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VOL. love, and the inward fpiritual fense of the new creature, whereof this love is the heart, and life, and foul. "What! fhall external fenfe impofe

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upon me, and tell me what is fit for me to love, "and what not? What! fhall I love no higher "than fo? no higher than a brute?" Therefore, how much more noble and excellent a spirit is that of the truly good man, than the men of this world are of! and how excellent is the fpirit of divine love, which is in the faints, above that which is earthly and fenfual! Let us believe this therefore, and be convinced, that the fpirit that is peculiar to godly men is quite another thing, from a vulgar and mundane fpirit; and its strain and genius different, from that of the men of this world. Thefe love only what they fee, and think they are excused from loving any but fenfible objects. But fays the good man," When I have seen, "and viewed all the good, and all the excellen

cy that this fenfible creation can offer to my "view, I must have fomething unfeen for my "love to pitch upon which is beyond all this."

Therefore a gracious spirit is an

excellent spirit. It cannot grovel upon this earth. It muft afcend above all visible things, and get up to that GoD who is invifible.

6. SINCE we are fo ftrictly obliged to the love of GoD though we cannot fee him; what reafon have we to charge and condemn ourselves, and even loath and abhor our felves, that we have loved him fo little, and that so small a part

of

of our life can be faid to have been spent in this SER M. divine exercise! It is high time for us to under- IX. stand the state of our cafe, and to confider it in this refpect: though it is very much to be feared that it is but little confidered; for alas, how generally do people carry it as if they thought themselves innocent in this point! After all the injury that has been done to GOD by our not loving him, this is the most intolerable aggravation that we should think our felves innocent therein, and maintain · that temper of spirit as if we apprehended all was well. And how plain is it that it will not enter into the fouls of men, that they are guilty creatures before the Lord on this account, that they have not loved him?

If a man had fecretly and privily been guilty of the death of another on fuch a day, and the matter was closely covered up and no body knew it; yet how would his own thoughts dog him and accufe him at night! The blood of that man would fo cry in his confcience, that certainly he would have but a hard matter of it to compofe himself to quiet peaceful repofe. Why, men in not loving GoD are guilty of deicide, as much as they can be, or as far as their power extends. It is an attempt against GOD. It is faying in their hearts, No GOD! For it is a plain denial of his goodness, and therefore of his being. It is as much a denial of his goodness, as infidelity is of his truth. What a ftrange thing is it, that men can be fo much at peace with themselves, can pafs over whole days one after another, yet no L 4 fuch

I.

VOL. fuch thing as the love of GOD to be found among them! and at night can fleep and reft, and their hearts never fmite them for it.

METHINKS it is ftrange that men can make fo flight a matter of breaking all laws at once, as you have heard this is of not loving God; of fubverting the whole frame of the divine government over us. For how do we obey it in any thing, who comport not with the first principle of obedience, namely love to Go D? Oh that men fhould be guilty of a more horrid fact, than it would be, if it were in their power, to turn all things out of order, and yet not only be able to reft but even to think themselves innocent all the while!

THESE things, in my apprehenfion, do make a most wonderful conjuncture, where they happen to meet together; thefe four things especially.

THAT it should be fo plain to every man that he ought to love Go D;

THAT it fhould be fo plainly demonftrable as to the most, that they do not love GOD;

THAT it fhould be fo confeffedly a foul and horrid thing not to love him, even by every man's acknowledgment; and yet,

THAT fo many can be guilty of this horrid crime all their lives, and yet live as if all was well, and they were innocent all the while. All these things make, I fay, an amazing conjuncture. I appeal to you if they do not.

BUT that none of us may be fo ftupid under fuch guilt as this, let us, fince we cannot excufe

it,

it, freely condemn our felves. For who is there SERM, among us but muft be forced to acknowledge, IX. that the love of GoD is too little exercised, or is very faint and languid among us? Methinks we should hate our felves for this, that we do not love GOD. It ought to be looked upon as a frightful thing, a monftrous indisposition in us. We should then in our own thoughts, commune with our felves, and reason thus. " Why, what << a creature am I! what a ftrange creature am "I of how amazing a compofition! I have an "understanding about me. I know that which " is good and what is beft. I know the author of all goodness and excellency, must needs be "the highest excellency and goodness himself.

I have alfo love in my nature, which I can employ upon inferior things, and which I con"fefs to be of unspeakably lefs, and of diminutive "goodness. How monftrously strange is it then

that I cannot feel daily emotions of love in my "heart to GOD! that I cannot find my heart to "beat for him! that every thought of him is not "pleasant to me! How amazing and wonderful is "this!" Why fure it is a very befitting posture, that we should be covered with fhame and confufion before the Lord; and be even wallowing in our own tears, lamenting that there fhould be fo stupid and cool an afcent in our hearts towards. him. That we can spend whole days without him; give him no vifits, and receive none that are of concernment to us; and in a word, lead our life as it were without GoD in the world.

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IT fhould make us afhamed to read that precept of an heathen emperor *, who expreffes himfelf to this effect, and, " You must lead your lives "with GOD. Then, fays he, you will be faid to "lead your life with GOD, when you approve 66 your felves well pleafed with every thing that he difpenfeth to you, and take all kindly at his "hands; and when alfo you obey that leader and "ruler," (he can mean nothing but the confcience that is in man) " which he hath fet to be "the guide of your actions. So fhall you lead your lives with GOD, and have daily converse ❝ with him." And now to have daily our conversation in the world without GOD, and yet have no fcruple about it, nor remorfe upon it, is a marvellous thing; efpecially among us, who hear of him and from him so often, and know that we must be happy in him at last, or else eternally miferable. In the

LAST place, fince our not seeing GoD cannot excufe us from loving him, how much we are concerned to fee to it that it be no hindrance or impediment to this our duty of loving GOD. And that it may not, it is very neceffary that it be fome way or other fupplied. Since it is impof fible for us to fee GOD, we ought to confider feriously with our felves, whether there be not fomething or other that may ferve us instead of the fight of Go D, and be a means of our living in his love. And here I had feveral things in my thoughts to have hinted to you, and intended to have gone through them at this time; but I must leave them to the next opportunity. SERM.

* Antoninus.