in his heart; the sum of which is to love the Lord God with all the heart and soul; and as Mediator he shewed his love to him by an obedience to his commandment, even though that was to suffer death for his people, Psal. xl. 8. John xiv. 31. and x. 18. Phil. ii. 8. The Son also loves the Spirit, since he proceeds from him as from the Father, and is called the Spirit of the Son, Gal. iv. 6. and Christ often speaks of him with pleasure and delight, Isai. xlviii. 16. and lxi. 1. John xiv. 16-26. and xv. 26. and xvi. 7, 13. And the Spirit loves the Father and the Son, and sheds abroad the love of them both in the hearts of his people; he searches into the deep things of God, and reveals them to them; and takes of the things of Christ, and shews them unto them; and so is both the Comforter of them, and the Glorifier of him, 1 Cor. ii. 10-12. John

xvi. 14.

11. All that God has made is the object of his love; all the works of crea tion, when he had made them, he looked over them, and saw that they were good, very good, Gen. i. 31. he was well pleased, and delighted with them; yea, he is said to rejoice in his works; Psal. civ. 31. he upholds all creatures in their beings, and is the Preserver of all, both men and beasts; and is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works, Psal xxxvi. 6. and cxlv. 9. and particularly, rational creatures are the objects of his care, love, and delight: he loves the holy angels, and has shewn his love to them in choosing them to happiness; hence they are called elect angels, 1 Tim. v. 21. by making Christ the head of them, by whom they are confirmed in the estate in which they were created, Col. ii. 10. and by admitting them into his presence, allowing them to stand before him, and behold his face, Matt. xviii. 10. yea, even the devils, as they are the creatures of God, are not hated by him, but as they are apostate spirits from him and so he bears a general love to all men, as they are his creatures, his offspring, and the work of his hands; he supports them, preserves them, and bestows the bounties of his providence in common upon them, Acts xvii. 28. and xiv. 17. Matt. v. 45. but he bears a special love to elect men in Christ; which is called his great love, Eph. ii. 4. whom he has chosen and blessed with all spiritual blessings in him, Eph. i. 3, 4. and which love is distinguished and discriminating, Mal. i. 1, 2. Rom. ix. 11, 12. I go on,

II. To Give some instances of the love of God, particularly to chosen men in Christ, and who share in the love of Father, Son, and Spirit.

The love of the Father has appeared in thinking of them, thoughts of peace; in contriving and forming the scheme of their peace and reconciliation in Christ, from eternity, 2 Cor. v. 18, 19. in choosing them in him from the beginning, even from everlasting, to salvation, by him, 2 Thess. ii. 13. in putting their persons into the hands of Christ, and securing and preserving them in him, Deut. xxxiii. 3. Jude 1. in laying up all blessings in him for them, and blessing them with them so early, Eph. i. 3, 4. in appointing Christ to be the Saviour of them; in providing, promising, and sending him into the world, to

work out their salvation, John iii. 16. 1 John iv. 9, 10. Tit. iii. 4, 5 in the pardon of their sins through the blood of Christ, Isai. xxxviii. 17. Eph. i. 7. in their adoption, 1 John iii. 1. in their regeneration and conversion, Jer. xxxi. 3. Eph. ii. 4, 5. and in the gift of eternal life unto them, Rom. vi. 23.

The love of the Son of God appears in espousing the persons of the elect, those sons of men, in whom his delights were before the world was, Prov. viii. 31. Hos. ii. 19. in becoming their Surety for good, undertaking their cause, engaging to do the will of God with that chearfulness he did; which was to work out their salvation, Psal. xl. 6-8. Heb. vii. 22. in assuming their nature, in the fulness of time, to redeem them, work out a righteousness, and make reconciliation for them, Gal. iv. 4, 5. Rom. viii. 3, 4. Heb. ii. 14, 17. by giving himself a sacrifice for them; laying down his life on their account; and shedding his blood for the cleansing of their souls, and the remission of their sins, Eph. v. 2, 25. Tit. ii. 14. 1 John iii. 16. Rev. i. 5.

The love of the Spirit, of which mention is made in Rom. xv. 30. appears in his coming into the hearts of God's elect, to convince them of sin and righteousness, and to comfort them; by shewing the grace of the covenant, and the blessings of it to them; by opening and applying the promises of it; and by shedding abroad the love of God in their hearts; by implanting every grace in them, and drawing them forth into exercise; by witnessing to their spirits their adoption; by assisting them in every duty, particularly in prayer, making intercession for them, according to the will of God; and in being the earnest, pledge, and seal of them to the day of redemption, John xvi. 7, 8. Rom. viii, 15-27, Eph. i. 13, 14.

III. It may be proper next to consider the properties of the love of God towards chosen men, which will lead more into the nature of it.

