[March 25th, 1854.]
The three great Christian graces are faith, hope and love, or Peter says, faith, love and joy. As to these graces the Scriptures teach us, 1. That they are inseparable. They never appear one without the others. 2. They stand in a certain relation to each other as cause and effect; faith is the cause of love, and love the cause of joy. It is a joy which is first, unspeakable. (a.) Because the objects of it are infinite. (b.) Because no words can express its value, or blessedness. It is incomparable. Other things can be measured, as riches, learning, honor, but this can be compared with nothing else in value. We would give up everything for this joy. It is, secondly, full of glory because it elevates, purifies, and renders glorious; and because it is attended with the anticipation of glory.
I. Why joy is the fruit of love, is plain. 1. From the fact that love itself is a joyous affection. It is in its nature happy. Though it may incidentally be the cause of anxiety and sorrow, yet in itself it is a source of blessedness. God is love. All the blessed love, and are blessed because they love. 2. From the nature of its object. The exalting feeling of love, to a beautiful child, to anything of special value and excellence, is a matter of experience. And as Christ is the object of the Christian’s love, and there is no end to his glory or his worth, the joy connected with love to him is unspeakable and full of glory.
II. Why faith produces love. It may be admitted that there is something mysterious in love; that is, that we cannot explain its origin, or tell always why we love. The love of God to his people is thus mysterious. No one can tell why he loved us. Still love in man, so far as it is not instinctive, has a rational ground; and this is, 1. The beauty and excellence of its object. 2. Congeniality, or sympathy; a feeling of mutual interest and delight; a reciprocation of benefits, or at least of benefits and gratitude. 3. Propriety; a consciousness that the object is ours. This is by no means exclusive, and is of course, different in different cases.
Now faith is the source of love to Christ, 1. Because it discerns his beauty and excellence. Christ is supremely glorious and beautiful, (a.) As possessed of all divine perfections. (b.) As possessed of all human excellence and loveliness. (c.) As uniting these in his own person, so that he is the centre, the light, the glory of the universe. He is to all intelligences what the sun is to our system. Faith discerns all this.
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It is to the soul, what the eye is to the body.
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It is a cognition or spiritual apprehension. It is not merely light, but discernment. It does not see the object merely, but its excellence also. 3. It produces congeniality. 4. It appropriates.
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