thy might.” And this was not, with
the Psalmist, an
occasional lively frame.
This soul-breaking longing was the habitual feeling
of his heart; for he exercised it “
at all
times” And what was it that called forth
these ardent longings? Was it the personal benefits
which he had received or expected to receive from
God? By no means. After expressing an earnest
desire to dwell in the house of the Lord,
all the
days of his life, he tells us why he wished to
be there: “
to behold the beauty of the
Lord, and to inquire in his temple.”
The object of his love was “
the beauty of
the Lord;” doubtless meaning his moral perfections.
Intimately connected with this was his desire to know
the will of the Lord. For this he wished to “
inquire
in his temple.” And whenever the love
of God is genuine, it will call forth the same desire.
The apostle John, whose very breath is love, says,
“This is the love of God, that we
keep his
commandments.” The child that loves
his parents will delight in doing everything he can
to please them. But the child that cares for his
parents only as he expects to be benefited by them,
will always do as little as possible for them, and
that little unwillingly. So, in our relations
with God. The hypocrite may have a kind of love
to him, because he thinks himself a peculiar object
of divine favor, and because he still expects greater
blessings. But this does not lead him to delight
in the commands of God. He rather esteems them
as a
task. His heart is not in the doing
of them; and he is willing to make them as light as
possible. But, the real Christian
delights
in the law of God; and the chief source of his grief
is, that he falls so far short of keeping it.
Again, if we love God, we shall love the image of
God, wherever we find it. “Every one that
loveth him that begat, loveth him also that is begotten
of him.” Our love to Christians, if genuine,
must arise from the resemblance which they bear to
Christ; and not from the comfort which we enjoy in
their society, nor because they appear friendly to
us. This hypocrites also feel. If we really
exercise that love, we shall be willing to make personal
sacrifices for the benefit of our Christian brethren.
We are directed to love one another as Christ loved
us. And how did Christ love us? So strong
was his love that he laid down his life for us?
And the apostle John says, we ought, in imitation of
him, “to lay down our lives for the brethren;”
that is, if occasion require it. Such is the
strength of that love which we are required to exercise
for our Christian brethren. But, how can this
exist in the heart, when we feel unwilling to make
the least sacrifice of our own feelings or interests
for their benefit?
Again; there is another kind of love required of us.
This is the love of compassion, which may be exercised
even towards wicked men. And what must be the
extent of this love? There can be but one standard.
We have the example of our Lord before us. So
intense was his love, that it led him to make every
personal sacrifice of ease, comfort, and worldly good,
for the benefit of the bodies and souls of men; yea,
he laid down his life for them. This is the kind
of love which is required of us, and which was exercised
by the apostles and early Christians.