1. There is no cause of it out of God; there is no motive or inducement to it in them, no loveliness in them to excite it; all men by nature are corrupt and abominable; rather to be loathed than loved; and those that are loved, are no better than others, all being under sin; and are, "by nature, children of wrath, as others;" as deserving of that as those that are not loved, Rom. iii. 9. Eph. ii. 3. what loveliness or beauty is in saints, is owing to the righteousness of Christ, imputed to them; which is that comeliness that is put upon them, whereby they are made perfectly comely; and to the sanctifying grace of the Spirit, whereby they are all glorious within, and appear in the beauties of holi. ness so that all this is the fruit of the love of God, and not the cause of it. Nor can it be any love in them to God, that is the cause of his to them; for they had no love in them when Christ died for them; nor until regenerated by the Spirit of God; and when they love him, it is because he first loved them, 1 John iv. 10, 19. and though Christ is said to love them that love him, and the Father is said to love them too; yet this must not be understood of the first love of God and Christ, unto them, nor of the first display of it; but of fur. ther and larger manifestations of it to them; and is descriptive of the persons

who are most certainly and evidently the objects of their love; but not as being the cause of it, Prov. viii. 17. John xiv. 21, 23, and xvi. 27. Nor are good works the cause of this love; for this, at least, in one instance of it, was before either good or evil were done, Rom. ix. 11, 12, and in other instances it broke forth towards them, and broke in upon them while they were yet in their sins, and before they were capable of performing good works, Rom. v. 8. Tit. i. 3, 4. Eph. ii. 2-4. and how can it be thought, that since the best works of men are so impure and imperfect as to be reckoned as filthy rags, that these should be the cause of God's love to men? no, even faith itself is not; that "is the gift of God," and flows from electing love, and is a fruit and evidence of it, Eph. ii. 8. Acts xiii. 48. Tit. i. 1. God loves men, not because they have faith; but they have faith given them, because God loves them; it is true indeed, that "without faith it is impossible to please God;" that is, to do those things which are pleasing in his sight; but then the persons of God's elect, may be, and are, well pleasing to God, in Christ, before faith, and without it. In short, the love of God purely flows from his good will and pleasure; who "is gracı-ous to whom he will be gracious," Exod. xxxiii. 19. it is that pure river that proceeds out of the throne of God, and of the Lamb, as an emblem of sove→ reignity, Rom. xxi. 1, as God loved the people of Israel because he loved them, or would love them; and for no other reason, Duet. vii. 7, 8. in like manner he loves his spiritual and mystical Israel.

II. The love of God is eternal, it does not commence in time, it is without beginning, it is from eternity; this is evident from the love of God to Christ, which was before the foundation of the world; and with the same love he loved him, he loved his people also, and as early, John xvii. 23, 24. and from various acts of love to them in eternity, Eph. i. 4. the covenant of grace made with them, in which, grants of grace, and promises of glory were made before the world began; and Christ was set up as the Mediator of it from everlasting: all which are strong proofs of love to them, 2 Tim. i. 9. Tit. i. 2. Prov. viii. 22, 23.

III. The love of God is immutable, unalterable, and invariable; it is like himself, the same to-day, yesterday, and for ever: and, indeed, God is love; it is his nature; it is himself; and therefore must be without any variableness, or shadow of turning. It admits of no distinctions, by which it appears to alter and vary. Some talk of a love of benevolence, by which God wishes or wills good to men; and then comes on a love of beneficence, and he does good to them, and works good in them: and then a love of complacency, and delight takes place, and not till then. But this is to make God changeable, as we are: the love of God admits of no degrees, it neither increases nor decreases; it is the same from the instant in eternity it was, without any change; it is needless to ask whether it is the same before as after conversion, since there were as great, if not greater gifts of love, bestowed on the object loved, before conversion, as after; such as the gift of God himself, in the everlasting covenant; the gift of his Son to die for them when in their sins; and the gift of the Spirit to them, in

order to regenerate, quicken, and convert them; heaven itself, eternal life, is not a greater gift than these; and yet they were all before conversion. There never were any stops, lets, or impediments to this love; not the fall of Adam, nor the sad effects of it; nor the actual sins and transgressions of God's people, in a state of nature; nor all their backslidings, after called by grace; for still he loves them freely, Hos. xiv. 4. for God foreknew that they would fall in Adam, with others, that they would be transgressors from the womb, and do as evil as they could; yet this hindered not his taking up thoughts of love towards them, his choice of them, and covenant with them. Conversion makes a change in them; brings them from the power of Satan to God, from darkness to light, from bondage to liberty; from fellowship with evil men to communion with God: but it makes no change in the love of God; God changes his dispensations and dealings with them, but never changes his love; he sometimes rebukes and chastizes them, but still he loves them; he sometimes hides his face from them, but his love continues the same, Psal. lxxxix. 29-33. Isa. liv. 7-10. the manifestations of his love are various; to some they are greater, to others less; and so to the same persons, at different times; but love in his own heart is unvariable and unchangeable.

