Laws of God

“ God is unchangeable, so are also his laws, in all their forms, and in all their applications, and being Himself the essence of law, the giver of law, the sustainer of law, all of those laws are eternal in all their operations, in all bodies and matter, and throughout all space. It would be impossible for Him to violate law, because in so doing He would strike at His own dignity, power, principles, glory, exaltation and existence. ”

“ Will you allow it—though all the laws and constitutions of men give the commandment? God do so unto us if we suffer it. [6]
This we need continually to remember: that nothing in the world without is so sacred as the eternal law of God; of the world within nothing is more venerable than our own conscience, the permanent, everlasting oracle of God. ”

“ The laws of God have been made for the government and benefit of his creatures. God, nor his law, is, like man, changeable. His law, as expressed or manifested towards one class of objects, is also expressed and manifested towards all objects similarly situated. ”

“ The laws of the Gospel are neither more nor less than a few of the principles of eternity revealed to the people, by which they can return to heaven from whence they came. A few of the laws of the Gospel have been revealed to us in the last days, by which we can begin and walk the path back into the presence of the Father and the Son, having the communication opened between the heavens and the earth to reveal the will of God to the children of men. We delight in the heavenly law—in that law that will preserve us to all eternity. ”

“ The Epoch of the Exile: B.C. 586-536.. The period of the Restoration, from B.C. 536.. The Right Ethical and Spiritual Use of the Bible. We have here the simple, homely, prudential aspects of virtue, which have always been particularly powerful on certain ages and classes. These laws of life that work for our health and wealth loom, however, into mystic and sacred forms, as of the laws heavenly and eternal, whose "seat is the bosom of God." The Law thus mystic and sacred is seen to be both the law of nature and the law of the human soul. ”

“ The word of the Lord endures for ever, both that of the law, and that of the gospel. Observe, The care of God concerning his law extends itself even to those things that seem to be of least account in it, the iotas and the tittles; for whatever belongs to God, and bears his stamp, be it ever so little, shall be preserved. The laws of men are conscious to themselves of so much imperfection, that they allow it for a maxim, Apices juris non sunt jura—The extreme points of the law are not the law, but God will stand by and maintain every iota and every tittle of his law. ”

“ There are also many things God has revealed that He does not mean to give us, and there are laws of His ordering, spiritual and physical, that by revelation or natural investigation He has made known. For these things, then, or against these laws, we must not pray; we must not ask that God will violate His general laws in our private interest. ”

“ If it caused men to know the object of their creation, their relationship to God, their position on the earth, and their final exaltation and glory, it will do the same again, for it is the everlasting Gospel. In short, it is the will of God to man, the government of God among men, and a portion of that light, glory and intelligence, which exist with God and angels, communicated to mortals, and obtained through obedience to his laws and ordinances. ”

“ But in regard to the leading principles of the Gospel, there are some distinctive features connected therewith, which, like all the laws of nature and of nature's God, require implicit obedience and compliance therewith in order to insure a realization of the results which flow therefrom. The earth on which we live, the matter of which it is composed, the elements with which we are surrounded, as well as the planetary system, have certain inscrutable, eternal, unchangeable laws connected with them that can not be departed from. ”

“ THE ten commandments, being the first-fruits of the Word, and containing a summary of all things relating to religion, or to love towards God, and love towards our neighbour, are to be received and acknowledged as laws not only of natural, civil, and moral obligation, but also as laws of the truly spiritual and celestial life, according to the degree in which they are opened and applied. ”

“ But the laws and judgments of men must yield place to the laws and judgments of Christ the true God, who in many ways urges on His followers the practice of almsgiving—It is more blessed to give than to receive ”

“ It shows that the man regulates his conduct by Divine laws. God, as we have seen in considering the 21st verse, has been most explicit in the revelation of His will in this matter. 2. He sees in every man some trace of his Divine Creator. ”

“ When the kingdom of God is universal, it will, like the kingdom in the heavens, be all "righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost;" yet, it will have its laws, officers, and administrators, and will be a literal, tangible thing. The Spirit of the Lord shall be poured upon all flesh; the will of God will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and the joy and peace which result from righteousness, will be experienced by all the world. ”

“ There are unquestionably certain laws and principles governing these matters, as legitimate as those governing any other branch of science or knowledge. If man knows the things of God only by the Spirit of God, how are we to obtain that Spirit? One of the old Apostles, in talking on this subject in former times, told the people to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of their sins, and they should receive the Holy Ghost. ”

“ We shall understand why a Christian observes laws: For the peace of the world, out of gratitude to God, and for a good example that others may be attracted to the Gospel. ”

“ If God has a design in those things, and man by his wilfulness, wickedness, corruption, and rebellion, should thwart the design of God, and yield himself to another influence, even that of Satan, will he not be held responsible? And whether God has a particular design or not, does not affect the question particularly; for the earth is the Lord's, and man also, and God has a perfect right to dictate what laws he pleases. That the Lord looks upon the world in this manner is evident from the words of our Saviour. ”

“ Several ways whereby God addresses Himself to men. How different the method which God uses towards the rational from that which He uses towards the material world. In the world of matter God has not only fixed and prescribed certain laws according to which the course of nature shall proceed, but He is Himself the sole and immediate executor of those laws. ”

