Luke xii. 47. Knowing God's will, and not doing it, prepareth men for many stripes. See Rom. ii, And as barren knowledge is oft made the aggravation of sin, so true knowledge is usually made the cause or means of love and obedience, 1 John iv. 8. "He that loveth not, knoweth not God." 2 Pet. i. 2. "Grace and peace be multiplied to you, through the knowledge of God," 2 Pet. ii. 20, and many such like.

Į conclude therefore that the knowledge of creatures is not desirable ultimately for itself, but as it leadeth up the soul to God. And the knowledge of God, though desirable ultimately for itself, yet not as the perfect, but the initial part of our ultimate act or end, and as the means or cause of that love of God, which is the more perfect part of that ultimate perfection.

CHAP. II.

The End of Knowledge is to make us Lovers of God, and so to be known with Love by Him.

THIS is the second doctrine contained in the meaning of the text: where is included, 1. That all knowledge of creatures, called learning, must be valued and used but as a means to the knowledge and love of God: which is most evident in that the whole creation is the work of God, bearing the image or impress of his perfections, to reveal him to the intellectual creature, and to be the means of provoking us to his love, and helping us in his service. To deny this therefore is to subvert the use of the whole creation, and to set up God's works as an useless shadow, or as an idol in his place.

2. It is included as was before proved, that all our knowledge of God himself, is given us to kindle in us the love of God. It is the bellows to blow up this holy fire. If it do not this, it is unsound and dead. If it do this, it hath attained its end; which is much of the meaning of James in that chap. ii. which prejudice hindereth many from understanding.

3. This love of God hath its degrees and effects. Knowledge first kindleth but some weak initial act of love; which

through mixtures of fear, and of carnal affections, is hardly known to be sincere by him that hath it. But afterwards it produceth both stronger acts, and the Holy Ghost still working as the principal cause, infuseth or operateth a radicated habit. So that this holy love becometh like a nature in the soul, even a Divine nature, and it becometh in a sort natural to us to love God and goodness, though not as the brutish nature, which is exercised by necessity, and without reason. And this new nature of holy love, is called the new creature and the Holy Ghost dwelling in us, and the Spirit of adoption; and is our new-name, the white-stone, the witness in ourselves that Christ is the Saviour, and that we are the regenerate children of God, the pledge, the earnest, the firstfruits, and the foretaste of life eternal.

And all the works of a Christian are so far truly holy, as they are the effects of holy love: for 1. Holy love is but a holy will; and the will is the man, in point of morality. 2. And the love of God is our final act upon the final object; and all other gracious acts are some way means subservient to this end and the end is it that informeth all the means, they being such only as are adapted to the end.

And in this sense it is true which is said in the schools, (though many Protestants misunderstanding it, have contradicted it) that love is the form of all other graces: that is, it is the heart of the new creature; or it is that by which the man is morally to be reputed and denominated: and it is the final grace which animateth or informeth the rest as means.

And thus it is true, that when you will prove any grace to be sincere and saving, or any evidence certain, you must prove it to participate of the love of God and goodness, or you have failed and said nothing. Yea, you must prove it to be conjunct with predominant love, which setteth God above all creatures. And if you will prove any good work to be acceptable to God, prayer, praise, alms, justice, &c., you must prove that it cometh from this predominant love. For it is so far and no further acceptable to God.

And their ignorance is but to be pitied, who tell you that this is to make our love of God to be instead of Christ to us, or to set up an acceptable righteousness or merit in ourselves for we dream not that our love of God was a sacrifice for our sins, and the expiatory atonement and satisfaction to justice, nor that merit which procured us love itself, or

purchased us the Holy Ghost. Our meaning is that goodness is the only proper object of love: and God loveth his essential goodness first, and created goodness next: and our moral goodness which is his image is holy love, produced by and joined with holy wisdom and vitality. And so though God love us in Christ, or as related to him, it is as holy members of him; and not that he loveth complacentially the haters of God for their relation to Christ, without respect to any goodness in themselves. And to say that Christ maketh us acceptable and amiable to God, is all one as to say that he procureth us the pardon of sin, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and maketh us holy lovers of God: or that he is indeed our Saviour. He that commendeth health as wrought by his physician, doth not set health instead of the physician; Christ is the physician; the Holy Ghost or holy love in us, is our health: to procure and give us the Holy Ghost, is Christ's office. He pardoneth our sin when he pardoneth the punishment: the privation of the Holy Ghost and his operations is our principal punishment: and therefore not all, but the principal part of our pardon lieth in the giving us the Holy Ghost.

