with breath from moment to moment, and is always exercising towards thee sparing and sustaining mercy; for his patience and bounty always concur together, in every moment's addition to thy breath." It were altogether impossible then but that God should be loved, more than all other beings, if he were but known. And then, 2. Since an object so excellent in himself, and beneficent towards us, must have been loved by us, if there were not some defect in ourselves, therefore it plainly appears that there is a defect; and it is owing to this, that sense has got dominion over us, and the ruling sway within us. For if he be not loved by any one, it must proceed from hence, that those lively apprehensions are wanting, which sense is the instrument of with reference to visible objects. This is in itself most plain, that such an object as the blessed God is, could not but attract our love, if there were not some great defect in ourselves, or if sense had not the power and dominion over us. And that it has such power and dominion, may be seen by comparing these two things together: to wit, that generally the objects of sense do make great impressions upon us; but the things that fall not within the reach thereof, or exceed its sphere, usually make little, or none at all. The things of sense, I say, in the first place do usually make a great impression upon us, and are the things that have the deepest influence and operation upon the minds of men, so long as they are destitute of the grace of God. Hence it is, that men, who are yet in an unregenerate state, are said to be "in the flesh." And a wicked man is spoken of as one, that is lost in the flesh: so that there is nothing comes near him, nothing affects the soul, nothing reacheth his heart, but what some way or other doth slide in upon him, through the mediation of his external senses. It is true, sense is the instrument of conveying to us the knowledge of many things that are not the objects thereof. But when any are spoken of under this character, of being in the flesh, it bespeaks the degeneracy of man while unrenewed to be so great, that he is a creature so wrapt up in the flesh, as that nothing can come at him, but what is sensible. And therefore of such persons it is said, "They savour the things of the flesh." While this is the state and case of any man, it is no wonder that things, which are not the objects of sight, should move his heart but little. It is evident to all that make any observations upon themselves, how mighty a power sensible things have upon them. A danger that we see, how do we start at it? Without using any intervening thoughts, as soon as we see it we dread it. How apt are we also to be amused, by the variety of sensible objects! how apt to be ensnared and enticed by them! Therefore such as have a due care of themselves, what a watch and guard do they set upon their senses? For this purpose holy Job is said to "make a covenant with his eyes." And we also read of a heathen philosopher, that would outdo Job, by putting out his eyes, that he might be able to contemplate the better; acting herein agreeably to this Arabian proverb, Shut the windows, that the house may be light. Thus it is evident how great a power sense has over us, to draw us this way and that. And, On the other hand, it is also obvious to experience, how little power, in general, those things have usually over us which fall not under the senses. Not only the objects of our love, but of our other affections, signify nothing, make no impression, if they be invisible. Therefore it is spoken of as a characteristical note of the saints, that "they look not at the things that are seen, which are but temporal, but at the things that are not seen, and are eternal." We read particularly of Noah, who "being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, and through faith prepared an ark for the saving of his house." Do but consider; here was one man, and only one in a whole world, that was actually moved by the discovery and report of things not seen as yet, who when he was warned by God of such and such things coming, though unseen at present, admitted into his soul a pious preventing fear. I say there seems to have been but one such man in a whole world, and he is thereupon recorded with honour in the book of God for it. So rare a thing is it that a man should f Rom. vii. 5. g Rom. viii. 5. h Job xxxI. 1. i 2 Cor. iv. 18. be influenced by things not subject to sight, that if there be but one Noah, any one such person in the world, Record him for it (saith God) to future ages, for his excellency in this, that he took notice of the monition, or warning from God, as to things not seen as yet, so as to do what was agree able to the exigence of the case. Accordingly he stands at this day as an eminent example to all succeeding ages. And you find, that it is the same faith which distinguisheth those who belong to God, and is the principal rule of their life; to wit, "the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen." Plain therefore and visible it is to us, and so it must be to all the world, that most persons are governed by their senses; while things not sensible never move, nor signify any thing with us. How plainly doth experience every day speak in this case! When we tell men of a judgment to come, a dreadful tribunal where they must all appear, and an endless state of things, that is