and defires of his heart, and recovering him to a contrary tafte and difpofition of mind. And it is equally reasonable and certain that the more. inward lufts of the heart, felfishness and pride, which are the effence, root, strength and support of these lufts which have been mentioned, and of all others, fhould be attended with moral blindness, where they reign, and are blindnefs, and moral darkness itfelf: And that true illumination and moral light confifts in an oppofite difpofition and taste of mind. Things of a moral nature have relation to the exercises of the heart; and fin and holiness. confist in self love, and benevolence, as has been shown. He whose heart is deftitute of benevolent affection, can have no true idea of it, because ideas of exercises of heartare obtained by having exercises of that kind, and ng other way. Therefore he who exercifes no true love, knows not the true moral character of God; for this confifts in love. And when this affection takes place in his, heart, he has fpiritual difcerning, moral light breaks in upon his mind, he is turned from darkness to light, and. fees and knows God, in his true moral character, and has fome right view of things of the moral world. Agree able to this, Solomon fays, "Evil men understand not judgment: But, they that feek the Lord, understand all things.' This light and difcerning, by which the true beauty and excellence of moral objects is seen, is not attainable by any kind or degree of mere intellectual fpeculation, as diftinguished from relifh and exercife of the heart. Moral beauty, amiablenefs and excellence is not the object of mere intellect or understanding, as diftinguished from the will or heart; it is the object of taste, which belongs to the heart, and implies inclination and exercife of heart, and confifts in it. Beauty and amiableness is difcerned by tafte; and feeing beauty implies inclination to it, or love of it. Benevolent, difinterefted affec Prov. xxviii, 5. tion, which, as has been obferved, is the fingle eye, is that in which true moral tafte confifts. This belongs to the heart, and where this exifts, things of the moral world appear in their true beauty and amiableness, and are relished and loved. On the contrary, self love, which implies every finful affection and luft, is that in which a wrong bias and tafte of heart confifts. It is blind to moral beauty; and those moral objects and affections, in which all the true beauty, amiableness and excellence in the univerfe confift, appears difagreeable and odious, fo far as they are seen, which is real averfion, and hatred of them. This is blindness indeed! The only moral blindnefs; and the greatest darkness and delufion that can be in nature. It calls evil good, and good evil; it puts darkness for light, and light for darknefs; bitter for fweet, and fweet for bitter. This will appear more evident and clear, perhaps, by confidering the nature and tendency of felf love, which comprehends every vice and luft of the mind, and is exercised in all fin; and the oppofite nature of universal difinterested benevolence, in which all true virtue is implied. Self love is an evil eye, which will not admit the light that discovers and brings into clear view, all the grand, beautiful and glorious objects in the moral world. It is faft fhut against all thofe, and excludes them wholly from fight. ↑ Ifa. v. 20.—All this is implied in what Hierocles, a heathen, has obferved and afferted, viz. "The mind deftitute of virtue, cannot fee the beauty of truth." "Spiritual underftanding confifts primarily in a fenfe of beart of fpiritual beauty: I say, a sense of heart; for it is not fpeculation merely that is concerned in this kind of understanding: Nor can there be a clear diftinction made between the two faculties of understanding and will, as acting diftinctly and separately, in this matter. When the mind is sensible of the fweet beauty and amiableness of a thing, that implies a fenfibleness of sweetness and delight in the prefence of the idea of it. And this sensibleness of the amiableness or delightfulness of beauty, carries in the very nature of it the fenfe of the heart; or an effect and impreffion the foul is the fubject of, as a subject poffeffed of tafte, inclination and will." Edwards on Gra gious Affections. Page 163, 164. First Edition. fight. It fees and regards but one infinitely little, diminutive object, felf; it finks the mind down and contracts it to this, and will not look at any other object, or intereft, but this contracted selfish one. It feels as if this was the great and only intereft, and fubordinates every other being and intereft, and every poffible publick good, to a private personal intereft, feeing no other good but that which is suited to promote a personal, selfifh good. This felf love is therefore, in the nature of it, total blindness to the infinite importance of the being of God, and the amiableness and excellence of his character; and to the worth and