Chriftian to take up his reft and delight in GoD, as his por-
tion, his happiness, and his all in all; therefore he faith, whom
have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I
defire befides thee. Here he refts; and feeks no farther for any
other object of delight, being confummately contented for
time and eternity, as he views all the perfections of the God-
head engaged to make him happy. He views his wisdom to
guide and direct him in every providential path, that appears
to be intricate, dark, and gloomy: Likewife to inftruct him,
in all the depths of grace, love, and mercy contained in his
word: His omnipotence to bear him up, and fupport him un-
der every trial, and deliver him from every temptation and
trouble: His immenfity and inexhauftible treasures to enrich
him, and make him inconceivably happy with the emanations
of his grace and glory: His truth and faithfulness, to feal the
fweetness of every promife, and to make known every bless-
ing contained in the covenant of grace to his foul. With
these views he faith, Because thy loving kindness is better than
life, my lips shall praise thee, Pfal. Ixiii. 3. i. e. better than life
with all the affluence of the most comfortable enjoyments of it.
It was as much as though the Pfalmift had faid, "Lord there
"is nothing in life to compare with thy loving kindness,
"which is the fum of life, the sweetness of life, yea the life
"of life; for there is nothing here, that nature affords, at its
"higheft, moft full, and magnificent enjoyment, but what is

perishing vanity, and vexation of fpirit; therefore thy lov "ing kindness is better than life, as there is contained therein "a happiness permanent, lafting, and fure; every way adequate to the large and boundless wishes of my immortal "foul." Now the HOLY GHOST, fetting forth the loving kindness of GOD, in its excellency above all the excellencies of life, very emphatically denotes the Chriftian's delight and complacency in GoD as the object of his fuperlative love through a Mediator, as faith the Pfalmift, in the multitude of my thoughts within me, thy comforts delight my foul. And again, my meditations of him fhall be feet; I will be glad in the Lord.

Thirdly, The love of God to his people, and their returns of love to him, agree in the out-goings and communications of it, viz. the LORD JESUS CHRIST, who is the Father's conSecrated way; the new and living way; the way, the truth, and the life.

First, He is the Father's way for all the communications of grace and glory; he is the treafures of Heaven; the ftore-house VOL. III.

F

of the church, wherein the Father difpofeth all the riches of his grace, taken from the bottomlefs mine of his everlasting counfels; which treasure he opens or breaks forth to us, Firft, In his choice of us as the objects of his love, which is faid to be in him before the foundation of the world, Eph. i. 2. Second, In the bleffings of us, with all thofe overflowings, and superaboundings of bleffings that we fhall enjoy through time and eternity; therefore faid to be all spiritual blessings in heavenly places, in Chrift Jefus. Third, This eternal treafure of love, breaks out, or is communicated to us in time, viz. in our regeneration, to make us fit and meet for the confummate enjoyment of the bleffings in glory, Tit. iii. 5, 6. But according to his mercy he faves by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he sheds on us richly through Jesus Chrift our Saviour. Thus you fee that the LORD JESUS is the Father's way of communicating his love to us, as to the fixation of it, the bestowing of it, and the communications of it in time; for in all the pourings out of his love there is no communications of it made known to his faints, but through CHRIST. As under the law the holy anointing oil was poured upon the head of Aaron the High Priest, who was a type of CHRIST, and from thence went down to the skirts of his garments; in like manner all the bleffings of grace and glory were first poured out upon CHRIST (who is not only the High Prieft of our profeffion, but the head of the church,) and from him these bleffings drop as the dew of Hermon upon our fouls, and thereby command life for evermore, that in all things he might have the pre-eminence, Col. i. 18. It pleafed the Father that in him fhould all fulness dwell; and the HOLY GHOST lets us know the intent of it, John i. 16. that cut of his fulness we may receive, and that grace for grace. Though the love of GoD in all its purposes, defigns, and communications, hath its rife and foundation in the fovereign pleasure of his will, yet all the ifiues and fruits of this grace were only to be accomplished through the Mediator of the new covenant. Though the Chriftian may difcern an infinite ocean of love to him, in the counfels, purposes, and promises of GOD, yet he is not to expect one drop of it to be communicated to his foul, but thro' the man of his right-hand, &c. who is by his death the only means of grace and glory-communications; love in God is like honey in the flower, or water in the ocean; for as honey must be first extracted from the flower into the comb before we can enjoy the sweetness of it; and the water in the ocean must be first communicated to us before we can partake of the bleis

ings of it; fo the sweetness of divine love must be first extracted from the nature and perfections of the Godhead to the Man JESUS, as the medium comb, or hive of sweetness, before we can enjoy the comforts of it. And that infinite unknown ocean of love, that there is in GoD to his people, must be first communicated to us, thro' the death and fufferings of CHRIST, before we can enjoy the bleffings of it. And as all the bleffings of grace which flow from this ocean of love, center in CHRIST, they are called wells of falvation; hence he is called, a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters; and we are faid to draw water with joy out of the wells of our falvation. Thus you fee, that CHRIST is the FATHER'S way of love to us. But then,

Secondly, CHRIST is our way of love to the Father, I mean of all the returns of love which we make to him, in holding communion with him; it is he that offers up our prayers and praises, and renders them acceptable to GOD, in the rich incense of his own precious blood; and, if I may fo express it, he thereby perfumes our returns of love in the fragrancy of his own blood; thereby our voice is fweet, and our countenance is comely, in all our communion with our heavenly Father, Eph. iii. 12. In whom we have boldness and accefs with confidence by the faith of him; and faith the Apostle, Heb. x. 19. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. Hence it is that the LORD faith, feek ye my face; and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

