mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth, and for ever." This powerful application of the word by the Spirit manifests God's choice of them in eternity, and is a choosing them out of the world in time; and their election is made known, both to themselves and others, by this sanctification of the Spirit, and the obedience of faith; faith being a fruit of the Spirit, and the Spirit of grace making them obedient to the faith. Those whom God hath predestinated to the adoption of sons receive the Spirit of adoption in time, and are brought into the bonds of the everlasting covenant, and conformed to the image of the second Adam.

'How can we argue that, because God, of his 'free love determined to make his chosen people holy, that our being manifestly and prevailingly unholy, and having never experienced nor evi'denced an inward divine change, is no proof at 'all that we are not interested in this love?'

If either you, or those you accuse, are manifestly and prevailingly unholy, and never did experience nor evidence any inward divine change, neither you nor they can be in a state of salvation. If God turn a man from Satan to himself, and from disobedience to the wisdom of the just, and inwardly renew him in the spirit of his mind, it is that he may be holy, and without blame, before him in love. Without this inward change of

heart, and a life consistent with it, a man can have no evidence of God's love to his soul; nor can he know either love or hatred by all that is before him, Eccles. ix. 1.

'Or, how can I possibly have any evidence of 'this love until I am made a partaker of the 'fruits of it?'

It might have been rendered thus: 'How can I prove my election, or predestination to the adoption of sons, without being made a partaker of the Spirit of adoption?" "Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your heart, crying, Abba, Father." And how can I prove that I am a partaker of the Holy Ghost, without evidencing it by the fruits of the Spirit; the first fruit of which is love; the second, joy, peace, &c. But if you will have it stand as you have arranged it, you never can possibly have any evidence of this love until you are, not only a partaker of the fruits of it, but until you manifest the same to the church of God, by fearing his name, hating covetousness, loving your neighbour as yourself, giving one coat of the two to him that has none, clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, and receiving the poor home to your house: and, if you can find bread without it, in taking the oversight of a flock, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind. But if, on the other hand, I find a man who shews the least sign of avariciousness; if fond of money; if, like the antediluvian professors, he will marry

a daughter of Cain for lust, beauty, or any independency of God; and is busy in gathering together and heaping up; I am at once convinced that his trust is in uncertain riches; the root of all evil is still in his heart; Mammon is his master; where his treasure is, there is his heart; the friendship of the world is in the man; he is an enemy to God, and first cousin to Simon Magus. He may say,

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Go, be ye warmed;" but he loveth only in word, not in deed, nor in truth: and how dwelleth the love of God in him?

This last quotation is mere nonsense; for it amounts to this: How can I believe that there is a fruit tree growing, till I eat the fruit of it? whereas the tree must be planted, and grow too, before it can bear fruit. " How can I possibly 'have any evidence of this love until I am made 'a partaker of the fruits of it?' Love, when shed abroad in the heart, and when it casts out fear and torment, is an evidence of itself; for "he that loveth is born of God," and the fruits of it are love to God and to his saints; the former makes the tree good, and the latter proves it to be good.

'The distinction which has been so ably illus'trated and defended by our brother Hall, sen. in his excellent publication intituled, Help to 'Zion's Travellers,' betwixt the natural and the sovereign love of God, is of more importance 'than many imagine.'

Is this distinction insisted on in any part of Holy Writ? or is it a new doctrine coined at

Athens, so famous for hearing and telling some new thing? "God loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment;" lets his sun rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain upon the just and unjust: they are all supplied by the bounty of his hand, and supported by his power; his kindness extends to the unthankful and the evil; and his mercy, says the Psalmist, is over all his works. But, is the sovereign love of God unnatural to God, who is love? or, does the natural love of God act without divine sovereignty? I trow not; for I think divine sovereignty is displayed in all that he does; it is seen in every part of his dominion and government, whether it respects his kingdom of glory, grace, providence, or power, in heaven, earth, or hell. God always acts and works as a sovereign: he creates and destroys, chooses and refuses, loves and hates, as a sovereign. His sovereignty is deeply stamped upon all these things; and into which we must resolve what we cannot account for, unless we would act as the Arminian does, debase him to a level with ourselves, divest him of sovereignty, cite him at the bar of carnal reason, call for an account of his matters, and contemn both his counsel and him that we may be righteous. The divine nature must accompany sovereign love, and sovereignty must attend natural love, if with propriety it may be so called.

'The natural love of God can only have for its 'object that which is agreeable to the nature and

perfections of God, as the most excellent, the 'best of beings.'

Then this natural love can have no objects to fix on but the elect angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect; for they come nearest to the nature and perfections of God of any. "God loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment:" he loved Israel, and called him out of Egypt; but not with this natural love, for there was no more in Israel agreeable to the nature and perfections of God than there was in the stranger.

'The sovereign love of God is the direction of ' his natural love of mercy, benevolence, and com'passion; in such a manner, to such objects, and 'for the accomplishment of such purposes, as his 'infinite wisdom may best approve.'

Sovereign love directs natural love; the love of sovereignty directs the love of nature, or the love that is natural. Love that is purely natural, or flows purely from nature, generally runs with a rapid current; and so it must in God, who is love; yet sovereignty appears in it. But, why love should direct love, or sovereign love direct natural love, I know not. These are things which I do not understand; they are too high for me, I cannot attain unto them: nor did you, Sir, get them of God upon your knees; they were not obtained in answer to prayer. Were you to receive the word at God's mouth, you would be better understood.