IV. The love of God endures for ever; it is an everlasting love, in that sense, Jer. xxxi. 3. it is the bond of union between God and Christ, and the elect; and it can never be dissolved; nothing can separate it, nor separate from it, Rom. viii. 35-39. The union it is the bond of, is next to that, and like it, which is between the three divine persons, John xvii. 21, 23. The union between soul and body, may be, and is dissolved, at death; but neither death nor life can separate from this; this loving kindness of God never departs; though health, and wealth, and friends, and life itself may depart, this never will, Isai. liv. 10. whatever God takes away, as all the said things may be taken away by him, he will never take away this, Psal. lxxxix. 33. having loved his own which were in the world he loves them to the end, to the end of their lives, to the end of time, and to all eternity, John xiii. 1.

OF THE GRACE OF GOD.

THIS attribute may be considered, both as it is in God himself, and as displayed in acts towards his creatures; as in himself, it is himself; it is his nature and essence; he is Grace itself, most amiable and lovely; hence so often called gracious in scripture; it is a character expressive of the amiableness and loveliness of his nature: and thus he was before he had, and would have been for ever the same if he never had displayed his grace towards any of his creaAnd this appears from the loveliness of Christ, the image of the Father, the express image of his person; who, to them that believe, is exceeding precious, and altogether lovely; when they behold his glory, as the only begotten

of the Father; the fulness of grace in him, as Mediator; the purity, perfection, and beauty of his human nature, as in union with his divine person, in which he was in high favour with God and men. Now if Christ, under these several considerations, is so graceful and amiable, he must needs be infinitely so, whose image he is, and who has all virtues, all excellencies, all perfections in him; he is said to be glorious in holiness, Exod. xv. 11. And if he is so glorious and graceful, viewed in one perfection of his, what must he be when all put together, and he is viewed in them all, his goodness, wisdom, power, justice, truth, &c? and therefore is to be loved above all, and with all the heart, soul, and strength; and hence it is that good men, as Moses, David, and others, desired to see the face of God, so far as could be admitted, and they were capable of, Exod. xxxiii. 14, 15. Psal. xxvii. 7, 8. and cv. 4. and what a lovely sight had Moses of him in the clift of the rock, when he caused his goodness to pass, and proclaimed his name, a God gracious before him, Exod. xxxiii. 19. and xxxiv. 6. and to see the lovely face of God, so far as creatures are capable of, is the happiness of angels, and will be the happiness of saints to all eternity, Matt. xviii. 10. 1 Cor. xiii. 12. 1 John iii. 2. Rev. xxii. 4.

The grace of God may be considered as displayed in acts of goodness towards his creatures, especially men; and is no other than his free favour and good will to men; it is no other than love unmerited and undeserved, exercising and communicating itself to them in a free and generous manner; which they are altogether unworthy of. There are many things called grace, and the grace of God, because they flow from his grace, and are the effects of it; as the gospel, 2 Cor. vi. 1. Gal. v. 4. Tit. ii. 11. gifts for preaching the gospel, Rom. xii. 6. Eph. iii. 7, 8. the blessings of grace, as justification, adoption, &c. Psal. lxxxiv. 11. 2 Tim. i. 9. the several graces of the Spirit in regeneration, as faith, hope, love, &c. 2 Cor. ix. 8. Gal. ii. 9. but then these are to be distinguished from grace in God; as the Giver and the gift, the Fountain and the streams, the Cause and the effect. The grace of God arises from the goodness of his nature, and not from any thing in the creature; and is exercised according to his sovereign will and pleasure; I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, Exod. xxxiii. 19. It is independent of all merit and worth in creatures, and of all works done by them, and is always opposed to them in scripture, Rom. xi. 6. 2 Tim. i. 9. Eph. ii. 8, 9. it is quite entirely free, as Austin" said long ago, grace is not grace, unless it is altogether free. As an attribute, it wholly and only resides in God; and is only in men, as to the sense and perception of it, and the effects of it upon them and in them, Rom. v. 5. and viii. 38. and it is only exhibited and displayed through Christ, in and through whom men are elected, adopted, redeemed, justified, pardoned, regenerated, and sanctified, Eph. i. 4-7. Rom. iii. 24. Tit. iii. 5, 6. And though there are various gifts and blessings, and effects of it, it is but one in God; there is but one Fountain, *Non enim Dei gratia, gratia erit ullo modo, nisi gratuita fuerit omnimodo, Aug. contra Pelag, de Peccat, Original, l. 2. p. 338.