before them; we are to them as men that mock. They cry out, "Surely you are but in jest; you mean not as you say, when you tell us of such dreadful things; we see nothing like it, nothing tending that way." Thus in like manner it is said, that when the inhabitants of Sodom were admonished by Lot, that fire and brimstone were ready to come down upon their heads to punish the most flagitious enormities of that people, " he was to them as one that mocked."m So we are told this will be the language of scoffers in the latter days, "Where is the promise of his coming?" As much as to say, "You have told us often of the great and terrible day, when the sign of the Son of man shall be seen in the heavens, and that there shall be most terrible concomitants of his appearance; but we see nothing like it, no token of its approach, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." Thus the judgment of sinners is framed only by what is seen; and what is not seen, is not at all minded; not regarded by them. So David says, "Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God," Ps. lv. 19. They say, "All things are as they were. There is no alteration fallen out so important, as seems to portend such dreadful things as you talk of. The sun runs its course as it has been wont, and there is the same succession of day and night, summer and winter, as in former times. Who therefore can make us believe, that there is such a day coming as that which is so much talked of?" Now, since we find that God is such a one as you have heard; namely, most amiable in himself, and beneficent towards us, and consequently that he would most certainly be beloved, if there were not some great defect in us which hinders so blessed an effect; and since we find, that there is such a defect, that we have promoted sense to be the ruler in us, and that sensible things make a deep impression on us, while things that are not subject to the senses have little or no regard from us; we have all the_reason in the world to conclude, that the great reason why men love not God is, because they do not see him. He is out of sight, and they regard him not. I thought to have insisted on many things by way of use, as I proposed, after having explained, and evinced, this second branch of my first proposition; but I shall now only hint at some things, which I purpose to speak more largely to in the next discourse. In the first place, we may infer and gather from hence, that the apostacy and degeneracy in which this world has been and is still involved, is very dreadful; in that it hath destroyed man's right disposition towards God. If it had wrought only so far as to deface men's limbs, and turn them into monstrous shapes, it had not been by many degrees so tremendous; but it hath deformed the mind, and spoiled the temper of the spirit as it hath reference to God most of all, which is a thing never enough to be deplored. Again, we may further infer, that there is a necessity for something or other to supply the room of our not seeing God, as man did in the state of innocence; inasmuch as he is not seen by us now in this lapsed state, so as to furnish us with such apprehensions of him as to engage us to love him. There must be something analogous to sight, some communications of God's grace, that must influence our hearts to love him; without which it is impossible. | tending to show, that it must necessarily be from some great defect in the nature of man, that the most excellent and most amiable object of all others, should not be generally loved by us. After which, two or three hints by way of use were given you, and so we concluded the last exinercise on this subject. Moreover, I would observe that it is a wonderful mercy that God hath not wholly concealed himself from men; that though he cannot be seen by the bodily eye, yet he hath vouchsafed to show us, how we may attain to the knowledge of him. No man, saith John the Baptist, hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, which is the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him, John i. 18. How then ought Divine grace to be admired for this! We may also hereupon see the great necessity of much Gospel preaching, and that very lively and serious too. There are a great many that are apt to say, "What needs such ado? why must we have sermons so often?" Surely the exigence of the state of man is but little considered by them that say so. Do not we need to be often put in mind of the invisible God, when men love him not, because they see him not? If they should hear of him neither, what would become of them? Certainly they misunderstand the state of things among us, who think every little in this kind is too much. Finally, we may see how little reason we have to be in love with this state of dependence upon sense, which amuseth our souls, usurpeth the power over them, and so disturbs and muddles our minds as to divert them from their true objects. How little reason have we to be fond of living in and walking after the flesh; which is to live the life of a creature, as it were, buried alive. Surely, I say, we have no reason to be fond of such a life. SERMON III.