ther in himself or others: he hates fin as God's enemy, and as that which is difpleafing and difhonouring to him; and as that which mars communion with God, that provokes him to anger, and unfits them for his service. O that loathfome, ugly thing fin! that evil of evils, and devil of devils! The man purfues it to death, and cannot reft till he gets his hands embrued, as it were, in its heart's blood: they have taken up arms against it, in the name of the Lord, and refolved never to lay them down, till it be mortified and killed. They find indeed fometimes fin very lively and strong in them, and themfelves led captives by the law of fin; but this animates them fo much the more to purfue it to death. And as they hate fin in themfelves, fo alfo in others; "I beheld tranfgreffors, and was grieved." I would not give much for your pretenfions to love, if you have no zeal against fin; love is the fire, zeal is the flame; they that love the Lord will fhew forth indignation against fin. Thus, I fay, true lovers loves, and hate what he

of God will love what he hates.

[2. True love will not only hate what he hates, and love what he loves, but hate as he hates, and love as he loves.

ift, They will hate As he hates; they will hate fin, as God hates it; I fpeak not of degrees, but of fimilitude.

(1.) God hates fin with a natural hatred, as oppofite to his nature, will, and law, and difhonouring to him; fo the true lover of God will hate fin with a natural hatred; I mean, by virtue of his new nature, he will hate it as oppofite to God's nature and will, and dif. honouring to his God.

(2.) God hates fin with a perfect hatred, and fo does the true lover of God; they fay of God's enemies within them, as David, Pfalm cxxxix. 21. "I hate them with a perfect hatred:" their hatred is going on to perfection.

(3.) God hates fin with an everlasting hatred; he will never be reconciled with it: fo the true lover of

God

God hates fin with an everlafting hatred; a durable hatred; they will never be friends with it.

(4) God hates fin with a grievous hatred; fin grieves his Spirit; and is, as it were, a burden to him: he is preffed under it as a cart under fheaves: fo the true lover is grieved with the body of fin and death, and pressed under it.

(5) God hates fin with a parting, feparating hatred; he cafts it away with loathing and abhorrence, being of purer eyes than that he can behold iniquity: fo the true lover hates fin fo as to part with it, and separate from it and while he cannot get himfelf rid of it, he loaths himfelf for it.

(6) God hates fin with an avenging hatred; he takes vengeance upon it where ever it is; even when it was found but imputatively in Chrift, he took vengeance upon it in the Surety: fo the true lover of God hates fin with an avenging hatred; yea, what revenge does he meditate against it! 2 Cor. vii. 11. He would fometimes be at Sampfon's work, to pull down the house of that tabernacle upon the Philiftines, to be avenged upon it, and cannot reft till it be deftroyed: he looks upon himself as wretched, fo long as it remains with him: "O wretched man that I am! who fhall deliver me from the body of this fin and death?"-Thus he hates as God hates.

2dly, They love As God loves. It is true God's love to them is infinite, their love is but finite; his love to them is the love of a God, their love to him is but the love of creatures; yet their love bears fome refemblance of his love.

(1.) God's love to his creatures is a remembering love he never forgets them; "Can a woman forget her fucking child, that fhe fhould not have compaffion on the fon of her womb? Yea, fhe may; yet will I not forget thee, faith the Lord." So, true love to God is a remembering love: they cannot forget God; they remember his love more than wine. "I will never forget thy precepts, for by them thou haft quickened me." I can never forget fuch a word, fuch a glance, fuch a vifit, fuch

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fuch a day, fuch a fermon, fuch a bank, fuch a valley, fuch a chamber, where God manifefted himfelf.

(2.) God's love to his people, is a hearty and cordial love; he loves them with all his heart; fo, where true love is, it will be with all the heart, foul, mind, and ftrength as with the heart man believes, fo with the heart the believer loves.

(3) God's love to his people is a manifefted love; he does not conceal his love, but difcovers it: fo true love to God will be a manifefted love; it will manifeft itself, and vent itself in prayer, in praifes, in zeal, in obedience; "If ye love me, keep my commandments." The true lover will vent his love, by defiring to keep Chrift's words, keeping them in the heart; "Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I may not offend thee;" keeping them in the practice, by ordering the converfation aright,

(4) God's love to his people is an uniting love; it brings them to union with himfelf; fo true love to God is uniting; defires union, and cleaves to the Lord; it affects nearnefs; more and more nearnefs; and ftill more and more nearnefs.

