He is no more wrought on by the divine perfections and beauties to love the Deity, than a guilty person who resolvedly goes on to break the laws, can be persuaded to love the judge, for his excellent knowledge, and his inflexible integrity, who will certainly condemn him. Besides, the great and abundant blessings, which God, as Creator and preserver, bestows upon all, cannot prevail upon guilty creatures to love him. Indeed the goodness that raised us from a state of nothing, is unspeakably great, and lays an eternal obligation upon us. The whole stock of our affections is due to him, for conferring upon us the human nature, that is common to kings and the meanest beggar. All the riches and dignity of the greatest prince, whereby he exceeds the poorest wretch, compared to this benefit which they both share in, have no more proportion than a farthing to an immense treasure. The innumerable expressions of God's love to us every day should infinitely endear him to us. For who is so inhuman as not to love his parents, or his friend, who defended him from his deadly enemies, or relieved him in his poverty, especially if the vein of his bounty be not dried up, but always diffuses itself in new favours? If we love the memory of that emperor, who reflecting upon one day that passed without his bestowing some benefit, with grief said, diem perdidi, I have lost a day! How much more should we love God who every moment bestows innumerable blessings upon his creatures? But sinful man hath contracted such an unnatural hardness, that he receives no impressions from the renewed mercies of God. He violates the principles of nature, and reason. For how unnatural is it, not to love our benefactor, when the dull ox and the stupid ass serve those that feed them? And how unreasonable when the publicans return love for love! Now there is nothing that can perfectly overcome our hatred, but the consideration of that love which hath freed us from eternal misery: for the guilty creature will be always suspicious, that notwithstanding the ordinary benefits of providence, God is an enemy to it: and till man is convinced, that in loving God, he must truly love himself, he will never sincerely affect him. This was one great design of God in the way, as well as in the work of our redemption, to gain our hearts entirely to himself. He saves us in the most endearing and obliging manner. As David's affection declared itself, "I will not serve the Lord with that which cost me nothing:" so God would not

save man with that which cost him nothing, but with the dearest price hath purchased a title to our love. "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself," as well as through Christ re

He hath propounded such arguand sublime, that Adam in in

conciling himself to the world. ments for our love, so powerful, nocence was unacquainted with. to testify his affection to us. est endearment of our love, which was the greatest evidence of his.

He sent down his own bowels And that should be the great

And if we consider the person of our Redeemer, what more worthy object of our affection than Christ? and Christ enduring the most terrible things, and at last dying with all the circumstances of dishonour and pain, for love to man? If he had no attractive excellencies, yet his cruel sufferings for us should make him infinitely precious and dear to our souls. If by solemn regards we contemplate him in the garden, amazed at the first approaches of that cup mixed with all the ingredients of divine displeasure, "sweating like drops of blood," under a weight of unspeakable sorrow, and without the least relief of man, whose sins he then bore; what kind of marble are our hearts if they do not tenderly relent at this doleful spectacle? Can we stand by him "prostrate on the earth, and offering up prayers and supplications with strong cries and tears" (the effects of the travail of his soul) without the most passionate sensibility? Can we see him contemned by impure worms, abused in his sacred offices, spitefully represented as a mock king, buffeted and flouted as a mock prophet, his sacred face defiled with loathsome spittle, his back torn with sharp scourges, and all endured with a victorious patience: can we behold this with an unconcerned eye, without the mournings of holy love ? Can we accompany him in the dolorous way, and see him fainting and sinking under his heavy cross, and not feel his sufferings? Can we ascend to mount Calvary, and look on him hanging on the infamous tree in the midst of thieves suffering the utmost fury of malicious enemies, and not be crucified with him? Can we hear the astonishing complaint of his deserted soul to the judge of all the world doing extreme right on him as our surety, and not be overcome with grief and love? Shall not the warm streams sadly running from his wounded head and hands and feet melt our congealed affections? His pierced side discovers his heart,

the vital fountain opened to wash away our guilt, and shall our hearts be untouched? His bloody undeserved death the precious ransom of our souls makes him our life, and shall it not render him full of loveliness to our inflamed thoughts? He is more amiable on the cross, than in the throne: for there we see the clearest testimony, and the most glorious triumph of his love. There he endured the anger of heaven, and the scorn of the earth. There we might see joy saddened, faith fearing, salvation suffering, and life dying. * Blessed Redeemer! what couldest thou have done or suffered more, to quicken our dead powers, and enflame our cold hearts toward thee? How can we remember thy bleeding dying love without an ecstacy of affection? If we are not more insensible than the rocks, it is impossible but we must be touched and softened by it.

Suppose an angel by special delegation had been enabled to have "trod satan under our feet," our obligations to him had been inexpressible, and our love might have been intercepted from ascending to our Creator. For salvation is a greater benefit, than the mere giving to us our natural being. As the privation of felicity with the actual misery that is joined with it, is infinitely worse than the negation of being. Our Lord pronounced concerning Judas. Mat. 26. 24. "It had been good for that man that he had never been born." Redeeming goodness exceeds creating. Now the Son of God to procure our highest love, alone wrought salvation for us.