* HAVING told you in the introduction to the first discourse, that love to God and man is the summary of our whole duty, I proposed to insist on these three things. FIRST, that there is a greater difficulty of living in the exercise of love towards God than towards men on this account, that he is not the object of sight, as man is; or, in other words, men are much more disposed to love one another, rather than God, inasmuch as they can see each other. SECONDLY, that although this is one great reason why men in reality love God so little, yet it is no excuse. THIRDLY, I proposed also to show you the manifest falsehood and absurdity of any one's pretending to love God, who does not love his brother also. The first of these we have made some progress in, and in the handling of it, told you, that it contained these two parts: I. That it is more difficult to love God than our brother. II. That one great reason of it is, that we cannot see God as we do one another. I now proceed to a larger and more close application of this important truth. 1. Hence we infer, that man is in a very low and lapsed state. The present state of man, I say, is a lapsed state. He is fallen, and fallen very low indeed, when this is the case with him, that he is less apt to love God than man; and only for this reason, because he cannot see God. It argues, I say, man to be sunk very low, and greatly fallen. And can we hereupon think otherwise? For what! can it ever enter into the imagination of any of us, that God did ever create such a thing as the reasonable intelligent spirit of man, his own offspring, image, and glory, with an original indisposition to the love of himself? Do we think that God gave such a nature to man at first, as was capable of being employed about spiritual objects, and yet with this strange defect or flaw in it, that it should be impossible to this nature of man to love the Author of itself, and the Original of its own life and being? This cannot be. It can never be, that a reasonable spirit, the immediate issue of the great Father of spirits, should be so alienated from its own Father; and that it should be so dependent upon sense, as not to be able to love him from whom it came, or any thing which is above the sphere of that base principle, which now presumes to give laws to the immortal mind. It is not to be supposed, that God ever created man so, as that his invisibility, which is the excellency of his own being, should be the reason why man should not love him. For he is therefore invisible, because he is excellent. And to think that the nature of man at first was so formed, that the excellency of things should be the reason why they should not be loved, and his own excellence a reason for his creature not to love him, is too absurd for any rational person to imagine. It is therefore plain, that the present state of man is a very lapsed state. Some of the heathen, as we observed before, have acknowledged and lamented this. We find one of them complaining, that the darkness of ignorance clouded his mind, and that this body and flesh was but as a living sepulchre to the man. Another complains of certain bonds and chains, that tied down the mind of man to the body, and the things of sense. And a third speaking of the excellent state of man at first, says, that he then lived in a sort of familiarity and converse with God, but that now it was become quite otherwise with him. Such things as these we find in the writings of divers of the heathen. And how incongruous a thing is it for us, who have all the conAs to the former of these, we have shown you in several cerns of our souls, and what relates to our being so exparticulars, that how much soever mutual love is wanting pressly discovered and made known to us; how inconin the world; yet it is not so hard a matter to find out in-gruous a thing is it, I say, that such a malady as this should stances of kind, good natured men, who are friendly and be so little minded as it is by us! Many have very slight fair in their deportment one to another, as it is to find notions of the degeneracy of man, and make a little matter persons who are kindly affected towards God. In the of it, and the most have a much slighter sense thereof in prosecution of this matter, the usual expressions or evi- practice. How few are there, who carry it as those who dences of human love were considered. Such as mindful-apprehend themselves fallen, and cast down from great ness, or a kind remembrance of one another; mutual trust; excellencies! fallen short, very far short, of the glory of a readiness to be concerned for each other's interest, and God! We live as if we apprehended no such malady, as reputation; an earnest study to please, and oblige; and a if we knew not that there was a disease or distemper indisposition deeply to regret an offence, though given un-wrought into our natures. Oh, how little is there of the warily and finally, a love of converse, or delighting in sense of this to be found in the bulk of mankind! And each other's society, is another expression as we observed, hence I would further infer, of that regard, which several persons have for one another. In all which respects it appears from constant observation and experience, that men are more disposed to show love and respect to one another than to God. As to the latter of these propositions, that all this proceeds for the most part from this cause, namely, that God is not seen by men as they are seen by one another, several propositions were first laid down for the explication of this point; and then two considerations for the eviction of it, 2. That this depravity or lapsedness of the nature of