THE EXCELLENCY OF THE DIVINE LAW.
By H. H. Dobney
"The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good." Rom. 7:12. By the first clause of the text just quoted the apostle means that the law as a whole is agreeable to the character of God, and calculated to promote holiness. When he goes on to speak of "the commandment," he seems to refer to the law taken in its various parts separately; each specific requirement is "holy, and just, and good," with perhaps a special reference to that one which he had been particularly alluding to, "Thou shalt not covet," and which might serve as a key to the whole, by showing that they extend to the heart. "The commandment," then "is holy"—pure, free from all defect; "just"—agreeable to justice, right in the very nature of the thing; "good"—in the object and end it is designed and calculated to accomplish, benevolent, adapted to secure happiness. We might indeed well conclude, even prior to examination, that a law given by God would necessarily be characterized by highest excellence. If we did not know what the law itself was, if the bare fact alone were announced to us, that God had authoritatively published a law which was to regulate the conduct and feelings of his creatures, both towards himself and in all their intercourse with each other, we nevertheless might, antecedently to all knowledge of its nature, positively conclude that the stamp of perfection must be indelibly impressed upon it. For how could it be supposed credible, coming from an infallibly wise and good Being, that there should be either deficiency or excess,—that there should be an arbitrary exaction of more, or a weak toleration of less, than was exactly proper? To suppose God capable of issuing a law requiring either more or less than was exactly right, is to suppose him acting without wisdom and without goodness; in fact, it is to deny altogether the existence of these attributes which distinguish Deity,—perfect wisdom, perfect justice, perfect benevolence. We have, then, in the essential character of God, a guarantee that the law which issues from him shall be neither deficient nor superfluous; "his work is perfect." And then if he gives a perfect law, it must be right to enforce it; and there must be as much wisdom, and even goodness, in his guarding it when given, as there is of those qualities in his giving it at first; and consequently it is as right to punish the violation of law as it was right originally to enact law at all. But we will not rest the case on the presumed excellence of the law; we will examine it for ourselves; it invites the investigation of the thoughtful, and it deserves their admiration, for it is beautiful as the laws which God has stamped on nature, and by which he secures the order and harmony of the universe. But what do we mean by "The Law"? We will endeavor to answer the question, and in so doing shall perceive that— 1. The excellency of the law is seen in its very nature. Generally we mean by the law that which is commonly called "the moral law," presented to us in the shape of distinct commandments, ten in number; prescribing to each one of us concerning God in the first place, and then concerning our deportment to all our fellow-creatures. These are illustrated, and their extensive bearing shown, by many other precepts which are scattered through the Scriptures. But there is not a single injunction or prohibition (of a moral kind we mean, of course, not referring now to the ceremonial law given to the Israelites, which has another explanation) which is not referable to one or other of these commandments, and included in it. If, however, without any amplification, we wish to have the whole law in a closely condensed form, so that we may bring it under the eye in one view in all its entireness, we can do so. It lies in a small compass as summed up for us by its divine interpreter: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself." Thus it consists of two parts. Let us examine it in both its branches, and see if it be not "holy, and just, and good":—613 As to the first part, is it not well to call on the creature to love, and reverence, and worship, and obey his all-wise and kind Creator, Preserver, and Benefactor, to whom he owes life and breath and all things, and on whom he entirely depends? Must it not be right to love perfect excellence and goodness, to submit to perfect wisdom, to manifest gratitude for kindness? Must it not be right to worship God? and, if so, right to worship him in the way which he may see fit to prescribe? And if all this be right, is it not of course right to require it? And if so, would it not therefore be wrong to dispense with it? Then this first part of the law cannot be excepted against. The second branch is drawn out for us into six particulars, the admirable propriety of which will be the more readily recognized if we consider ourselves the objects on whose behalf the law is made, rather than the subjects to whom it is given. In the first of these God very wisely and kindly confirms parental authority, and dictates to children as to their behavior towards those who gave them birth. They are to love and respect and obey them, kindly cherishing them in old age, if need require, tending them and soothing them to life's latest hour. All parents must approve this requirement; and if in any case the young were disposed to murmur at it, feeling it an irksome yoke, we should appeal from their present to their future selves, when they also shall sustain the parental character, and will be quite prepared to approve it. The second cannot require any comment: "Thou shalt not kill." Who does not feel that his life ought to be inviolate, and the life of those he loves? Who does not decide that if any man should invade his dwelling, and murder his wife, his parent, or his child, severe punishment ought to follow? See then with grateful admiration, how, by an express prohibition to all men, God has guarded your life and the precious lives of all who are dear to you. Similar is the third: "Thou shalt not commit adultery," including in the prohibition every kind and degree of impurity. But to whom shall we appeal? Assuredly not to the violators of this commandment in any form; not to those who would, at any cost, throw the reins upon the neck of their passions, and with base selfishness seek only their own gratification, no matter at what expense to others. From such we turn away, as utterly incapacitated to judge; or we appeal to them in the other characters they may sustain, and as to the relationship of life which they rejoice to own. Who does not wish, above his wish for life, that