The Moral Law

"My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: for length of days, and long life, and peace shall they add to thee."

Moral law defined.—The moral law may be defined as, a rule of action prescribed by God to mankind concerning their duties to him and to each other.

Natural religion.—From the earliest periods of the world's history, among all people, in every part of the earth, mankind have recognized and worshiped a Being, whom they regarded as superior to themselves, possessing attributes of infinite wisdom, power, and knowledge. This being they call God. They derive their knowledge of Him through the traditions of their ancestors and the works of his creation. The following is a sublime description of God as seen through his works:

"He hath made the earth by his power; He hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion. When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures. Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him."

He is the "Superior Power," who made us and prescribed the laws by which we are governed. To enable us to understand our relations to him, he has conferred upon us mental and moral faculties, thus making us superior to all his earthly creatures. Other animals possess bodies and bodily powers similar to ours ; they are also gifted with a wonderful talent, called instinct, which enables them to preserve their lives, promote their comfort, and increase their kind; but they have no knowledge of right and wrong.

Man's endowments.—The mind of man enables him to perceive and know, by all that is in and around him, that there is a Being superior to himself. He can readily recognize in himself the lord of creation, and yet he feels that there is One who surpasses him immeasurably in all the elements and attributes of greatness. This Creator has conferred upon him a faculty to perceive his relations, reason to reflect, judgment to determine, and a will to execute, and, in addition, an inner sense which enables him to understand right from wrong.

Right and wrong.—Human actions are divided into two classes with reference to their moral quality, the good and the bad. In performing the good, we do right; following the bad, we do wrong. Right and wrong are the subjects of the moral law. Some actions have no moral quality in them, as it can not be said they are either right or wrong. In such cases conscience does not urge us to do or not to do them. Thus, if my inclination leads me to make a call on a friend, I may go to-day, or postpone the visit till to-morrow, as it may suit my convenience, and whether I go or stay, conscience is silent, since there is no right or wrong in the question. But if my friend is sick, and needs me, and I promised to go at a certain time, I am in duty bound to go. Conscience whispers, "to go is right, to neglect the duty is wrong: therefore go." Conscience not only tells us, but urges us to do right, and its voice should never be slighted.

What are right and wrong?—As persons are differently formed in face and figure, so they are differently endowed with mental and moral powers. There is a dissimilarity in education, in habits of thought, in circumstances of life, in business and social relations, which often makes a vast difference in men's estimates of right and wrong. Men are often unable to see things in the same light, and consequently do not agree in their conclusions. Each believes conscientiously in the correctness of his opinions, and disagrees with the other. What then is the duty of each? It is the duty of every man to follow his own conscientious convictions of right.

Obedience to law.—As God has given each man faculties to perceive, to reason, to judge, and to will, He will hold him, as a moral and intelligent being, accountable for the violation of his laws. We are responsible to God for the use and the abuse of all our powers of mind and body. To arrive at correct conclusions concerning the truth, it is our duty to obtain all the instruction which will enable us to understand our relations to God and man, striving to discover and practice the right. If we violate the laws of health by intemperate eating or drinking, disease, which is the admonition and the penalty, will soon overtake us. If we transgress the laws of mind, idiocy or insanity may be our punishment; and if we disobey God's moral law, He will as certainly avenge it as He does the infraction of his physical laws.

The penalty for violated law.—If a man drop a lighted match into a keg of gunpowder, the effect of his imprudence is quickly made known by the explosion that follows. If he stick a pin into his flesh, his wounded nerves quickly send his brain a report of the injury. These are the certain and sudden results of violated physical law. But if a boy is passionate, or deceitful, or dishonest, the punishment for these violations of God's moral law may not, and generally do not, immediately follow; but that they will follow at some time is as certain as that the law of right has been violated. It is written that, "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." Because we do not see the execution of God's penalties at once, we are inclined to think that He may not carry out the sentence at all.

The moral law vindicated.—And yet God does sometimes execute the laws of morality in this world, and exact a terrible penalty from those who slight them. The boy who touches, tastes, and handles, when the moral law says, "Look not upon the wine when it is red" gives way to that which may be fearfully punished, as it frequently is, by loss of character, health, friends, and fortune, and finally by the horrors of delirium and a drunkard's grave. He who lies once may become a confirmed liar; he who steals once may become an abandoned thief. This is terrible punishment, even in this world. "My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: for length of days, and long life, and peace shall they add to thee."