trouble of mind, as nothing but effectual repentance and amendment can remove; yet, when amendment has really taken place, then the forrow for what is paft may reasonably be relieved by the affurance of pardon. For, tho' the great and principal promife of pardon is made indeed to unbelievers, at their converfion and being baptifed; yet there is also fufficient encouragement given, even to relapfing finners, to repent. The defpair then we condemn is a diforder which confifts in a fettled rooted perfuafion, that we shall never obtain mercy, let us do whatever we can; for it is no temper or ftate of mind worthy of blame to defpair of mercy, while we continue in fin. But

The hope we have in God thro' Christ Jefus is a remedy against this fin: for, as by defpair the devil would Its remedy. perfuade a finner he can never obtain mercy; fo God does give a certain hope of eternal glory to all that will feek for mercy by fincere repentance and obedience thro' Jefus Chrift. How then can a rational creature give up his reafon fo far, as to give himself up for loft, when the God that made him, and is to reward or punish him, doth promise his mercy to as many as will change their evil courfe of life; and walk in his ways? Yet, we must not stop here: For,

IV. A third duty to God is Love. Now to love God is The Loveof to poffefs our minds with fuch a due fenfe and God, What. eftimation of the excellencies and perfections which are in the divine nature, as may make us look upon God as our chief good; make choice of him as the only proper object of our happiness; and prefer his caufe and interest before any thing elfe that may come in competition with it, Therefore our Saviour exprefsly declares it, as the first and great commandment, Thou fhalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy foul, and with all thy ftrength, and with all thy mind; that is, we are to ferve God with all those faculties, which he has given us: Not that the love of God is to be exclufive of all other loves; but of all other rival affections; that, whenever the love of God and that of the world come in competition, the former undoubtedly ought to take place of the latter. To love the Lord with all our heart fignifies to love him with all fincerity, with an un

diffembled affection. To love God is not merely to do what he commands; but it is to do it, because he commands it. To love God with all our foul fignifies to ferve him with the whole foul, with an unreserved obedience. God is not to fhare a divided affection in our breaft, an affection divided between piety and fin: but he is to reign unrivalled by any darling vice. To love God then with all our foul is the fame as to have refpect unto all his commandments. To love the Lord with all our strength is to put forth the active powers of the foul in loving and ferving him. It is to rouze ourselves from all fupineness and liftlefs idleness. It is to quicken the wheels and fprings of action, that moved on heavily before. It is to do well, without being weary of well-doing. It is to lay out our endeavours, that we may have a competent fenfe to discern, a fincere inclination to embrace, and a fteady refolution to hold faft, what is best and most pleasing to the Deity. In fine,

We must love God fincerely and affectionately; we must defire to please him, and to perform his will; we Motives to muft defire to be made acceptable to him, and to it. become partakers of his favour and rewards, rather than of the unreasonable pleasures of unrighteoufnefs: because all the reafons for the loving any object or thing in the world do more forcibly recommend to us the love of God. He is in himself most excellent, fit to be our chief happiness, and hath actually fhewn himself our beft friend: He has annexed a prefent as well as a future reward to a good life; and has fo interwoven our duty and happiness together, that, while we are difcharging our obligations to the one, we are at the fame time making provifion for the other: upon all which accounts our beft love is due to him.

His goodness and excellency tarnish all the beauty and excellence of creatures; there is none good, but God's excelone, that is God: becaufe he is good in fuch a leny. fenfe, as none can be acknowledged good befides. He alone is perfectly, originally, neceffarily, and unchangeably good: he has every excellence in the highest degree; almighty power, unerring wifdom, infinite goodnets, unblemished truth, spotless holincts; every thing fit to raife the wonder,

C

4.

and

and engages the delight of men and angels; and his glory shines out in the works of creation and providence. Power and wifdom may command dread and admiration: yet nothing but goodnefs can challenge our love and affection. He gave us our beings, and in the whole courfe of our lives his God's kind goodness prevents numberless evils from falling nefs to us. upon us; which, with all our reafon and underftanding, we could by no means either prevent or avoid. And when we were fallen from that happiness, for which, at first, we were defigned, he was pleafed to restore us to a new capacity of it by fending his only Son into the world to die for the benefits of whofe death and paffion no man can lofe but by his own fault. He has endued us with reafon and natural confcience, to diftinguish between good and evil; and to forewarn us of the certainty of a future judgment. He has confirmed this natural confcience with the additional help of an express revelation: and, that finners may, if poffible, be brought to repentance, he, with much long-fuffering and forbearance, defers their punishment; and, if they do repent, he forgives and pardons them, as a father receives a returning child. Again, ye cannot but love him, who is good, and does us good.

