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HUMAN DEPRAVITY.

167

LETTER X.

MY DEAR FRIEND,

OUR Creator has given us a law which we are, of course, bound to obey; and which, being holy and just and good, contributes directly and invariably to the happiness of those who yield to its requirements. The summary of that law, given by JESUS himself, is at once simple, rational and sublime. It demands that we should love God above all things, with all our powers, and our neighbour as ourselves. Here, in one brief, intelligible sentence, which commends itself to every conscience, we have the whole duty

of man.

But, alas! man is not disposed to do his duty. He comes into the world with a nature prone to evil and averse to good. His mind is ignorant, his heart is depraved, and his life, so soon as he begins to exert his faculties, becomes polluted and guilty. Various are the symptoms, Sir, which characterise this radical disease of the human soul. They may be modified by an endless variety of circumstances, and may exhibit themselves with greater or less malignity in different persons. But the one diagnostic by which

a man's spiritual state may be clearly ascertained is this-In the midst of all that is benevolent in his feelings, amiable in his manners, and generous in his conduct, his heart is alienated from GOD; and the claims of his CREATOR-the first, the most sacred of all claims-are disregarded. He may be, to a certain extent, "sober," and in a certain sense," righteous," but he is not "godly;" and this essential feature of his case marks him as polluted, guilty, selfish, ungrateful, hopeless. He wants two things-to be pardoned and renewed. But how are these to be accomplished? God's justice demands satisfaction for sin; and the honour of his government, and the well-being of his boundless empire, require that these demands should be rigidly insisted on. "The soul that sinneth shall die."-" The wages of sin is death." May this doom be averted? Can the sinner render satisfaction for his offences? Let us look narrowly at these questions, for they are vitally important.

Now, were the case of a sinner like that of a day-labourer, who hires a certain portion of his time, but when that portion is expired is perfectly independent of his employer, he could very easily settle his accounts with God. For if the labourer in question should absent himself from the work for a number of days, he might satisfy

JUSTIFICATION.

169

his master by working up the lost time at a future period, or he could get a friend to do it for him, or he could remit an equivalent amount

of wages.

But this is manifestly not the relation which we bear to our Creator and Preserver. We owe him perfect love, from the moment we are capable of appreciating his goodness, till the pulse ceases its vibrations in the cold grasp of death. We are not independent creatures. We cannot, without injustice, withhold from him our service for a single hour. "Will a man rob God?"

Our condition, in this respect, may be more fitly illustrated by that of the modern slave. He is not his own; he is bought with a price. He is his master's property. When he forsakes the plantation, and amuses himself a few days hunting or fishing in the woods, it will not do for the truant to say,

"Massa, me pay de days dat me lost."

How can he?-All his days belong to his master; and if payment be rendered to him, it must be from his own property, which is absurd. Can the poor man derive any assistance from his fellow-bondsmen? No; for they are exactly in the same circumstances, and not one of them

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could give him a day without robbing his own master. Thus, neither from his own efforts, nor from those of his friends, can he derive the slightest hope. He must cast himself on the compassion of his master.

Behold an exact illustration of the state of all guilty creatures under the government of God.* "None can, by any means, redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him," Psalm xlix. 7. Our Lord tells us, that when we have done all that is required, we should still count ourselves unprofitable servants, having done only what it was our duty to do. Now God's requirement of us is limited only by our ability. Every talent received must be improved to the utmost. The highest archangel is bound to put forth all his mighty energies to glorify "Him that sits upon the throne." And if even he does not accomplish all that he can, he is guilty.

Therefore, WORKS OF SUPEREROGATION ARE IMPOSSIBLE. No creature can exceed his duty in rendering to God acceptable obedience. Let him "come short," for a moment, and he is a transgressor, and requires an atonement! And he might range through the universe without finding a single created being, who could transfer

But the service of Jehovah is not slavery. The slave-holder usurps the prerogative of God.

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to him any portion of his obedience, or boast of even the slightest imaginable measure of what is properly called merit.

The sinner, however, is not merely a debtor; he is a criminal. He owes, indeed, ten thousand talents, and has nothing whatever to pay the debt. But were he able to liquidate the wholeto lay down the last farthing; he would not, therefore, be acquitted. Neither the forger nor the robber escapes the sentence of the law, by refunding back the unjustly acquired property. They are dealt with, not as debtors, but as criminals. Now, if sin be regarded as a debt, the righteousness of CHRIST is accepted on our behalf; and if it be regarded as a crime, the blood of JESUS washes it away. His obedience is imputed or reckoned to us; our disobedience is imputed to Him.

If the principle illustrated above be sound, and I think it both rational and Scriptural, then it follows, that right notions of the law of Goda correct apprehension of the relations sustained by intelligent creatures towards their Creator cut up by the roots the leading errors both of CATHOLICISM and UNITARIANISM. If no creature can perform works of supererogation, then no creature can be a saviour! It follows, of course, First, that Christ is not a creature;

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