PART II. mind, by which the objects in the moral world are seen in a true light; and where this eye, this difcerning, is not, the mind is in total darkness with respect to moral objects. The reafon of this is here given, "For God is love." As love comprehends all moral excellence, and in this the moral character of God confifts; therefore he who loveth not, cannot have any true idea or conception of love; he cannot know the divine moral character, which is love. Love is here to be understood in its general nature, "Every one that loveth. He that loveth not," That is, he whofe heart is not formed to the exercise of univerfal, difinterested benevolence. This, as has been fhown, comprehends all virtuous, holy love; and is the fame affection, whether it be exercised towards God or our neighbour. All the difference is owing to the dif ference of the objects of this fame love. In this view, it appears that the fame thing is afferted by this apoftle in the preceding part of this epiftle. He fays, "He that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness even until now. But he that loveth his brother abideth in the light.' He that loveth is born of God, and is divinely illuminated, and knoweth God, and the objects of the moral world, and walketh. in the light. He that loveth not is in total darkness with refpect to these objects; he hath not feen God, nor knows him: For the pure in heart only, that is, they who love, fee God. Love is the only light of the moral world. Could this be extinguished, all would be total darkness. And they who are fallen into the darkness of fin, or felf love, in which all fin radically confifts, as has been shown, can be recovered to light, by that renovation only, that purity of heart which confifts in love, or difinterested affection. Hence it appears, that when this Apoftle fays, "God is light," and "God is love," he does not mean any thing really different by light, and Chap. ii. 9, 10, 11. Math. v. 8. ↑ Chap. i. 5. love; Chap. iv. 8. love; for they cannot be diftinguished; but are the in fame thing. Light is love, and love is light, This fame fentiment, which is inculcated by the ApofFrtle John in the paffages juft confidered, is also afferted by St. Paul, in the following words. "Knowledge puferfeth up, but love edifieth. If any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know." That is, if any man who does not love, think he has true knowledge by mere fpeculation, and that all light and knowledge confifts in this, and defires and feeks no other, he does yet know nothing respecting moral, fpiritual objects, as he ought to know, and must know, in order to have the true knowledge of God. "But if any man love God, he [that is God] is known by him." That is, if any man have love, he is illuminated, and has true light and knowledge, which does not confift in mere fpeculation, but in the fenfations and tafte of the heart, by which he difcerns the divine character with approbation, and knows the only true God; which is the knowledge that all men ought to have, as they are commanded to love, and all their duty lies in this. All mere fpeculative knowledge that is poffible to be attained without love, leaves men in total moral darknefs, in the exercife of felfifhnefs and pride, in oppofition to every part and degree of their duty. Agreeable to this, the fame Apostle fays, "With the heart man believeth unto righteoufnefs."* That light and difcerning refpecting the truths of the gofpel, and the character of Chrift, which is implied in true faith, is not mere fpeculation, but depends on the difpofition and exercises of the heart. Therefore Chrift fays to the Jews, "how can ye believe, which receive honour one of another; and feek not the honour which cometh from God only ?" In these words it is declared that selfishnefs and pride, which are directly opposed to that love which Nn4 which confifts in difinterested affection, do blind the mind to spiritual objects, and effectually fhut out that light and difcerning which is effential to faith in Chrift; and that they only whofe hearts are benevolent and humble, have the true light, and fee fpiritual objects as faith beholds them. We are taught the fame thing by Chrift, when speaking exprefsly and particularly of illumination. His words are, "The light of the body is the eye: If therefore thine eye be fingle, thy whole body fhall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee, be darkness, how great is that darkness."