And what admirable goodness is it, that puts a value upon our affection, and accepts such a small return! Our most intent and ardent love bears no more proportion to his, than a spark to the element of fire. Besides, his love to us was pure, and without any benefit to himself; but ours to him is profitable to our souls, for their eternal advantage. Yet with this he is fully satisfied; when we love him in the quality of a Saviour, we give him the glory of that he designs most to be glorified in, that is, of his mercy to the miserable. For this reason he instituted the sacrament of the supper, the contrivance of his love, to refresh the memory of his death, and quicken our fainting love to him. Now the love that our Saviour requires must be,

* Quid violentius triumphat de deo? Vides in christo lætari tristitiam, pavere fidem, salutem pati, vitam mori.

1. Sincere and unfeigned. This declares itself by a care to please him in all things. "If a man love me," saith our Saviour, "he will keep my commandments." Obedience is the

most natural and necessary product of love. For love is the spring of action, and employs all the faculties in the service of the person loved. The apostle expresses the force of it by an emphatical word, ouvexa, 2 Cor. 5. "The love of Christ constrains us" it signifies to have one bound, and so much under power that he cannot move without leave. As the inspired prophets were carried by the spirit, and entirely acted by his motions. Such an absolute empire had the love of Christ over him, Acts 18. 5. ruling all the inclinations of his heart, and actions of his life. It is this alone makes obedience cheerful, and constant. For love is seated in the will, and the obedience that proceeds from it, is out of choice, and purely voluntary. "No commandment is grievous that is performed from love." 1 John 5. 3. And it makes obedience constant: that which is forced from the impression of fear, is unstedfast; but what is mixed with delight, is lasting.

2. Our love to Christ must be supreme exceeding that which is given to all inferior objects. The most elevated and entire affection is due to him who saves us from torments that are extreme and eternal, and bestows upon us an inheritance immortal and undefiled. By the offering of himself to divine justice he has obliged us "to present our bodies a living sacrifice to God, which is our reasonable service;" life itself and all the endearments of it, relations, estates are to be disvalued, when set in comparison with him. Nay if (by an impossible supposition) they could be separated, our Saviour should be more dear to us than salvation. For he declared greater love in giving himself for our ransom, than in giving heaven to be our reward. When we love him in the highest degree we are capable of, we have reason to mourn for the imperfection of it. In short, a superlative love, as it is due to our Redeemer, so it is only accepted by him. "He that loveth father or mother, son or daughter more than him, is not worthy of him." Mat. 10. 37. And he tells us in other places that we must hate them, to show, that our love to him should so far exceed the affection that is due to those relations, that in all occasions where they divide from Christ, we should demean ourselves as if we had only for them an indiffer

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ence, and even an aversion. Indeed the preferring of any thing before him, who is altogether desirable in himself, and infinitely deserves our love, is brutishly to undervalue him, and in effect not to love him. For in a temptation where Christ and the beloved object are set in competition; as a greater weight turns the scales, so the stronger affection will cause a person to renounce Christ, for the possession of what he loves better. It is the love of Christ reigning in the heart, that is the only principle of per

severance.

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IV. What an high provocation is it to despise redeeming mercy, and to defeat that infinite goodness which hath been at such expence for our recovery? The Son of God hath emptied all the treasures of his love, to purchase deliverance for guilty and wretched captives; he hath past through so many pains and thorns to come and offer it to them; he solicits them to receive pardon and liberty, upon the conditions of acceptance and amendment, which are absolutely necessary to qualify them for felicity now if they slight the benefit, and renounce their redemption; if they sell themselves again under the servitude of sin, and gratify the devil with a new conquest over them; what a bloody cruelty is this to their own souls, and a vile indignity to the Lord of glory? And are there any servile spirits so charmed with their misery, and so in love with their chains, who will stoop under their criel captivity, to be reserved for eternal punishment? Who can can believe it? But alas, examples are numerous and ordinary: the most by a folly as prodigious as their ingratitude, prefer their sins before their Saviour, and love that which is the only just object of hatred, and hate him who is the most worthy object of love. It is a most astonishing consideration, that love should persuade Christ to die for men, and that they should trample upon his blood, and choose rather to die by themselves, than to live by him. That God should be so easy to forgive, and man so hard to be forgiven. This is a sin of that transcendent height, that all the abominations of Sodom and Gomorrah, are not equal to it. This exasperates mercy, that dear and tender attribute; the only advocate in God's bosom for us. This makes the judge irreconcilable. The rejecting of life upon the gracious terms of the gospel, makes the condemnation of men most just, certain, and heavy.

1. Most just: for when Christ hath performed what was ne