man consists greatly, in the depression and declination of his mind, and intellectual powers, as to the particular work and office of guiding his passions, his affections, and practical inclinations. This was just mentioned before in the last discourse, but shall now be more largely considered. I do not say, with some, that this is all that is meant by the corrupt state of man; but certainly it stands very much in this, that his mind and rational powers are become unfit a courses, which he had preached about three months before; of which this is only an abstract. There is a like interval or chasm, with respect to time, between the VIII. and IX. of those posthumous sermons, published by Dr. Evans; and there are several more of the like nature in the manuscript volumes, out of which these discourses are selected. a See Prop. 6. p. 654. for their proper business; and, that sense hath got the throne, usurped the reins, and governs his passions and affections. Herein, I say, consists, in very great part, the corruption and depravedness of man's present state. And do not we find it to be so? Do not we see, as to the objects that draw men's affections daily into a certain course, that it is not the mind, but sense, which prescribes? Sense dictates and says, "Love here," and they do accordingly "Love not there," and they obey. "Let that be the object of your love, which sense tells you is amiable and lovely; and that which sense says no such thing about, you may slight, neglect, and take no further notice of." Thus men are dictated to, and they do accordingly. It is plain then, that the depravedness of man's state stands chiefly in this, that sense takes upon itself to do the business of the mind and intellectual powers, and we consent it should be so. But is not this a dismal thing? more dismal that it is not laid to heart! Is it not a dismal thing, I say, that the first rank and order of creatures in this sublunary world should be sunk into that low bestial life, so as to be governed by no higher a principle than what is common to them with brutes; and that the incongruity of this should not be reflected upon, and more deeply considered? that men should so seldom consider with themselves the unfitness of their course, or labour to shake off the usurped dominion over them? This, I say, is most sad and doleful to think on, that matters should have gone on thus from age to age, and from generation to generation, in so many successions to this day, and we have heard of so few in all that time, who have regretted to be so imposed upon, and forborne to live the life of beasts and brute creatures through so many ages! One would think it should some time or other have come into the mind of man, to think thus with himself. "What! is it a becoming thing for me, a reasonable and intelligent creature, one formed after the image and likeness of God, one of those creatures made at first for his immediate service and fellowship, that I must now be imposed upon and dictated to by sense; that vile and base principle of sense, so as to love nothing but what that counts lovely, and neglect every thing which that takes no cognizance or notice of?" It is an amazing thing, that there should not be so much apprehensiveness left among men, as to remember, that they were men, in their original, once at least that they were men. "Remember," saith the prophet in a like case, "and show yourselves men," Isa. xlvi. 8. But alas, how little is there left of a sense of this degeneracy among us! how little resentment of the vile indignity that is done to the whole kind, and which the whole species of men have suffered to come upon them! to be degraded and brought down into an inferior rank and order! to do, to act, and live, as if they were also made to die like the beasts that perish! without remedy. But that persons out of a deep concern for the honour and glory of man as the top of the creation, should go about to make him believe himself now in an honourable state, and that he can even now do great things; how unsuitable and insignificant is this, as well as inconsistent with truth! And again, we, 3. Infer hence, that man is most especially prejudiced and impaired by his lapse or fall, in respect to his disposition and inclinations towards God. The wound is principally in his mind, and consists in the depression and enfeebling of its powers; but the mind itself is most especially hurt and impaired in respect of those inclinations by which it should be guided towards God. For in the state in which he is at present he is indisposed to the love of God; and for this mean reason, because he cannot see him. And that he is not able to love what he cannot see, shows him to be a very mean, abject creature, and that his powers are mightily impaired. Surely the time was, that he could have loved what he could not have seen with his bodily eye; and how comes it to pass that because he cannot see God, therefore he cannot love him? This shows that his mind is impaired, that he is hurt chiefly in what respects his Creator; and that his propensity, the bent and bias of his spirit, towards God, is lost. This is a sad and dismal thing that is befallen the nature of man; because God is far beyond the reach of his sight, and he himself is sunk into flesh, lost in earth, and always imposed upon by sense, he cannot see him, cannot lift up the dull heavy eye of his mind to his God, which