But here let it be observed, that in all our returns of love, praife, and thanksgivings to GoD, we only return him the effects of his own love; for we might juftly fay, as David in another cafe, of thine own have rve given thee. Our love to GoD is a love of duty, obedience, and gratitude, for all the unnumbered bleffings which his kind hand and bountiful heart has beftowed upon us. His love is a descending love, an impulsive love, a love that leads him out to do good things to us, and great things for us. It lies at the bottom of every difpenfation towards us, for he loves us, and chooses us in CHRIST.-Loves us and bleffes us in him.-Loves us, and chastiseth us because he loves us.-Loves us, and therefore fent his Son to die for us, that he may communicate of his love to us, that his spirit may sanctify us, and make us meet to enjoy the glories of his love when time is no more. His love to us is a very fruitful love, like the love of the heavens to the earth, which when full

of rain, emit their fulness in the most free and liberal com munications, to enrich and make it fruitful; not weary in giving a few replenishing showers, or affording their rains in regular feafons, but they continue in fucceeding generations to give abundance of them, whereby the earth becomes full of the goodness of the Lord. So in like manner, the mighty GoD, the God of Jacob, hath opened the fountains of the great deeps of his kindness, from whence he pours forth fuch fhowers of his love and grace, as fo replenifh our fouls with divine fruitfulnefs, that our fouls are filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jefus Chrift to the praise and glory of God. And as all the waters with which the heavens are replete, have their derivation from the fea, and make their returns thereunto by ftreams and rivers: So all that divine life, peace and joy, which we poffefs in our fouls, fpring from the immenfe ocean of JEHOVAH's love; as the standing fountain and fupply of the church, always communicating of its own bounty, fulness, and liberality; and which is the original cause of all the returns of love which we make to him as the God of our falvation. Thus the love of God defcends to us in a way of bounty and fruitfulness, and ours returns to him in a way of duty and thankfulnefs. His love adds much every way to us, but ours nothing to him; as our goodness extends not to him, but to the Saints. Though GoD requires our love, it is not in the least to be benefited by it, but in a way of reft, delight, reverence, and obedience. He loves us with the paternal affections of a father; we love him with the filial affections of a child.

Friendly. In what refpect doth the love of GoD differ from

our love to him?

Truth. In that his love to us is an antecedent love; and our love to him is a confequent love, 1 John iv. 10. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but in that he loved us. His love goes before ours, as a father loves his child before the child knows the father, much lefs loves him. And indeed, by nature, we are not only lovers of pleasures more than lovers of GOD, but we are faid to be haters of Gon, Rom. i. 30. yet even in this ftate GoD commends his love to us, when it was not poffibly that there could be any thing in us that was lovely or amiable, to attract his love, being finners, dead in trespasses and in fins, which rendered us as vile and worthless as creatures can be; and yet Rom. v. 8. God commended his love to us, in that while we were yet finners Chrift died for us; which proves his love to be prior to ours, in that he hath made fuch a rich display of it to us, when we were enemies, and alienated

in our minds. So that all our returns of love, which we in prayer, praise, and thanksgiving, return to GOD, are in confequence of his love to us, which is fhed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghoft, and animates our minds to make some grateful returns, as the effect of the discovery thereof.

Secondly, The love of GoD to us differs from our love to him, as it is like himself, immenfe, inconceivable, rich, immutable, and permanent, not fubject to any increase, or dimunition. Ours is fubject to wither and decline every day; but his is like the fun, always the fame for ftrength, life, and light, though a cloud may fometimes interpofe. Ours is like the moon, which hath her changes; but his love is like the ancient rocks, and the everlasting hills, which never move. So whom JEHOVAH once loves, he loveth to the end, I Sam. xv. 29. For the ftrength of Ifrael is not man, that he should repent ; on whom he fixes his love, it abides immutable like his nature; it doth not grow to eternity, it is fo great, that it cannot be heightened by any act of ours; neither can it be leffened by any thing in us. He knew when he fixed his love upon us, we fhould be vile, filthy, black, and unclean, and from the riches of his own love, was gracioufly refolved to make us just fuch as he would have us to be, lovely, amiable, and acceptable in his fight; fuch whom he may delight in for ever.

Friendly. Does the love of God then admit of no change? Truth. No, not as to the nature and duration of it; but only as to the manifeftations and difcoveries of it; and this is various, according to the fovereign pleasure of his will, which he discovers by the miniftration of the word; he manifefts himfelf to one or more, in fuch a sweet and powerful manner, that they find the word preached, to be the favour of life unto life to their fouls; to come not in word only, but in power, and demonftration of the HOLY GHOST, while others find it as a dead letter to them. And the love of GoD is not only variable, as the communications of it in the public miniftration of the word, but in meditation, prayer, and praife; which the Chriftian finds as the windows of heaven to his foul, when the LORD fhines with the light of his countenance. So that every confolation, which he receives, is not fo much depending upon the means, as the fovereign pleafure of the GoD of grace in the means, which makes fo many variations in us, as to the fenfible enjoyment of his love, whilft his love in himself is the fame to us.

Friendly. But when God hides his face in communion how is the Christian then to act?