1.A 17. LETTER XVII
LETTER XVII.
Meekness another fruit of the Spirit-Meekness and gentleness explained-Opposed to hardness-Meekness makes a person gentle and docUe Poetry Temperance explained Includes a proper government of all our appetites and passions Such person participate* of all the good things of life with thank fullness The Great God stoops to man Poetry quoted.
Mr DEAR M : The next fruit of the Spirit mentioned by the apostle is MEEKNESS. The radical meaning of the word from which this is translated is, to pound or bruise, and hence it describes a certain softness or mellowness of mind, produced by the internal operation, of the Holy Spirit, which makes the mind yield with facility to the impressions of truth. It stands, therefore, opposed to a certain stiffness or roughness of mind which appears in an unenlightened and uncultivated understanding which refuses to bow to truth, however forcibly expressed, and which unfits a man to be an agreeable member of society; so stiff, indeed, is he, that he will break before he will bend. The two persons the one that is meek and lowly, and the one that is stiff and lofty may be fitly compared to the green and the dry trees. While the former takes deep root in the earth, whence it derives sap and nourishment, and thence grows thriftily, gently bends to the breeze, so that every blast only tends to fasten its roots still deeper in the earth, and thus adds to its strength and thriftiness, the dead tree, standing stiff and unyielding, receives the blast, breaks instead of bending, and falls prostrate to the ground. Just so the man whose heart is the seat of sanctifying grace. He is firmly " rooted and grounded in Christ Jesus," and from him he receives daily supplies of grace and truth, by which his soul is nourished and strengthened; and while the blasts of temptation may fall heavily upon him, he may occasionally reel to and fro, while his soul, fixed upon the Rock of Ages, remains " steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord;" and he de rives spiritual benefit from everything he hears, sees, or experiences, whether it be from friend or foe. In the midst of all these things, he meekly bows to the dictates of unerring Wisdom, receiving instruction from every source, whether it come from above or beneath, whether from God or Satan. Not so the dry, stiff Pharisee, or the lukewarm professor of religion. His heart, empty of the "meek and lowly mind" which was in Christ, and tilled with vain and high conceits of himself, frets and chafes under disappointments, presents a stiff front to every antagonist, lifts his proud heart against the providence of God, until he is finally crushed beneath the frowns of a justly- incensed Deity. There is no other way for him to escape this sad catastrophe, but to " break up the fallow-ground of the heart, and sow no more among thorns" let his heart be so mellowed that it will yield to the impressions of truth and goodness. This meekness of mind differs from gentleness, which, though mentioned first, refers to the external deportment, while meekness refers to the internal disposition : so that a man who is meek is gentle meekness qualifying him for that gentleness which distinguishes the refined, the sanctified Christian. These graces the one working in the heart, the other showing itself in the life form a peculiar gracefulness of temper and demeanour, which commends the person on whom they sit in holy loveliness, as worthy of all praise, all confidence and love. Like Eve in Paradise, as described by Milton, "For softness she, and sweet attractive grace." The female especially who is adorned with these heavenly fruits, meekness and gentleness, shines in every circle in which she moves. Hence this " meek and quiet spirit," being that " inward adorning" which the apostle Peter so highly commends, is so far preferable to the " outward adorning of plaiting" or curling "the hair, and of wearing of gold, or putting on" gay or costly "apparel." Do you not, my dear M., greatly prefer this inward adorning, exemplified in gentleness of deportment, to all the mere tinsel of fashionable ornaments the empty frippery of the super cilious fop? I know you do, and therefore you sing so heartily the following lines, Give me "A heart resign’d, submissive, MEEK, My great Redeemer’s throne, Where only Christ is heard to speak, Where Jesus reigns alone."
It is thus that you obey the precept of Jesus Christ when he said, " Learn of me, for I am
MEEK and LOWLY of heart." He not only be comes an exemplar for our imitation, but he en gages to work within us this heavenly disposition, by the internal energies of his Holy Spirit, moulding us into his own likeness, and stamping his image of meekness upon our hearts, so that we exemplify that spirit of tenderness of which the apostle speaks, when he tells the Thessalonians that he was "GENTLE among them, even as a nurse cherisheth her children." In perfect conformity with this sentiment, the poet teaches us to sing as follows :
" O that I, as a little child, May follow thee, and never rest, Till thou hast sweetly breathed thy MILD And LOWLY mind into my breast; Nor ever may we parted be, Till I become ONE SPIRIT with thee!"
