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Wickedness is always unreasonable, wherever it is found; and there is nothing so reasonable, so beau2 tiful, so lovely in the universe, as obedience to God. It is impossible there should be too much of it in any world, or too much required. Too pure and too accurate a rule of duty there cannot be; nor can men on the earth, any more than the "angels in heaven, be directed by it with too much uncompromising exactness. What being in the universe could view the statutes of the divine kingdom with undiminished respect and reverence if they connived at the least moral obliquity? What would be thought of the adorable Lawgiver if he should adapt his claims to the perverse and perverted inclinations of men? The demands of the Bible are determined and graduated by the capacities of those to whom they are addressed, and the means and opportunities they enjoy of becoming acquainted with their duty. To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." Men, though benighted and fallen, are creàtures of thought and reflection; they have understanding and conscience as well as the angels. And think of the means of holiness with which they are furnished. "All that is attractive in the divine law; all that is instructive in the truths of a supernatural revelation; all that is alluring in the promises, and fearful in the threatenings, of the gospel; all that is affecting in the dispensations of a merciful and disciplinary Providence; all that is convincing in conscience and the Spirit of God; combine their force to lead them to a devoted obedience. Here, too, God is reconciling the world to himself by Jesus Christ. O, what a flood of

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light! what a pressure, what urgency of motive what a view of God in the person of his Son! It is true that the inhabitants of earth are dependent for holiness; and so are the inhabitants of heaven. And if they were not, we have not now to learn that a creature's dependence does not diminish the force of his obligations, nor render it less reasonable and proper that every man should do his duty. It is true that men are creatures of sense, and accessible to a thousand snares. And so was Jesus

Christ; and yet in his human nature he perfectly obeyed the law of God. From the beginning to the close of his life he transgressed in nothing. Men would be subjected to no temptations that are irresistible, had they a right moral disposition. And where would be the force of obligation, if temptation could annihilate or relax the bonds of moral government? It is altogether reasonable, therefore, that the will of God should be done on earth as it is in heaven. Why is it not reasonable? Is it reasonable for the immortal princess of the divine kingdom to obey their Sovereign-and is it unreasonable for man? Shall those bright partakers of the divine glory be under obligations of perfect rectitude, and shall men be exempted from the bond? Shall those favored attendants at the heavenly court "consent to the law that it is good;" and shall poor abject, fallen man, contend with God, and complain that "his ways are not equal?" We may remark also that,

Perfect obedience to the will of God would produce the same degree of happiness on earth that it produces in heaven. The foundation on which the happiness of thinking beings rests is their obe

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dience to the will of God. Heaven is the seat of supreme and unmingled blessedness, because it has a holy character. Individually and relatively, as parts and as a whole, men would be supremely happy, if they were perfectly holy. Experience and observation evince the happy effects, even of the very partial and imperfect holiness which good men possess in the present life. What new affections and hopes, what divine peace and joy, are imparted to the soul, when that moral transformation which terminates in the sinless purity of the heavenly world is but begun! When first the heart is dissolved with the mild influences of the Spirit of grace, when once it is imbued with the love of God and man, what sweet repose possesses it! Its struggles for a while seem to be over. It has peace with God, and peace with all men. Its alarms of conscience are still. And not until the workings of iniquity revive, do these joys pass away. And when, in his progressive career of sanctification, the regenerated man becomes more holy, and the power of indwelling corruption is gradually broken and prostrate, how does his light break in as the morning, and his joys become like the "spring tide which overflows its banks!" Witness the blessedness of David and Paul, of Whitefield and Payson, when their transported spirits broke forth in ecstasies, and complained of this prison-house of clay. Measures of happiness like these, a frame of mind even thus calm and joyous, were a prelibation of heaven. If the earth on which we dwell were imbued with no holier a spirit than this, who does not see that it would be an exquisitely happy world? But if, instead of

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being thus imperfect, its numerous inhabitants possessed the pure character of heaven, how nearly resembling heaven would be their joy! Over all the regions of the globe would every pulse beat, every heart throb, and every tongue vibrate, to the claims of holy love. Disorder and tumult would be unknown; the rod of the oppressor would be broken; and injustice and war would no more ravage the habitations of men. Individual quietness, domestic discord, and social joÿ; would change the face of human society in every land. Universal peace and love, 'every where mingling themselves with the lustre and loveliness of purer worlds, would every where fight up thẻ abodes of this hitherto depraved, benighted, and miserable creation; and nothing would be seen but spectacles of loveliness and beauty, and nothing heard but the voice of joy and praise. How clear, transparent, and serene the light that would then be diffused over the creation-how rapturous the flame that would glow in every bosom-how thrilling the emotion that would enliven every song! What a picture of the bosom of angels would be the sweet tranquillity of every child of Adam! Like what a "sea of glass" would the minds of men become-everywhere placid and unruffled, and reflecting the colors of the rainbow about the throne! What a world! when God shall thus create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy; and when, compared with this new spiritual creation, the former heavens and the former earth shall not be remembered nor come into mind. Were the benevolent aims and tendencies of obedience obtained, men would possess the happiness of

angels, and earth become the miniature of heaven. I may also remark,

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God would be as much honored and glorified by the obedience of his creatures on earth, as he is honored and glorified by the obedience of his creatures in heaven. That he is eminently exalted by the sinless perfection of the heavenly world, none are disposed to question. His existence and supremacy, his government and providence, his purity and justice, his goodness and mercy, are there honored and magnified; and the full glory of his character, reflected in the sinless obedience of its countless inhabitants, there shines in progres sive resplendency. Every tongue there speaks well of God; every mind sees him as he is; every heart loves and exalts him; and the only emulation is to ascribe the highest honors to his name.

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And may not men on the earth honor and exalt God in the same way, and by the same means? Whoever tarnished the divine glory by doing the divine will? Where did holiness ever dishonor that holy Lord God? What way of honoring him has ever been discovered by the lights of nature and reason, or is revealed in the Scriptures, other than obeying his commandments? All the ten

dencies of obedience are to honor and exalt him, while all the tendencies of transgression. are invariably to dishonor and degrade him. There is nothing by which men can in any degree honor and exalt God, except doing his will. To love and obey him, is the first duty of every rational creature; and when the same spirit of perfect allegiance glows in the bosom of men which glows in the bosoms of angels, the same enlivened adora

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