is the eye he must be seen with by his creatures. So that, as the apostle Paul expresses it, he is become alienated from the life of God, and without God in the world, Eph. ii. 12. And how much is this to be lamented, that man is so fallen off from God! that his original propensity to him is lost and dropped from his nature! If we had heard but of one man since the creation of the world with whom this was the case, it would deserve to be very much lamented. But that this should come upon the whole kind, that it should be thus, as I may speak, with the whole race of men: methinks the sense of it should never wear off from our hearts. Strange! that it should be the course and fashion of this world all over the earth, to live in an oblivion of him that made us, and with hearts devoid of his love, and only because he is so excellent as not to be seen by us with the bodily eye! It was reckoned a sad and terrible day, when a tribe was cut off from Israel; but if we consider what man was made for, what were the design and end of his creation, we see as it were a whole race of beings lost from the creation of God. For what can we think man was made for, but to love, admire, triumph, and glory in his great Maker? But to all this he is lost; and abstracting what is done in order to the recovering him again, it had been as well if there had been no There are indeed many, in the mean time, who proudly men at all, and for themselves unspeakably better. How arrogate and give to man that which belongs not to him in strange then is it, that such a matter as this is, should ever his present condition, and which this state does not admit escape our thoughts! If we speak of the corruption and of. They say him to be that which he is not, but in the depravedness of human nature, they are words of course mean time really see not, nor lament, that he is neither that drop from us now and then, and some slight notions what he was, or what he should or ought to be. And to of the matter hover in our minds; but how few are there how little purpose is it to magnify human power, when it to whom it is a familiar thing to roll themselves in the dust is manifest how forlorn the present state of man is! He is before the Lord, in the sense of that vile and abject state, fallen very low! And what are these men intent upon, which man in common now is in! How few lament that they who make it their business now to magnify the nature and are by the fall cut off from God; and spoiled as to all their power of man in this condition? those parasites of man- capacities, whereby they were suited to the Divine love, serkind as I may call them, what mean they by it? When vice, and communion! and yet the most tragical calamities he is become a lost perishing creature they adorn him that could possibly have fallen out in this world, or of with shadows, and think they make up the matter by at- which we could form any imagination, had been nothing tiring him with magnificent titles and attributes. As if in comparison of this. Nay, if all mankind, as to shape, or when a person is condemned to suffer the execution of the impossibility of external enjoyments, were the most monsentence of death passed upon him, one should clothe him strous and most miserable creatures living, it were nothing with a majestic robe, and bestow great compliments upon when compared to the mischief and misery which are the him. This is to add scorn to his ruin, and is only insult-fruits of man's apostacy from his Maker. ing over the wretchedness and calamity of the man's condition. And yet this is the course of them that go about to persuade man, that although the case is thus with him, he can recover his own excellence that he hath lost; that he can anew create himself, or repair the ruins of his decayed and shattered state. This is the way to add incurableness to his misery, by tempting him to neglect the only means of taking it off; and so make him miserable 4. We further infer hence, that man upon all these accounts must necessarily be at a very great distance from true blessedness. Whoever understands or considers the connexion between blessedness and love, will soon perceive the reasonableness of this inference. It is impossible to be blessed without love; and it is necessary to every one's satisfaction, that it be a full and sufficient good that is the object of his love. If either of these be wanting, it is impossible it should be satisfying, or a suitable good to me. Or if, on the other hand, there be a good never so self-sufficient or all-sufficient, yet if I cannot love it, if my heart be averse to it, this also is a sufficient bar to my happiness. The things that are seen, though a man love them never so much, can never satisfy, because they are not sufficient. The infinite incomprehended good is all-sufficient, and fit for every purpose; but this cannot make him happy, because he doth not love it. In the creature therefore man cannot be happy; in God he will not. He cannot in the creature, because that hath not in itself to give; in God he will not, because his heart is disinclined to him, and will not be brought to a closure with him by love. Consider man according to this state of his case, and you must look upon him as one, who by his very constitution and present temper of his soul, is formed for misery; I say, so long as he continues in his present situation. His heart inclines him truly