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Quesnel: Moral Reflections on the Gospels Vol 1

Quesnel: Moral Reflections on the Gospels Vol 1

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348 ST. MATTHEW.<br />

eternally in heaven. How <strong>the</strong>n, ray God, can any<br />

<strong>on</strong>e forbear loving <strong>the</strong>e ? yet how can any <strong>on</strong>e pos-<br />

sibly love <strong>the</strong>e, unless thou thyself vouchsafest to<br />

inspire this love into him ?<br />

" 39. And <strong>the</strong> sec<strong>on</strong>d is like unto it. Thou shalt<br />

love thy neighbour as thyself."<br />

The love of our neighbour is found in <strong>the</strong> love of<br />

God, as in its principle, pattern, and end ; and <strong>the</strong><br />

love of God is reciprocally found in <strong>the</strong> love of our<br />

neighbour, as in its effect, representati<strong>on</strong>, and infal-<br />

lible mark. We take nothing from God when we<br />

love our neighbour for his sake. To love him as<br />

ourselves, is to love him as we ought to love our-<br />

selves, in observing <strong>the</strong> order of charity ; and not as<br />

we love ourselves when we follow our own irregular<br />

inclinati<strong>on</strong>. It is but <strong>on</strong>e and <strong>the</strong> same love, which<br />

loves God in our neighbour, and our neighbour for<br />

God's sake, when we desire that his name may be<br />

hallowed, that his kingdom may come, and that his<br />

will may be d<strong>on</strong>e in our neighbour after <strong>the</strong> same<br />

manner that we desire it for ourselves.<br />

*' 40. On <strong>the</strong>se two commandments hang all <strong>the</strong><br />

law and <strong>the</strong> prophets."<br />

The Scripture c<strong>on</strong>tains and commands nothing but<br />

charity. How extensive soever our external per-<br />

formance of <strong>the</strong> divine law may be, we always trans-<br />

gress a part of it when we perform it not for God's<br />

sake; because, by this neglect, we fail in <strong>the</strong> obser-<br />

vati<strong>on</strong> of <strong>the</strong> great precept c<strong>on</strong>cerning loving him,<br />

which is included in every part of his law. This<br />

double precept, c<strong>on</strong>cerning <strong>the</strong> love of God and of our<br />

neighbour, is <strong>the</strong> summary of all <strong>the</strong> divine and posi-<br />

tive commandments, <strong>the</strong> compendious directi<strong>on</strong> and

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