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when he ceases to love me, to be kind to me, and to intend my happiness, all my obligations to him would cease; and it would be no sin not to love him. But now, obligations to love God arise originally from his being what he is in himself, antecedent to all selfish considerations; therefore it will for ever remain our duty to love him, let our circumstances, as to happiness or misery, be what they will. And not to love him with all our hearts, will for ever be infinitely wrong. Hence the guilt of the fallen angels has been increasing ever since their first apostacy; and the guilt of all the damned will be increasing to all eternity; and no doubt their punishment will increase in the same proportion. How inconceivably and infinitely dreadful, therefore, will be their case, who are thus continually sinking deeper and deeper in that bottomless pit of wo and misery! And indeed, if this be the case, hell may well be compared, as it is in scripture, to a bottomless pit. Rev. ix. 1. xx. 1.

4. This obligation which we are under to love God with all our hearts, resulting from the infinite excellency of the divine nature, is also unchangeably binding. As unchangeable as the divine nature is; as unalterable as the divine beauty is, even so unchangeable, so unalterable, in the very nature of things, is this our infinite obligation to love him supremely, live to him ultimately, and delight in him superlatively. As God is infinitely lovely in himself, and unchangeably so, so. it is self-evident we are under an infinite and invariable obligation to love him with all our hearts. This cannot but be always our duty. So long as God remains what he is, this will remain our duty. It will, in the nature of things, be unalterably right and fit to love him; and not to do so, unalterably unfit and wrong. Our sinking down into ever so bad a temper, and getting to be ever so remote from a disposition to love him, can no more free us from the obligation, than it can cause him to cease being amiable. He must cease to be amiable, before our obligation thence arising can possibly cease to be binding. If there be no alteration in his infinite beauty, there can possibly be no alteration in the infinite obligation thence arising. While God remains what he is, and while our natural powers and faculties are maintained in be

ing, it must continue our duty to love God with all our hearts, and it cannot but be our duty. In the nature of things it is right; and the obligation is just as incapable of any alteration, as is the equality between twice two and four. The fallen angels are of so bad a temper, that the very thoughts of God will, doubtless, sooner than any thing, stir up all their hatred. But God deserves to be perfectly loved by them, as much as he did before their apostacy. There is a great alteration in the temper of their minds; but not the least shadow of change in the divine beauty. Their having contracted so bad and wicked a temper, cannot surely make it right and lawful for them to indulge it, and continue in it. Their impious revolt surely cannot free them from the authority and government of Almighty God. He deserves their homage and subjection, as much as ever he did. The original ground of all still remains; he is still THE LORD. The same may be said of fallen man : it is impossible that our bad temper should free us from our obligation to love God with all our hearts. It is still, in the nature of things, as wrong, not to love God with all our hearts, as ever it was, or as it would have been, had we not joined with the fallen angels, and turned apostates. It must be so, unless our being of so bad and wicked a temper makes it right for us to continue of such a temper, and we not at all blameworthy for acting agreeably thereto; that is, unless our being so very bad and wicked, makes us not at all to blame for our badness and wickedness: and so, according to this rule, the viler any creature grows, and the more averse to God and to all good, the less he is to blame; which is one of the grossest absurdities in the world. Therefore,

(1.) The divine law which requires us to love God with all our hearts, considered as a rule of duty, is, in the nature of things, unalterable, and absolutely incapable of any abatement, more or less. The thing required is, in the nature of things, our duty, antecedent to any consideration of an express law in the case; as that children ought to honour their parents, and neighbours do as they would be done by, are things in themselves right, and duties antecedent to any consideration of an express law in the case. Eph. vi. 1. These things would have been duties, if there had never been any

laws made concerning them by God or man. Yea, they are, in their own nature, so right, that they cannot but be our duty; and to dishonour our parents, and cheat, and defraud, and injure our neighbour, cannot but be wrong. So, to love God with all our hearts is originally right and fit, and our duty; and would have been so, had there never have been any positive, express law in the case.

