parable of the good Samaritan, and said to the querist, "Go and do thou likewise ;" that is, Go and exercise the same disinterested benevolence, and thou shalt be saved. But that nothing short of disinterested love is the condition of salvation, the Apostle Paul plainly asserts and strikingly illustrates in the thirteenth chapter of his first epistle to the Corinthians. 66 Though, says he, I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing." By charity the Apostle means that charity which seeketh not her own, or that disinterested love, which stands directly oppo sed to all selfish affections, exercises, and actions. It is true indeed, both Christ and the apostles represent either faith, or repentance, or submission, as entitling any one to salvation. But it is to be remembered, that all those exercises are only so many different modifications and expressionis of that love, which is disinterested. So that if we search through the Bible, we shall find that disinterested benevolence, in some form or other, is the only condition, upon which eternal life is offered to sinners. I now proceed to show,

II. That sinners are ready to think it is impossible for them to be saved on this condition. So the young man supposed. At first he thought he was in a fair

way to heaven. But as soon as Christ mentioned disinterested love as the condition of eternal life, his heart and his hopes failed him, he went away grieved and desponding, and supposing it to be impracticable to comply with the terms of salvation which Christ proposed. Nor was he alone in this opinion; for those who stood by and heard the condition, expressed the same sentiment, and with astonishment exclaimed, "Who then can be saved?" When Christ reproved those who followed him for the sake of the loaves, and implicitly told them, that they must exercise disinterested love in order to obtain his favour, "They said, this is a hard saying, who can hear it? And from that time, many of his disciples went back and followed him no more. They felt as though they never could be saved upon the condition of disinterested love. While Paul supposed the divine law required nothing but selfishness, he felt blameless, and entertained high hopes of heaven; but when his mind was enlightened and his conscience awakened to understand the true meaning of the law, he saw his selfishness condemned by it, and despaired of mercy upon the condition of disinterested love.

The single pro

hibition, which says, "Thou shalt not covet," that is, thou shalt not be selfish, carried death to his hope; because he supposed it was impossible for such a selfish creature as he found himself to be, to exercise that disinterested love to which the promise of salvation is made. Such have been the views of all sinners in the same situation. They have found it easy to love themselves supremely, but to love God more than themselves, and to prefer

his glory to their own eternal happiness, they have found to be extremely difficult, even as difficult as for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. They have really supposed it to be absolutely impossible for them to exercise that pure, disinterested love, to which the promise of salvation is made to them in the gospel.

But here it may be proper to inquire, why they think it is impossible to be saved on the condition of disinterested benevolence. They must see something in disinterested love, which is totally different from all selfish affections; otherwise they could not imagine it to be so extremely difficult to exercise it. But it is certain, in the first place, that their difficulty in exercising disinterested love, does not arise from its being unreasonable. God is as worthy to be loved as themselves. Christ is as worthy to be loved as themselves. And their fellow-men are as worthy to be loved as themselves. It is, therefore, altogether reasonable, that they should love God supremely, and their fellow-men as themselves. And they always approve of disinterested love, wherever they think they see it acted out. Nor do they ever fail of blaming themselves as well as others, for feeling and expressing selfishness in any form whatever. The young ruler did not presume to object against disinterested affections and actions as unreasonable or absurd. Indeed, it is not in the power of the human mind to discover any thing improper or absurd in universal, impartial, and disinterested benevolence. Reason dictates, that this is the only proper and virtuous affection, that rational creatures can exercise towards their Creator and one another.

If there were any thing inconsistent, improper, or absurd in sinners exercising disinterested benevolence, they might well suppose it is impossible for them to be saved on this condition. But this is not the case, nor can they consistently pretend this to be the case, for they always approve of others for acting from disinterested motives.

