hereby to us but for which we must have remained utter strangers unto peace for ever 4. This love hath pointed out to us the way of Salvation by Christ. As God hath laid it in Christ for us so he hath in the Gospel discovered the way of it to us There is a way in which Sinful men must come to partake in the precious fruits of Christ Redemption and there are terms on which these are conveyed to us now God hath opened these terms and laid out all the Articles of the New Covenant in his Gospel This is not a favour which all partake in it is said of the Gentiles who are without the Gospel in Rom. 3. 17. The way of peace have they not known And we are told in 2 Tim. 1. 10. That God hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel There are the proposals in the New-Covenant which must be complied withal by those â—hat hope to be Saved by Christ they that never hear of them can never comply with â—hem Rom. 10. 14. How shall they believe in him â—f whom they have not heard And it is Gods â—ove to his chosen that moved him to open â—his Covenant and propose the terms of it to â—hem in order to their being brought into it 5. This love hath not only provided the means but also renders them effectual to our Salvation God brings about the Salvation of his Elect in the way of means as best accommodated to his treating of them as reasonable Creatures he hath therefore appointed them in the Gospel and they are the gifts of our glorified Saviour Eph 4. 10. c. It is therefore a singular favour for men to enjoy them there is that remark Psal 147. 19 20. He shewed his word unto Jacob his statutes and his judgments unto Israel he hath not dealt so with any nation c. And it must be so for the want of them is a note of perdition 2 Cor 4. 3. If our Gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost But yet many have them and they prove occasions of their greater ruine because they abuse them Herein therefore is Gods love antecedently to ours eminently celebrated in that he gives a blessing to the means and so making them powerful to advance the end of them Rom. 1. 16. The Gospel is the power of God to Salvation in them that believe and why only in such aâ— do believe why because the Spirit of God comes in with them to such and leaves saving impressions by them Now all these are the incentives of our love and do certainly proceed from his loving us first USE I. We may hence infer the Doctrine of personal Election Great attempts have been and are used in the Christian world to undermine this truth but all are in vain If there were no more Scripture evidence for the confirmation and establishment of this Article of our faith but only the words of our Text it is sufficient to enervate all the cavils and objections that are brought against it If Gods first loving us be not only a Reason but a Cause too of our loving him and consequently if any of us have the love of God produced in him it is an evidence of that antecedent love which he bare to us it so becomes a distinguishing note between them whom he loved and others and for that reason it must needs be an infallible evidence of Gods having such a love for us before which must needs be from Eternity because his will and purpose is like himself Immutable And this can amount to nothing less than a Personal â—lection for if God be the author of this Grace â—â— us and he produceth it by his Spirit because â—e loved us than we were personally appointed â—ereto from Eternity So the Apostle layes it â—own Eph. 1. 3 4. Blessed be the God and Father â—f our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with â—ll Spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy USE II. This tells us that Gods Electing love could not â—e founded on the prevision of any thing in the Creature We are here acquainted with the Absolute Sovereignty of God in this affair If Gods love be the first cause of all Grace and Good to us it must needs then be it self Independent for that is an inseparable property of a Supream Cause If Gods love produceth all that is good in the Creature it is then impossible that the goodness of the Creature should produce that love to it To limit Gods special love which he bears unto any unto something foreseen in the Subject is to make something in us that did precede that and that did not derive from it as the Efficient of it which is to invert the order of Causes and put the second being in the place of the first God could not foresee any thing lovely in us but upon his own purpose to confer it upon us on which the futurity of it depended anâ— therefore this foresight could not cause his lovâ— but must needs flow from it He bestowed thâ— gift on us because he loved us Rev. 1. 