glory of his kingdom, and defirableness of the greatest publick good. And consequently, does not see the amiablenefs and worth of that difinterested, univerfal benevolence, which leeks the greatest good of the whole, and fixes on this, as the grand and most desirable object, and fubordinates the interest of individuals to the common intereft, and greatest good of the whole; and cannot have any relish or tafte for this; but must be difpleased with it and hate it, and all the beings who are of this character, as they are disposed to facrifice and give up all his personal intereft, which he holds as the only good, when neceffary to promote the general good. This felf love therefore is enmity against God, and the general good; and that affection must be hateful to the felfifh perfon, which feeks the glory of God, and the greatest good of his kingdom, and does not regard, but gives up the interest of individuals, fo far as the latter is inconfiftent with the former. Thus felf love is totally blind, to the only great and real good in the universe, and to all the true beauty and excellence in it: This is the blindness, the darkness and deception of every one who loves his own felf only. This darkness as it has its foundation in the heart, and confifts in the reigning affection of it, cannot be removed by any merely intellectual light, knowledge and reasoning, but re mains in its greatnefs and full ftrength, whatever the derstanding, confidered as diftin&t from the will, mad dictate, as there is no connection between mere intelle tual knowledge, and the tafte and inclination of th heart, and the former cannot alter the latter. This C verified by experience, in the innumerable inftance of the tafte and inclination of the heart contradicting and counteracting the con viction and dictates of the unde ftanding, the former choofing that as good and bef and purfuing it, while the latter pronounces it to be wrong and evil.* Difinterested, univerfal benevolence, or that difpof tion of heart which implies this, which is "an hond and good, or benevolent heart," is the SINGLE EYL This gives that light to the mind, in which it difcens the grand objects coinprised in univerfal being; and fees what is the true, the greateft and only good of the unverse; and fixes on this as the first object of choice and purfuit. This brings into view the firft caufe of all, the infinite fource, and the fum of all being, as really exifting, and fees him to be the first and great object of regard and benevolence. This discerns, tastes and relishes the true moral beauty and excellence of univerfal benevolence; approves of it and delights in it as the fupreme moral good, and as comprehending the whole of it. It fees God as infinitely great, and infinitely benevolent or good, rejoices in his felicity and glory, and says, "Let him reign fupreme, and be glorified to the higheft degree forever," as involving the greatest good, the highest This was perceived by a heathen poet, and expreffed in the following words : Sed trahit invi tam nova vis, aliudque cupido; righest happiness and glory of his kingdom: It is pleafwith the divine moral character, comprehended in etis infinite benevolence, or goodness, and delights in it Dove all things elfe. Thus he who loveth, knoweth lod, for God is love. And he who has this honeft and good heart, this dif iterested, benevolent affection, sees the beauty, imporince, righteousness and goodness of the law of God, hich requires perfect love, univerfal benevolence, with all that affection which is involved in it, of every moral gent, on pain of his higheft difpleasure. He confe uently fees all oppofition to this law to be infinitely "dious and deteftable; and therefore views his own charter, as a finner, as unfpeakably hateful, and abhors imself, and fees the reason why God does hate all fin, nd the propriety and defirablenefs that he should exrefs and manifeft his high displeasure at it, and infinite pposition to it, in threatening it with a juft, deserved, ndlefs punishment. And by all this, he is prepared o behold and underftand the gospel, and fee the truth, vifdom and glory of it, which exhibits infinite benevoence in the most advantageous and ftriking light, and is uited in the best manner to promote the henour of God, and the greatest happiness of his kingdom. And the character of Chrift will come into view as infinitely amiable, worthy and important; and the benevolent heart will approve, love and rejoice. This is that knowledge of the only true God, and Jefus Chrift whom he has fent, which is eternal life: It is the light of life, which is the attainment of all the followers of Chrift. He who hath this love, "abideth in the light, and there is no occafion of ftumbling in him."* From all that has been now observed on this fubject, it is easy to fee, that divine illumination is effected by the renovation of the heart of man, by the Spirit of God, by which it is no longer wholly felfish, and under |