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s the goodness of the soul itself: Dieness, and must needs be loved by and perfection himself.

ciod is our uniting adhesion to him: and weth up the soul to this union, will not , and avoid it.

a pregnant, powerful, pleasing grace: it deourselves, and all that we have to God: it deduty: it conquereth difficulties: it contemneth es, and trampleth on temptations: it accounteth too much, nor too dear for God. Love is the soul's ....., appetite and pondus,' according to which it will orly act. A man's love, is his will, his heart, himself: God have our love, he hath ourselves, and our all: so that God cannot but love the soul that truly loveth him as God. But here are some doubts to be resolved.

Quest. 1. What if the same soul have love and sin mixed; or sincere love in a degree that is sinfully defective, and so is consistent with something of its contrary; God must hate that sin; how then can he love that soul?'

Answ. Remember still that diversity is only in us, and not in God: therefore God's will is related and denominated towards us, just as its object is. All that is good in us God loveth all that is evil in us he hateth. Where goodness is predominant, there God's love is predominant, or greatest, from this relation and connotation. Where sin is predominant, God's aversation, displicency or hatred is the chief: and we may well expect that the effects be answerable.

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Object. But we are beloved as elect before conversion.' Answ. That was answered before. That is, God from eternity purposed to make us good, and amiable, and happy; if you will call that (as you may) his love.

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Object. But we are beloved in Christ, for his righteousness and goodness, and not for our own.'

Answ. The latter is false: the former is thus true: for the merits of Christ's righteousness, and goodness, God will pardon our sins, and make us good, holy and happy; and "s as the holy members of his Son; that is, both him, and as holy.

ut if God must needs love sincere imperfect as such, with a predominant love, (which will ;) then sin might have been pardoned with

out Christ's death, and the sinner be loved without his righteousness, if he had but sincerely loved God.'

Answ. The supposition is false, that a sinner could have loved God without pardon and the Spirit, purchased by the death and righteousness of Christ. God perfectly loveth the perfected souls in glory, for their own holy perfection, but they never attained it, but by Christ. And God loveth us here, according to the measure of our love to him: but no man can thus love him, till his sin be pardoned; for which he was deprived of the Spirit, which must kindle love. And imperfect love is ever joined with imperfect pardon, (whatever some falsely say to the contrary;) I mean that love, which is sinfully imperfect.

Quest. 2. Doth not God's loving us make us happy? And if so, it must make us holy. And then none that he loveth will fall away from him: whereas the fallen angels and Adam loved him, and yet fell from him: how then were they beloved by him?"

Answ. I before told you that God's will (or love) is first efficient, causing good, and then final, being pleased in the good that is caused. God's efficient will or love, doth so far make men holy and happy as they are such, even efficiently but God's will, or love, as it is our 'causa finalis,' and the terminating object of our love, and is pleased in us, and approveth us, is not the efficient cause of our holiness and happiness; but the objective and perfect constitutive cause. Now you must further note, that God's benevolent efficient will, or love, doth give men various degrees of holiness. To Adam in innocency he gave but such a degree, and upon such terms, as he could lose and cast away; which he did. But to the blessed in glory, he giveth that which they shall never lose. These degrees are from God's efficient love, or will; which, therefore, causeth some to persevere, when it left Adam to himself, to stand or fall. But it is not God's final love of complacency, as such, that causeth our perseverance: for Adam had this love, as long as he loved. God, and stood; and he after lost it: so that it is not that final complacency, which is the 'terminus' of our holiness, and constitutive cause of our happiness, which alone will secure the perpetuity of either of them.

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Object. Thus you make God mutable in his love, as loving Adam more before his fall, than after.'

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KNOWLEDGE AND LOVE COMPA

4. The love of God is the goodness and goodness is amiableness, and mu him that is goodness and perfection h

5. The love of God is our uniting God that first draweth up the soul himself reject us, and avoid it.

6. Love is a pregnant, power' livereth up ourselves, and all t lighteth in duty: it conqueret! competitors, and trampleth o nothing too much, nor too de nature, appetite and ' pondu dinarily act. A man's love and if God have our love. that God cannot but love But here are some Quest. 1. What if or sincere love in a d is consistent with se that sin; how the Answ. Reme in God: therefo towards us, jus loveth all the predominant, from this rela God's avers may well

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ve to God, or God's love to us. and union which is the true and d; and to compare God's love and tell which is the final principal part or , nor absolutely necessary. But I conceive, ove to God is objectively, or as to the obely more excellent than God's love to us, as which is but to say, that God is infinitely God loveth man who is a worm: but we o is perfect goodness.

