Page:The Parochial System (Wilberforce, 1838).djvu/100

 act of cheerful self-denial for Christ's sake, every sacrifice of Christian liberality, every instance of love and pity towards his brethren, shall also be rewarded both here and hereafter; rewarded not according to its own desert, but according to the love from which it springs, and to the faith which it shows in Christ's promise.

How should this doctrine teach us to trust in ourselves, when we are but seeking for a reward of grace; ours by promise, not by merit? But moreover, we know, that neither these works of love, nor yet the principle of love whence they spring, are our own. We "are God's workmanship," we "are God's husbandry;" every good thing in us. He first gives, and then He rewards that which He has given. Both grace and recompence are His gift, but He will reward us in proportion as He hath first wrought