to visible things, and to love the objects of sense, which can never make him happy. The good that is unseen hath enough in it to make him blessed, but then he will not love it. He will not apply himself to love God, merely because he is out of sight. You must needs think then that it is a great thing that must work the cure of man, who is thus involved in so great an abyss of depravedness and misery. And therefore I must add, 5. There is a very great necessity of much Gospel preaching in order to persuade men to the love of God. For what is the design of the Gospel, but to render God amiable to men? What is it but a method of rendering God lovely, and of restoring men's love to God? And since his loveliness is not the object of sight, there needs such a supplemental representation of himself, to supply the want of vision. And since the things that court our senses are obvious, and occur to us every day, yea every hour of the day, it is needful that we should be frequently put in mind of God; and that those discoveries of him which tend to beget the love of him in our hearts, should be very much urged and inculcated upon us. For other wise what shall countervail sense, or what shall we set against the sight of our own eyes? "No man hath seen God at any time," John i. 18. What is it then that must supply that defect, and be in the stead of the sight of God to us? Why, "the only-begotten Son of God, he hath declared him." So that we have now a revelation of God himself. And our Lord Jesus Christ, who lay in his bosom, and came from thence to declare the Father to the world, has ordained that this revelation, of which he is the prime Author, shall be held out before us from time to time, by the use of inferior and subservient instruments. I have often considered the strange prevarication, and sophistry, which some men use in stating things that are necessary to salvation; and the use they make of that state. That is, because they can make a shift to gather up the main principles of religion into a little compass, as they may very easily, they say, "Here is all that is necessary to salvation. And therefore since in that way, or in that church, all things necessary to salvation are taught, what need is there of any more? why should not we come over thither? or why should we separate from it ?" Methinks it were an obvious easy thing to most people to detect the fallacy. They state what is objectively necessary to salvation, without considering the condition of the subject, and what is necessary for that subject. That is, they state what is necessary to be known and believed in order to our being saved, but consider not what is necessary to bring men to this knowledge and belief of these necessary things, so as to make a due impression of them upon their hearts. If, for instance, you were to prescribe to a sick languishing person a remedy for the taking off his distemper: would you only tell him of such and such good substantial food that you would have him eat? and would you then think you had done the business? Alas! the poor man is sick; he desires nothing, can take nothing, can digest nothing, and casts up all you give him. Why then do you talk to him of such things as will make wholesome and substantial food, when he can neither receive nor retain it? So in like manner in the present case and exigence of man, considered as a fallen creature, if the bare proposal of the sundry heads of religion, necessary to be known and be * Preached September 13th, 1676. | lieved, were sufficient; then to have a sermon once in a man's life-time might do the business; or a mere system of the principal parts of the Christian religion would do what it is urged for, and answer the exigence of the case. This I say, were a thing easily to be granted, if it were really so with men, that a doctrine would be understood as soon as proposed, and received when understood, and so beget its due and proper impression upon the hearts of men. But truly the case is manifestly otherwise, since man is fallen into so depraved a state. And to talk thus, is to speak of a scheme of divinity suitable only to innocent men in paradise; when no more was needful to be done than barely to propound things with respect to the clearness of the understanding, the rectitude of the will, the agreeableness of the powers one to another, tog ther with the truth and goodness of their objects. But to say that this is all that is requisite, that there is enough held forth or laid before men, the knowledge and belief of which is sufficient to save them, is just as if one should say, that such and such things proposed to a sick man would do him good if he were not sick. So in like manner this way of propounding the Gospel would serve the turn for men, if they were such as when they were at first created. Indeed it were no Gospel, if it were only enough to save men from sin, who as yet were no sinners. The very notion implies a contradiction. For doth not the same sin which makes them stand in need of a Gospel for the reconciling them to God, disaffect at the same time their hearts unto God, and make them unwilling to close with him? Therefore they need to have precept upon precept, and line upon line; here a little, and there a little. And they that preach the Gospel to men, are urged "to be instant in season and out of season, to admonish, exhort, reprove;" (2 Tim. iv. 2.) and all little