Divine benevolence

“ The object of benevolence is universal being, including God and all intelligent creatures. It wishes and seeks the good of every individual, so far as is consistent with the greatest good of the whole, which is comprised in the glory of God, and the perfection and happiness of his kingdom. The law of God is the standard of all moral rectitude, or holiness. This is reduced into love to God, and to our neighbour: and universal good-will comprehends all the love to God, our neighbour, and ourselves, required in the divine law ”

“ Yes, my hearers, godliness hath the promise of this life, as well as of that which is to come. The spirit of christian benevolence, is the only one which will change, completely, the aspect of human affairs. ”

“ As followers of Christ, and in imitation of the saints, let us cultivate the habit of cheerfulness and pray for the spirit of gladness, which is rooted in charity, in the peace of a good conscience, in gratitude to God for His blessings, in Christian hope and confidence, in perfect submission to the divine will; and let us do this not only for our own good, but also for the happiness and betterment of others.
Every life is meant
To help all lives; each man should live
For all men's betterment. ”

“ And thus, that Charity, which a pure mind gives the liberty of exerting, and which a good conscience manifests and at the same time improves, will, further, be so sublimed and perfected by the influence of divine faith, as will render it the sovereign guide of life, and the pride and ornament of humanity. ”

“ He believes that all rewards and punishments are instituted for some benevolent end, and that this end, will be brought about in such a manner as to manifest to all, the divine perfections in the clearest light, and shed unfading glory on the supreme Majesty of heaven. This faith gives him confidence in his heavenly Father, and fills his heart with gratitude and veneration. It leads him to look upon the human family as his brethren, and to do them good. He seeks their happiness, and thus chooses and merits a good name. ”

“ And since the virtues and good works, as has been said, please God, they merit also a reward in this life, both spiritual and temporal, according to God's counsel, and still more reward in the eternal life, because of the divine promise. ”

“ Can it add to the holiness or happiness of the universe? Cannot these high ends, these glorious purposes of the Divine Being, be as well attained by the universal rectitude and purity of his creatures, as by any other means? Cannot the Supreme Ruler of the world, in the resources of his infinite mind, bring as much good out of holiness as can be brought out of sin? And if so, why permit sin in order to the good of the creation? Are not the perfect holiness and happiness of each and every part of the moral world better for each and every part thereof than are their contraries? ”

“ Who so says that he loves God, but does not love his neighbor, in him there is no divine charity.
We have seen, therefore, how the three divine virtues are the foundation of the Christian life, and that their practise constitutes Christian life. The true worship of God consists in practising these virtues which, at the same time, are the sole way to eternal bliss. ”

“ Thus we see that the path of duty, enjoined in the sacred scriptures, is not only the path of peace and joy, but conducts to a good old age. The goodness of the Divine Being is most strikingly exemplified in uniting health and temperance, happiness and longevity, and our duty to our fellow creatures, all in one. ”

“ Flight from the contamination of this threefold inordinate love of pleasures, riches and honors, being essential to salvation, is most easily, most surely and most meritoriously achieved by those who, in answer to a Divine call, consecrate and give themselves wholly to God, by the practice of the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience. ”

“ Its aim is to please the deity, and if the deity is one who delights in charity and mercy and purity more than in oblations of blood, the chanting of hymns, and the fumes of incense, his worshippers will best please him, not by prostrating themselves before him, by intoning his praises, and by filling his temples with costly gifts, but by being pure and merciful and charitable towards men, for in so doing they will imitate, so far as human infirmity allows, the perfections of the divine nature. ”

“ If we scrutinize more closely the particular acts We have above referred to, we shall discover that oftentimes they have more the appearance than the reality of virtue. But let us grant that these are real. If we do not wish to run in vain, if we do not wish to lose sight of the eternal blessedness to which God in His goodness has destined us, of what use are the natural virtues unless the gift and strength of divine grace be added? ”

“ The same celestial Beatitude which Christ promised to the poor in spirit, under the name of the kingdom of heaven, He here promises to the merciful by the name of mercy, because, as the Apostle says (Rom. vi. 23) , “life eternal is of grace,” both because God promises it freely to those who do well and give alms, as because grace is the beginning of good works and merit. For grace prevents and stirs us up to good works, and gives them a divine worthiness and power of meriting. ”

“ Those who contentedly bear oppression, and quietly refer themselves to God to plead their cause, shall in due time be satisfied, abundantly satisfied, in the wisdom and kindness which shall be manifested in his appearances for them. But it is certainly to be understood spiritually, of such a desire as, being terminated on such an object, is gracious, and the work of God's grace in the soul, and qualifies for the gifts of the divine favour. 1. Righteousness is here put for all spiritual blessings. ”

“ So then, according to the doctrine of this new school of Christian philosophers, if I meditate, under the mysterious charm of an approving sympathy, on the gentleness, the meekness, and the patience of Jesus Christ—on his benevolence, his heroic fortitude, and his calm endurance of suffering—on the graceful urbanity of his manners—on the amiability of his temper and spirit—and on the moral dignity of his character—I shall so inwork his personal righteousness in my inner spirit as to make it my own ”

“ Now, what is the whole duty of man? To love mercy, to do justly, and walk humbly with God; and, when the Holy Spirit has brought about that result in your soul, God will look on you with a beneficent eye, with a smile of approbation, and its genial influence will sun your whole being, and you will walk in the light of it, even as the angels do in Heaven. "Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God;" that is the whole duty of man—everything is included in that. ”