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love to us, as to the agent and the act ex parte infinitely more excellent than our love to him: 's essential will, which loveth us; and it is the orm that loveth God.

man's felicity, as such, is not the chief notion of ate end: but he must love God as God, better than elicity as such, or better than God as our felicity. that man's true ultimate end, containeth these five eptions. 1. The lowest notion or part of it, and felicity. 2. The next notion of it, the church and universe, to which we we must value above our own; inclu

of Christ's humanity. 3. The third notion, lustre of God's perfections, as they shine I his perfected glorious works. 4. The "'s own essential goodness, as the object and praise. 5. The fifth and highest or complacency of God's fulfilled e creation. So that the pleasing notion of man's ultimate end: arily contained in it.

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III.

dge is to be valued, sought, and used, h to our Love of God.

is much of the scope of the text: all rend so far as knowledge is a means of

eds hence have the measure of its worth, and s of our desires of it, and the direction for our

I knowledge that kindleth not the love of God in So narrow and small that it deserveth not indeed the e of knowledge; for the necessary things that such a rson is ignorant of, are a thousand times more or greater, than that little which he knoweth: for, (1.) What is it that he is ignorant of?

1. He hath no sound and real knowledge of God. For if he knew God truly, he could not but love him: goodness is so naturally the object of the will, that if men well knew the infinite Good, they must needs love him: however there is a partial knowledge that is separable from sincere love.

2. He that knoweth not and loveth not God, neither knoweth nor loveth any creature truly and effectually either as it is of God, or through him, or to him; either as it beareth the impress of the glorious efficient, or as it is ordered to its end by the most wise director, or as it is a means to lead up souls to God, or to glorify and please him, no nor to make man truly happy. And can he be said indeed to know any creature that knoweth it not in any of these respects, that knoweth neither its original, order or use? Doth a dog or a goose know a book of philosophy, because he looketh on it,

III. The third proof is from the constitution of these several acts: knowledge being but an introductive act, supposeth not love, as to its essence, though it produce it as an effect: but love includeth knowledge in it; as the number of two includeth one, when one doth not include two. Therefore both together must needs be more perfect than one alone.

IV. The fourth proof is from express Scripture; I will only cite some plain ones which need no tedious comment. 1. For love it is said, "We have known and believed the love that God hath to us: God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, (or in this the love with us is perfected) that we have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we, in this world: there is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." (1 John iv. 16-18.) So that love is the perfection of man.

1 Cor. xii. 31; xiii. 2., &c. "Yet shew I unto you a more excellent way: though I understand all mysteries, and all knowledge, and have not charity, I am nothing.-Charity never faileth. 13. The greatest of these is charity."

Rom. viii. 35.

of God," &c.

"Who shall separate us from the love

Rom. xiii. 10. "Love is the fulfilling of the law." Rom. v. 5." The love of God is poured out on our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given to us."

Gal. v. 6. "Faith which worketh by love."

Matt. xxii. 37. "The first and great commandment is, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart," &c.

Luke x. 27; Deut. x.12; xi. 1. 13. 22; xix. 9; xiii. 3; xxx. 6. 16. 20; Josh. xxii. 5; xxiii. 11; Psal. v. 11; xxxi. 23; lxix. 36; cxix. 165; cxliv 20. Jam. i. 12: "He shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." So. ii. 5.

Prov. viii. 17. "I love them that love me."

See John xiv. 21; xvi. 27; 1 John iv. 19; John xxi. 1517; 1 John iii. 22; Heb. xi. 6., &c.

And of knowledge it is said, (John xiii. 17.) " If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them."

See James ii. 14. to the end; John xv. 24. "But now they have both seen and hated, both me and my Father."

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