1)4 Dire£1:iom t~ excite the Lo1Je of God. fiiffor me. Denyal of our grace may feem to be lmmility, but it tendcth to extinguilh Love andGra~ titudt . §. ;7. But, you'l fay, l muft avoid foul-delufion and Pharifaical oftemalion 011 the otber fide; and few re,;e.h a.JJimmce : how then fhould we I!Jcp z•p _the Love of. God ? . . 5 . f h A11 [w. I· Though I am not come to the pomt of Trymg and Difcermng~Grace, I !hall give you this i_1!~~frG~d. much help in the way, becaufe it is fo ufeful to the exercifes of Lov('. 1. ll: y0l, :we not Enjoying dr~ ligluing Lvve? yet try w?ethe~ yo~ h~v~ not DeJiri11g {tekJng ~ve. Love appear, ~n as truly in dtfi· r:ug an_d feekj,Jg Good a~ 1n dclzgbt~''f. m_tt.. P?or_men thew ~h~u Love of the, world, by Defiringand jcekjng tt, as much as r:ch men do 111 dclzghtmg m tt. What 15 1t that you molr dtfire and feek,/ 2 , Or if rhis be fo weak that you lC:arce difcern it, do you not find a mo1mtmg and lamenting Love? You (h~w .th:tt.you.lovcd your money, by nto~r;ti~g ~he~ you l~fc 1t; ~nd that you loved. your fritnd by gntvmgforhts death, aswell as by deltghtmg mh1m whtlehe l1ved. Ifyouheartiiy lamcnt .itas your grcatcft unbappincfs and Jo(S, when you think that God dmh cafi you off, and that you are void of Grace, and cannot fcrvc and honour him as you would, this (hews you are not void of Lovr, 3· If you feel not that you Love him, do you feel rhat you would fain Love bim, and that you L 011 e'" Love him? If you do fo, it is a fign that you do L ove him? When you do not only dcflre to tind luch an Evidence of falvation in you, but when you dcfire LtJve it [elf,. and ~ove ro Love God. Had you not rarher bave a hearc to Love him perfeUly, than to have all the nches m the world? H.id you not rather live in the L ove of GtJd, if you could reach it, than to live in any earthly pleafure? If fO, be fure he hath your hearts. The TViU is the Love, and the Htart ; If God have your WiU he hath your Heart andLove. 4· What hath your Hearts if he have them not? fs there any thing rhar you pre· fer and (eek be(ore him, and that you had rather have than him ? Can you be contem ~ithour him and Jer him go, in exchange·for any earthly pleafure? If nor, it is a fign he hath your Hearrs. y~ love h.i1n favmgly if you fer more by nothing elfe rhan by him. 5· Do you love his holy Image in his n·ord l Do you delight and meditate in his Law, Pfabn r. 2. Is it in your hearts? Pfalm 40. 8. Ot do you pray, Incline my heart mrto thy T'cJlimonies l P.falm 119· 36. If you love Gods Image in •his \¥Ord,· X the wifdom and holineji of ir 1 you love God. 6. Do you love his Image on his Children/ ... If you Love them for their heavenly wi(dom and ~rolincfs, you fo far Love God. He rhar lnvcrh the Candle lor .its lighr, doth love the light it felf and rhe fun: He that lovcth the wife and holy for thrir wi[dem and holinefs, cloth love wH(_lom ratid 'hoH-ndS it kif~· The word and the failltJ being more in the rcaj:h of our fenfibtc apprchcnfion~~ vhan God himft.lf is, we ordinarily feel our Love to them, more fcnfibly than our Love to God;. wheil indeed it is God in his Word and fervanrs thar we love: 1 Johlt 3· 14· Pfalm 1 5· 4· 7· Though for want of A!furance you feel not the delight! of Love, hav.e.you noca heart that waulddelight i-n it more than in all the riches of the worJd, if you could but get a1fuiahce of your intereft ? Would it not comfort you more than any thing ifyou could be fure he Loveth you, and could pufectly Love him land obey him ? If fo, it is nor for want of Love that you delight not in him, but fOr Want of Aflin'ance. So that ifGod have thy heart, either in a delighting L ove, or a feckJng and dejiri11g, or- a larnentin2, mo:mting Looe, he will nor dr[pifi it or rrjcll it. He is nigli tO them that b~·ofa broken heart, Pj:lim 34· 1S. A .broken and contrire heart is his facritice, which he will nat defpifc, P[alm -51. 