the sanctity of his own dwelling may ever be most sacredly preserved? Does not everyone who answers to the name of brother, husband, father, with a knit brow and a flushed cheek, and in a tone of deepest emotion, assert that his own beloved relatives ought, by every means possible to devise, to be most sacredly guarded from even the slightest harm? Would he not have them protected by the strongest sanctions law can give, shielded as by triple brass, from the faintest breath of the spoiler? How benevolent, then, the law which forbids, under penalty of God's displeasure, everyone from blighting the fair blossoms you so sensitively cherish. God himself puts a fence around your dwelling; and in a tone of command that will not be slighted with impunity, warns off every profane intruder, and forbids even the faintest wish to wrong you. Thus is he by this law the kind guardian of your domestic peace. Similar is the fourth: "Thou shalt not steal." Again consider yourself the object in whose favor the law is made, and you will recognize that hereby God sets a hedge about all you have; your possessions are to be your own entirely, and no one is to deprive you of the least portion, or to defraud you in any transaction. So with the fifth. All persons are forbidden to meddle with your fair fame; your character is to be as sacred as your life. God will not hold that individual guiltless who misrepresents you in any way. And knowing that all outward improprieties and positive wrongs begin in the heart, in the sixth he prohibits all persons from wishing to wrong you in the least degree, or to gratify themselves at your expense. Thus God decides how all persons shall behave to you, thus kindly does he guard you on every hand. In other parts of Scripture these requirements are explained to be positive in their real meaning, as well as negative, so that persons are not to be content with simply abstaining from doing you harm; they are to do you good as occasion may require; they are to embrace all opportunities of increasing your comfort and happiness, and are to love you as they love themselves. Thus extensively has God cared for your welfare; thus strict is the charge he has given to all men concerning you. Is not the law, then, holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good? And then is it not quite as excellent when you are the subject as when you are the object of it? when it is law to you concerning all your conduct towards others, as when it is law to others concerning you? 2. But observe its excellency in its tendency to make the observer of it happy. And it has this tendency in many ways. There would be in one who should perfectly keep the law a perfect satisfaction with himself. Conscience would never speak in an accusing tone, but always the language of approval. There would be a sense of God's approbation, which would fill the heart with joy. It will be admitted by every reflecting person, that happiness does not depend so much on external circumstances as upon the state of our own minds. We are dependent on ourselves rather than upon others. Take an ambitious, restless, dissatisfied man, and load him with riches, honors, authority; will he be happy? You unhesitatingly answer, No. But why not? Because, you reply, his own disposition will prevent. Take another,—a suspicious, jealous, irritable, and revengeful man,—place him among the peaceful and amiable; will he be happy? No, his wretched temper will be a perpetual preventive of enjoyment, and if he does not find sources of disquietude, he will make them. On the contrary, let a man of a cheerful, contented, grateful, and benevolent disposition, be brought into painful circumstances, and his situation, though trying, will not deprive him of peace and happiness. Or let a meek and gentle spirit, though sensitive, be exposed to unkindness; still though grieved, the mind is not robbed of its peace. We have a beautiful illustration in the psalmist; "Princes also did sit and speak against me, but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes." We can easily conceive that were an angel to become incarnate, and to dwell among us for a time, exposed to hardship, neglect, and insult, none of these things would destroy his peace. His well-regulated mind would prevent external things, mere accidents, from affecting his inner self. And so our happiness is not placed at the mercy of outward circumstances, over which we have no control; it is made to depend much more intimately upon ourselves, and the state of our own minds. "A good man shall be satisfied from himself;" "great peace have they that love thy law, and nothing shall offend them." The law of God is such as, if observed in its spirit as well as its letter, would make us happy in our conformity. It prohibits nothing that is not injurious; it requires nothing that is not advantageous. We know how pleasant to one's self are the feelings of kindness and benevolence. I can confidently appeal to the reader, whether he has not felt an exquisite glow of delight, when, on some happy occasion, his breast has been full of good-will to all around him. Oh, yes! if we know what it is to look abroad on creation with a kindly eye,—to be glad in the joy that was felt by others, and to wish happiness to the universe, embracing in our benevolence all ranks of creatures, we can bear witness to the fact that such feelings of expansive benevolence to others, when self was for a time lost sight of, have produced a gush of rapturous enjoyment which language is too poor to describe. Happiness, then, depends on the state of our own minds, and the feelings which are prevalent there. Now the law of God prescribes exactly that class of affections, and that only, which invariably and necessarily produces enjoyment in the existence and exercise of them—love. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself." And so "love is the fulfilling of the law." Allow the imagination to bring such a state of mind before you as your own; just try the experiment of imagining how you would feel if every selfish, unlovely emotion had become utterly extinct, leaving no trace behind, and pure love to all beings animated, your breast; the heart filled with holy love and reverence for God, so that you exulted in your relation to him, and delighted in all his will; love to God supremely, and to all his creatures subordinately,—why, your cup would be full to overflowing, and you would be ready to shout aloud for joy. Thus admirably is God's law adapted to secure the perfect happiness of everyone that observes it. Thanks be to God for such a law!—H. H. Dobney (Baptist Minister, England).