* Our divine teacher is here fpeaking of moral or fpiritual light and darkness, and fays, that these are as the eye of the mind is, and depend on the fingle or evil eye. If we attend to the fcripture, we may learn what is meant by the fingle and evil eye, Jefus Chrift fays, " From within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lafcivioufnefs, an evil eye, blafphemy, pride, foolifhnefs. All thefe evil things come from within, and defile the man." From thefe words we learn, that an evil eye belongs to the heart, and is an exercife of the heart, as it cometh out of the heart. Therefore it is of a moral nature, and is itself criminal, as it is called an evil thing, and is ranked among other things, which are moral evils or fins, and defile men. We may infer from this with great certainty, that moral darknefs belongs to the heart, and not the intellect, as diftinguifhed from thatThat it confifls in the exercife of the heart, and is in itfelf criminal, in every degree of it. And it may with equal certainty be determined, from other paffages of fcripture, what is the particular nature of that difpofition and exercife which is called an evil *Matth. vi. 22, 23. Mark vii. 21, 22, 23. cre, eye, and in what this evil eye confifts. Our Lord reprefents the householder, who hired men to work in his vineyard, at different times in the day, and ordered his teward to give as much wages to those who had laboured but one hour, as to those who had laboured the whole day; as faying to one of the latter who complained of this, "Is thine eye evil, becaufe I am good ?" Here a contracted, selfish, envious spirit, is called an evil eye; and is opposed to goodness of heart, or benevolence, which is here called a good eye; and must be the fame. with a fingle eye. An evil eye always means selfishness, and that affection of heart which is included in it, whenever it is mentioned in the fcripture. There are the following inftances of this. When God commands the Ifraelites to open their hand wide, and give liberally to their poor brethren, he adds the following words: "Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, faying, The feventh year, the year of release is at hand : And thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou giveft him nought, and he cry unto the Lord against thee, and it be fin unto thee."§ Here again, an evil eye is a felfifh difpofition of heart, in oppofition to goodness or benevolence of heart. The fame thing is denoted by an evil eye in the following paffages: "Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye; neither defire thou his dainty meat. For as he thinketh in his heart, fo is he Eat and drink, faith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee." Here his evil eye confifts in the thoughts and difpofition of his heart, which are opposed to his generous benevolent expreffions, and really against this gueft, which can be nothing but a felfish, covetous difpofition. "He that hafteth to be rich, hath an evil eye." Nothing but a felfifh, inordinate craving, and a covetous fpirit, will prompt men to make hafte to be rich. Having † Matth. xx. 15. § Deut. xv. 9. ¡ Prov. xxiii. 6, 7. * Prov. xxviii. 22. PART II, Having found what an evil eye is; that it confifts in that difpofition and those exercises of heart which are evil and criminal; in that felf love which is contrary to benevolence and true goodness of heart, and fills the mind with moral darkness It is easy to determine what is meant by a fingle eye, viz. that difpofition of heart, which is oppofed to selfishness. It is an upright, good, benevolent heart, or true, difinterested, benevolent love. This is evident from the paffages of scripture already mentioned. A liberal, benevolent difpofition, and a good eye, which is the fame, is fet in oppofition to an evil eye. The fingle eye, is the fame with a bountiful eye, "He that hath a bountiful eye fhall be bleffed: For he giveth of his bread to the poor."* That the fingle eye confifts in benevolence and goodnefs of heart is evident (if any farther evidence be needed) in that the word in the original awλes, translated fingle, when a substantive, anλorns, is used for liberality, bountifulness, or benevolence. It is fo ufed in the following paffages of fcripture. "He that giveth, let him do it with fimplicity." [arλorn.] That is, with a liberal, bountiful heart.† "How that in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy, and their deep poverty, abounded unto the riches of their liberality." [anλornlos] "Being enrichI ed in every thing, to all bountifulness." [tis maσav anhoΓείς πασαν απλο "While, by the experiment of this miniftration, they glorify God for your profeffed fubjection unto the gofpel of Chrift, and for your liberal diftribution [anλornlı Tns nowwvías] unto them, and unto all men." "Who giveth to all men liberally [anλws] and upbraideth not."¶ It is easy to see that this reprefentation of a fingle and an evil eye agrees exactly with those paffages of fcripture which have been mentioned above, in which difinterested love, as opposed to selfishness, is spoken of as effential * Prov. xxii. 9. + Rom. xii. 8. || Ver. 13. 2 Cor. viii. a. Jam. i. s. § Chap. ix. 11. |