Year: 1872

-. For the Alexandria Gazette
Parsonage Papers. No. 10.
BY Rev. Dr. KrLLGoRE, Pastor Methodist


Protestant Church, Alexandria, Va
THE MORAL NATURE OF GOD, AND THE MORAL


NATURE OF THE SINNER.


Gods moral nature is infinitely holy 81
the Lord, am holy St. John says. "This is
the message which we have heard of him, and
declare unto you, that God is light t'-transcen-
dent, infinite purity-"and in him is no dark
ness at all. :"


By the holiness of God, we understand that
infinite perfection of his moral nature, by which
he is possessed of all moral goodness. and placed
at an infinite distance from all moral evil, SO
that to be anything else than holy is impossible
to God.


The holiness of God differs in many respects,
from that of all holy creatures The holiness
of creatures consists In their being contormed
to the nature of their Creator They derive it
from him, either through his goodness in their
creation, or through his mercy and grace in
their salvation. Their holiness is also limited
as they are finite creatures; but the holiness Of
God is neither derived, dependent, nor finite
it is an essential attribute of his moral nature,
and is therefore, absolute, Independent, inf
mite, and eternal All his voIitions, thoughts,
words, and acts, are essentially, morally good.
In the view of holy creatures, what an admir-
able Being is God. The beauty of holiness in
him, is infrite, and whenever this beauty cx
lists in creatures, angelic or human, in earth or
iD heaven, God is its author; and yet the holi
ness existent in all the millions of God S crea-
lures throughout the universe is but spark
from the infinite blaze Of the ''Sun of Righte-
ousuess;" or but as drop from the limitless
ocean of the holiness Of God. ''Of his fulness
have we received. :"


The, more we know Of God, by his Holy
Spirit, through Christ the more we becume
impressed with sense OF the holiness OF his
character Angels who most probably have
far more comprehensive intellects than men,
and who have been shining during ages un-
known In his immediate presence, and who
know exceedingly much of Gods works. and
whose views of his nature and character are far
more clear and comprehensive than ours, while
10 the body they see no stain on his charac-
ter; on the contrary. as they progress 10 know
ledge, and assimilate to his image, such are
their rapturously impressive views aud emo
tious that they fold their brilliant wings over
their faces, as if overwhelmed by the infinite
splendor of his holiness, crying Holy, holys
holy. Lord God Almighty" Isa vi 81 Rev.
,iv. s.


Still there will be an iu6nity of holiness be-
yoad what is, or can be seen by the millions Of
holy ones, angelic and human, who shall con-
stitute the population Of heaven. His infinite
perfection of holiness never can be comprehend
ed. Millions of miles could not compass the
physical universe! Numberless millions Of IL
uite spirits, however capacious their minds,
cannot comprehend the Infinite perfection of
God His holiness is strikingly displayed in
the death of Christ for human transgression.
Ia the cross of Christ the rational universe wit
ness the most clear and imposing exhibition of
the holiness of the Lord God Almighty His
compassion for the world was inconceivable, but
his holiness could not be compromised. Being
absolutely holy, he could not redeem and save
man from mental punishment at the expense OF
his truth aud Justice. Aud In the death of his
webeloved Son, as sin offering for .'us all,
we have an extraordinary display of Divine
wisdom setting forth the boundless compassion
of God, blended with his infinite holiness.
What awful grandeur associates itself with
Gods holiness when we see Jesus who had
Voluntarily engaged to do the will of His Father,
bruised, grieved and wounded for our trans
gressions and finally slain "for US, ;, From
Christ's sufferings and death we may learn how
intense is God hatred of sin. His word teach
es the same truth. ''The righteous Lord loveth
righteousness and hateth wIckedness Sin Is
.abhorrent to his nature He is of purer eyes
than to behold evil"


Having glanced at the character of Deity, let
us now describe the character of the sinner. His
moral nature is the opposite Of Gods. God is
light" the sinner is darkness; he is child OF
darkness; he is governed by the rulers OF dark
ness, Eph ii, 2; he loves darkness and lives IN
enmity against God. He is, therefore, often
ssive to the holiness of God, and is exposed to
his wrath; Then it is impossible for the in
fuitely holy One to admit the impentent sinner
to his presence He who naturally and intense
ily abhors evil, and who has given indisputable
evidence of this to his creatures can never con-
nve at it. He will by no means clear the
guilty. His hatred of sin is, and will necessarl-
" remain what it ever was. There is no en-
ioyment of God for an uuholy soul.


"What fellowship hath righteousness with
unrighteousness? and what communion hath
light with darkness? These opposite qualities
cannot harmonic. Opposite spiritual natures
cannot have fellowship Fire and water would
agree sooner than the light OF God and the
darkness of the sinner There is an infuite diff
ference and distance between them. Thou art
not God that hath pleasure in wickedness;
neither shall evil dwell with thee.


There is on the part of the unholy soul 20
adaptation for the enjoyment of God. Only he
who is Godlike, or on full stretch to be so, can
delight in the Lord, and enjoy him. Carnal or
Laodicean souls have no true union with God,
nor love for him ''If we say that we have
fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we
lie and do not the truth An unholy soul can
not, in the nature of things, enjoy the Lord
its element is darkness and rebellion. A wiltul
sinner loves darkness in accordance with the
essential affections and tendencies OF his moral
nature-he. resists God, and shrinks in enmity
from his holiness. A wilful transgresSor cannot
have even natural desire to live in heaven; tor
as the essence of heaven will consist in the en-
ioyment of Cod and as the carnal mind is en-
corrupt nature, even desire to see the
Lord and as He is. light, and the sinner is
darkness, he can no more see the Lord, to his
comfort than he could exist in fire without
constitution adapted to such an element;-can
no more see the Lord than a man without eyes