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The Union Of Love To God And Love To Man:-A Masonic Sermon.
quarrel no more . There , neither rivals strive to supplant , nor do competitors struggle with one another . There , Cassar and „ Pompey have laid aside their variance . There , the clamorous noise and the malignant bustle of contending parties , are hushed into a perfect calm . There , the injurious are locked up iu the dark chamber of aweful silence , where they shall disturb the peace of others no more . " There the wicked cease from troubling , and there the weary
are at rest . Theie the prisoners rest together ; they hear not the voice of tlie oppressor . The small and great are there ; and the servant is free from his master * . " Again , consider that whilst acts of malice and injustice rendermen like to the evil spirits , who take delight in doing mischief , and in destroying peace and happinessthe exercise of a humane and
benevo-, lent mind assimilates 3 'ou to the glorious angels , who are God ' s messengers of grace aud mercy ; and to Jesus Christ , who was the visible pattern of perfect goodness and love ; and to God , whose very name is Love , and whose supreme delight it is to communicate happiness to his' creatures . Since , by benevolence of spirit , ye do thus become partakers of the divine nature , in the exercise of this amiable spirit
must necessarily consist the excellence and the glory of every rational and intelligent being . Benevolence of heart is the very principle of eternal life ; and therefore , your hope ofthe heavenly bliss doth essentially depend upon your feeling and expressing true lo \ 'e to your
brethren . " We know , " saith the apostle John , " that we have passed from death unto life , because we love the brethren : He that loveth not his brother , abideth in death . Whosoever hateth his brother , is a murderer ; and , ye know , that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him f . " " God is love ; and he that dweileth in love , dwelleth in God , and God in him | . " Moreoverconsider that it is essential to that true greatness and
no-, hility of soul , which is above the doing of what is inhumane and ungenerous , to think worthily of the dignity of our own nature , or to discern and feel the relation which redeemed creatures bear to the universe at large , and to the immortal spirits . Our designs and principles will be narrower expanded , according as we view our existence and enjoyments as circumscribed to the uncertainterm of a
. few years , or as consisting of an endless duration . It is not at all wonderful to see a man of deistical principles possessing a narrow and contracted soul , and guided wholly by principles of selfishness : but it is a surprising thing , to see one who professes to have the Christian faith and hopes , confining his views wholly to objects that are seen and mortaland destitute of a generous and liberal mind .
, Hence I contend , that the belief of the Christian doctrine of the immortality of the soul , and of a future state , is essentially necessary to liberality of sentiment and generous actions . What a mighty difference must it make upon men ' s generosity or narrowness of spirit , to believe that the soul shall perish at death , or that it shall live for
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Union Of Love To God And Love To Man:-A Masonic Sermon.
quarrel no more . There , neither rivals strive to supplant , nor do competitors struggle with one another . There , Cassar and „ Pompey have laid aside their variance . There , the clamorous noise and the malignant bustle of contending parties , are hushed into a perfect calm . There , the injurious are locked up iu the dark chamber of aweful silence , where they shall disturb the peace of others no more . " There the wicked cease from troubling , and there the weary
are at rest . Theie the prisoners rest together ; they hear not the voice of tlie oppressor . The small and great are there ; and the servant is free from his master * . " Again , consider that whilst acts of malice and injustice rendermen like to the evil spirits , who take delight in doing mischief , and in destroying peace and happinessthe exercise of a humane and
benevo-, lent mind assimilates 3 'ou to the glorious angels , who are God ' s messengers of grace aud mercy ; and to Jesus Christ , who was the visible pattern of perfect goodness and love ; and to God , whose very name is Love , and whose supreme delight it is to communicate happiness to his' creatures . Since , by benevolence of spirit , ye do thus become partakers of the divine nature , in the exercise of this amiable spirit
must necessarily consist the excellence and the glory of every rational and intelligent being . Benevolence of heart is the very principle of eternal life ; and therefore , your hope ofthe heavenly bliss doth essentially depend upon your feeling and expressing true lo \ 'e to your
brethren . " We know , " saith the apostle John , " that we have passed from death unto life , because we love the brethren : He that loveth not his brother , abideth in death . Whosoever hateth his brother , is a murderer ; and , ye know , that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him f . " " God is love ; and he that dweileth in love , dwelleth in God , and God in him | . " Moreoverconsider that it is essential to that true greatness and
no-, hility of soul , which is above the doing of what is inhumane and ungenerous , to think worthily of the dignity of our own nature , or to discern and feel the relation which redeemed creatures bear to the universe at large , and to the immortal spirits . Our designs and principles will be narrower expanded , according as we view our existence and enjoyments as circumscribed to the uncertainterm of a
. few years , or as consisting of an endless duration . It is not at all wonderful to see a man of deistical principles possessing a narrow and contracted soul , and guided wholly by principles of selfishness : but it is a surprising thing , to see one who professes to have the Christian faith and hopes , confining his views wholly to objects that are seen and mortaland destitute of a generous and liberal mind .
, Hence I contend , that the belief of the Christian doctrine of the immortality of the soul , and of a future state , is essentially necessary to liberality of sentiment and generous actions . What a mighty difference must it make upon men ' s generosity or narrowness of spirit , to believe that the soul shall perish at death , or that it shall live for