5. Unâ— him that loved us and washed us frâ—â— our sins his blood USE III. Hence we learn what little reason they have tâ— think that God loved them who are void of thâ— love of God It is true Gods love to those whom he hath Chosen in Christ runs under grounâ— for a great while and there are those whom hâ— hath an endeared respect for who are at presenâ— in arms of rebellion against him who have nâ— regard for him who say unto him depart from us such indeed are all Gods Elect before Conversiâ— on Eph 2. 2 3. Wherein in times past ye walkeâ— according to the course of this world c and werâ— Children of wrath even as others Tit. 3 3 We ouâ— selves also were sometimes foolish and diâ—obedient c. And though there are â—nseen ways in which this love of his is before hand working towarâ— them yet all this while â—â—ey have no grounâ— of evidence to prove their interest in his special favour It is certain if any are the Subjects of this love it will sooner or later breaâ—â—orth in their Calling and will kindle in them a â—incere love to him Jer 31 3 I have loved thâ— â—ith an everlasting love therefore in loving Kindâ—ess have I drawn thee And this is the first â—iscovery by which they know that he loved â—hem 2 Thes 2. 13 God hath from the beginâ—ing chosen you to Salvation through the Sanctiâ—cation of the Spirit And therefore the order â—f Assurance is to come at the knowledge of â—ur Election by our Vocation 2 Pet. 1. 10. In â—ain then do they pretend to be the beâ—oved of God who do not love and serve â—im cordially USE IV. Hence it follows that they who truely love God â—annot but acknowledge and adore his Electing love â—o them What is the reason why the Profesing World is so full of prejudices against the Doctrine of Gods free Sovereign Election and â—hat there are so few that can relish or paâ—iently endure the Preaching of it Doubâ—ess â—t must be because they were never experimentally acquainted with it That man who â—ath had the love of God shed abroad in his â—eart and hath known what it is to be Saved by Grace will put the greatest Emphasis upon this Article of it and his love will be the more ardently enflamed by it to think that herein God hath manifested what precious and endearing thoughts he had for him in the daâ— of Eternity how distinguishing that love wâ—â— when he had neither being nor deservinâ— My Prayer then for all such prejudiced persons shall be that God will give unto them the experience of this love in themselves and that will silence all their uprisings of heart and fill them with adoration FINIS
hath shifted objects and exchanged God for â— Creature Unconverted men are said to Lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God 2 Tiâ— 3. 4. And hereupon that is one title put upâ— ungodly men Rom. 1. 30. Haters of God that their first love in respect of the object on which it was placed is turned into hatred 3. This love must be again recovered by the man in order to his being made to enjoy God and to be happy in him It is certain that mans true happiness consists in his enjoying of God who is the only adequate object of felicity no other can make a suitable and sufficient portion for the reasonable Creature to be far from God is to be miserable indeed Psal 73. 27. For lo all that are far from thee shall perish In his favour there is life his loving kindness is better than life it self Now God is a portion for none but those that love him it is by love that we come to have Communion with him which is our blessedness Prov. 8. 17. I love them that love me Hatred keeps the Sinner at a distance from God and there is a fearful Curse out against all such Psal 21. 8. c. Thine hand shall find out all thine Enemies thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee thou shalt make them as a fiery Oven c. Whereas there is a great Blessing in store for such as love him Psal 5. 11 12. Let them that love thy name be joyful in thee for thou Lord wilt bless the righteous with favour wilt thou compass him as a shield It therefore infinitely concerns us all to see that the love of God dwells in us and this is it which the Apostle prays for in their behalf 2 Thes 3. 5. The Lord direct your hearts into the Love of God 4. It utterly exceeds the power of man to recover this Principle and the activity of it Of the Natural mans inability to exert any truly Gracious action the Scripture abundantly informs us Josh 24 19. Ye cannot serve God Rom. 8. 7 8. The Carnal mind is Enmity against God for it is noâ— subject to the Law of God neither indeed can be So then they that are in the Flesh cannot please God 2 Cor. 3. 5. We are not sufficient of our selves to think any thing as of our selves Now this defect ariseth from the loss of the Image of God on his Heart and his incapacity of getting it again by any Endeavour of his own Because he hath not a root of Grace in him therefore he cannot act Graciously for noâ— Effect can exceed the Vertue of its Cause And because there is a contrary Principle in him which reigns over every Faculty and Power within him he therefore is not able to withstand it Indeed he cannot so much as desire to Love God much less is he able to restore this Grace to his heart again The Will therefore as well as the Deed must be of his operation in us Phil. 2. 