In fhort; we have this commandment from God, that He that loveth God, love his brother alfo.

And these are the great obligations which the love of God lays upon all Chriftians.

And now let me lay before you (in a few words) fome ufeful obfervations upon what has been faid upon this fubject.

And firft; when Chriftians hear fuch fcriptures as thefe, That God fent his Son into the world, that we might live through him; they are apt to mistake the meaning, and fancy that there is now no danger, fince Jefus Chrift has paid their ranfom. Why now, this is not to magnify, but to abuse, the grace of God. Chrift hath indeed redeemed us from the wrath to come, but then he must also redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works.*

In one word:-The life which Jesus Christ has purchased for us must be begun in this world. So that all our hopes and happiness hereafter, depend upon our being made conformable to Chrift in this life: That our old man being crucified with him, the body of fin might be deftroyed, that henceforth we should not ferve fin. That as Chrift was raised from the dead, fo we alfo fhould walk in newness of life; that we, being dead to fin, fhould live unto righteousness.TM

4

2dly. When we confider what Jefus Chrift has done for us, we fhall have good reason to believe that the punishment of finners will be unfpeakably great, fince the Son of God would not have left the glories of heaven, and lived a miferable life on earth, but that he knew if finners were not reconciled unto God, their condition would be miferable beyond expreffion and without remedy.

You will obferve, in the next place, that our redemption is a work of mere grace. God fent his Son into the world, when there was nothing in us to move him to it but only our mifery. Whatever pretence mankind had to the favour of God before the fall, it was all forfeited; and this is the reason that the free grace of God is fo much spoken of in the gofpel, that men may not arrogate any thing to themselves, but that we may be humble and thankful, and obedient to the Lord that bought us; that we may be concerned to please, and afraid to offend him.

And to all that are thus affected with the

goodness of God, refolving by his grace to live according to his Son's doctrine and example; to fuch, one would use our Saviour's words, Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven. But to fuch as rejoice they confider not why, the words of Solomon fuit better their condition, The end of that mirth is beaviness.

We shall conclude this difcourfe with what the Spirit hath faid by St. Paul, to fhew the great obligations we owe to God, in this difpenfation of his mercy; who thus expreffeth it," Chrift Jefus is of God made unto us wisdom, and righteoufnefs, and fanctification, and redemp tion. He is our wisdom, by making known to us the will of God, and his glorious perfections; our righteousness, by fatisfying in our nature the juftice of God, and by restoring us to God's favour; our fanctification, by his Holy Spirit working in us true holiness, and by that separating us from an evil world; our redemption from the greatest of all flaveries, the flavery of the devil, and the fins he tempts men to, and from a state of damnation.

O Jefus, for these mighty bleffings, all love, and glory, and thanksgiving, be unto Thee, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, by us, and all that are partakers of these mighty favours. Amen.

I Cor. i. 30.

SERMON

THE NECESSITY OF LOVING JESUS CHRIST AS OUR SAVIOUR, PRINCE, AND LAWGIVER; AND THE TRUE MARKS OF SUCH A LOVE.

I COR. xvi. 22.

IF ANY MAN LOVE NOT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, LET HIM BE ANATHEMA, MARAN-ATHA; [THAT IS, ACCURSED WHEN THE LORD COMETH TO JUDGMENT.]

SAI

AINT PAUL tells us, the verse before, that he wrote these words, and the falutation following, with his own hand, as a matter that it concerned them to take notice of. And, truly, it concerns all Christians to have fome good affurance of this, that they do indeed love the Lord Jefus Chrift, left, when he comes to judgment, they should fall under this dreadful fentence, to be for ever separated from their Lord and Saviour.

The words are plain, and pofitive, and full of terror. And I have made choice of them, that I may at once awaken your attention, and put us all upon a moft neceffary enquiry, whether our love be fuch as it should be? For it

is

very certain, people may deceive themselves,

* See Pf. xlv. 10. Matth. x. 37. John viii. 42. xiv. 15, 21, 24. Eph. i. 16. vi. 24. Phil. iii. 8. 2 Tim. ii. 12. 1 John ii. 15. and

and hope that they are Chrift's faithful fervants, and that they fhew their love fufficiently, either by endearing expreffions, or by their zeal for their own particular way of ferving him, by standing up for the truths of the gofpel, or even by rejoicing with his church when she celebrates the memorials of his love to mankind.

Now, though all these are worthy expreffions of respect, yet they are by no means to be depended upon as infallible marks of our love to Jefus Christ, because there have been people, in all ages, who have gloried in the name of Chrift, have contended for the privileges of the gospel, have spoken of Jefus Chrift in words full of love and respect; and yet have been utter strangers to that love which fhould have appeared in their lives as well as in their profeffions.

As for fuch as deny the Lord that bought them," charity will not fuffer us to believe that there are any fuch prefent. But then there are too many, who (as we faid juft now) are under a delufion without knowing it.

ft. There are many, for instance, who love Jesus Christ, as he is their Saviour, who do not love him as he is their Prince and Lawgiver.

2dly. There are many who love him, but not heartily, because they do not know their own misery without the bleffing of a Redeemer.

b 2 Peter ii. 1.

3dly. There