92SermonsofJonathanEdwards
and serve, and obey him. "They that know thy name will put their trust in thee" (Psa. 9:10). "Whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him" (1 John 3:6). "Every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God" (1 John 4:7). It is also true of the Christian graces,
4. That they all have the same rule, namely, the law of God. — And therefore they must be linked together; for, seeing they all have respect to this rule, they all tend to confirm the whole of the rule, and to conform the heart and life to it. He that has a true respect to one of God's commands, will have a true respect to all; for they are all established by the same authority, and are all jointly an expression of the same holy nature of God. "Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all; for he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law" (Jam. 2:10, 11).
5. All the Christian graces have the same end, namely, God. — He is their end, for they all tend to him. As they are all from the same source, rising from the same fountain; and all stand on the same foundation, growing from the same root; and are all directed by the same rule, the law of God; — so they are all directed to the same end, namely, God, and his glory, and our happiness in him. And this shows that they must be nearly related, and very much linked together. And once more, it is true,
6. That all the Christian graces are alike related to one and the same grace, namely, charity, or Divine love, as the sum of them all. — As we have before seen, charity, or love, is the sum of all true Christian graces, however many names we may give them. And however different the modes of their exercise, or the ways of their manifestation, if we do but carefully examine them, we shall find they are all resolved into one. Love, or charity, is the fulfilling of them all, and they are but so many diversifications, and different branches, and relations, and modes of exercise, of the same thing.