of our own endeavour which is herein required SER M. of us, or of moral fuafion, might learn better XIV. Christianity even from fome Heathens of Plato's school. A heathen philofopher, I remember, in one of his dialogues difcuffes this question, Whether virtue is to be taught or not? And he undertakes to demonftrate, that it is not a thing to be taught, but is infufed, or inspired by GoD himself. Particularly he fays as to this virtue of love, love to good men, that it is a divine thing infused by GOD. And he gives the reason of this general affertion, namely, that whatsoever virtue any do partake of, it is not taught by men, but infufed from heaven above: "For, faith "he, if it were a thing to be got by mere hu"man teaching, then certainly good men might "eafily teach others to be good and virtuous; " and only they must do it, because they alone "have virtue, and fo are alone capable of teach

ing it. But if they were capable of teaching "it to others, nothing could hinder it but their 66 envy and ill-nature; or unwillingness that any "fhould fare as well as themselves. But a good

66

man cannot be envious. Therefore (he con"cludes upon the whole) virtue is a thing not to "be taught, a thing that cannot be got by teach"ing." We fee then how it is to be understood, when love, which is fo great a part of it, is faid to be taught of GOD. So that love to GoD and the brethren agree in their root and principle. They have there a firm connection; f as that it is impoffible they fhould be fevered, or that a

VOL. man can be a lover of GOD who is not a lover of

(3.) THEY are connected alfo in their rule, which is one and the fame law: for indeed the whole law of GOD is fummed up in love. Love is the fulfilling of the law, as we had occafion to fhew formerly. And you fee what the Apostle means there by law, from the occafion of this difcourfe. And this commandment have we from him, that he that loveth Go D, fhould love his brother alfo". He hath laid this law upon us, that we fhould thus difpenfe our love; that if we pretend to exercise our love to him, we must do it to our brother too. He will never otherwife take us into the cenfus, or account, of lovers of himself.

AND when the Apostle James infifts upon it, that Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, be is guilty of all", pray look back there, and fee upon what occafion, and with what reference he fays this. If ye fulfil the royal law, according to the Scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy felf, ye do well. But if ye have refpect to perfons, ye commit fin, and are convinced of the law as tranfgrefors *.

You find he has reference to this very thing, our love to our brother; which is what he calls the royal law. The law injoined us is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy felf. And if we be found peccant as to this, and obey it not, nor comply with the authority of the law and the lawgiver in this inftance,

inftance, we make our felves rebels throughout; SER M. we break the whole law, and all that we do be- XIV. fides fignifies nothing. Therefore he gives an inftance. The fame law that hath faid, Do not commit adultery, faid alfo, Do not kill. The law doth equally and alike forbid inordinate love and unjuft hatred: inordinate luft and impure love, as that which offends against one command; and inordinate hatred and ill-nature which equally offends against the other, as it is the root of murder. In oppofition to which this law ftands, as the fummary of all that duty, which we must understand to be implicitly injoined in that law.

(4.) LovE to GOD, and our brother concentre and agree in one end; that is, the glory of GOD, and our own felicity. Which two, you know, do make up the end of man. We ought

our glorifying him;
our brother, for the

to love GoD, in order to
and we ought alfo to love
fame reason. So we ought to love Go D in or-
der to our injoying him, and being happy and
bleffed in him; and in like manner ought we to
love our brother, in order to our injoying GoD,
and being happy and bleffed in him.

THE glory of GoD firft depends upon our loving him, but it alfo as truly depends upon our loving our brother. Yea this glory of GoD which is the end, and fome way ought to be the effect of our actions, fhines a great deal more fometimes in the exercife of love to men. Thus faith David, My Goodness extendeth not unto thee,

R 4

but

17.

VOL. but unto the Saints, that are upon the earth, in

I.

whom is all my delight". As if he had faid,

Thou art never the better for it, but they may be. Here it is that we make the glory of GoD to thine forth in our courfe and practice, when we do vifibly exemplify the goodness of his nature in our own goodness, that is, in doing good; in thofe continual fruits and acts of goodness, which iffue and flow from the principle of divine love (with which our fouls are poffeffed) to thofe that are related unto Gop, according as their relation to him is larger or more fpecial, as we have formerly fhewed.

IT is by our doing good that we fhew to whom we belong, though that goodness of ours can reach only to men and faints. The fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness: namely, that goodnefs which can flow and diffufe it felf according as we have objects here below, upon which it may be continually pouring it feif forth, and fpreading itself. Herein we bear testimony to GOD, that we are the very children of his love. We do, as it were, herein justify and honour our great Father. We own our Father, and own our felves his children. Love, that ye may be the children of GoD, fays our Saviour, who doth good both to the evil and the good; that is, that ye may appear to be his children. And again, By this fell all men know that ye are my difciples, if ye love one another. This refers to that more fpecial

z Fol. xvi. 2, 3.
ь Math. v. 4+ +5.

a

Erh. v. 9.
John A. 35:

AR

cial love which we ought to fettle upon no body SER M.
but thofe, who are particularly related and united XIV.
to Chrift. You will own me in the world, and
your relation to me; and I fhall be owned and
honoured among men by you, if ye love one ano-
ther. And this was the character of Chriftians
in the primitive times of the Chriftian Church,
"See how thefe Chriftians love one another, and
"refufe not to die for one another."

YEA, and again, our own felicity is promo-
ted (which is another part of our end) by the love
of our brother. For though GOD himself be
the fupreme felicitating object, yet he intends to
be injoyed by his in a community. He gathers
them all unto himself in one body, of which body
love is the common bond, the unitive thing
which as it were imbodies and holds the members
together; being the fame bond of perfectness the
Apostle speaks of, or the moft perfect bond which,
fays he, is Charityd.

AND the cafe is plain and manifest, that where there is a languor and deficiency of Chriftian or brotherly love, the way of access to Go D is obftructed and barred up. Such perfons have no free converse with GOD. A fpirit that is full of rancour, under a diftemper, filled with animofity though but to this or that one particular perfon, knows not how to go to Go D. The new creature is starved and famished this way. The foul cannot heartily injoy Go D, hath no liberty towards GOD. Therefore our Saviour confidering

Col. 11. 14.