242 Of COMMUNION with [3.] It is alfo fruitful. Fruitful in all gracious iffues and effe&s. A man may love another as his own foul, yet perhaps that love of his cannot help him, he may thereby pity him in prifon, but not relieve him, bemoan him . in mifery, but not help him, fuller with him in trouble, but not cafe him: We cannot love grace into a child; nor mercy into a friend, we cannot love them into heaven, tho' it may he the great delire of our foul. It was love that made Abraham cry, oh that Ifbmael might live before thee! But it might not be. But now, the love of Chrift, being the love of God, is ef- fedual and fruitful in producing all the good things which he willeth unto his beloved. He loves life, grace and holinefs into us, he loves us alfo into covenant, loves us into heaven. Love in him is properly to will good to any one, whatever good Chrift by his love wills to any, that willing is ope- rative of that good. Thefe three qualificationsof thelove of Chrift, make it exceedingly emi- nent, and him exceeding defirable. How many millions of fins, in every one of the ele&, every one whereof were enough to condemn them all, hath this love overcome ? what mountains of unbelief doth it remove? look upon the converfation of any One faint, confider the frame of his heart, fee the many Rains and fpots, the defilements and infirmities, wherewith his life is contaminated, and tell me whether the love that bears with all this, be not to be admired. And is it not the fame towards thoufands every day ? what Breams of grace, purgings, pardoning, quickning, aflifting, do flow from it every day? 'This is our beloved, o ye daughters of ferufalem. 2. He is defireable and worthy our acceptation, as confidered in his hu- manity ; even therein alfo in reference to us, he is exceedingly defireable. I (hall Only in this note unto you two things. (r.) Its freedom from fin. (a.) Its fulriefs of grace, in both which regards the fcripture fees him out as exceedingly lovely and amiable. (r.) He was free from fin, the (a) lamb of God, without fpot, and with- out blemilh. The male of the flock to be offered unto God, the curfe fal- ling on all other oblations, and them that offer them, Mal. i. xiv. The pu- rity of the fnow is not to be compared with the whitenefsof this Iilly, of this (b) rofe of Sharon, even from the womb. For fah an bigla priefl be- came us, who is holy, la armlefr, undefiled feparate Morn frrners, Heb. vii. 26.. Sanhified perfons, whofe Rains are in any meafure walkedaway, are exceed- ing fair in the eye of Chrift himfelf. (c) Thora are all fair, faith he, my beloved, thou hall aro fpot in thee. How fair then is he, who never had the leaf' fpot or Rain? It is true, Adam at his creation had this fpodefs purity, fo had the An- gels. But they came immediately from the (d) hand of God, without con- currence of any fecondary caufe. (e) .(efts Chrifl is a plant and root of a dry ground, a hloffom from the (rein of Je/fè, a bud from the loins of fin- fill man, born of a firmer, after there had been no innocent flefh in the world for four thoufand years, every one upon the roll of his genealogy being in£e&ed thetewithal. To have a flower of wonderful rarity ro grow in paradife, a garden of God's own planting, not fullied in the leaft, is nut fo ftrange, but as the "Pfalmift fpeaks (in another kind) to. hear of it in a wood, to find it in a fore(', to have a fpoticfs bud brought forth in the wilt dernefs of corrupted nature, is a thing whichAngels may defre to look in- ,(4) ii. 24. (b) Gave. ü, r. (v) Cum i. 15, to. chap. 4. ro. (5) Ecclef. vii,: m9 (e) ttaJÜi, r. te.
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