should ardently defire to have his Favour, to be at Peace and Friendship with him, to have him for our Guide and Protector in all the Stages of our Life, and especially that he would vouchfafe us the continual Affiftance of his Grace, that we may not in any Inftance ftart afide from our Duty, nor fail at laft of fafely arriving to his glorious Kingdom.

*

Now, I fay, where-ever a Man feels this Senfe, thefe Defires, thefe Breathings, after GOD and Goodnefs, he cannot for his Heart avoid the expreffing of them in a conftant and ferious Devotion. He will pray to GoD in private, he will pray to him in publick, he will exercife Acts of Repentance for his former Follies and Sins, and over and over again renew his Vows and Purposes of better Obedience; he will fhew, that he entirely depends upon GoD, by returning the moft hearty Thanks and Acknowledgements for every good thing he receives, and begging of him the Supplies of what he needs; he will moft feriously and importunately, both in his Clofet and in the Congregation, recommend to his heavenly Father the Care both of himself, and of all that he loves in this World, imploring the Continuance of his Mercies, both private and publick, and that he would avert the Judgment and Punishment which he and all of us have deferved by our manifold Tranfgreffions and

Pro

Provocations. Above all, he will make his most earnest Supplications at the Throne of Grace, that neither he, nor any other devout Soul, may ever want the Help and Affistance of God's Grace and Spirit to conduct them in the Fear and Love of GOD, through all the Varieties and Viciffitudes of the Temptations of this World. All thefe, I fay, are the natural and neceffary Fruits and Effects of Love to God, where-ever it is entertained in any Man's Heart; and therefore let Men pretend what they will, if they can live without praying or worshipping GOD, it is certain they have not the Love of GoD in them.

And the fame thing we fay as to the Business of profeffing our Faith in Christ Jefus, owning his Revelations, believing his Doctrines, and communicating in his Sacraments, and giving up ourselves to him as our Lord, our Prieft, our Saviour. These are indeed Things that are but of fmall Confideration, and very lightly regarded by fuch Perfons as I before spoke of. For, as they have laid the Scheme of Religion, the natural indifpenfable Duties of Morality are all in all; but for Faith in Chrift, and relying upon him for Salvation, and the like, you must excuse them, if they have no great Regard for those Matters. But this alfo, I fay, doth certainly proceed from, and is an undeniable Argument of their being devoid of the Love of

God,

GOD, and, confequently, of their wanting the main effential Part of true Religion: For it is obvious to every one, that, among the Expreffions of our Love to GOD this must eternally be one, and a principal one; namely, that we do heartily and readily clofe with all thofe Methods that he hath proposed and declared for the bringing us into Favour and Reconciliation with himself; that we should joyfully embrace all those Directions and Inftructions that he hath been pleased to afford us for the walking acceptably before him.

Though therefore (as I obferved before) the Whole of our Religion (our Chriftian Religion, I fpeak as to the Duties required of us in it) is comprehended in these two Things, the Love of Gop, and of our Neighbour; yet this very firft Duty (the Love of GoD) doth likewife include in it a hearty Belief of, and a firm Adhesion to, the Doctrine and Revelation of our bleffed Saviour, as to all the Parts of it: For, fuppofing that GOD fent him into the World out of pure Kindness to us, to help our Ignorance, and to ftrengthen our Weakness, and to heal our Sickneffes, by teaching us how we ought to love and ferve GOD, by encouraging us in that Service with the most forcible Arguments, and the most glorious Promises; and, laftly, by laying down his Life to obtain a Pardon of our Sins, and rifing again from the Dead, that

we

we might have Peace and strong Confolation in our own Minds, thro' the Hopes of another Life; I fay, fuppofing that all this is done for us by our Saviour (as we are fure it is) will not the Love of GoD constrain us in this Cafe, with our whole Hearts, to embrace this kind Meffenger, and this kind Meffage from Gop to our Souls? Will it not be joyful News to every Soul that loves GOD, to hear of fuch a Saviour, such a Mediator? Or can any fuch forbear to thank God most affectionately, for this wonderful Condefcenfion of his, in fending his own Son among us? Can they forbear to yield the most firm. Belief, to give the most hearty Entertainment to every Thing that this Son of his doth deliver as the Will of GOD? Oh! certainly, all that love God must needs be filled with unexpreffible Joy and Satisfaction for this unfpeakable Grace and Favour to us, and must so entirely, with Heart and Mind, give into this new Difpenfation that Chrift hath fet on foot, as with the most fervent Zeal to lift themselves among the Number of his Difciples, with the greatest Sincerity to embrace all his Doctrines, to ftudy and inquire into his Revelations, to meditate on his Arguments, to comfort themselves with his Promises, to instruct themselves fully in the Duties he hath obliged them to, to fet themselves chearfully and vigorously, with all their Might,

to

6

to the practising of them; and, laftly, to refolve to own him and his Religion, to truft in him, and to depend upon him, as their Lord, their Saviour, their Redeemer, to the laft Breath of their Lives. All this now every one that fincerely loves GOD will most naturally and neceffarily do, fuppofing that the Gospel of Chrift be propofed to them; I will not fay, with that Fulnefs, and Clearnefs, and Evidence, which GOD at firft gave, but even with that Degree of Evidence that every thinking confidering Man among us may have at this Day.

Away therefore with that Religion which confifts only in the outward Practices of that which we call moral Honesty: There is no Heart nor Life in it; it is a Religion, without the fincere Love of GOD; for, where-ever that takes Place, it will fo entirely poffefs our Minds with the Sense of what we owe to him, and our Lord Jefus, that it will be the Delight of our Lives, and the greatest Joy of our Hearts, to enjoy Communion with both in all the Inftances of Piety and Devotion which our Saviour hath recommended in the Gospel. The true Love of God will make us both devout in the Way that Na-' ture teacheth, and alfo in the Way that Jefus Chrift hath taught us in the New Teftament.

But