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THE
HAPprHEss
Ois
SEPARATE
SPIRITS.
[DISC.
It.
tised there, those
bitter
and fatal springs
'of
revenge and
blood. Universal benevolence runs through the
whole
kingdom
;
each
spirit
wishes
well
to
his
neighbour
as to
himself;
and- till
we
arrive there,
we
shall
never
be
made
perfect
in love,
nor
shall
we
see
the
blessed
characters
of
it
described
in the
scriptures
fully
copied out
in
living
ex-
amples.
In
that
holy world dwells
God
himself, who
is
original
love;
there
resides
our
Lord
Jesus
Christ,
who
is -love
incarnate
;
and
from
that
sacred head
flows
an
eternal
stream of
love
through
every' member, and blesseth all
the inhabitants of
that
land
with
its divine refreshments.
holiness
is
perfect
among the spirits
of
the
just,
because
love
is
perfect there.
Object. But are
there'not
several graces
and virtues
that
belong to
the
saints
on
earth that are
finished
at
death,
and
can
have
no
room
in
heaven
?
Hew then can
perfection
óf
holiness
in
heaven consist
in
an increase
of
the same graces
we
practised
on
earth
?
Answer.
Yes,
there are
several'
such virtues and such
graces; as faith
and repentance,
and godly
sorrow,
pati-
ence
And
forbearance,
love
'tö
c>lëmies,
and
forgiveness
of
injuries,
&c.
But
all
these :liise from
the
very
imper-
fection of our present
state,
from
the
sins
or
follies
of
ourselves or
our
fellow-
creatures. Faith
arises
from
the
want
of
sight
;
repentance
from
the
returns -of guilt;
godly
-
sorrow from the
workings
of
sin
in us
:
Patience
owes its
very
nature
and
exercise to
the
afflictions we
sustain
from
the hand
of God
;
and forbearance
and
for-
giveness
respects
the
injuries
that
we
receive from
our
fellow-
creatures.
But
in
heaven, faith,
so
far
as
it
re-
gards the absence
of God
and Christ,
is
lost
in
sight
and
enjoyment,
as
the light of a glimmering
taper
is
lost
in
the
blaze
of
sun
-
beams.
Repentance of
old
sins, so
far
as it
is
attended
with any painful or shameful passions,
ceases for
ever
in
heaven
:
and
th
^re
is
no
new
guilt for
us
to
repent of:
there
shall he
no
evil
working
in
us
to
give pain
to
the
spirit
;
no affliction from
God
to
demand
a patient
submission
;
no
injuries
from men
to
be
bórne
or
forgiven.
But there
is
the same pious
temper
still
continues
in
the spirits
of
the
just
made perfect,
which
was
the spring
of
those graces
on
earth
;
and could
the objects or occa-