Now the grand reason why God, the great Governor of the world, ever made a law requiring us to love him with all our hearts, was because it was thus, in its own nature, so infinitely fit. And now to suppose that he would repeal, or alter, or abate this law, when the grounds and reasons of his first making of it, remain as forcible as ever; when the thing requir ed is as right and fit as ever; and when it becomes him, as Governor of the world, still to require it as much as ever; I say, to suppose such a thing, casts the highest reproach upon all his glorious perfections. It casts the highest reflection upon his infinite holiness, whereby he is infinitely inclined to love right and hate wrong; for it supposes him to release his creatures from doing right, and to allow them to do wronga little at least. It casts the highest reflection upon his impartial justice, whereby he is infinitely inclined to give every one his due; for it supposes him to release his creatures from giving unto God the glory which is his due, and to allow them to keep back part at least. It casts the highest reflection upon his stability and truth; for it supposes him to alter his law when there is no reason for it: yea, it reflects even upon his goodness itself; for it is so far from being a benefit to his creatures to have this excellent law altered, which is so completely suited to the perfection and happiness of their nature, that it would be one of the greatest and sorest calamities which could happen. Like the altering all the good laws and rules in a family, merely to humour and gratify a rebellious child, who will not be governed. Such a child should be made to conform to the wholesome laws of the family, and not the laws be abated and brought down to a level with his bad temper and perverse humour. And, finally, it casts the highest reflection upon the infinite wisdom of the great Governor of the world; for it supposes him to go counter to his own honour

and to the good of his creatures, to counteract all his perfec tions, and contradict the reason and nature of things; and that merely in condescension unto, and in compliance with the sinful, corrupt taste and inclinations of an apostate, rebellious, God-hating world.

And now, how could the great Governor of the world clear and vindicate the honour of his great name, in making any abatements in this law, which requires us to love him with all our hearts? Would he say that he had before required more love than was his due ? Surely nothing can be much more blasphemous than to suppose this. Would he say that he does not deserve so much as he did? Still it is equally blasphemous to suppose this. Would he say that less than is his due is ALL that is his due? But this would be to contradict himself in express terms. Or would he openly profess to quit his right, and freely allow his creatures to despise him a little, and sin sometimes, in condescension unto and compliance with the corrupt inclinations of their sinful hearts? But this, in the nature of things, would be infinitely wrong and dishonourable. Up on what grounds, then, could the supreme Governor of the world go about to make abatements in a law so holy, just, and good, that only requires us to love him with all our hearts; which, in the nature of things, is so infinitely right and suitable? Or upon what grounds can we possibly desire any abatements to be made, unless we even profess that we do not like the law that we are averse to loving God with all our hearts; that it is a very tedious, self-denying thing to us, and what we can by no means freely come into; and so, upon this footing, desire some abatements! Or, which is the same thing, honestly own" that we love sin so dearly that God must tolerate us in it, or we cannot approve of his government."

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But, indeed, God can as easily cease to be, as go about to license and tolerate the least sin; and he had rather heaven and earth should pass away, than that the least jot or tittle of his law should fail. Matt. v. 18.

How can any body, therefore, once imagine that Christ came down from heaven and died, to purchase this abatement of the law of God, and procure this lawless liberty for his

rebellious subjects? What! did he desert his Father's interest and honour, and the honour of his law and government, and spill his precious blood, that he might persuade the great Governor of the world to slacken the reigns of government, and give out this impious license to iniquity? Surely to suppose this, is to make Christ a friend to sin, and an enemy to God.

What, then, do they mean, who, in their prayers, presume to thank God for the gracious abatements which he has made in his law? And what do ministers mean by telling their people, from the pulpit, that the law is abated, and that sincere obedience is ALL that is now required of us? Indeed, if poor secure sinners are made to believe that this was the great business Christ came into the world upon, no wonder if their impious hearts are pleased, and if they seem to love Christ, and prize the gospel, and give thanks to God for this great goodness and condescension; for hereby they are delivered from that strictness in religion which they hate, and a wide door is opened for them to sin without blame. Yea, they have the comfort to think that it is no sin not to love God with all their heart, with all their soul, and with all their strength. And, generally, a very little matter in religion, they think, will serve. And now it is good times, and they bless themselves. But, alas! they feed upon the wind. A deceived heart hath turned them aside.

But, by the way, to what purpose was it for Christ to die to purchase this abatement? What need was there of it? Or what good could it do? For if the law really required too much, the Governor of the world was obliged, in justice, to make some abatements. And so, the death of Christ in the case was perfectly needless. And if the law required but just enough, the Governor of the world could not in justice make any abatements: And so Christ must have died in vain, and totally lost his end.

But, indeed, Christ never came into the world upon this design; as he expressly declares in Mat. v. 17, 18. Think not that I come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, till heaven

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