3.3 the G%elMyflery DireA. I?. ¿lavish hypocritical performances from us, fuck as that of Pharaoh in letting the lfraelites go, fore 4. gainft his will : but the duty of love cannot be ex, toned and forced by fear, but it muft be won and fweetly allured by an apprellenfion of God's love and . goodnef, towards us; as that eminent, loving and beloved c'.ifcipte teflifieth, i John iv. t8, t9.. «There ss is no fear in love, but perfect love cafteth out fear, " becaufe fear bath torment: he that feareth, is not' " made perfect in love. -We love him, becaufe he " firft. loved us," O'Iferve here, that we cannot be before-hand with God in loving him, before we ap. prehend his love to us. And confult your own ex. perience, if you have any true love to God, whether it were not wrought in you by a fenfe of God's love >Firíl: towards you ? All the goodnefs and excellency of God cannot render him an amiable object to us, except we apprehend him an agreeable good to us. $ queftion not but the devils know the excellency of God's nature, as well as our greateft metaphyfical l'peculators: and this Bothbut fill them the more with tormenting horror and trembling, that is contrary to love, James ii £9. The greater God'sexcellency and perfection is, the greater evil he is to us, if he bate us and curfe us. And therefore the principie of felf-prefervation, deeply rooted in ournatures, hing dereth us from loving that which we apprehend as our deftruction. If a man be an enemy to us, we can love him for the fake of our loving reconciled God, becaufe his love will make man's hatred to work for our good ; but if God himfelf be our enemy, for whole fake can we love him? who is there that can free us from the evil of his enmity,and turn it toour advantage, until he be peafed to reconcile himfeif to us ? Fourthly, Our confcience znuft of neceffity be firft purged from dead works, that we may ferve the liv. ing God. And this is doñe by actual rernifiion of 4u, procured by the blood of Chrift, and maiiifef= 4
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=