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That God whom you have seen me daily worship, whom I daily call upon to bless both you and me, and all mankind, whose wondrous acts are recorded in those Scriptures which you constantly read; that God who created the heavens and the earth, who brought a flood upon the old world, who saved Noah in the Ark, who was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, whomJob blessed and praised in the greatest afflictions, who delivered the Israelites out of the hands of the Egyptians, who was the protector of righteous Joseph, Moses, Joshua, and holy Daniel, who sent so many Prophets into the world, who sent his SonJesus Christ to redeem mankind; this God who has done all these great things, who has created so many millions of men, A Serious Call to who lived and died before you were born, with whom the spirits of good men that are departed this life, now live, whom infinite numbers of Angels now worship in Heaven; this great God who is the creator of worlds, of angels, and men, is your loving father and friend, your good creator and nourisher, from whom, and not from me, you received your being ten years ago, at the time that I planted that little tender Elm which you there see.
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For though you were all of you born of my body, and bear your father’s name, yet you are all of you pure spirits. I do not mean that you have not bodies that want meat and drink, andsleep, and clothing, but that all that deserves to be called you, is nothing else but spirit. A being spiritual and rational in its nature, that is as contrary to all fleshly or corporeal beings, aslife is contrary to death; that is made in the image of God, to live for ever, never to cease any more, but to enjoy life, andreason, and knowledge, and happiness in the presence of God, and the society of Angels, and glorious Spirits, to all eternity.
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Strive to do everything that is praiseworthy, but do nothing in order to be praised; nor think of any reward, for all your labours of love and virtue, till Christ cometh with all his holyangels.
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For the greatness of this new state of life, to which we are called in Christ Jesus, to be for ever as the Angels of God in heaven, and the greatness of the price by whieh we are made capable of this state of glory, has turned everything that isworldly, temporal, and corruptible, into an equal littleness; and made it as great baseness and folly, as great a contempt of the blood of Christ, to neglect any degrees of holiness, because you are a man of some estate and quality, as it would be to neglect it, because you had a fancy to pick straws.
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No beings therefore, whether in Heaven, or on earth, can be wise, or holy, or just, but so far as they conform to this will of God. It is conformity to this will, that gives virtue and perfection to the highest services of angels in Heaven; and it is conformity to the same will, that makes the ordinary actions of men on earth, become an acceptable service unto God.
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Consider first, how odious all sin is to God, what a mighty baseness it is, and how abominable it renders sinners in the sight of God. That it is sin alone that makes the great difference betwixt an angel, and the devil; and that every sinner is, so far as he sins, a friend of the devil’s, and carrying on his work against God. That sin is a greater blemish and defilement of the soul, than any filth or disease is a defilement of the body. And to be content to live in sin, is a much greater baseness, than to desire to wallow in the mire, or love any bodily impurity.
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So wie das Gesetz der Engel, englische Gerechtigkeit ist, und das Gesetz vollkommener Wesen, genaue Vollkommenheit: so ist das Gesetz unvollkommener Naturen der möglichste Ge müsse, als nur möglich.horsam, den unsre schwache Natur zu leisten fähig ist.
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Wenn die guten Engel bereit wären, meineSeele aufzunehmen, könnte es mich wohl verdrießen, daß ich auf einem armseligen Bette in einer Tachstube sterben müßte?
58 - /
Wenn wir eine Religion hätten, welche voller abgeschmackten Aberglauben wäre, und wobey die Vollkommenheit unsrer Natur nicht in Betrachtung käme, so könnte sich der gemeine Hauffe mit Recht freuen, wenn dieser oder jener Theil des Lebens mit ihr nichts zu thun hätte. Da aber die Religion des Evangelii nichts als die Verbesserung und Erhöhung unsrer besten Fähigkeiten ist, da sie ein höchst vernünftiges Leben verlangt, da sie von uns fordert, daß wir die Welt nur so brauchen sollen, wie sie nach derVernunft gebraucht werden muß, daß wir nach solchen Neigungen leben sollen, die einem vernünftigen Wesen zur Ehre gereichen können, daß wir in solcher Weisheit, die unsre Natur zu erhöhen vermag, wandeln und solche Frömmigkeit, als uns zu GOtt erhebet, ausüben sollen: wer kann es für beschwerlich halten, allezeit in dem Geiste einer solchen Religion zu leben, und ieden Theil seines Lebens mit ihr zu erfüllen, als nur der, welcher es noch für weit beschwerlicher halten würde, so zu seyn, als dieEngel Gottes im Himmel?