CHAPTER III.

HOLINESS ATTAINABLE.

Is the high state of moral and spiritual excellence described in the preceding chapter attainable in this life? This is the question we are now about to dis

cuss.

Many a spacious and beautiful theory has perished for want of proof. The most magnificent structure may be valueless because of the insecurity of its foundation. Not all that is beautiful is true.

In this chapter it is our intention to present the proof upon which we rely for the support of the foregoing views. And whence shall the proof be derived? "To whom shall we go?" Not to creeds, or decretals, or ecclesiastical canons, or councils! To the Bible!—what saith the Lord? All will admit the propriety of this appeal. We do not discard or disparage the opinions of the wise and good; but, however much we may esteem them, they are of no authority in matters of religious faith. We may thankfully employ them as helps, but dare not rest in them as infallible guides. We adhere to that sentiment of the illustrious Stillingfleet, I believe it was,sentiment worthy to be written upon the sky, and read by all generations,-"The Bible-the Bible alone, is the religion of Protestants." Employing all lesser lights as aids, and rejoicing in them, we look away, and beyond them, for fuller illumination, and sufficient instruction, to Him who is the light of the world and the teacher of his people. Let us, therefore, immediately address ourselves to

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the study of the holy oracles, and find what they teach upon the subject.

There are several methods for ascertaining the teaching of the Bible; but these may be generally classified into the direct and inferential. The direct is that in which a truth is plainly and unequivocally asserted; the inferential is that in which truth is implied in, or may be inferred from, something explicitly stated, or deduced as a logical consequence from either words or doctrines clearly laid down in the Bible.

The direct may generally be assumed to be the safer and more authoritative method; but under certain restrictions, and within some limits, the inferential may be of undoubted reliability indeed, an inference, or a logical deduction, sometimes is equivalent to the strongest and most emphatic declaration, in clearness, certainty, and sanction.

Applying the direct method, one single inspired declaration is competent to establish any truth. Nothing more than this is necessary. Repeated and varied statements of the same thing may heighten the certainty that the exact idea is apprehended; but one "thus saith the Lord," is eternally sufficient to settle the most difficult proposition.

One clear inference is sufficient to create conviction of truth; not perhaps competent to remove all doubt, unless the inference be, as is the case in some instances, tantamount with the most emphatic assertion-then it carries with it all the force of a "thus saith the Lord."

In this treatise we shall employ both these methods for eliciting the Divine teaching; and we hope to sustain our position, not by a single and isolated declaration only, or a single inference only, but by a great number of both direct and inferential proofs, of the most unequivocal and irre

sistible authority-declarations so various, contained in commands, promises, prayers, exhortations, statements, and narratives; and inferences so diversified, arising from so many sources, as to convince every candid reader that the doctrine we contend for is not limited to a bare and questionable place, a doubtful and uncertain existence in the holy records, but is repletely and abundantly, explicitly and with great clearness, embodied as a cardinal feature throughout the whole system. It breathes in the prophecy-thunders in the law-murmurs in the narrative-whispers in the promises--supplicates in the prayers-sparkles in the poetry-resounds in the songsspeaks in the types-glows in the imagery-voices in the language and burns in the spirit, of the whole scheme, from its alpha to omega, from its beginning to its end. Holiness! Holiness needed! Holiness required! Holiness offered! Holiness attainable! Holiness a present duty a present privilege a present enjoyment, is the progress and completeness of its wondrous theme! It is the truth glowing all over-webbing all through revelation; the glorious truth which sparkles, and whispers, and sings, and shouts, in all its history, and biography, and poetry, and prophecy, and precept, and promise, and prayer; the great central truth of the system. The wonder is, that all do not see, that any rise up to question, a truth so conspicuous, so glorious, so full of comfort.

1. It is directly taught in the Scriptures.

For the convenience of our readers, we will cite, in connexion, a large number of passages in which the doctrine is taught. After presenting a partial exhibit of the volume of evidence, we will classify and arrange it for the fuller realization of its force and sufficiency. At present, we will

simply array quotations bearing directly upon the point; and what we have here collected, has only been the labour of a few hours, and a very incomplete research.

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Passages in which it is taught by command.-"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength, and thy neighbour as thyself." Luke x, 27. "Be ye holy; for I am holy." 1 Pet. i, 16. "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." Heb. xii, 14. "Be ye perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Matt. v, 48. Hear, O Israel: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy soul, and with all thy might." Deut. vi, 5. "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people; but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord. Ye shall keep my statutes." Lev. xix, 18. "And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, to keep the com-. mandments of the Lord thy God, and his statutes, which I command thee this day, for thy good? Circumcise, therefore, the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiff-necked." Deut. x, 12, 13, 16. "Serve God with a perfect heart and willing mind; for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth the imagination of the thoughts." 1 Chron. xxviii, 9. "This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you." John xv, 12. "Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and faith unfeigned." 1 Tim. i, 5. "Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall

be with you." 2 Cor. xiii, 11. "I give thee charge in the sight of God, . . . that thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Tim. vi, 13, 14. "Sanctify yourselves, therefore, and be ye holy. . . . And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the Lord which sanctify you." Lev. xx, 7, 8. "I am the Almighty God: walk before me, and be thou perfect." Gen. xvii, 1. "But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy." 1 Pet. i, 15, 16.

Passages in which it is taught in exhortation.—“ Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." 2 Cor. vii, 1. "Therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection." Heb. vi, 1. "Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded." Phil. iii, 15.

Passages in which it is taught in promise." Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you." Ezek. xxxvi, 25. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." Matt. v, 6. "In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found." Jer. 1, 20. And the Lord thy God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live." Deut. xxx, 6. "Come, now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though