St. James's judgment in the point, Chap. 2. 26. As the Body without the Spirit is dead, fo Faith if it bave not works is dead aljo.

24. A fecond duty to God is HOPE; Hope. that is, a comfortable expectation of

thefe good things he hath promifed. But this, as I told you before of Faith, muft be fuch as agrees to the nature of the promifes, which being fuch as requires a condition on our part, we can hope no farther than we make that good, or if we do, we are fo far from performing by it this

duty of hope, that we commit the great Prefump- fin of prefumption, which is nothing elfe but hoping where God hath given

tion.

us no ground to hope; this every man doth, that hopes for pardon of fins and eternal Life, without that Repentance and Obedience to which alone they are promifed: The true hope is that which purifies us, St. John faith, 1 Ep. 3. Every man that bath this hope in him purifieth himfelf, even as he is pure; that is, it makes him leave his fins, and carneftly endeavour to be holy as Chrift is, and that which doth not fo, how confident foever it be, may well be concluded to be that hope of the hypocrite, which Job affures us fhall perish.

25. But there is another way of tranfDefpair. greffing this duty, befides that of Prefumption, and that is by Defperation; by which I mean not that which is ordinarily fo called, viz. the defpairing of mercy fo long as we continue in our fins, for that is but juft for us to do; but I mean fuch a defperation as makes us give over endeavour, that is, when a man that

fees

fees he is not at prefent fuch a one as the Promifes belong to, concludes he can never become fuch, and therefore neglects all duty, and goes on in his fins. This is indeed the finful defperation, and that which if it be continued in, muft end in deftruction.

26. Now the work of Hope is to prevent this, by fetting before us the generality of the Promifes, that they belong to all that will but perform the condition. And therefore though a Man have not hitherto performed it, and fo hath yet no right to them, yet hope will tell him, that that right may yet be gained, if he will now fet heartily about it. It is therefore ftrange folly for any Man, be he never fo finful, to give up himself for loft, when if he will but change his courfe, he fhall be as certain to partake of the Promifes of Mercy, as if he had never gone on in those former fins.

27. This Chrift fhews us in the Parable of the Prodigal, Luke 15. where we fee that Son, which had run away from his Father, and had confumed the portion given him in riotous living, was yet upon his return and repentance used with as much kindnefs by the Father, as he that had never offended, nay, with higher and more paffionate expreffions of love. The intent of which Parable was only to fhew us, how graciously our heavenly Father will receive us, how great foever our former fins have been, if we fhall return to him with true forrow for what is paft, and fincere obedience for the time to come; nay, fo ac ceptable a thing is it to God, to have any finner return from the error of his ways, that there is a

B 6

kind

kind of triumph in Heaven for it, There is joy in the prefence of the Angels of God over one finner that repenteth, Luke 15. 10. And now who would not rather chufe, by a timely repentance, to bring joy to Heaven, to God and his holy Angels, than by a fullen defperation to please Satan and his accurfed Spirits; especially when by the former we fhall gain endless Happiness to our felves, and by the latter as endless Torments ?

28. A third duty to God is LOVE; Love; its there are two common Motives of Love among Men. The one, the good

Moives.

nefs and excellency of the perfon; the

other, his particular kindnefs and love to us; and both these are in the highest degree in God.

29. First, he is of infinite good nefs God's ex- and excellency in himself; this you cellency. were before taught to believe of him,

and no man can doubt it that confiders but this one thing, that there is nothing good in the world but what hath received all its goodness from God; his goodness is as the Sea, or Ocean, and the goodness of all creatures but as fome fmall Streams flowing from that Sea. Now you would certainly think him a mad Man, that fhould fay the Sea were not greater than fome little Brook and certainly it is no lefs folly to fuppofe that the goodnefs of God doth not as much (nay infinitely more) exceed that of all creatures. Befides, the goodness of the creature is -imperfect, and mixt with much evil, but his is pure and entire without any fuch Mixture. He is perfectly Holy, and cannot be tainted with the leaft impurity, neither can be the Author

of

of any to us, for though he be the cause of all the goodness in us, he is the cause of none of our fins. This St. James exprefly tells us, Chap. 1. 13. Let no man fay when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth be any man.

His Kind

nefs to us.

30. But fecondly, God is not only thus good in himself, but he is alio wonderful good, that is, kind and merciful to us. We are made up of two parts, a Soul and a Body, and to each of these God hath expreffed infinite mercy and tenderness. Do but confider what was before told you of the SECOND COVENANT, and the mercies therein offered, even Chrift himself and all his Benefits, and alfo that he offers them fo fincerely and heartily, that no man can mifs of enjoying them but by his own default. For he doth moft really and affcctionately defire we should embrace them and live, as appears by that folemn Oath of his, Ezek. 33. 11. As I live, faith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; whereto he adds this paffionate expreffion, Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why will ye die? To the fame purpose you may read, Ezek. 18. Confider this, I fay, and then furely you cannot but fay, he hath great kindnefs to our Souls. Nay, let every Man but remember with himself the many Calls he hath had to Repentance and Amendment, fometimes outward by the Word, fometimes inward by the fecret whispers of God's Spirit in his heart, which were only to woo and intreat him to avoid eternal misery, and to accept

of

of Eternal Happiness; let him, I fay, remember thefe, together with thofe many other means God hath ufed toward him for the fame end, and he will have reason to confefs God's kindness, not only to Mens Souls in general, but to his own in particular.

31. Neither hath he been wanting to our Bodies; all the good things they enjoy, as Health, Strength, Food, Raiment, and whatever elfe concerns them, are meerly his gifts: So that indeed it is impoffible we should be ignorant of his mercies to them; all thofe outward comforts and refreshments we daily enjoy, being continual effects and witneffes of it; and tho' fome enjoy more of thefe than others, yet there is no perion but enjoys fo much in one kind or other, as abundantly fhews God's Mercy and Kindness to him in refpect of his Body.

32. And now furely you will think it but reasonable we fhould love him, who is in all refpects thus lovely: Indeed this is a duty fo generally acknowledged, that if you should ask any Man the queftion, whether he loved God or no, he would think you did him great wrong to doubt of it; yet for all this, it is too plain, that there are very few that do indeed love him; and this will foon be proved to you by examining a little what are the common effects of love, which we bear to Men like our felves, and then trying whether we can fhew any fuch fruits of our love to God.

Fruit of Love, defire of pleafing.

33. Of that fort there are divers, but for shortness I will name but two. The firft is a