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TREATISE

CONCERNING

RELIGIOUS AFFECTIONS.

PART I.

CONCERNING THE NATURE OF THE AFFECTIONS, AND THEIR IMPORTANCE IN RELIGION.

1 PETER I. 8.

"Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory."

In these words, the apostle represents the state of the minds of the Christians to whom he wrote, under the persecutions to which they were then subject. It is to these persecutions he has respect, in the two preceding verses, when he speaks of the trial of their faith, and of their being in heaviness through manifold temptations.

Such trials are of three-fold benefit to true religion. Hereby its truth is manifested, and it appears to be indeed true religion: trials, above all other things, have a tendency to distinguish between true and false religion, and to make the difference

between them evidently to appear. Hence they are called by the name of trials, in the verse preceding the text, and in many other places: they try the faith and religion of professors, of what sort it is, as apparent gold is tried in the fire, and manifested whether it be true gold or not. And the faith of true Christians being thus tried and proved to be true, is found, as stated in that verse, to praise, and honour, and glory.

Besides, these trials are of further benefit to true religion; they not only manifest its truth, but they make its genuine beauty and amiableness remarkably to appear. True virtue never appears so lovely, as when it is most oppressed; and the divine excellency of real Christianity is never exhibited with such advantage, as when under the greatest trials: then it is that true faith appears much more precious than gold; and, upon this account, is found to praise, and honour, and glory.

Again, another benefit of such trials to true religion is, that they purify and increase it. They not only manifest it to be true, but they tend to refine it, and deliver it from those false mixtures which incumber and impede it, that nothing may be left but that which is true. They not only tend to make the amiableness of true religion appear to the best advantage, but they tend to increase its beauty, by establishing and confirming it, making it more lively and vigorous, and purifying it from those things that obscured its lustre and glory. As gold that is tried in the fire is purged from its alloy, and all remainders of dross, and comes forth more solid and beautiful; so true faith being tried like gold in the fire, becomes

more precious; and thus also is found unto praise, and honour, and glory. The apostle seems to have respect to each of these benefits of persecution to true religion, in the verse preceding the text.

And in the text, the apostle observes how true religion operated in the Christians to whom he wrote, under their persecutions, by which these benefits of persecution appeared in them, It was by these persecutions their religion was manifested to be true religion, and eminently appeared in its genuine beauty and amiableness; and it also appeared to be increased and purified, and so was found unto praise, and honour, and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ. And there were two kinds of operation, or exercise of true religion, in them, under their sufferings, of which the apostle takes notice in the text, wherein these benefits appeared.

1. Love to Christ: "Whom having not seen, ye love." The world was ready to wonder, what strange principle it was that influenced them to expose themselves to so great sufferings, to forsake the things that were seen, and renounce all those objects of sense that were dear and pleasant. They seemed to the men of the world as though they were beside themselves, and to act as though they hated themselves; there was nothing in their view that could induce them thus to suffer, or to support them under, and carry them through, such trials. But although there was nothing visible that the world saw, or that the Christians themselves ever saw with their bodily eyes, that thus influenced and supported them, yet they had a supernatural principle of love to something unseen; they loved Jesus Christ, for they saw him

spiritually whom the world saw not, and whom they themselves had never seen with bodily eyes.

2. Joy in Christ. Though their outward sufferings were very grievous, yet their inward spiritual joys were greater than their sufferings; and these supported and enabled them to suffer with cheerfulness.

"In

There are two things of which the apostle takes notice in the text concerning this joy. 1st, The manner in which it rises, and the way in which Christ, though unseen, is the foundation of it, namely, by faith; which is the evidence of things not seen: whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice." 2d, The nature of this joy; "unspeakable, and full of glory." Unspeakable in the nature of it; very different from worldly joys, and carnal delights; of a vastly more pure, sublime, and heavenly nature, being something supernatural, and truly divine; and so ineffably excellent, that there were no words to set forth the sublimity and exquisite sweetness of it. It was unspeakable also in degree; it pleasing God to give them this holy joy, with a liberal hand, and in large measure, in their state of persecution.

Their joy was full of glory. Although the joy was unspeakable, and no words were sufficient to describe it, yet something might be said of it, and no words more fit to represent its excellency than these, that it was full of glory; or, as it is in the original, glorified joy. In rejoicing with this joy, their minds were filled, as it were, with a glorious brightness, and their natures exalted and perfected. It was a most worthy, noble rejoicing, that did not corrupt and debase the mind, as many carnal joys do; but did greatly beautify and dignify it: it was a prelibation of the

joy of heaven, that raised their minds to a degree of heavenly blessedness; it filled their minds with the light of God's glory, and made themselves to shine with some communication of that glory.

Hence, the proposition or doctrine that I would draw from these words is this

DOCTRINE-True religion, in a great measure, consists in holy affections.

We see that the apostle, in observing the operations and exercises of religion in the Christians to whom he wrote, and in remarking wherein their religion appeared to be true and of the right kind, when it had its greatest trial, being tried by persecution of what sort it was, as gold is tried in the fire, and when their religion not only proved true, but was most pure, and cleansed from its mixtures of that which was not true, and when religion appeared in them most in its genuine excellency and native beauty, and was found to praise, and honour, and glory, he singles out the religious affections of love and joy, that were then in exercise in them these are the exercises of religion of which he takes notice, wherein their religion did thus appear true and pure, and in its proper glory. Here I would,

I. Show what is intended by the affections. II. Observe some things which make it evident, that a great part of true religion lies in the affections.

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