17. Thegood Lard wtll havemercy 011. (!1Jery one that preparetiJ tbtit heariJ tofoe~{ him,. t~IJ ibey do it not according to tbe preparat(oJt of the [anffuarJI· 2 Cor. 30. 1 g, 19 , By rhcfe .Evidenci!S yoo may difcern thr fincerity of Love in fmall degrees; 'and Co you may make uve the oo:alion of more Lcvt, by difceming that Goodnds of God ·which 'is manifefied' to you in the }eafi, ,j] • s· .L J 1 9·38' 2. But fuppofc you cannot yet attain affi~ranee: Negle?f 110t to ii.nprove that Goodnefs and MJ:~ey!vli God wbi~h he rcvcaletl1 toyou ih the l!atc thar you are in? 'LoVe·him but as Inji~tite Guod· n<fs.lhould beloved, wbq fo loved ihe 'World M to give hi! only bcgolte~ SJn, lhdt tvhifotver btlievtlb in bim fhvuld mt ptrijh; bu•havt everlajlihg life, •Jo!in•jfi6. Love lfinlis the m ,fl blelfed merciful God, Who made yoQ and all things, and hath giverllf'O't.t\e Wdrld an univerf-a1 pardon,. on condition of their penitent acctptance, and olfneth them everlallin_g.life, and all this purchal<d by the bloodof Chrjfr: LOve him a5~'ne thitt otfereth yotr teconcilictt!tm, and inrreareth you to be ffived ~ ind as one that.deJightctb not i><thcl. i/Jeatb of the wicJ{od, but Ntff~rihat<hey tum a~d livt, and as O)le that r.o•/J haue .aU men.ro be [aved1•nd come to the-knowledge o~ the truth, thoogh he will fave none but the penllcnt, tl1at do acknowledge the truth• .And when you love him ftncerely on thefe ac'cdunrs,you wiU have the evidence of his fpecial Love to you. ;\ \. J , 1 • ; Dirili. t6. 9·J9.. Dire&.t6. lmprovt •by fillft df natural an~ frirndly lovc,'torrrlft 1bu to tb.c Love of God. When rhou feell or feeldl what Love a'):>arcnt hath to children, and a Husband ro a wife, ·or a Wife to a Husband, or faithful friends to one-..anoth<r, think then [ What Love do I owe to God? "0 tt howjnc;dnftderable is the Loveiirtefs of tcflild, a'1w1f~, a fritrld, th~J>efilof Creatur~s~ in compa·, " rifon6f the LovelinefS of God I Unwonh'y foul' Canfl thou love adrop of Goodnc(s in' thy friend'. "And i:anfl thou not LovO'rhe Ocean <if Goodnefs in'!h'y God ? Is aLP~rk 1n tk crcafure more ami· "able'than.the fire thatjkindled it? Thi!>U t'anfi Love thy friend for all PliS bkmifhes, his ignorance, his. " paffions and manifoJ'd imperfectio~! Andcanfi' thou not love thy @od, who harh none of thcfe, " hor any. thing ro difcourage or damp thy love? Thou -love!l ( and defelvcdly Jovelt) t,hr friend, " h<caufe he loverh thee, and deals frl~n<lly with the~: BurO how much j!,reater is rhc;£:ove of God> " Elld eve~ friend Lovcihee as he hath lbveil thee ? Did ever friend do 'for thee as rte hath done> "He &>~<-thee thy being, thy d·aily "'liity, end all•the metci'es of thy life: He ga~e tl\ce·mJ·Son, his " Spirit ·~d his Grace ; I He pardoned thy fms, and tboll th"te .into his favour, and ad6pted thee for ' ' "his
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