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part of the divine character being different from what it is; and would not for all the world have God less holy, righteous, faithful, or merciful, than he is. He who heartily wishes any part of God's character altered is evidently an enemy to what God is, and hates him at heart. Every truly converted person is heartily reconciled to the divine perfections, and dreads as blasphemy the very thought of wishing God to be of another character than he is. There may be many things in the divine conduct which, through * remaining darkness, he does not well understand, or see to be consistent with the perfections of God; yet he is in his judgment so well satisfied of the divine wisdom, righteousness, and goodness, that he gives the Most High, if I may so speak, credit for it, that all is as it should be, though he cannot see it. And this submission of our poor scanty capacities to the infinite wisdom and holiness of God is the very temper of a little child, without which we cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven.

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"Nay, not only does every true believer cordially approve of the whole divine character as revealed in scripture, but, so far as his views are clear and distinct, he admires it. How great is his goodness! and how great is his beauty! He is perfectly astonished and is all amazement, while he contemplates the wisdom, righteousness, faithfulness, loving kindness, and mercy of God, as harmoniously revealed in his word, and displayed in his works. He feels his heart at times ravished with the love of so lovely an object: and at the same time is astonished and humbled that he loves him no more. And in his judgment he is deeply convinced that the Lord is worthy of being supremely loved, yea loved with all his powers, even when, to his shame and grief, he feels little love to him. Comparing the loveliness of the Creator with the loveliness of the creatures, he perceives, in his judgment, that the former eclipses the latter infinitely more than the sun does the stars; and is humbled that his feelings are no more answerable to his convictions-that he loves the creature so much and God so little, even when his conduct evinces that he does love the Lord his God more than father, or mother, or wife, or child, or liberty, or life. Nay he rejoices in the Lord, delights himself in God! rejoices that he reigneth, that he is sovereign, that he is unchangeably what he is; rejoices exceedingly in contemplating his wonderful works. His meditation of him is sweet: His soul is satisfied, as with

marrow and fatness, while he praiseth God with joyful lips.He is cordially devoted to God's cause and honor, in the world; and sweetly longs and prays, Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven! The advancement of the cause of God and true religion fills him with joy; its depression grieves him at his heart: nor can he be comforted but by the assurance that it shall finally prevail.*-He chooses God for his portion, and longs for no other happiness, in time and in eternity, than in being with God, bearing his image, beholding his glory, enjoying his favor, singing his praises, and serving, with all his powers, Him in whom his soul delighteth.-Even the favors which God bestows upon him, personally, most affect his heart as leading him to contemplate the glorious excellencies of so great and gracious a Being.

"Every true believer has somewhat of this spirit, as is evident from the whole scripture: and in proportion to his knowledge and faith he has more and more of it. And, if this be once left out of religion, and, in our love to God, we have no regard to the perfections of his character, which constitute his infinite loveliness, what do we but set up an idol in our heart; frame a conception of God suited to our own taste; assume that he loves us; and then, in return, feel a love for our own idol? For nothing can distinguish the true God from idols, but the glories and excellencies of his character?-Even thus far, in its consequences, does the notion of not loving God for his own loveliness, but ONLY for his benefits, go: though many who notionally espouse it are not aware of this, and mean no such thing.".

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"EVERY true believer, seeing the beauty and loveliness of the divine character, sees proportionably the ground and reason of the law of God; and thus learns to love it. St. Paul delighted in the law of God after the inner man, because it was holy, just, and good; and David is continually breaking forth into the strongest expressions of love to the law: and indeed it is written in the hearts of all true believ

* See Daniel ii, 34, 35, 44; vii, 9, 10, 14, 18, 27.

ers, according to the tenor of the covenant of grace,* so that they count all God's commandments concerning all things to be right, and hate every false way.-Antinomians indeed pretend that it is impossible to love a law which condemns us: in direct opposition to the word of God.......If a man is betrayed into acts of treason against a lawful and excellent prince, so as to attempt to subvert his government and dethrone him: in case he ever truly repent of his wickedness, he will be brought to approve the law and its sentence, as equitable, reasonable, and salutary, and will acknowledge, as the thief on the cross did, (who is an eminent example of a man approving the law which condemned him,) that he indeed suffers justly, and deserves his doom; and will die exhorting the spectators to loyalty, and praying for the welfare of his offended sovereign: and, if he does the contrary, if he dies quarrelling with the law, and the sentence denounced, it is plain that he dies impenitent, and an enemy and traitor at heart. And such are all those who quarrel with the law of God because it condemns them. This is sullenly to arraign the conduct of the lawgiver, and to vindicate their own: and it argues them enemies at heart......

