THE PERFECT LAW OF LIBERTY.*

BY JOSHUA SOULE, D. D.,

NOW SENIOR BISHOP OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH.

"But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed."-James i, 25.

A superficial attention to the gospel of Christ, both as it is recorded in the sacred writings, and proclaimed by its appointed ministers, may justly be considered among the principal causes of its partial success, either in regard to its influence over the heart and life of man as an individual, or its spread and establishment among the nations of the earth. Our Lord has sufficiently admonished us of the different effects which the ministry of his word would produce, according to the manner in which men received it, in the memorable parable of the sower and the seed. Four different classes "hear the word," but it is finally successful only in one. Hence that important caution, "Take heed how ye hear!" A large proportion of those who hear the "word preached," or read it in the "lively oracles," regard it rather as a matter of theory, or abstract science, than as a subject of experience and a rule of practice. Hence the best sermons, while they have been approved, admired, and applauded, have neither changed the hearts nor reformed the lives of the hearers. If at any time the light of truth has forced its way to the conscience, so as to disclose the deformity and the consequence of sin, like a man who beholds his natural face in the glass, they have gone away, and soon forgotten what manner of persons they were.

Of the importance and necessity of a practical application of the truths of the gospel, on the part of those who hear them, our blessed Saviour has informed us, at the close of his instructions in his sermon on the mount: "Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine,

A Sermon preached in Augusta, Georgia, January 14, 1927, before the South Carolina Conference.

and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded on a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell; and great was the fall of it."

In this most striking representation, both the characters described are hearers of the sayings of Jesus Christ. The fearful difference therefore in the final issue is, the result of doing or not doing the things they heard. If the preaching of the word is unprofitable, it is because it is not mixed with faith-even that faith which is unto obedience in them that hear it. It might be supposed that the pretensions of the gospel were sufficient to induce all men to a careful examination of the evidence on which its claims are founded; but more especially that the admission of its truth could not fail to produce a deep and lively interest in it. But, alas! what multitudes who profess to believe it to be a revelation from God, hear it, not as the gospel of their salvation-not as the only way of their reconciliation and eternal life-but rather as a subject with which they have little or no personal concern. To all who hear the sayings of Jesus Christ in this manner, the gospel will be a "savor of death unto death.” "But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed."

In the improvement to be made of this subject, we will

1. Consider the character which the apostle has given of the gospel of Christ; and,

2. The concern we have with it. And may the Holy Spirit, on whose agency the success of our efforts depends, enable us to speak and hear the word to profit-that we may obey from the heart the "form of doctrine" delivered to us, and know the truth that the truth may make us free.

I. The character which the apostle has given of the gospel.

By the gospel is to be understood, the system of divine economy in the salvation of sinners, by the mediation of Jesus Christ; embracing all the doctrines, precepts, promises, and threatenings, re

vealed and made known by Christ and his inspired apostles. This grand system of human salvation has frequently been considered merely as a development of the divine benevolence, or a display of the abundant mercy of God to sinners, without due regard to the great designs of moral government, in the establishment and preservation of order among men, as intelligent beings and accountable agents.

There is indeed no correct view which we can take of the "gospel of the grace of God," in which it does not appear to be "glad tidings of great joy;" but if it has any oue attribute which excels another, as a ground of joy and gladness, it is that which provides for and enjoins obedience to the will of God, and requires holiness on earth as necessary to happiness in heaven. Such, we conceive, is the character which St. James has drawn of the "glorious gospel." It is a law a law of liberty-a perfect law of liberty.

First. The gospel of Jesus Christ possesses the properties of law. It makes known the true character of God as our divine lawgiver. The works of creation, and the order established in the kingdom of nature, display the perfections of the Creator, and on this account may be called a law. "The heavens declare the glory of the Lord, and the firmament showeth his handiwork." "For the invisible things of Him, from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse." But the revelation of Jesus Christ makes manifest all the attributes of the divine natureall the moral as well as the natural perfections of him whose habitation is eternity. It clearly declares the unity of God, and the harmony of all his glorious attributes in the moral government of the world.

The gospel imposes obligations from God. It teaches us the relations existing between God and us, and the obligations founded in those relations. He is our creator, and we are his creatures, his workmanship. He is our preserver, and we the subjects of his constant and efficient agency. "In him we live and move and have our being." He is our bountiful and gracious benefactor, and we the partakers of his continual care. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights." He is our redeemer, and we are his purchased inheritance. He is our governor, and we are his lawful objects. Out of these relations,