(5.) God's love to his people is a prevailing love; it had many hinderances in its way; mountains of guilt, mountains of fin, mountains of provocation, yet he did not call back his love again: even fo, true love to God, notwithstanding of hinderances and oppofition from earth and hell, and corruption within, yet is not drawn back, but labours to prevail; and will, through grace, fight its way through all difficulties; "For love is ftrong as death."

(6.) God's love to his people is a rejoicing love; he rejoiceth in his love; fo where true love to God is, the man will rejoice in his love; delight in God and Chrift, and be joyful in the God of his falvation.

(7.) God's love to his people is a resting love, Zeph, V. 17. "He refts in his love;" when it comes, it never thinks of removing any more; "This is my reft, here will I ftay:" fo where true love to God is, it is a refting love; it fays, "Return to thy reft, O my foul." The true lover of God hath no refting place but a God in Chrift,

(8.) God's

(8.) God's love to his people is a communicative love; his love inclines him and engages him to make over himself, and all that he hath, for the good of his people: fo, where true love to God is, it is fuch a communicative love, that it makes the foul to give himself, and all that he is, and hath, to the Lord; he commits his foul, body, and all the concerns of his falvation to

him.

(9.) God's love to his people is a diftinguishing love; he loves them above all others: "Since thou waft precious in my fight, thou haft been honourable; and I have loved thee," Ifa. xliii. 3, 4. So their love to him is fuperlative love; they love him above all things; and in all things he hath the pre-eminence.

(10.) God's love to his people is in Chrift; they are accepted in the Beloved; fo, true love to God is a love to God in Chrift; out of Chrift they cannot love him, but fear and flee from him: but in Chrift he is amiable and lovely to them.Now, by these things you may try whether you love God, fo as your love is a fruit of his firft loving you.

Ufe of exhortation. Is God's love to his people the caufe of their love to him? then be exhorted, 1. To feck the view of God's love to you. 2. To render

him love for love.

1. Seek a view of God's love to you; fay not in your heart, Alas! all are not loved of God, and it may be not you; but rather fay, Many are the objects of his love, and why not me? Why, fay you, the firft object of faith cannot be to believe that God hath loved me. Indeed you cannot know God's love to you, till he manifeft the fame; and he does not manifeft his love but in Chrift, in whom is proclaimed peace on earth, and good-will towards men, becaufe Chrift hath brought in glory to God in the higheft; and therefore the way to know the love of God to you, is to believe his love and good-will in him; and in coming to him, the love of God is known and believed. How do the faints get to know the love of God to them? It is even by believing his love in Chrift, 1 John iv. 16. "We have known, and believed the love that God hath

to

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to us.' If you look to God out of Chrift, you never fee his love to you, or any finner like you, but wrath and vengeance iffued out against you; but if you look to God in Chrift, then you may fee good-will towards men; for God is in Chrift reconciling the world to himfelf.-Why, fay you, I cannot find any love in my heart towards God; and therefore, how can I believe his love or heart to be towards me? Indeed, man, you will never love God till you take up fomething of his love and good-will towards you; your way of doing is a prepofterous courfe, and a way to rob God of his glory, to think you must love him firft, and then expect that he will love you: lay down your carnal reafoning, and feek grace to apprehend the mercy of God in Chrift, and that will open your foul to let out your love towards him.-Why, fay you, I fee no ground why he fhould love me! there is no caufe, no reafon in the world, but all the reafon in the world, why he fhould not love me; and therefore, how can I be perfuaded of his thoughts of love towards me? To this we might reply, That God fpeaks love, mercy, and good-will towards you man, you woman, by this gofpel, as particularly as ever he did to an elect foul, the day before he met with the day of power; for the general tenders of grace in the gofpel are to all : and as for a caufe of love, he hath as much caufe to fix his love on you as ever he had upon any of the children of men; that is, he had no caufe at all without himself and if you can attain to believe his grace and good-will towards you, and that by a faith of his own operation, you fhall not be deceived. When I call you to believe thus, I am not calling you to fancy that God loves you, or to perfuade yourselves in a natural way; nay, I call you to a faving faith, which I know you can never attain unto without a pull of omnipotency and if that power accompany the call, then the duty called to will be put in practice, and not otherwife therefore, O feek the power of God to perfuade you of the good-will of God in Chrift. All that hear me are obliged to receive Chrift, as a token of God's

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