"Self-evident it is, that every true penitent approves of the law that condemns him, and that the very spirit of impenitency is, to throw the blame off ourselves upon the law and the lawgiver; which is going about to establish our own righteousness, and not submitting ourselves to the righteousness of God: it is self-righteousness in its worst form. If it were wrong to give us so strict a law, and to condemn us for breaking it, then would it be reasonable for God to be reconciled to us without our approving of the law, or acknowledging the justice of our condemnation: but, if we alone are to blame, then it is fitting that we acknowledge this, justify God, approve his law, and learn to love it, before we are pardoned and restored to favor. And so it is, however men may be misled, through Satan's artifices, to deny it."

The error here combatted, as far as it is the error of really good men, admits perhaps of the following explanation.

• Heb. viii.

We can never feel peace, and comfort, and the actings of a filial, confidential love to God and his law, so long as we apprehend the sentence of condemnation to stand out against us, and to be ready to be executed upon us: and hence it is supposed that we cannot love, or be in heart reconciled to, either God or his law, till we know that we are delivered from condemnation.-Many, indeed, are the occasions in which love, and the joyful actings of love, are thus confounded together. But the Psalmist as much shewed his love for God when he abhorred himself, and repented in dust and ashes for his sins against him; and implored, "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with thy free Spirit;" as when at other times and under other circumstances, he "triumphed in the God of his salvation." Conformity of disposition may be said to be the essence of love to God: and this may, and unquestionably often does exist, where the person is as yet far from being assured of his acceptance with God.-This conformity of disposition is also produced by the renewing, regenerating grace of the Holy Spirit, and not by the previous knowledge of forgiveness-according to an important statement made in an earlier part of this volume.*

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One error naturally gives birth to another. Love to God being confounded with rejoicing in him, and it being assumed that there can be no love where there are not the joyous and confident actings of that principle, we are told that we can never love God till we first know that he loves us; that is, not merely till we believe that "there is forgiveness with him," and that he is ready to be reconciled to us, but till we know that he now regards us, individually, with that special "favor which he beareth to his chosen people."-But here the question naturally arises, How are we to attain this knowledge? It is no where revealed in scripture, that we individually are thus restored to the favor of God. How is it possible to know it previously to any such change being wrought in us, as may amount to a scriptural evidence of the fact? Or can any thing amount to a scriptural evidence, which does not imply and involve the existence of love to God? Are we to be thus, not only pardoned, but assured of our pardon, while yet impenitent, and destitute of faith in Christ? Or can true repentance, (which necessarily includes hatred of

* Letter, and Note from the Pilgrim's Progress, above, pp. 136-142.

sin, and consequent love of holiness,) and can true faith in Christ exist, without implying love to God?-In short, is there any scriptural way of attaining the knowledge that God loves us, individually, with a special and saving love, except by our being brought to love him? or, in other words, by that "new heart and that right spirit being cre ated within us," which are the source of repentance, faith, love, and every grace? Can any thing but sanctification, incipient sanctification at least, be the solid and satisfacto ry proof of our justification, or restoration to the divine favor?

It is this error, of supposing that no love to God can exist in our hearts, till we first know that God loves us in particular, and with the special love above described, that forms the basis of what I must consider as another delusive and very mischievous notion, that of a direct witness of the Spirit, assuring us by ‘an impression from on high, independent,' at the time, of all fruits,' because antecedent to them, that our sins are forgiven; which assurance is to precede and produce the love of God, and every thing spiritually good in the soul! Those who hold such a notion, of a new and distinct revelation communicating the fact to us (for it amounts to nothing short of this,) are furnished, indeed, with an answer to the questions above proposed, concerning any other method of attaining the knowledge of our acceptance, than that which arises from the comparison of what is wrought in us, with what is written in the scriptures: but persons of more sober sentiments must, I conceive, be utterly at a loss for any answer compatible with the sentiment against which the questions are directed.

The text, "We love him because he first loved us," is often quoted in support of some of the sentiments here opposed: but, even admitting that it speaks of the love of gratitude of one reason of our love to God, rather than of the original source of our love to him,*it countenances those sentiments in sound only, and not in reality."

REPENTANCE.

On this subject an important passage has already been' given in the course of these extracts; but that which fol

See Scott's Life, p. 228.

+ Above, p. 245.” ⠀ .⠀

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