Theological institutes - v. 2 Author:Richard Watson Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: must choose to be obedient to every command issued by the sovereign, or the Father beloved; and when this love is supreme and uniform, the obedience must be... more » absolute and unceasing. The second command is also " like unto it" in these respects—it founds itself on the natural relations which exist among the creatures of God, and it comprehends every possible relative duty. All intelligent creatures were intended to' live in society. We read of no solitary rational being being placed in any part of the creation. Angels are many, and, from all the representations of Scripture, may be considered as forming one or more collective bodies. When man was created it was decided that it was not good for him to be alone, and when " a help meet for him" was provided, they were commanded to be fruitful and multiply, that the number might be increased and the earth " replenished." The very precepts which oblige us to love one another are presumptive that it was the will of God, not merely that his rational creatures should live in society and do no injury to each other, but that they should be " kindly affectionate one toward another;" a principle from which all acts of relative duty would- spontaneously flow, and which would guard against all hostility, envy, and injury. Thus, by these two great first principles of the Divine law, (Mhe rational creatures of God would be united to him as their common Lord aptM-'ather, and to each other as fellow subjects and brethren. ThitfView is farther supported by the intimations which the Scriptures afford us of the moral state of the only other intelligent class of beings beside man with which we are acquainted. Angels are constantly exhibited as loving God, jealous of his glory, and cheerfully active in the execution of his will; as benevolent toward e...« less