THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION. 



love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But 

 I say unto you, Love your enemies ; bless them 

 that curse you ; do good to them that hate you ; 

 and pray for them that despitefully use you, and 

 persecute you ; that you may be the children of 

 your Father who is in heaven; for he maketh 

 his sun to arise on the evil and on the good, and 

 sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.&quot; 

 This ij one of the most sublime exercises of the 

 principle of love, in reference to our fellow-men ; 

 and it is enforced from the most sublime motive 

 and consideration the conduct of Benevolence 

 itself towards a race of rebellious and ungrateful 

 creatures. 



All the other instructions of this Divine Tea 

 cher his parables, exhortations, admonilions, 

 warnings, end consolatory addresses, though re 

 ferring to particular cases and circumstances 

 had the same general object in view. When his 

 disciples would have called for fire from heaven, 

 to consume the Samaritans, he kindly, but with 

 energy and decision, reminded them, that a prin 

 ciple of malignity was imbodied in their unhal 

 lowed desires, which is directly opposed to the 

 law of love. &quot; Ye know not what manner of 

 spirit ye are of; for the Son of man is not come 

 to destroy men s lives, but to save them.&quot; Among 

 his last instructions to his followers, when he 

 was about to depart from the scene of his earthly 

 pilgrimage, love was the grand theme on which 

 he repeatedly expatiated. &quot; A new command 

 ment give I unto you, that ye love one another ; 

 ES I have loved you, that ye also love one ano 

 ther. By this shall all men know that ye are 

 my disciples, if ye have love one to another.&quot; 

 &quot; These things I command you, that ye love one 

 another.&quot; 



And, as the promotion of the spirit of love was 

 the great object of his instructions, so his whole 

 ife was an uninterrupted exemplification of the 

 purest benevolence, both towards friends and to 

 wards enemies. Never did that holy affection 

 which unites the angelic tribes, and diffuses joy 

 among the poor inhabitants of all worlds, appear 

 within the confines of our world, so amiable, so 

 disinterested, and so ardent, as during the period 

 of the public ministry of Jesus, and particularly 

 towards the close of hi&amp;lt;= earthly career. In the 

 immediate prospect of sufferings, dreadful be 

 yond our conceptions, his love to mankind was 

 &quot; strong as death,&quot; which the many waters of af 

 fliction which surrounded him were unable to 

 quench. His whole soul seemed to be absorbed 

 in affection towards his disconsolate disciples, and 

 in a desire to cheer and animate their drooping 

 spirits. His last addresses, as recorded by the 

 Evangelist John, breathe a spirit of tenderness 

 and compassion, and of Divine benignity, of which 

 we have no parallel in the annals of our race.&quot; 



To display his kindness and condescension, 

 and to teach his disciples to peform with cheer- 

 ulnessthe humblest offices of friendship, he rose 



from supper ; he laid aside his garments ; h 

 took a towel ; he girded himself ; he poured wa 

 fer into a bason ; he began to wash the disci 

 ples feet; anJ he wiped them with the towel 

 wherewith he was girded. He then addressed 

 them in such language as this : &quot; Let not your 

 heart be troubled ; in my Father s house are 

 many mansions ; I go to prepare a place for you. 

 And, if I go and prepare a place for you, I will 

 come again and receive you to myself; that 

 where I am there ye may be also. I will not 

 leave you comfortless ; I will pray the Father, 

 and he shall give you another comforter, even 

 the Spirit of truth, which shall abide with you 

 forever. Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, 

 I will do it. Peace I leave with you ; my peace 

 I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give 

 I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, nei 

 ther let it be afraid.&quot; In his last prayer, which 

 accompanied these benedictions, the same ardent 

 flow of affection burst from his benevolent heart 

 &quot; Holy Father ! keep, through thine own name, 

 those whom thou hast given me, that they may 

 be one as we are.&quot; But his love was not con 

 fined to the select few with whom he was sur 

 rounded at this interesting hour. His mental 

 eye surveyed the various tribes which people this 

 department of creation it pierced through all 

 the succeding generations of mankind and he 

 embraced in his expansive affections the whole 

 race of the faithful till the close of time. 

 &quot; Neither pray I for these alone ; but for them 

 also who shall believe on me through their word ; 

 that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in 

 me, and I in thee ; that they also may be one in 

 us.&quot; Even towards his bitlerest enemies his 

 benevolent emotions flowed out, in earnest sup 

 plications for their forgiveness. Neither &quot; the 

 floods of ungodly men,&quot; which compassed him, 

 nor the torrents of abuse which were poured 

 upon him while he was nailing to the cross, could 

 overpower that heavenly flame which burned in 

 his holv breast. In the midst of all the mocke 

 ries, insults, and indignities which he endured, 

 when he was made &quot; a spectacle to angels and 

 to men,&quot; his affectionate desires ascended, with 

 the srnoke of the evening sacrifice, to the throne 

 of God, in behalf of his murderers &quot; Father, 

 forgive them ; for they know not what they do.&quot; 

 O, what a striking contrast is here presented, to 

 those scenes of pride, malignity, and revenge, 

 which have so long disgraced the race of Adam, 

 and spread lamentation, and mourning, and ter 

 ror, among families, societies, and nations ! 

 What a happy world would this become, were it 

 peopled with such amiable characters, and were 

 all who profess to be followers of Jesus, instead of 

 contending about &quot;questions which gender strife,&quot; 

 to vie with each other in imitating his mild and 

 benevolent spirit ! Then Christianity would ap 

 pear in its native lustre, and receive the homage 

 due to its divine character : and the name of Jv 