13. It is God who worketh in you to will and to do of his own good pleasure The restoring of lost Grace to fallen man is a work of Omnipotency and therefore none but he who is Almighty is able to do it in us it is therefore compared to a Creation 2 Cor. 4. 6. God who commanded the light to shine out of the darkness hath shined in our hearts c. And to a Resurrection Eph. 2. 1. You hath he quickned who were dead in trespasses and sins Love is a thing that is not to be purchased all that a man would offer for it will be despised Cant. 87. Which may be interpreted as well of our loving God as of his loving us 5. This love is a saving gift and therefore must have God for its Author It is one of those things which we are told do accompany Salvation Heb. 69. and is therefore called a fruit of the Spirit in the fore cited Gal. 5. 22. This love is an effect of the New birth whereof God is the Author 1 John 4. 7. Love is of God and every one that loveth is born of God And indeed it being one of the Graces of Sanctification it must needs proceed from Gods Efficiency for it is he that Sanctifieth us 1 Thes 5. 23. And the wonderful change that is made in the man by it must force us to say of it behold the finger of God To see one who the other day despised God had no desire after him had him to depart from him chose carnal objects lying vanities rather than him â—ay hated his counsels and was full of all prejudices against him now to love him to chuse him to embrace him to forsake all for him to submit to him and delight in his Service is a thing of which no other account can be given but that God hath created him a new in Christ Jesus that he hath given him another and a Neâ— heart or otherwise it could never have been 6 There was nothing in us that could move Goâ— to produce this saving quality in us In all voluntary actions which are done by a Rational Agent we are wont to enquire after the Impulsivâ— cause of them or what it was that moved anâ— engaged him so to do and by such measure as these are we necessitated to conceive of God Works of Efficiency It is a demonstration oâ— Gods wonderful love to us that he will put principle of Sanctification into us and therebâ— restores us from death to life and whence was that he so did or what was it that induceâ— him hereunto Certainly it could not be froâ— any loveliness that he saw in us for there waâ— none we had nothing in us that was desirâ—ble but every thing was hateful the Image God which once was our beauty and ornâ—ment was gone and the Image of Sin whicâ— is our shame and vileness was contracted anâ— by virtue of it we were every way abominâ—ble when therefore God speaks of doing sucâ— things for backslidden Israel he would havâ— them to take that humbling remark upon iâ— Ezek. 36. 22. Thus saith the Lord I do not thâ— for your sakes Oh house of Israel but for mine holy names sake c. Nor was he moved hereto by our requests and prayers it was not because we in sense of our folly and misery sought relief of him that his bowels earned towards us for he himself saith Isa 65. 1. I am sought of them that asked not for me I am found of them that sought me not and though he hath declared in Ezek. 36. 37. I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them Yet his preventing grace producâ—th this in us otherwise we should never have thus enquired after him but abode in our distance from him 7. Hence the spring or rise of all this must be from his love or good will to us When we have searched into all the causes of Regeneration in which this
gracious principle is wrought in us we must ultimately determine it hither we are made to partake in this Grace because God hath appointed us to it and the reason why we were so appointed was because it so pleased God Mat. 11. 25. 26. Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them to babes even so Father for so it seemed good in thy sight God therefore tells Israel that he loved them because he loved them Deut. 7. 7 8. The Lord did not set his love upon you because ye were more in number c. but because the Lord loved you In timating that the motive of this love was noâ— where to be sought out of himself and on this account God assigns our effectual calling to a love of his own that never had any beginning Jer. 31. 3. I have loved thee with an everlasting love therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee and needs must it be so for he is the first cause and last end of all things Rom. 11. ult Of him and through him and to him are all things Nor could his Grace be otherwise absolutely free and soveraign as the Gospel every where assures us that it is 8. All the engagements by which our love is excited to act upon him are from his first loving of us As there is the planting of saving grace in us in our Renovation by which a principle is infused into us enabling and disposing of us to love him so there are the attractives by which this principle is drawn forth into act which are so many motives to stir up this love in us for our love of God is not a bruiâ—ish passion but it is acted with the highest reason and all the reasons of it are found in his love to us he therefore thus draws us in order to our following of him Cant. 1. 