tions towards the high and holy one, that inhabiteth "eternity*, ought ever to be intimately mixed.

Such then is the love of God. And as our sense of the divine excellence cannot be too strong, but must indeed at the best fall infinitely short of what he deserves; we are commanded to love him with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind; that is, with the utmost exertion of our inward powers. Not that we are to confine our whole affection to him for it follows, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Whatever hath any thing amiable in any degree, we ought, as far as we can, to esteem in proportion and consequently him beyond expression most, who hath in the highest degree possible every thing that can appear amiable to our rational faculties, duly exercised. All objects therefore are to be excluded, so far as attachments to them would be inconsistent with devotedness to our Maker. Now the worship of false deities is peculiarly inconsistent with it. And for that reason the love of God, when prescribed to the Jews in the Old Testament, is usually explained by adhering to him with conjugal fidelity, (for under that image it is often expressed) in opposition to his rivals, the idols of the nations; and not dividing themselves, as they were extremely apt to do, between Jehovah and them. But if, instead of these idols, we set up any others in our hearts †; make unlawful pleasure, power, profit, resentment, our deities; this also is an evident breach of the faith which we have vowed to our sovereign gracious Lord. Nay, if we value the most allowable objects of desire so highly, as to forget or think little of the supreme God, we still incur the same kind of guilt. For we ought to consider whatever we have cause to love best, as + Ezek. xiv. 3.

Isaiah lvii. 15.

bestowed on us by his hand; and therefore as a motive to love him above all, from whom every good and perfect gift cometh down*. To say indeed, that we ought to love it in this view only, as coming from him, would be going too far: because, had we been ignorant of God, most things, that deserve our liking now, would in their degree have deserved it then. But still, the more we attend to the goodness of God in every thing, without neglecting the inferior attentions to which he hath bound us, the nearer we approach towards being what we ought.

And further, the more affectionate this regard to him on all occasions is, the better it will suit, not only the words of the Commandment, but the dictates of reason itself: which clearly teaches, that the warmest piety is due to the author of all our enjoyments. But then it must be observed, however, that love to a being intirely spiritual cannot, ordinarily speaking, raise in us those perceptions of animal fervour, which earthly passions can: nor ought we to esteem ourselves upon them, if we had them. For experience proves, that very bad men may feel at times high raptures of this kind and very good men may scarce ever feel any thing of them so much do they depend on constitution. Far therefore from affecting such emotions, when we really have them not; which is a sort of hypocrisy, whether shewn before men, or in the presence of God alone; we ought not to be too earnest in our wishes for them. If he gives them, we are to be thankful if he withholds them, it is either for our needful correction, or, perhaps, our true inward improvement. And by labouring to work ourselves up to them, nay, by merely indulging them when our natural frame inclines us powerfully towards them,

* James i. 17.

we may be quite bewildered and lost in unmeaning or injudicious transports, little or nothing akin to that sublime duty, of which they would put on the appearance. But still less ought it to be confounded, as it often hath been, with a blind, or what is worse yet, a bitter vehemence of religious zeal. For the most ardent devotions, so far as it either produces injustice or indifference to our brethren, or proceeds from unworthy conceptions of God, is indeed by no means the love of him, but of a phantom of our own imagination, placed in his stead. And the real and only test of the genuineness and strength of this divine affection in our breasts, is the unvaried constancy of a sincere and reverent delight in the Father and Lord of all, as the perfectest and best, and most beneficent of beings: expressed in humble and hearty praise and thanksgiving, in a studious imitation of him, and a chearful obedience to him.

The next thing to be laid before you is,

II. The importance of cherishing and acting from this principle in point of duty.

Most people seem to think, that what they are pleased to call moral behaviour, though perhaps in some points grossly immoral, is their whole duty. Others, who have some notion of piety, carry it little further than attending public worship, more or less frequently, perhaps with very little thought of what they are about. Some, who make a conscience of private prayer also, it may be doubted, neither feel, nor endeavour to feel, much of the good things they say in it. Or, whatever sense a few may have of the fear of God, they have usually none almost of love to him. Any real experience of that affection, they have heard so often treated, even by professedly serious Christians, as mere enthusiasm, that they are appre

hensive of danger from it. The Scripture doth indeed enjoin it: and so they will bear with the mention of it in discourses from the pulpit, provided it be passed over slightly, or interpreted away to just nothing else they conceive it to be at best intirely supererogation; and leave it accordingly with all their hearts to such as chuse to have more religion than they need.

And, it must be confessed, this way of thinking hath received too much countenance from the indiscreet and extravagant manner in which the subject hath been sometimes handled. But surely, explained as you have heard it now, there can be nothing more reasonable, or of greater moment. If we have any principle of goodness in ourselves, that must lead us to esteem and love it in others. Now in God is perfect goodness: and therefore not to esteem and love Him, is to be void of right affection towards that Being who deserves it infinitely the most. Our duty consists in such behaviour as the relations of things require of us. To whom then are our first and most important relations? Are they not evidently to our Maker, Preserver, and gracious Benefactor, to our sovereign Lord, and final Judge? Other claims, however like in their nature, must be unspeakably inferior in their degree to his. What sort of morality then is that, which dwells only on the transitory obligations of men one to another, and overlooks the eternal bonds which tie us, so long as we have our being *, to Him, of whom, and through whom, and to whom, are all things †? The regards that we owe him, indeed, are numerous; and vary in some measure as our spiritual state doth. But still, as goodness, though combined with other attributes, was in the beginning the active principle

in the mind of God, and ever prevails through all his dispensations: so is love, though occasionally associated with other movements of soul, the original and universal affection, due to him from all his rational creatures: or, in our Saviour's words, the first and great commandment.

Suppose, in the mutual intercourses of this world, any one should value, as he ought, a person of but low desert; and yet be insensible to much higher merit, well known to him, in another; should be duly grateful to the former for favours, not worth naming in comparison with those which the latter had done him, and yet should leave him and all his kindness out of his thoughts: would not such a turn of mind be very wrong and criminal? Would not such an excellent and beneficent person be very unequally and unjustly treated? Yet this is exactly the common behaviour of mankind. Here we live amongst poor imperfect creatures, like ourselves. We receive a few small benefits from some of them, and see a little glimmering of goodness in others; and should be very blameable, if we did not feel and express a proper esteem for them, on account of both. Now there is at the same time, not only within our knowledge, but ever most intimately present with us, a Being of inconceivable perfection and loveliness; from whose bounty we and this whole universe have received our very existence, and every capacity of enjoyment that belongs to it by whose continual support we are upheld in life; whose grace excites us to every thing good; whose forbearance passes over our daily transgressions: nay, who hath commended his love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ, his only Son, died for us, that being justified by his blood, we might be saved from wrath*, and rejoice in hope of

Rom. v. 8, 9.