BREVITIES by J. C.

Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Oct 30, 1860

BREVITIES.

By J. C.

THE LOVE OF GOD.—The man who attempts to run the Christian race without the love of God in his heart, must fail: his own natural heart, however full of love, will fail when hard pressed with provocation and sorrow; but he whose heart is supplied with the love of God, is like the well supplied from pure and abundant springs, the more you draw out of it, the more pure and abundant the supply.

OUR OWN LOVES are various; as, the love of parent to child, and the love of child to parent; the love of brothers and sisters, the loves of the social circle, the ardent flame of the young, and the deepened friendship of the old; loves pure and impure, all these exist in the heart of the crowd, heedless of God the Creator, who first made man upright.

Therefore when we speak of love, the mass of mankind associate the idea with something so low and groveling as to despoil the word of its true meaning. The love of God is something beyond even the comprehension of the wisest of men, and until it is felt, it is unknown: it fills the soul, and purifies and sanctifies all other loves; and keeps them in proper bounds. The love of God coming as it does from the creation of man, is exactly suited to his organization, and does not blunt the natural and social affections, but teaches them to work in harmony with law and order.

Could all mankind be at once filled with the love of God, in such a degree as to thus purify the heart, such would be the benign influence of their love, that crime would disappear, and impurity would be unknown. Society would be in raptures at the change, and all natural affections being thus purified, would develop the kindliest acts, poverty would disappear, and disease would soon be robbed of its malignity, and in time would be eradicated; having nothing to feed upon; and the race would improve in physical and intellectual strength, and beauty, as generations pass away, and man would die only from age, and even hereditary disease would finally disappear.

But alas! no such cure will man accept; for six thousand years he has resisted the good Spirit, has waxed worse and worse, and now the cup nearly full is filling up, and man only awaits his sentence. The love of God is too pure and holy for the carnal heart; those gross passions spurn the true love that would not give them a place, and the love of God is too pure to dwell with gross and sensual passions; to exist in the heart, it must rule, it cannot be subservient.

RIVALRY.—Rivalry can hardly exist in the breast of the holy man; he feels that the more his brother advances in holiness, the greater his own power to go forward, and he knows too, that if his brother is held back in the course, his own progress is hindered, and that the very genius of holiness is opposed to rivalry. It cannot exist and be nourished at all in the heart of the Christian; for it would make such a soul the abode of devils, rather than of the Spirit of God. The enlightened Christian is happy in the humblest sphere, and he is conscious that rivalry is the work of an unhumbled heart, and eradicates it as he would malice and envy and every evil work. Christianity is benevolent in its nature, and he is the most thriving Christian, who most seeks the interest and prosperity of his brethren.

JUDGING others by ourselves is a correct test in a general way as to the main features of humanity, but when this test is applied to acquirements, literary or religious, it fails; thus the novice whose backsliding experience extends over perhaps a score or two of years, whose moral sense is blunted, whose life has been a history of backslidings and heart-wanderings from God, whose family and friends have mourned, and suffered by his slackness and sins, even though he returns, can no more judge of the experience of his brother who has walked in the light, whose pathway has been lined with humility, charity, liberality, holiness of heart and life, than the blundering, plodding scholar can judge of the acquirements or the literary attainments of the ripe student.

They will be rewarded “according to their deeds,” and let us consider our standing before we suppose all as ignorant as self.

Sometimes the young student makes an acquisition which pleases him much, and enraptured, he instead of rejoicing over it attempts to teach his superiors who perhaps have long ago passed over the same ground.

It is a natural characteristic of some to suppose that all that is new to them is new to others, and when such a person discovers that sin is exceeding sinful, he supposes that the fact will be just as new to his brethren, who, perhaps, have long tried to convince him of this important principle.

APPRECIATION of others is a talent which conceited persons do not possess: they appreciate themselves more highly than any one else does, but the feelings, capacities, acquirements, &c. of others they are loth to acknowledge.

TRUTH is a gem too precious to be hidden; let it come, no matter if in the ore, let it come and we can separate it from the dross afterwards; when dug up from the mine at first, of course we expect it in the ore, and we do not complain of its roughness.

THE world call us (who venerate the law of God) fools, disturbers of the peace, of society, disorganizers, &c.; but the psalmist says, “A good understanding have all they that keep thy commandments.” Keeping the commandments restrains and regulates the temperaments of men. J. C.