Nor again, do sinners suppose it is impossible for them to be saved on the condition of disinterested benevolence, because there is no need of their having such benevolent affections, in order to be completely and eternally happy. They know the nature of selfishness, which tends to make rational beings miserable, And sometimes they are convinc, ed by their own experience, that with their present feelings it is impossible for them to be happy in this life, or the next. And this is the real truth. No individual, or number of individuals, can be in a state of solid, permanent happiness, without that pure, disinterested love, which the gospel requires. It appears absolutely necessary, therefore, that God should require disinterested love from all the subjects of his holy, happy kingdom. If God means to make his rational creatures happy, he must do it on the princire of disinterested benevolence. This sinners are capable of seeing; and of course they cannot suppose, that God unnecessarily imposes on them the hard condition of disinterested love in order to escape the wrath to come, and enjoy the blessedness of heaven. Though the young ruler was grieved when he heard the condition of salvation, yet Christ was not severe, but kind and compassionate, in pointing out to him the only possible way of inherit

ing eternal life. And he does not appear to blame Christ on this account. Nor can any sinners justly view this condition of salvation, as an unnecessary hardship. Their reason and conscience, notwithstanding the depravity of their hearts, tell them, that disinterested love is not only a reasonable, but a necessary condition of their being freed from all misery, and put into the enjoyment of all good. No other qualification can possibly prepare them for the inheritance of the saints in light.

Nor again, do sinners suppose it is impossible for them to be saved on the condition of disinterested love, because they know themselves to be incapable of exercising such a holy affection. They are conscious of being able to love and hate, choose and refuse; and to exercise benevolent as well as malevolent affections. The amiable young man was possessed of all the rational powers, which were necessary to perform the most benevolent actions. This appears from his own declaration, that he had externally obeyed all the divine commands from his youth. It was completely in his power to comply with the conditions of salvation which Christ proposed. He was able to sell all he had, and convert it to benevolent purposes, and to take up his cross and follow him. For this was soon after actually done, by the primitive christians; and the most worldly-minded, selfish sinners are equally capable of exercising pure, disinterested benevolence.

The question still returns, why do sinners think it is impossible for them to be saved on the condition of disinterested love? After what has been said, there seems to be but one plain, posi

tive, satisfactory answer to be given to this question. Sinners think, it is impossible for them to be saved on the condition of disinterested love, because of the total depravity and selfishness of their hearts. This the young

"He was

man most sensibly felt. very much grieved, because he was very rich, and supremely attached to the world." He could not bear to give up his great possessions for the sake of Christ, or for the sake of the gospel, or for the sake of the salvation of his own soul. It is as hard to the selfish heart of one sinner as to the selfish heart of another; to give up all his earthly treasure, for the sake of having treasure in heaven. Every sinner has a carnal mind, which no motives taken from time or eternity can reconcile to God and to the terms of salvation proposed in the gospel. For while he loves himself supremely, he cannot be willing to give up his present and future happiness, fur the glory of God and the good of the universe; he cannot be willing to lose his life, that he may find it, or to leave it to the wise, holy, and sovereign will of God, to save or destroy him, though he knows this is his duty, and would secure his salvation, if he would only exercise such pure, supreme, disinterested love to God. The entire selfishness of sinners, therefore,convinces them, that it is morally impossible for them to be saved on the condition of disinterested love.

IMPROVEMENT.

1. If it be entirely owing to the selfishness of sinners, that they suppose they cannot be saved on the condition of disinterested love; then their inabili ty to embrace the gospel is alto

gether criminal and inexcusable. It is true, that they are under one kind of inability to love God, to repent of sin, to believe in Christ, or to do any thing in a right and acceptable manner. This we are plainly taught in scripture. Moses told the corrupt and totally selfish Israelites, "Ye cannot serve the Lord, for he is an holy God." Christ said, "No man can come to me, except the Father who sent me draw him." And the Apostle declares, "The carnal mind is enmity against God, not subject to his law, neither indeed can be so then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." But this is a moral inability, which arises from the free, voluntary, selfish exercises of the heart, and is in its own nature entirely sinful and inexcusable. There is an essential difference between moral and natural inability. If sinners were incapable of distinguishing selfishness from benevolence,they would be under a natural inability of exercising that benevolence, to which the promise of salvation is made, and this would be a sufficient excuse for not complying with the terms of the gospel. But they know, that selfishness and benevolence are totally different in their nature and tendency, and that the former is sinful and the latter is virtuous. "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." Sinners have no right to plead sin as an excuse for sin, or to plead selfishness as an excuse for not exercising that pure disinterested love to God and man, which the gospel requires as an indispensable condition of salvation. When they plead, as they almost universally do, their inability to love God and embrace the gospel, they plead no other than a moral inability,

