what have been the circumstances of a man's moral discipline, but what does he love, and what is the character of his practical habits; that is, what improvement has he made of the discipline assigned him? If he loves righteousness, and does righteousness, he is righteous. It is not needful to inquire, what would be the character of this or that man, if exposed to greater moral dangers. If we make this inquiry with respect to ourselves or others, we cannot answer it with any certainty; for, previously to trial, we cannot decide what will be the effect of more or less severe discipline upon the character. It is for the actual discipline of life, with all the means afforded us for forming the character, that we are to give account. The allotments actually made by the providence of God are those which he has judged suited to our moral necessities, and they are those which we are expected to improve. If they are improved, if the life is actually holy, and the heart holy, then the individual is acceptable to God, and will, if he goes |