IV.

THE CONTRARY TO LOVE.

Hatred is often counted as the extreme contrary to love; but selfishness is much more so, and the enmity of selfishness is by far worse than the enmity of hatred.

Hatred at least supposes a cause, originating in some hateful quality in the other party; but selfishness does not trouble itself about the other at all, and cares not what pain or injury it may cause in pursuit of its own gratification.

At the same time, in the very nature of satisfaction is implied the impossibility of a selfish rational being satisfactorily attaining to what he seeks. Money, fame, or sensual enjoyment, selfishness may attain (though not by many degrees so well or so easily as the unselfish), but satisfaction-never; whereas, though often seemingly defeated, and for long time disappointed, yet in the attainment of real and lasting satisfaction "Love never faileth."

PRESENT-PRESENCE.

"Present" has two meanings, as if it were two words, and these cannot be confounded without producing confusion.

"Present" means, "within the perception of some one." As we say, "He was present when I said so;" or, "I was present when that occurred."

In this sense "present" is only limited by the powers of perception.

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He who was present when I said so, was not in the same place with me, but at some distance, ordinarily at what is called "a little distance." But the presence of a person whose hearing and sight are defective extends a very little way, compared to that of a person whose senses are acute. And in proportion as the power of perception extends, so does the idea conveyed by the word "present" expand. A being whose powers of perceiving are unlimited, has all things present to him (in the sense of, "in his presence"). Distance of space or of time cannot in this respect make a difference to him. Even to us these distances only make a difference in proportion to our deficiency of perception. To an ordinary man, a transaction at a distance of a foot is present; at a yard, present; at two, three, four yards, still present. And at an hundred yards, two hundred, five hundred, five thousand, or even millions of miles, transactions may be present to us, or in our presence, if we take such things as we can perceive plainly at great and increasingly greater distances; as the signature of a person, which we witness, being "present," so as to see that it is done (perhaps four or five yards off); then the action of mounting on horseback, at twenty or forty yards' distance; the firing of a gun, a cannon, at a much longer distance; an eruption of Vesuvius perhaps one nundred miles off, yet in our presence; a moon-rise, a sunset, and so on. And if one could perceive through distances of time, as through space, then distant things in time would in the same way be present, in the sense

But "present" also has the meaning of being "now, at the time we speak."

When a being has power to perceive things re

moved in point of time, so that they are in his presence, although they be past or future, he perceives them at one and the same time; but he does not perceive them as if they existed at one and the same time, any more than when we perceive, while we stand in one place, things at various distances in space. We do not perceive them as if they were in the same place; we observe a portion of space between them, so that a thing could be between them, without touching either the thing at this or at that side. And just so with actions in time; we perceive that other actions could be performed after one, and before the other was begun; so that, although neither the time nor the space avail to hinder the things from being present to a being of unlimited power of perception, yet time and space are as real to him, and as marked to his perception, as to the most finite capacity, indeed, far more so, inasmuch as he sees all more truly as it really is.

The confusing ideas and false reasonings on these subjects, which perplex men's minds and bring disgrace on philosophy and science, arise from the unphilosophical and unscientific habit of neglecting to be careful in understanding and using our words.

"IN THE SIGHT OF GOD."

Just in the sight of God; holy in the sight of God; pure in the sight of God; innocent in the sight of God, are among the expressions often used by theologians and religious writers and speakers.

God sees all things as they really are; not as man sees, often in quite a wrong light, always with some dimness or error of vision.

But it is a fearful perversion of truth to use these expressions, as if "in the sight of God" so qualified the sense, that the person so seen may, perhaps, not be really what he is in God's sight.

If the persons who use this expression mean that God is pleased to deal with an unjust person as if he were just, this is intelligible (although, as may be shown, it is untrue, and if true, it would be unjust); but this would not be the same as the unjust person being just in the sight of God. And the use of the expression, by those who intend such a meaning, is most unfair and confounding. It is true, that many who so use it are sincere men; so are many Mahomedans and Hindoos, and their sincerity does not make what they say right.

If God forgives the unjust man, he shows that he is unjust in God's sight; else he could not speak of forgiving him.

If God gives him grace to repent, He shows that he is unjust in his sight.

If God saves the unjust man, God shows that in his sight he is unjust. The saved sinner was, in the Saviour's sight, one who was so unjust that he was lost.

But when he is saved (yes, when the once impure is made pure) God sees it, even before the fruits can show it to man.

The heart purified by faith is open to God; and the sinner, when saved from his sins, is just in the sight of God, though God sees that he was unjust. Such were some of you; and God sees it was so; but "ye are washed," but "ye are sanctified." And so ye are in the sight of God.

But what, then, of the sins formerly committed?

They cannot be uncommitted, either really or in God's

sight. They are freely forgiven; even as ye, ye washed and sanctified ones, know that ye forgive them that trespassed against you.

God sees the wicked that they are wicked; and while this is so, they are wicked in God's sight.

God can never be satisfied till they are good, till He sees that they are good-made good by his gracious work turning them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan unto God; till He sees that their hearts are purified by the faith which worketh by love. When God, who was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, sees that one enemy is reconciled by the death of his Son, when He sees the enmity turned to love, then He sees that the bad is made good, and he who was bad in the sight of God (because God saw that he was bad) is now good in the sight of God (when God sees that he is good). And God sees each step in progress, from enmity to perfect love; from death in sin to perfect holiness; from destruction and misery to perfect bliss and what can be plainer than this, that as God sees each step, and as God sees each man at each step, so, at each step, is each man in the sight of God?

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If a man sees God as his loving though offended Father, he will not wish to throw any cloud of mystery over the expression, "In the sight of God;" but will say, "Look, Lord! look on me as I am; and help me to be what thou canst look upon with pleasure,—a redeemed lost one, a returned wanderer, a miserable one made happy, a son at home in a Father's house."

To bring us to this, Christ died; to see us this, God rejoiceth.