Imatges de pàgina
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VOL. is fomething or other that we do love; yea and

I.

it is altogether impoffible to our nature, not fo love fomething or other. And hath he planted a vineyard and fhall be not eat of the fruit thereof? He hath planted that love in our natures which we have made vile, by alienating it from him, and which may yet be made a facred thing by being fanctified and turned upon GoD again. For it is the object and a fuitableness thereunto, wherein confifts the fanctification of the affections. And again,

3. Nor to love GoD is a moft merciless felf-deftruction. It is a divulfion of our felves from him who is our life. It is to rend our fouls from the fupreme good, and fo abandon our selves by our own choice unto mifery. How infamous among men is the name of a felo de fe, one that hath done violence to his own life, and perifheth by his own hands! Though the nature of the thing doth exempt him from perfonal punishment in this world; yet you know that human laws do very feverely animadvert upon, and pu

nish the crime as far as the matter can admit. Juries are impanelled, a ftrict inquiry is made into the nature of the cafe. "What? did he "do it voluntarily? was he compos fui? did he "understand himfelf when he did it?" Ard if this be found to be the cafe; his goods are confifcated, and his memory is branded with all the infamy that can be devised. And there is a great deal of reafon for it. For the wrong that

bi Cor. IX. 7.

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is done does not terminate upon himself, or his SER M.
own relatives; but the Prince is wronged, being VIII.
robbed of a fubject; and the community is
wronged alfo, being deprived of one that other-
wife might have been a useful member.

No man, as I remember Cicero fomewhere
fpeaks, is born for himself *. Many claim a part
in us befides our felves, to wit, our Prince, our
country, and our friends. And when one de-
ftroys himself, many are injured by that felf-
destruction. And though fome Heathens have
spoken of felf-deftruction as a very noble and
generous act, yet Plato who had more, light
(speaking, as I remember, to this very cafe) fays,
"We are here in the body like foldiers in a gar-
"rifon, who are not to stir out without the ge-
"neral's order and direction; no more may

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any one dare to go out of the body, till the

great ruler of the, world, who hath placed "him there, gives hini leave, or a call." And he appeals to men themselves. "If you (faith he) "had a flave that should kill himself, would you

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not say he had wronged you as well as himself, "who had an intereft in him and his fervice?" And what do we think all this while that GOD'S dominion is lefs over our fpiritual and eternal being? over these fouls of ours that are capable of being imployed in his love and praise eternally? And is not this injurious to him, that men, who are naturally capable of all this, fhould yet throw themfelves off from GOD, and caft themselves among a crew of damned fpirits, whofe business will be K 2 always

Nemo fibi nafcitur.

I.

VOL. always to curfe their maker? Is not this, I say, an injury to the bleffed God himself, who is the author of that being and capacity to ferve him, which we find ourselves poffeffed of? Moreover,

4. By not loving GoD we render our felves altogether incapable of doing him any faithful fervice, upon which our great comfort and advantage, and his honour and glory do at once depend. For GoD is glorified only by our voluntary action and devotedness to him. And is it not alfo more pleasant to serve Go D chearfully than otherwife? but can we do that without loving him? And doth it not caft a most intolerable calumny upon him, that we fhould ferve fuch a mafter unpleasantly, and with unchearful fervice? Further,

5. WE fhould, in breaking of this one law of love to Go D, break all. It is a breach of all the law at once, and fo makes us incapable of doing GOD any service at all. For we can never ferve him while we obey him never obey him without love.

not, and we can

We find that the

Therefore we

whole law is fummed up in it.
break the whole law of love to Go D in epitome,
when we do not love him. All the law is ful-
filled and comprehended in that one word Love.
And though it is plain that the Apostle when he
fays Love is the fulfilling of the law, fpeaks
there with a more direct reference to love to men,
or one another; yet it is plain too that both
branches may be reduced to one; for no man
loves

Rom, X111, 8, 10.]

loves his brother or neighbour truly, if he do SERM. not love him for Go D's fake, and upon his acVIII. count. That great law against murder in the book of Genefis is founded upon this reason, For in the image of GOD made be man; fo that it is God who is principally ftruck at, when one man murders another. Thus our Saviour made the fummary of the law twofold, when he faid, (to the lawyer, who had asked him, Which was the great commandment,) Thou shalt love the Lord thy GOD with all thy beart, and with all thy foul, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thy felf. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets ".

THE whole of our duty therefore centers in this one thing, love to GOD. This is the radi cal principle whence all is to proceed; and every command doth bind us with this reduplication, "Do this and love GoD, and do that as a lover "of GoD," otherwife what we do is no more the fame thing which the law injoins, than the carcafe of a man is the man. That which is the foul of the duty is wanting, and that is love. What fignify, think you, thofe prayers to GOD, which are put up by one that does not love him? or of what avail is any other act of worship that is performed by fuch a one? And if we do any part of our duty which refpects man, and that duty be not animated by the love of God, the love that one man can have to another in this cafe is nothing elfe but a fort of friendly intercourfe

₫ Gen. ix. 6.

K 3

Matth. xx11. 36-40.

VOL. courfe among rebels, that have cut off themselves . I. from their fupreme Ruler; and take no more

notice of his intereft which he hath in common in them, but as they are confederated and joined in a confpiracy against him. Love among men, why do we talk of that? To love fuch men as have quite cut off themfelves from Go D, as well as we our felves have done, is only fuch a love as is among rebels, that treat one another kindly in a ftate of rebellion. To proceed,

6. Ir is a violation of the most merciful indulgent law, injoining us a duty most agreeable to our own neceffities, and the least toilfome and expenfive of all others. How intolerable then is it to affront GOD, and even to do it with no pretence of advantage to our felves, but greatly to our own disadvantage and lofs! How merciful is the law of love! how direct a provision is there made in it for the neceffity of man! Pray what fhall we do, nay what can we do with our felves, if we place not our love upon GOD? It may be we do not find our prefent need of him, as long as we find objects of fenfe courting and flattering us in our way; but do not we know that this world must break up, and this frame of earth and flesh in which we dwell, diffolve! What then will become of him at laft that will be found to have been no lover of GOD? HOW dreadful a thing is it for a foul to be stript naked and to have nothing to injoy! It cannot injoy GOD, because it never loved him. what we love not, we can never injoy.

For fure,

THERE

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