14. Draw me we will run after thee and the way in which he allures us is by his love Hos 11. 4. I drew thee with the cords of a man with the bands of love Now there are principally such things as these the consideration and belief whereof attract the love of our Souls to God 1. It was this love that appointed us to be the heirs of Salvation The Word of God doth frequently express our Salvation under the consideration of an Inheritance and so all the claims that we can make to iâ— must be in way of Heirship and we are not born heirs to it by a natural birth but are introduced into it by a voluntary Adoption we had in our selves no more of right to it than the Devils nor could we make out a better claim to it than the rest of Apostate mankind we were common heirs with them of the same destruction Eph. 2 3. Being children of wrath by nature even as others We therefore come to have a right thereto according to appointment 1 Thes 5. 9. God hath not appointed us to wrath but to obtain Salvation by Jesus Christ. Nor can there be a greater obligation upon us to love God than the consideration of this eternal design to think that God had such a thought of good will for us when he proposed no such favour for millions as good and as well deserving as we and this is owing to his love 1 Joh. 3. 1. Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the Sons of God And sure this love must be more ancient than ours to him who but the other day hated him and were his Enemies 2. This love provided Christ to purchase Salvation for us Such was our unhappy condition by the Fall that there could be no salvation for us but by a satisfaction made to offended Justice which Attribute must not in the least vail its glory in this affair or so much as stoop to mercy in it If God will save us he must provide a Jesus for us one that can save us from our sins The Law must have a reparation made for the violation of it our contracted Guilt must be expiated we cannot do this for our selves thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of oyl will not do it there must a Surety interpose to undertake this none could do it but the Son of God he must be made Sin and a Curse for us he must have all our Iniquities laid upon him and by his stripes we must be healed the case was reduced to this exigence either God must destroy us everlastingly for our sins or do the execution upon his own Son in our stead nothing else would have done Certainly then here was love unparallel'd Christ himself expresseth it as that which exceeds all comparison Joh. 3. 16. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son And the Apostle thought it to be an argument which could not be over strained in the exercise of our faith for the obtaining of alâ— the good that is laid up in the promise Rom 8 32. He that spared not his own Son but delivered him up for us all how shall he not with him also freely give us all things and the consideration of it will be further amplified by observing that this was done for us before we had any love for him not only was it agreed upon in the eternal compact that Christ should in fulness of time come and work out salvation for us but the thing it self was accomplished on ouâ— account during our being his enemies Rom. 5. 8 10. God commends his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us When we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son 3. This love hath revealed Christ to us as an Object suitable for us to trust in for salvation As it exceeded the reach of any created understanding to find out the way of salvation by Christ the thing it self being a mystery of Infinite wisdom so the Revelation or declaration of him to sinful men is of God alone It is his Gospel in which Christ is published there it is that we are acquainted with his Person and Offices his undertaking and accomplishment his Incarnation subjection to the Law and making satisfaction to it for us how acceptable his Redemption was to his father how sufficient it was for us to procure peace and life for us there it is that we are acquainted how and assured that he is able to save all those to the uttermost that come unto God by him Heb. 7. 25. How many nations are there in the world that hear nothing of him and thereupon they perish unavoidably for lack of vision Certainly this good news is a token of Gods good will it is he who sends it unto us and treats with us in it They that bring these glad tidings are his Ambassadors 2 Cor. 5. 20. We are Ambassadors for Christ as if God did beseech you by us It is a treaty of peace and reconciliation which is opened