The works of the Rev. John Wesley, Vol. 06 (of 32)

by John Wesley

And yet what is high devotion, but the highest exercise of these tempers, of duty, reverence, love, honour, and gratitude to the amiable, glorious parent, friend, and benefactor of all mankind?

Is it a true greatness of mind, to reverence the authority of your parents, to fear the displeasure of your friend, to dread the reproaches of your benefactor; and must not this fear, and dread, and reverence, be much more just, and reasonable, and honourable, when they are in the highest degree towards God?

So that as long as duty to parents, love to friends, and gratitude to benefactors, are thought great and honourable tempers, devotion, which is nothing else but duty, love, and gratitude to God, must have the highest place amongst our highest virtues.

If a prince, out of his mere goodness, should send you a pardon by one of his slaves, would you think it a part of your duty to receive the slave with marks of love, esteem, and gratitude, for his kindness of bringing you so great a gift, and at the same time think it a meanness and poorness of spirit, to shew love, esteem, and gratitude to the prince, who of his own goodness freely sent you the pardon?

And yet this would be as reasonable, as to suppose that love, esteem, honour, and gratitude, are noble tempers, and instances of a great soul, when they are paid to our fellow-creatures; but the effects of a poor, ignorant mind, when they are paid to God.

3. Even that part of devotion which expresses itself in sorrowful confessions, and penitential tears of a broken and contrite heart, is very far from being any sign of a little and ignorant mind.

For who does not acknowledge it an instance of an ingenuous, generous, and brave mind, to acknowledge a fault, and ask pardon for any offence? And are not the finest and most improved minds, the most remarkable for this excellent temper?

Is it not also allowed, that the ingenuousness and excellence of a man’s spirit is much shewn, when his sorrow and indignation at himself rises in proportion to the folly of his crime, and the goodness and greatness of the person he has offended?

Now if things are thus, then the greater any man’s mind is, the more he knows of God and himself, the more will he be disposed to prostrate himself before God in all the humblest acts and expressions of repentance.

And the greater the generosity and penetration of his mind is, the more will he indulge a passionate, tender sense of God’s just displeasure; and the more he knows of the greatness, the goodness, and perfection of the divine nature, the fuller of shame and confusion will he be at his own sins and ingratitude.