enough, indeed all too little. Surely then there is somewhat else to be considered in the matter. When we consider what is objectively necessary, it is also to be considered what will bring men to believe these necessary things. And in order to that there is need of their being frequently inculcated, inasmuch as things that are seen are more the objects of our love, than the things which are not seen; and what we ought to set our hearts most upon, are out of sight. God himself is the great Object men are to be directed to, and to whom they must be united, or they are lost. He is invisible, and they are apt, as you have heard again and again, to mind nothing but what is seen. Therefore it is a strange unapprehensiveness of the real state and condition of mankind, which those are guilty of, who decry preaching as a needless thing. Surely they that do so, have little studied the nature of man!-There are several other things that remain to be spoken to, which I cannot insist upon at this time. SERMON IV." WE have gone through the first part of my design from these words, which was to show, that men are less apt or disposed to the exercise of love to God than to one another. And we have made some progress in the application, by way of inference; and therein have endeavoured to show, -that the indisposition of man to the love of God is a proof of his being in a lapsed and very degenerate condition that this degeneracy must consist principally in the depression of the mind and its intellectual powers-that more especially man is prejudiced by the lapse or fall with respect to his inclinations towards God-that in consequence of this, he must needs be at a great distance from true blessedness, which is inseparably connected with the love of God-and in the next place, it is further inferred, that there is great occasion for frequent Gospel preaching, which is the method instituted by Christ for restoring and reviving love to God in the souls of men. But though this is necessary, yet we are also to know that it is not sufficient; for all the preaching in the world cannot alone make the sensual heart of man to love God. And therefore we proceed to infer further, 6. That since men are so very unapt to love God, and for this reason, because they see him not; there is great need of the communication and influence of that glorious and mighty Spirit of life to relieve him in this sad extremity and distress. For surely it is a very distressed case, that man cannot love his own Maker, the Author of his life and being, him in whom is his eternal hope, and all because he cannot see him. It is a case that calls for a very great and powerful hand to redress; and no other hand is proportionable to the exigence thereof. Though he works by means, and even by that of the Gospel revelation, yet it doth not follow that the means will do the business alone; but the contrary follows, that because they are means, therefore there must be an agent, and an efficient to use them, and one proportionable to the work of forming and disposing the spirits of men towards God, that they may be capable of his love, and admit it into their hearts so as to rule and govern there. And what can do this but the Spirit of God? What else is it that can awaken and rouse the dull, sluggish, drowsy spirits of men? What else, I say, can quicken, purify, and refine spirits lost in pleasure and sense? The way of bringing any soul to love God, is to give it the spirit of love. There is no other way of doing it. Now the apostle says, that "God hath given to us not the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind," 2 Tim. i. 7. One and the same Spirit is all these at once. And till that Spirit is given us, there is nothing but enmity and disaffection towards God; there is nothing but feebleness and impotence, as to any thing that is good; there is nothing but distemperature and diseasedness in man, which have pierced him to the very heart. This Spirit therefore, in reference to these several exigencies, is a Spirit of love, of power, and of a sound mind. That same Spirit that makes the soul capable now of doing things that require power; that same Spirit that rectifies the mind, and heals it of those distempers under which it was wasting and consuming before, is a SPIRIT OF LOVE. It is said to be a Spirit given, a Spirit superadded to our own, a Spirit that we had not before. Indeed it must be some other spirit than ours, which must render us capable of loving God. You know, that the apostle, recounting the several fruits of the Spirit, (as he had done those of the flesh before,) sets this of love in the front of them. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy," &c. Gal. v. 22. And after telling us, that eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him;" (1 Cor. ii. 9.) he tells us also of a Spirit different from that of the world, the Spirit which is of God, which such as they had received. "We have received," says he, "not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God," 1 Cor. ii. 12. And in this same chapter, wherein is our text, you have the apostle John speaking to this very case, to wit, the impossibility of our seeing God: "No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit," 1 John iv. 12, 13. Love to one another as Christians or saints, is also a fruit of that same blessed Spirit. And if there be such a principle of love within us, it plainly speaks that God dwells in us, and we in him, and that he hath planted his own love in our souls, which is perfecting there. It is manifest now that he hath taken possession of us, and drawn us into union with himself, so as to become the great Fountain of that principle of love in us, whereby we are capable of loving him, and loving such as are his, for his sake. And because the act of the heart in loving supposes some foregoing act of the mind by which the object is perceived to be lovely, therefore this same Spirit is elsewhere called a "Spirit of wisdom, and revelation, in the knowledge of him," (Ephes. i. 17.) whom we are to love. The apostle is there praying earnestly on behalf of the Ephesians, that this Spirit might be given them, by which they might be capable of knowing, and knowing practically, as the word intyvos signifies, and of coming into union with that blessed One that is known. And on this union love hath a great influence. St. John says, "We know the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding | that we may know him that is true; and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life," 1 John v. 20. The understanding here spoken of is said to be given by which we so come to know God in Christ, as to be brought into union with him by love: it is, I say, a given thing, men have it not of themselves. It is very requisite, and therefore I so long insist upon it, that we understand how necessary it is, that there be another and a better Spirit than our own, to render us capable of loving God, whom we have not seen; for otherwise we shall never love beyond the sight of our own eye. And it is very strange, that this necessity, since the case speaks itself, and the Holy Scriptures so often declare it, should be no more understood. If there be no such necessity, what is the reason we are taught to "pray for the Spirit," (Matt. vii. 9, 10, 11.) as starving children do for bread? That we are bid to "live in the Spirit," (Gal. v. 25.) "to walk in the Spirit," (Rom. viii. 1.) and "by the Spirit to mortify the deeds of the flesh ?" ver. 13. And are we not told, that we must "be born of the Spirit, or else we shall never enter into the kingdom of God ?" John iii. 3. All this is plain language one would think, and easy enough to be understood by those that have a mind to it. But it is very observable, that those notions which tend to make as little as possible of the depravity and corruption of man's nature, to magnify beyond measure the power of man in his fallen state, to depress preaching, and to make light of the operations of the Holy Ghost upon the minds of men, are all of a sort, all of a piece. These are notions that hang upon one thread, and when we see wherein they issue and terminate, we may easily discern the danger of them; and into how great hazard they bring the eternal concerns of the souls of those men, who suffer themselves to be tainted with them. We again further infer, 7. That the work of regeneration must needs stand in very great part in the implanting and seating in the souls of men such principles, as may directly tend to control the dictates of sense, and in opposition to it rule and govern in men. The infirmity and distemper of man's nature easily show, wherein this cure and renovation must consist. This is at present the great distemper of his soul, it cannot love but where it can see. It is the sight of the eye that carries the heart, and draweth it this way and that way. A most dreadful distemper this! But as we know the distemper, we know wherein the cure must consist. Regeneration is that which restores the man to his right mind, and sets things to rights again with him. Though his former state is expressed by being in the flesh, he is now said to be in the Spirit, from the spiritual frame created in him by the great work of regeneration. Thus, says the apostle, "Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you," Rom. viii. 9. And the thing produced in the work of regeneration is called spirit. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit," John iii. 6. While man is in flesh he is capable of loving nothing but what is seen, nothing but what to his senses appears amiable and lovely. Herein therefore stands the work of regeneration, to take a poor sensual creature, a mere lump of flesh, and to make him spiritual; and then it is he becomes capable of loving God. There must be a new creation, and right principles planted in the mind, to influence the heart, and to direct and determine souls towards God, from whom they were cut off and so dreadfully alienated. Again, in the 8. Place, we further infer, that the power by which it comes to pass that there are any lovers of God in the world, is highly to be adored and magnified. You see it is far more difficult to love God, whom we see not, than our brother whom we do see. How then can this difficulty be overcome, unless Divine power implant this principle of love? We ought therefore to make the representation of that power, that hath wrought this work in us, appear very glorious in our own eyes, that so with reference to this matter our hearts may be put in an adoring posture. Let us then bless and adore that glorious Being, who hath done such a thing as this; who hath made a stupid sensual heart, which could never rise beyond the sphere of flesh, ascend and enlarge itself, and fix and terminate its love |