“ Moreover, I cannot bear with laws for the interpretation of the word of God, since the word of God, which teaches liberty in all other things, ought not to be bound. ”

“ Can man of himself, unaided by Christ, keep the law?
“I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” John 15:5. See also Rom. 7:14-19.
8. What provision has been made so that we may keep God's law?
“For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” ”

“ But there are numberless things to be considered under the head of each particular duty, of which we ought to endeavour to acquire as perfect a knowledge as possible, by daily and serious meditation on this holy law; that by so doing we may be the more efficaciously excited, and the more powerfully enabled to keep it perfectly, and effectually to avoid the most dreadful of all evils, the transgression of the law of God by sin. ”

“ The Law had said, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength;’ and could men have lived by law, ‘which is the strength of sin,’ verily righteousness and life would have been by that law. ”

“ Religion which asserts this divine order, this transcendental order, is objectively "the Law of the Lord," which, proceeding from the eternal reason and will of God, is the principle and reason of things. ”

“ Do you not know that the Law is like a body, like a living organism, and that if you break one commandment you break the whole Law ? That if you transgress the will of God in one particular point you sin against God ? ”

“ Those who arrived at an understanding of this important point, were thus led to see the sacred, unchanging character of the divine law. They saw, as never before, the force of the Saviour's words, “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law.”717 The law of God, being a revelation of His will, a transcript of His character, must forever endure, “as a faithful witness in heaven.” Not one command has been annulled; not a jot or tittle has been changed. Says the psalmist: “Forever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven.” “All His commandments are sure. ”

“ Ps. 119:89. "Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth." Ps. 119:142. "All his commandments are sure; they stand fast forever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness." Ps. 111:7, 8. "Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." Matt. 5:17. "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law." ”

“ As you truly said, virtue is the business of the legislator; but you went wrong when you referred all legislation to a part of virtue, and to an inferior part. For the object of laws, whether the Cretan or any other, is to make men happy. Now happiness or good is of two kinds—there are divine and there are human goods. He who has the divine has the human added to him; but he who has lost the greater is deprived of both. The lesser goods are health, beauty, strength, and, lastly, wealth; not the blind God, Pluto, but one who has eyes to see and follow wisdom. ”

“ I allude to the entire law of God, to all that the Lord our God has revealed, whether it pertains to the building of tabernacles or to the building of temples, or to faith, repentance, baptism, or the laying on of hands, or to the matrimonial relations, or to any doctrine or principle which relates to the salvation and glory of man.
I say as one, that I have no fellowship for that man who will permit any person, over whom he has any rightful control, to ridicule the law, or any portion of the law, of God. ”

“ There is a law irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world upon which all blessings are predicated; and when we obtain any blessing from God it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated. ”

“ Our most illustrious preachers gave a wonderful majesty to their discourses by following the example of the Master, and giving prominence to the law, its precepts, and its threatenings. They repeated the two great maxims, that the law is a transcript of the divine perfections, and that a man who does not love the law does not love the gospel; for the law, as well as the gospel, is a mirror reflecting the true character of God. This peril leads to another, that of underrating the evil of sin, the extent of it, the demerit of it. ”

“ Is this the original and necessary relation which law sustains to the will and affections of an accountable creature? Must the pure and holy law of God, from the very nature of things, be a weariness and a curse? God forbid. But sin that it might appear sin, working death in the sinner by that which is good,—that sin by the commandment might become, might be seen to be, exceeding sinful. The law is like a chemical test. It eats into sin enough to show what sin is, and there stops. ”

“ I wonder if you or my father ever thought of the obscurities that lie upon human duty from the negative form in which the Ten Commandments are stated, or of how Christ was so continually substituting affirmations. ‘Thou shalt not’ is but an example; ‘Thou shalt’ is the law of God. ”

“ God's law is the rule by which we are to walk; and this is the malignity of sin, that it trespasses upon the bounds set us by that law. 3. They have cast off the thing that is good. They have put away and rejected good, that is, God himself ”

“ But what about the answer of the Lord to the rich young man? What about the commandment to be perfect? Does not the doctrine of justification by faith alone, without the deeds of the Law, abolish the holy and good Law of God? ”

“ Natural religion, after it has given us its best discoveries and directions, lays and leaves us under this further obligation, that whatever divine revelation shall be made to us at any time, with sufficient evidence to prove it divine, we accept it, and submit to it. This law those transgress who, when God speaketh to us by his Son, refuse him that speaketh; and therefore it is sin. ”

“ This is the rule by which Christians are to regulate their thoughts, words, and actions; for we are called by God to act by the motions of his Holy Spirit, and to make no other use of ourselves, or the world we are in, than such as is conformable to that dignity of life and state of glory to which we are called. ”

“ We should let the Spirit of the Lord rule, and the law of God abide in our hearts. If we have the law of God dwelling in us, and if we practise righteousness and live by correct principles, we may have it, and will increase in light and in power with the heavens and with all good men. We should cherish that law, let it abide in us, govern and control us in all we do and say. Let us square our ideas, feelings, and spirits to it, and bear in mind that this is what preserves us and connects us together in the strait and narrow way that leads unto life eternal. ”