which arises from their entire selfishness, which is the essence of all sin and criminality, and which is no better excuse than Satan has for hating God and all good, with all his heart. If they would only express their inability in plain and intelligible language, they would say they love themselves so much, that they cannot love God, that they love selfishness so much, that they cannot love benevolence, that they love the happiness of this world so much, that they cannot love the enjoyment of God and the happiness of heaven. And this inability, instead of excusing them, must condemn them in the sight of God, and their own conscien

ces.

2. It appears from what has been said, that sinners have no ground to think God is insincere in offering them salvation upon the condition of disinterested benevolence. Sinners think and often say, that there can be no sincerity in God's offering to save them, upon unreasonable and impracticable terms. They say he knows, that they cannot and will not accept of salvation, upon the condition of disinterested love; and therefore he cannot be sincere in offering them salvation upon terms which he knows they cannot and will not comply with. We could not indeed see any sincerity in God's offering salvation to sinners on the condition, that they should ascend into heaven, (that is, to bring Christ down from above,) or that they should descend into the deep, (that is, to bring up Christ from the dead,) for it is naturally impossible for them to perform these conditions. But what saith God to every sinner? "The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth; that is the word of faith which we

preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Thus God offers salvation to sinners in the gospel, on the lowest and easiest terms possible. Nothing can prevent their accepting salvation, but their freely and voluntarily rejecting it.

3. It is of importance, that God should offer salvation to sinners on the condition of disinterested benevolence, though he knows beforehand, that they will reject his offer. The condition is easy and practicable. They are able and ought to exercise disinterested benevolence, and nothing can hinder them from exercising it, but their totally depraved and selfish hearts. They are, however, naturally blind to their native depravity and selfishness. They are not willing to believe, that they hate God, hate Christ, bate holiness, and hate salvation itself, until they are brought to the trial. God brings them to the trial, by freely and sincerely offering them salvation, upon the kind and gracious condition of disinterested love, which he knows they hate and will absolutely refuse to exercise, though they are sensible their refusal will prove their destruction. There is no other way, by which God can demonstrate to sinners themselves and to the universe, that they are totally depraved, selfish, and opposed to all good, but by his offering them salvation upon the condition of disinterested benevolence, and their refusing it. The amiable young man, whom Jesus beholding loved, would always perhaps, in this world, have appeared very different, if Christ had not offered, and he had not rejected salvation, on the condition of dis

interested benevolence. He never appeared so perfectly selfish to himself, nor to others, before he rejected salvation, rather than to give up his possessions and give God the supreme affection of his heart.

4. Since disinterested benevolence is the only condition of salvation, there is no propriety in directing sinners how to embrace the gospel. They are not very often satisfied with being told, that disinterested love is the only condition, upon which they can find acceptance with God; they want to know how they shall exercise this pure, holy love. But it does not belong to the preachers of the gospel to answer this impertinent and absurd question. It is sufficient for them clearly to state the condition of salvation, and leave it to sinners to find out how they shall freely and voluntarily perform it. Christ did no more than this, in preaching the gospel to the young man. He plainly and intelligibly taught him disinterested love, and promised him salvation on condition of his exercising and expressing such a holy, virtuous affection. The young man clearly understood the condition, for it grieved him to the heart, to be required to give up all his selfish feelings and possessions in order to be saved. But though Christ saw his anxiety and distress, he did not undertake to tell him how he should become willing to sell all he had and give to the poor, and come and follow him. He knew how to love God supremely as well as he knew how to love himself and the world supremely. Sinners know how to love God supremely, as well as to hate him supremely. They know how to love God supremely, as well as to love the world supremely.