“ Thus let us devote ourselves to righteousness, help each and all to be better and happier; do good to all and evil to none; honor God and obey His Priesthood; cultivate and preserve an enlightened conscience and follow the Holy Spirit; faint not, hold fast to what is good, endure to the end, and your cup of joy shall be full even to overflowing, for great shall be your reward for your trials and your sufferings under temptations, your fiery ordeals, your heart yearnings and tears ”

“ So the positive side of salvation is the investiture of the saved man with throbbing health through all his veins, and the strength that comes from a divine life. It is the bestowal upon the delivered man of everything that he needs for blessedness and for duty. All good conferred, and every evil banned back into its dark den, such is the Christian conception of salvation. It is much that the negative should be accomplished, but it is little in comparison with the rich fulness of positive endowments, of happiness, and of holiness which make an integral part of the salvation of God. ”

“ In regard to this exterior good, we can practise towards God the love of benevolence by doing all things, and all good works in our power, in order to increase His honour, or by having the intention to bless, glorify, and exalt Him in all our actions; and much more by refraining from any action which might tarnish God's glory and displease Him, Whose will is our inviolable law. ”

“ How can we make sure of an influence that shall be only a benediction? There is no way but by making our life pure and good. Just in the measure in which we are filled with the Spirit of God and have the love of Christ in us, shall our influence be holy and a blessing to the world. ”

“ I do not believe, with some divines, that all our good works are but as filthy rags; the example which our great Master has set before us, of purity, benevolence, obedience, submission and humility, are virtues which, if faithfully practiced, will find their reward; or why has he pronounced so many benedictions upon them in his sermon on the mount? ”

“ Wherefore we must say that a certain order exists among spiritual goods, since all the spiritual goods that are in the acts of each virtue are directed to one spiritual good, which is the Divine good, about which there is a special virtue, viz. charity. Hence it is proper to each virtue to rejoice in its own spiritual good, which consists in its own act, while it belongs specially to charity to have that spiritual joy whereby one rejoices in the Divine good. ”

“ Christian benevolence is not only the ‘image of God,’ but is peculiarly an imitation of Christ.” “I do not ask, my brethren, what particular virtue you have, but how much are you under the influence of Him? for just so much virtue we have, as we have of His spirit and character.” “Our Saviour places the acceptance of men, not upon their dispositions, but upon their actions ”

“ The beauty of a holy and a sinless life of benevolence became to him as the perfection of human destiny, and with the earnest conviction of a prophet and a reformer he proclaimed this as the essence of religion, inviting the poor and lowly to end their sufferings by cultivating virtue, by eschewing passions and evil desire, and by spreading brotherly love and universal peace. ”

“ It is obvious that such special acknowledgements of particular and exceptional blessings must be pleasing to God, but He lays upon men no obligation to render them, seeing that their value consists in their being spontaneous—the overflow of a grateful heart, or the result of a deep conviction of the claims of God, or of the need of Divine help in extraordinary circumstances. ”

“ If, from the philosophic consideration of man, we turn to the genius of the Gospel, we shall there find this conclusion of natural reason strengthened and confirmed by evangelical motives.
Benevolence, which, in the Gospel, takes the name of Charity, hath a larger range in this new dispensation, than in that of nature. The doctrine, and still more the example, of Jesus, extends the duty of humility and self-denial; requires us to make ampler sacrifices of self-love, and to give higher demonstrations of good-will to others, than mere reason could well demand or enforce. ”

“ We should ask for those blessings first and foremost which every one needs for their own present salvation, increase of faith, increase of the knowledge of God, and an increase in ourselves of every thing that is good and praiseworthy for Saints to enjoy through the revelations of the Holy Spirit. ”

“ The Divine purpose is spiritual evolution. That gratification of the sensuous [Pg 59] side of our nature for which physical health and a well-knit organism are indispensable—paramount in the pleasure-philosophy—is not neglected, but is made subordinate in the Divine culture of life. The grace of God aims at the life of the spirit—power to love, to follow righteousness, to dare for justice' sake, to seek and grasp the true, to sympathise with men and bear with them, to bless them that curse, to suffer and be strong. ”

“ Christianity teaches, that in goodness, and faithfulness to the sense of duty, lies the chief good; in these there is a heaven of reward, not only now and on earth, but throughout an existence truly immortal. ”

“ All are now furnished with a translation of that wonderful volume, which, with the light of the universal living Spirit of God, at once reveals to man, in every age and clime, his lost and miserable condition, and tells him of a remedy that is adapted to meet every want of his being—to redeem him, by a moral power it alone can afford, from all sin and misery, and to bring him into the glorious fellowship of the holiness, the blessedness, and joy of Jesus Christ, and all the family of God in earth and heaven! ”

“ If, however, we can conscientiously say that duty—not inclination, not pleasure, not business—detains us here, are we labouring in prayer for these helpless ones as we might do? Are we using our influence and means as largely as they might be to help forward their salvation? In short, are we seeking first, for ourselves and for them, the kingdom of God and His righteousness, leaving to God to add other blessings? ”

“ The fruits of righteousness are the evidences and effects of our sanctification, the duties of holiness springing from a renewed heart, the root of the matter in us. Being filled with them. Observe, Those who do much good should still endeavour to do more. The fruits of righteousness, brought forth for the glory of God and edification of his church, should really fill us, and wholly take us up. Fear not being emptied by bringing forth the fruits of righteousness, for you will be filled with them. These fruits are by Jesus Christ, by his strength and grace, for without him we can do nothing. ”

“ Thus does his thought become holy, enlightened, and religious; blessedness arises within him, and in it, abiding joy, peace and power, as these may in like manner be acquired and enjoyed by the unlearned, and even the lowliest among men, through true devotion to God and honest performance of duty viewed as the Will of God. ”