us;

Fruit flove

And if God vouchfafe to love us, we muft alfo fhew our love of him, by first defiring to please him; and is a defire alfo by a defire to enjoy him. For the firft token of pleafing of any one's love is the doing what is thought moft acceptable to the perfon loved: fo that a true love of God will fhew itself firit in keeping his commandments; for that is its description by St. John: and where this token is wanted, there can be no love of God. So that, if any one continues in a wilful breach of many, nay but of any one command of his, he is deceived in thinking that the love of God abideth in him. Because, as the excellency and kindnefs of God is most tranfcendent, fo our love of him must be moft fervent, and preferable to every other thing. If our love of God be fincere, we shall entertain high and adGd, when miring thoughts of him, according to thofe discofincere. veries, which he hath made of himself: we fhall reverence him as the most perfect being: and give him

Love f

the

the glory of his excellencies, as we turn our thoughts either to the works of nature in our creation, or to the wonders of grace in our redemption, or to the profpect of glory in the world to come. If we act in concert with that being, whose tender mercy is over all his works, by fhewing mercy, as far as we can, in all ours: If we confcientiously endeavour to discharge all the duties he has injoined us, without reluctance; and to submit to all his difpenfations, without murmuring: If we address ourselves to him with that holy fear, which awes the turbulent paffions into compofure; but does not depress the spirit, or beget an abject and unmanly way of thinking: If we, who look (or ought to look) up to him with reverence, as the great judge and lawgiver of the univerfe, chiefly delight to confider him under the endearing characters of a Creator, Redeemer, Preferver, and Benefactor: If we, before we compofe ourselves to fleep, recommend ourselves to his almighty care, who neither flumbers nor fleeps: If we, as foon as we rife, recommend ourselves to his fuperintendency, who maketh his fun to rife upon the just and unjust; humbly defiring, that, as that fun difpels the darkness and unwholesome vapours of the night; fo he, the great fun of righteousness, who arofe with healing in his wings, would drive us from all evil; all evil, whether of mind, body, or eftate: If we commit all our concerns in general to his providence and fatherly goodness; and, upon every extraordinary emergency, make a more particular application to him for his direction, who never faileth them that feek him: If we do, thefe undoubtedly are the only genuine tefts, and fignificant expreflions of an undiffembled love to God: and they will procure for us the bleffed effects of that infinite love, which, being stronger than death, difarmed death of its sfting, and the grave of its victory. And fuch a foul will fay, I fee that God alone can be my portion; in his favour is my life; without that, though I had all the world, I fhould be deftitute and miferable. This love arifes from the fenfe of benefits received: It is like the filial love of a dutiful child to a tender and indulgent parent, upon a review of his care and kindness, in preferving him, providing for him, doing him all the good that lies in his power; which en

gages

gages him to study to requite his parents in the best manner he can. Such is the love of God found in a pious foul. And therefore,

this love.

Let those who, tho' they really love, and fear, and serve Who live in God in the course of a virtuous and religious life; yet, because they feel not in themselves that warmth of affection, which many enthufiafts pretend to, are afraid and fufpect that they do not love God fincerely as they ought; be corrected, by confidering that there is no other mark fo infallible of the goodness of a tree, as the fruit, which it brings forth. It is not a religious mood or humour, but a religious temper. It is not to be now and then pleased with our maker in the gaiety of the heart, when, more properly fpeaking, we are pleafed with ourselves. It is not to have a few occafional tranfient acts of complacency and delight in the Lord rifing in our minds, when we are in a vein of good humour. But it is to have a lafting, habitual, and determinate refolution to please the Deity rooted and grounded in our hearts, and influencing our actions throughout. If they live in obedience to the commands of God, they need no other evidence of the fincerity of their hearts towards him: for all other figns may poffibly be erroneous; but this is the very thing itself fignified. Love of goodness, righteousness, and truth, is love of God: for God is goodness and truth; and he who loves thefe virtues, which are the moral perfections of the divine nature, does therefore love God moft perfectly; because he loves thofe excellencies, for the fake of which God expects that we should love him above all things. The other fruit of love is the defire of enjoying: this is the cafe of all men. They defire the company of

Defive of

enjoying.

those they love: fo he that fincerely loves God will not only be conftant in prayer, meditation, hearing his word, and receiving the bleffed facrament of the Lord's fupper, with chearfulness and devotion; but will earnestly wish to be diffolved, and to be with Chrift in the glory of God the Father; with an intire refignation of this world, and all its enjoyments, to God's will and pleasure.

SUNDAY