See a person thus adorned with meekness and gentleness moving around in the circle of obedience to the commandments of God, and mingling in the society of his friends! He is so far from exacting that strict attention to him which i sense of justice and propriety would seem to dictate, he takes offence at nothing, but pays all due respect and Christian courtesy to all; and though he sees and deplores, as keenly as any one else, the foibles of others, he hides them under the mantle of charity, and meekly submits to whatever unavoidably arises out of the imperfections of human society kindly apologizing for human infirmities, foibles, and even for what may appear wilful aberrations from the rules of propriety. The last fruit mentioned in the catalogue of Christian graces is TEMPERANCE, which includes a right use of all the creatures of God. The legitimate meaning of this word is government, and it implies that he who has it has a strict and suitable government over all the passions and appetites of his soul and body; so much so that none of these are permitted to usurp dominion over him. His sanctified heart and enlightened understanding having mounted the throne, under their dictation he exercises a controlling influence over all his passions and appetites, keeping them in subjection to the dominion of grace the grace of sanctification so that, instead of being a slave to them, he makes them his servants, and while they obey his commands, they administer to his pleasure, and advance his temporal and spiritual interests. His passions of love, hate, desire, aversion, all his affinities and antipathies, of whatever sort or degree, his fears and hopes, are all sanctified, fixed on their right objects, and directed to their right ends. He loves God and man. and hates sin, and nothing else. He desires whatever is lawful and right, and has an aversion to whatever is unlawful and wrong. His affinities attach him to all who are of a kindred spirit with himself, feeling himself connected with them in the strongest bonds of the most refined friendship; while his antipathies are directed against not, indeed, with an angry feeling, leading to hostile acts all those who are actuated by a spirit of malice and revenge; while, at the same time, he mourns over them with the feelings of pity and love. Thus are all the passions of his nature sanctified, and made subservient to his highest, most holy, and most enduring interests not excepting his ambition, which is now directed to the loftiest aims, impelling him forward in the conscientious use of all the means within his grasp for the attainment of God’s glory, in his own and the salvation of his fellow-men. Hence he sings the following lines of the poet, from the very depths of his soul :
Whate’er my sinful flesh requires,
For thee I cheerfully forego;
My covetous and VAIN DESIRES,
My hopes of happiness below;
My tenses and my PASSIONS food.
And all my thirst for creature good." And as to his bodily appetites, they are regulated " by reason and by grace." He eats that sort and quantity of food which will best pro mote his health and strength, and drinks water, tea, or coffee, to satisfy his thirst, and wears those clothes which will make him the most comfortable, and inhabits as good a house, and keeps as warm a fire in winter, as his means will allow; but he can no more indulge in any of these things to excess, nor run in debt, and thereby live upon other people’s money, for the sake of " needless self-indulgence," than he can swear profanely, or lie to and cheat his neighbour. Within these bounds, the sanctified Christian is permitted to enjoy all the good things of this life as fully and freely as any one else; and he has this advantage over others, namely, that he receives them all as the gifts of his heavenly Father, and therefore to be " used with thanksgiving, being sanctified by the word of God and prayer."
Nay, I think the holy man participates in all the blessings of life with a much more exquisite zest than he otherwise could, or than the unholy sinner can. The grace of sanctification has regulated all his appetites, fixed them on right objects, and taught him to select the most suitable means for their reasonable gratification; so that whenever he partakes of any of the temporal blessings of life, he knows that he is obeying God, for " whether he eats or drinks, or whatsoever be does, he does all for the glory of God;" and hence he eats and drinks, and enjoys all the comforts of life, with a glad and thankful heart, ascribing all the glory of these things to God, to whom alone it is due.
Whenever he walks abroad upon the earth, and sees the rich variety of fruits and vegetables, the blooming flowers of spring, the rose and the lily, and a thousand other beautiful flowers, whose scent perfumes the air the fields waving with wheat and other grains the meadows carpeted with grass and all for the benefit, the sustenance, and comfort of man and beast how does his heart glow with gratitude to the Author and Giver of all these things! Nor is he con tent with gazing upon the earth, but lifts his wondering eyes to the heavens, where he sees, with inexpressible delight, the " sun shining in his strength," and, in the night, the azure vault decked with innumerable stars, and the moon shedding her silvery rays across the firmament, and thence to the earth, to light up the path for man. While beholding this magnificent canopy over his head, and this dazzling glory surrounding him on every side, he cries out with rapture, in the sublime language of the Psalmist, " The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handy work; day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge."
"Eternal Wisdom! thee we praise, Thee thy creation sings; With thy loved name rocks, hills, and seas, And heaven’s higli palace, rings.
" Thy hand, how wide it spreads the sky!
How glorious to behold! Tinged with a blue of heavenly dye, And starr d with sparkling gold.
" There thou hast bid the globes of light Their endless circuits run; There the pale planets rule the night, The day obeys the sun." And yet, my dear M., this God, so great above our thoughts, that made, governs, and guides all these mighty "globes of light," deigns to come down to little, insignificant man, to commune with his heart; to make it, in fact, his own temple! So sweetly sings our poet :
" High throned on heaven’s eternal hill, In number, weight, and measure, still Thou sweetly orderest all that is; And yet thou deign st to COME TO ME, And GUIDE MT STEPS, that I, with THEE Enthroned, may reign in ENDLESS BLISS." May God speak these words to the heart of my friend, that it may bound in thanksgiving to God; and believing in his particular care, may it confidently repose on him in every circum stance of life, whether it be prosperous or ad verse.