and to act up to the spirit of the injunction there given a. Now it is to the practical improvement of them that I wish to direct your attention : and for that end I shall set before you,
I. The duty of benevolence in general —
It is a duty —
[Love is the very essence of all practical religion. It is in a most peculiar manner inculcated under the Christian dis- pensation ; and it is to be exercised towards every child of man. God, who is love itself, " makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain both on the just and unjust:" and our duty is to resemble him, and to be " perfect, even as our Father which is in heaven is perfect1*." If we be doubtful how far this precept is to be obeyed, the parable of the good Samaritan gives us a clear and unerring direction0. No man under heaven can be so distant from us, but he is entitled to the offices of our love, so far as our opportunities and ability give scope for its exercise ]
It is absolutely indispensable to our acceptance with God —
[Whatever else we may possess, yea, whatever we may either do or suffer for the Lord's sake, if we have not an active principle of love in our hearts, " we are only as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal d." St. John even appeals to us on this subject, and makes us judges in our own cause: " Whoso hath this world's goods, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in hime?" In truth, the want of this principle, whatever else we may possess, wiU be adduced by our Judge, in the last day, as the ground of our eternal condemnation: "Depart, accursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels ! for I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat ; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not unto mef."
Thus, then, as the Moabites and Ammonites are condemned for not administering to the necessities of Israel in the wilder- ness, so shall we, if we do not exercise benevolence towards our indigent fellow-creatures, to whatever sect or nation they be- long, so far as it shall be in our power to afford them the relief which they stand hi need of.]
a Neh. xiii. 1 — 3. b Matt. v. 44 — 48. c Luke x. 37-
d 1 Cor. xiii. 1—3, e 1 John hi. 17. f Matt. xxv. 41—45.
214.1 BENEVOLENCE TOWARDS GODS ANCIENT PEOPLE. o91
Conceiving the general point established, that we should shew benevolence to all, I proceed to mark,
II. Our special obligation to exercise it towards God's ancient people — The Jews have, at all events, the same claim to our benevolence as any other people whatever. There is no exception made in Scripture with respect to them : and, consequently, if we should fail in establishing their peculiar claims, our main argument would re- main in all its force. But they have claims superior to any other people upon earth —
1. We are more indebted to them than to any
other people under heaven —
[To whom are we indebted for all the instruction which we have received respecting the way of peace and salvation ? We owe it all to Jews. We know nothing of God and of his Christ, but as it has been revealed to us by Jewish prophets and Apostles : yea, the very Saviour himself was of Jewish extraction: and, therefore, in that very fact we may well find a motive to exercise benevolence towards all who are related to him according to the flesh. Such infinite obligations as we owe to that people should surely be requited in acts of love towards their descendants; even as God himself often shewed mercy to rebellious Israel for Abraham's and for David's sake; and as David for Jonathan's sake spared Mephibosheth, who must otherwise, as a descendant of Saul, have been involved in the ruin of all his house g.]