Tl1e 'Natttre of ottr Low to God. appe;~~,(.-~fGvd in uea~r!rtJ, man in flefh harh no other knowledge of him: For here we know him bur darkly, :rnigrnatically, and as in a glafs, and have noformal propu conception of him in his dfence. So that the Rational powers rhemfclves do no ocherwife kJww and will Gods (!fence, but as reprefentcd to us in a glafS. 2· And 1hzu we may alfo lovt him p.zffionately; ir being God in his obje&ive being as apprelmultd by the lHteUe!l that we both WiU and pa[Jionately Love. T he Motion of the foul in Acfh, may raifc pJffi(l}tJ by the infirumentality of the corporeal Spirits, towardi an imma. tcrial objeCt: which is called the objell of thofe paffions, not mecrly as Paffimu, but as theP4ffio 11 r of a Ratinnal Agent; it being more ;zearly or primarily the object of the Intellect and \Vill,.and then of the Pa[Jiont, as lirl! apprehended by thefc.fupcriourpowers. A man may Delight in God; orelfc. how is he our felicity : and yet we know of no Delight which is not P_affion : A man may love his o~1t foul with a paffionate Love, and yet it is imrnltcrial : when I pa!hon1tely love my friend, It is Ius immaterial foul, and his wifdom, and holine(s which I chiefly love. H'ha of God Y. 5· 3· It i1 not onlj fl)r hi1 ExceUencieJ and Perfeliion~ in himfolf, nor only for 1/M L!JVe and benefit to 1s tl-c objeCt m, tJjat Grace duth cau[e a ji1mer to Luve God; Bw it iJ for bo1b conjun{ilJ': as he i1 good, and dotbgood ofourLo,·e. cfp~:cially toi#, inihe gr(ate{t things. ' Whot ;, rhe 9· 6. 4· 011r Jirft [pecial Love to God, i1 orderly and ratio11olly tobt raifed, by tlJt beJ,if ofhi< Good– Moti\·cof our mfl in bi~JCLJ, and biJcommm Lflve and Mercy to jinner1, manifefied in his giving of his Sonfor the lirtllO\e w world, and giving men the Conditional prflmife of pardon. and {alvatinn, and offering them Gbrill and God. life eternal, and all this to Uf as well as others: and not tobe caufed by the beliif or perj':Pafion of bi 1 JPtciat peculiar eleai,g, redeeming, or javing love to 11-r abtJve otberJ, that have the fame iuvitatUmt ·aud offerJ. It is the knowledge ofCommon Love and Mercy, and not of [pecial LO'lleand Mercy to us, as alreadyP"Jfcffed, that is appointed to be the motive of"" fir}! [pecial Love to God : (Yet there i• in it an apprehention'that he is our only pofllble felicity, and that he will give us a fpecial intcrefi: in his favour, if we return by faith in Chrill unto him. ) for I• Every man is bound to Love God with a fpecial Love : but every man is not[pecitJl/y beloved by him ; And no man is bound ro love God as one that fpecially Lovcth him, but tbofc that indeed are fo beloved by him : f or elfc they were bound w believe a falfl,ood, and to Love that which iJ not ; and grace 01ould be an error and deceit. The object is before the act. God1 [pecial Love mufl in it [elf be before its Revelatio11 ; 3nd as Revealed it mull go before our beliefof it; and as believed, it mufl: go before our Lovi11~ it, or Loving him aJ f11ciJ, or for it. 2. The firft faving faith is infoparahly conjuniJr with fpecia( Love:" For Cbrijt is believed in and willed, as the T.Yay or A1eanJ to Gcd as the End: ( otherwife it is no true faith.) And the Volition of the End ( which is Love) is in order of nature before the choice or •lJfe of the MtanJ as fuch : And if we mufi Love God as one that fpeciaUy Lovtth us, in our firft Love, then we mull Believe in him M fucb by our firft f,;ith: And if fo, it mufi be to us a Revealed 1ruth. But (as it is falfe to rnofi that are bound to btlieve, fo) it is n91 Revealed to the Eldl themfelvcs: For if it be, it is either Py ordinaryor extraordinary rcve/3tion: If by ordinary, either by Scripture direaly, or by Evidence! in our felves which Scripture maketh the Characters of his 1-:ove. But neither of thefe: for Scripture promifeth not falvation to named, but defcribcd pa{on1: And evidenC"e of fpecial Love there is 11one, before Faith and Rtpentance and the firjf LIJVe to God. And txtraordi· ·n.zry Reoelatiun1 from Heaven by infpiration or Angel, .is not the ordinary begcttcr of faich: 1-'or faith is the Btli•f of God fpcaking to us ( now ) by his written Word. So that where there is no Objell of Love, there can be no L?ve ; And where there is no Revelation of it I o the underftanding, there is no objell for the wiU; And till a man fir(\ believe and Love God, he hath no Rcvel.Jtioll that God cloth fpecially Love l1im. Search as long as you will, you will tind no other. 3· It the wicked were condemned tor not Loving a falfe or feigned obje8, it would quiet their confciences in Hell when they had detected the deceit, and feen theuamral impoffibility and contradiUion. 4· The tirft Love to God is more a LoveofDcfrre, than of Poffrffion: And therefore it may fuffice to raifc: it, that we fee a po[Jibility of being for ever happy in God, and e.11joying him in[pecial Lwe, though yet we know nor chat we poffefs any fuch Love. The Nature of the tbing proclaimeth it moJi: RatiMal an:J dut, that we Love the Inji11ite Goud, that hath done fo much by the death ofhi< So;t to remove rhc impe· diments of our falvation 1 and is fo far Reclmciled to the world in his death, as by a meffageof Re· conciliation, to intreat them to accept of Chrit1, and pardon, and (,;alvation freely offered them 2 Cor. S· 19, 20. and is himfelf the o.fferedHappine£5 of the foul. He that dare fay thatthis mnch hath not an Obje{live fufficiency to engage the foul' in [pccial Love, is a blind undel··vllucr of wonderful mercy. S· The firjl fpecial Grace bringcth no mw Obje/1 for f•ith or Love, but caufcth a ncrv a/1 upon the formerly revealed objeti. ?·7· 5· BHI our Love to God isgreatl;•incrt.lfed and advantaged afttrwardJ by thea_f]itrance or perfwafion 1[ hi< peculiJr [peci•l Love to M· And therefore all Chrifiians fhould greatly value [uch alfurancc, as 1he appointed means of advancing them to greater Love to God. 9.8. 6. As we k,_now God lme in the glaji ofhis So11, and Word, and Creawres, fo we rJWj! fenjibly Love him here • as his Goodne[l appeareth in his Wor~, and Grace1, and his fYord) and Son. 9· 9· 7· The near)'< we come to peifc/lion,the more we OJ>II Love Godfor bimJelf and his infinite Na– tural Goodoefs and perfed-ions; not ca!Hng away the rcfped:s of his Gondneji and Love as to oJtt fllvtt; but highliefl regarding him{tif [orbimfilf, as carried to him above our !dves. ~·IO· I J.Though Love in its oP'tt Nature be fiill the fame; and is nothing but the: RationaltJppetite of Good; or the 1ViUs Volition of Good apprebtntkd by the underj!anding; the firjl m01i'11 of the WiU to Good, atifing from that N~rur11l inclination to Good which is the Nature of the lf'itl, and the po?dus ammi,
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