But some will say, 'That if God love nothing but goodness, and love us no further than we are good, how then did he love us first, and while we were his enemies? Are not Election, Creation, Redemption and Conversion, acts of love? And is not our love, the fruit of his love?'

Answ. Thus names not opened by confounding heads, are made the matter of a thousand controversies. As our love is nothing but our will, so the word love is taken strictly and properly, or largely and less properly. A man's will is considered as efficient or as final: as it respecteth a future effect, or a present exigent good. And so God's will as it is final, and respecteth things existent, either 1. 'In esse cognito.' 2. or in esse reali,' is called complacence, and only complacence is love in the strict and properest sense. But God's will as efficient of good, may in a laxer sense be called love. God's will is the fountain or efficient cause of all good, natural and moral in the world. And so you may call God's causing or making good, by the name of love, if you please; remembering that it is but the name that is questioned: but his complacency in good foreseen, or existent,

VOL. XV.

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3. And to clear up all this, still remember mac Hough man's will is changed by or upon the varicas jeess, yet 50 is not the will of God. And therefore all these waris signity no variety of change in God; but only how has simple immutable essential will is variously related to and jenomiusted from the connotation of effects and objects.

1 Also it must be noted, as included in the text, that hout loveth all that truly love him; for to be known of him, lore menneth to be known with approbation and love as his putin people. As Paul. i. 6, it is said, "The Lord knoweth the way of the righteous" and so oft: and of the wicked, (Mult eer 195) Depart from me, I know you not." owneth with love all those that love him. What parts, what quality, what degree soever men are of, whatever difference else there be among them, if they are true lovers of God, God they are certainly approved and beloved by him. This being the very heart and essence of the new creature, and the Divine nature in us, must needs prove that man to be amiable to God that hath it. Other things are true marks of a child of God, only so far as they participate of love: but love is the primary proper character, which proveth us adopted directly of itself.

And here you may resolve the question that seemeth so difficult to many: whether when the Scripture either by describing the godly, or by promising, doth mention some one grace or duty, as the character of a saint, or the condition of salvation, it be to be understood with a 'cæteris paribus,' if other graces and duties concur, as supposing them separable? or absolutely, as supposing that one mark infallible, because it never separated from the rest?

Answ. The new man hath, 1. Its essential parts; and 2. Its integrals; and 3. Its accidents. The essentials are ever infallible marks, and are inseparable from each other: any one of them will prove us holy, and will prove the presence the rest. These essentials are an united trinity of graces, holy life, light and love, where each one hath the common essence of holiness, which is their objective termination upon God; and each is linked by participation to another. Holy vitality is vital activity towards God in mind, will, and practice, holy light is that knowledge and belief which kindleth love, and causeth a holy life. Holy love is that complacency of will in God and goodness, which is kindled by holy life and light, and operateth in holy practice. Any one of these thus described, where love is the heart of all, is an infallible mark of holiness. But all other graces and duties which are but the integrals of holiness, are in all characters and promises to be understood with a 'cæteris paribus;' that is, supposing them to be animated with holy love, and caused by holy life and light (knowledge and belief).

And that God doth most certainly love all that love him, besides the forementioned proofs from Scripture is further evident.

1. The love of God and goodness is the Divine nature: and God cannot but love his own nature in us: it is his image, which, as in its several degrees, he loveth for himself, and next to himself.

2. The love of God is the rectitude of man's soul, its soundness, health and beauty: and God loveth the rectitude of his creatures.

3. The love of God is the final, perfect operation of the soul; even that end which it was created and redeemed for, and God loveth to have his works attain their end, and to see them in their perfection.