he says, " He that is not with me, is against me ; and he that gathereth not with me, scattereth abroad5:" and in anotherplace he says, " He that is not against us, is for usq :" and therefore he may, in this latter passage, be said to have modified and tempered the severer language of the former. But there is no real opposition between the two passages : for if the occa- sions on which they were spoken be duly marked, it will be found, that the former passage forbids neutrality in our own conduct ; the latter forbids uncharitableness in judging of the conduct of others. Strong as are the declarations of our Lord and of St. Paul, which have been before cited, they fall far short of that which is spoken by St. James. From them we see that neutrality is treason, in reference to God, just as it would be in an earthly kingdom, where a subject would not move to repel an invading enemy. But St. James declares, that even a wish to preserve friendship with the world is nothing less than a direct act of rebellion against God. " Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God ? Whosoever, therefore, will be (ivishes to be) the friend of the world, is (is thereby constituted) the enemy of Godr."
On these grounds I conceive that the Apostle's assertion admits not of the smallest doubt ; but is plain, direct, and incontrovertible.]
Let me now, then,
II. Shew the bearing it should have on our life and conversation —
It is of great importance for us to remember, that broad and unqualified assertions may easily be per- verted, to the establishment of principles which, in reality, are false ; and to the encouragement of con- duct which is essentially unbecoming. It is the part of sound wisdom to make those discriminations, which will serve to guide an humble and conscien- tious Christian to an adjustment of contending claims, and to a discernment of the path of duty in difficult and conflicting circumstances. With a view to this, I will point out,
1. Negatively, what effect this assertion should
not produce —
[It should not render us indifferent to the opinions or feelings of those around us. Indifference to the feelings of
p Matt. xii. 30. i Luke ix. 50. r Jam. iv. 4. the Greek.
c2