----------------------------------------------------------- 66 3t!Jt ~elb 16trt!). proJPcr, and prevail, andfettle my love rjfeEiuRl/y upon him, and faften my mercy upon him; I command my loving kjndne_(Je to do ir. Th.us the Lord dorh put a Commiffion into the hands of his loving kjndneffe, that tt !hall to good do the poor foul, yea, though it with· draw it fdf, faying, What, I mercy.' wzll Chnff Jefm accept of me? No, no, there u'" hope ofmercy for me: indeed if I could pra:; rhus, hMr thm, and perform Duties with that enlargement, and had thofe parts and ~tbtluus,rhen there were fome comfort, bJtt no):p there M nohopeofmmy forme. \Vedemand, Is thus yourcafc? isitthusandthus? are you thus humbled (and have you thus longed for the riches of his mercy in Chrift? Lo then the Lord bath put a Commiffion into the hands of his loving kjndne.ffe, faying, Go to that poorfoul, and brea/z_opcn the Joores upon thllt we"ry weltering heart, a>rd brea/z. offaU thofe bolts, and rend offthatver.L ofr.gnorance andC4rnal Rcafon; and nit zhofe Arg11mcnts: G't~ (l fay) to rhat fo~tl, and chear it, and warm it, and tell it from me, That hts fins are pa>·– domd, a11d his (oul ]hall befaved, 11nd his fghs ami prayers are heard ill hraven; and I chargeyou do the work beforeyou come again. Here is the ground ofLove; Gods lfY'Je affecting the heart and fetlcd upon it,it breeds •John 4 ., 9 • alovetoGodagain; We love him, becaufe helovedw.jirft: Theburning-gla!fe muR receive heat of the beams of the Sun, before it burn any thing; fo there nmft be a beam of Gods love to fall upon the foul, before it can love God again: I drew them with the !lofca "· 4: cords of aman, cvw with tiJC bandsoflove; God lets in the cords of Love into the foul, and that draws love again to God: He brought me into the banq"'tting-houf e, llnd his Canr. 2• 4· banner oucr me wa.{ love; Jl:ay me-with flaggons,c:omfu.rt me with apples,f or I if.mfic~of love. When the banner of Chnll:s love is fpread over the foul, the foul comes to be lick in love with Chrift.. · Now this love of God cloth beget our love in three particulars: Firll:, there is a fweetne!fe and a relifh which Gods love lets into the foul, and warms the heart with ; you fhall fee how the fire is kindled by and by: As when a man is fainting, we give him Aqu~< vit£: fo a fainting finncr is cold at the heart, and there– fore the Lord lets in a drop of his Loving k_mdneffo, and this warms the heart, and the foul is even filled with the happinefs of the mercy of God; Let him kjffe me wtth the Canr. I.I• kjffosofhismouth, (faith the Spoufein the Canticles) for his love is berm· than wine: The kiffcs ofhis mouth,are the comforts ofhis Word and Spirit; the foul faith, 0 let the Lordrefrejh me with the kjfJes ofhis mMth, Let the Lord !peak_ comfort to my he.trt, and this is better than wine. Secondly, as that fweetneffe warms the heart, fo the freene fs of the Love ofGod let' in, and intimated, begins even to kindle ~his love in the foul, that it fparkles again: God il 8 fettcth out his love towards us,leein~ that while we wereyerfinners,Chria diedjo>· m.This om. 5· , ~· J' commend< the love of God, the Lor fends to poor and miferablc, finful,broken-hearted finners, and faith, Commend my mercy tofuch a one, and tell him; That thoJtgh he bath bem lW enemy to me,yet I am a friend to him, and though he hath been rebdliow againftme, yet 1am a God and Father to bim: \Vhen the poor finner confiders this with himfelf, he faith, Is the Lord fo merciful to.me? I that lovedmy finncsJ and continued iN them, had it not been jtJj/ that 1jhozt!d have perijhed in them ? but will the Lord not only !fare his cmmy, but give his Son for him ? 0 let myfoul for ever rejoyce i>! this unconceiveable goodneJTe'f God! Be thy heart never fo hard, if it have but the fenfe of this, it cannot but tlir thee to Humiliation. Thirdly, the greatneffe of the freeneffe of this mercy of God, being fctled upon the heart, inflames it; the fwretneffo warms the heart, this fremejfe kindles the fire ;and when the greatneffe ofthe fweetneffc comes to be valued, this fets the heart all on a flame; the Apoftle defires, that the Ephefans being rooted andgrozmded in love, might be able to comprehend with all Saints, what isthe breadth and height of rhe love cfGod i11 Epbef. 3· 17 , Chrij/ ; as if he had faid, The unmeafurablene!fe of Gods mercy will blow up the foul, 18. and inflame the heart with admirable love of God again, and will make the foul fay; What, I thP.t h~ve done all that I c.ould againft this good God-' 0 it break.! my heart to think_ ofit ? there WM no Name 1mder Heaven that I did blafpheme and rear in pieces more tlum this Name ;n(.l command under HMven I fo much defjifed, M the Command ofG'od andtf Chriff; no Spirit that I grievedfo much M the good Spirit ofGod ; and thcrefa>·e had tU Lord onelygiven me a loolz., or[P(Ik!n a word to me, it had been an infinite Mtrcy, bJ:~ to Jmd a Sone to fa'Ue me) it is incomparable: I COJtid not conceive to do fo muc:h evil azmnft him, M he bath done good to me: 0 the breadth ofthat Mercfbeyond all limits ! U ti>< length ofthat Me-rcy beyond (Ill time! 0 the depth ofthat Mercy below" mans 111ifcry · U the ..
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