and thinks it against hope to believe, that fuch a creature as he feels himself, can ever be the object of fuch divine beneficence.

On the other hand, when he confiders the love of God to man in his creation, which could have no end, but man's happiness-when he confiders, that the very act of his creation is an affurance of God's future protection—when he reflects on the numerous promifes of the gospel, of the truth of which he is clearly convinced by abundant evidence-his diffidence vanishes, and he cannot help, in the language of the text, against hope, believing in hope.

XXIX.

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy foul, and with all thy mind; and thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyfelf.-Matthew xxii. 37. 39.

THE ftrength of these expreffions hath led fome religious people to make themselves very unhappy at the thoughts of their own deficiencies. They cannot, they conceive, arrive at that height of divine love, which is here prescribed.

It hath led others into a contrary extreme. We fometimes meet with very exceptionable language on this fubject-lufcious expreffions of love applied to Christ and prayers to God, which might be tranfpofed into addreffes to a mistress *.

In

*❝It is many years fince I read WATTS on the love of God. His treatifes, hymns, &c. on that subject, do not "fuit me. He is too much of an enamorato. I do not love "fulfome, luscious divinity. And the Doctor himself al"lowed (in his preface to Mrs. Rowe's Devout Exercises) "that many of his compofures, in the younger part of his life, were of that kind, which his maturer judgment dif"approved. The paffions fhould be confecrated to God, . ¶ and it is defireable our devotion, and love to him, should

"be

In the fame way love to our neighbour hath often gone aftray, and formed a criminal connection with carnal love. The ancient christians fell under an early ftigma of this kind from their love-feasts, and kifs of charity; which growing into offence, were therefore laid afide.-Modern enthusiasts alfo have often been taxed with carrying their love into the fame vicious extreme. Thefe confiderations afford fufficient ground for enquiring into the nature of the love both of God, and man.

"be fervent; but as there is fo much of the animal in them, "too much stress must not be laid upon them."

ORTON'S LETTERS to a young Clergyman, p. 109.

"To keep God's commandments, fays the pious Dr. "DODDRIDGE, rather than any of thofe paffionate tranf"c ports of the mind, on which fome are ready to lay fo "great a stress, is the perfection of love to God."

See his improvement on the 2d chap. of 1 JOHN.

The addreffes of the papists to the Virgin Mary abound with fulfome and paffionate expreffions of love. She is always represented as a most beautiful woman; and the idea is commonly blended in their devotions. Jefus is reprefented as a child, and God the father as an old man, both of whom in popish miffals are comparatively little efteemed. The fame fulfome expreffions I have sometimes observed in the devotions of our enthusiasts to Christ.

What

What is commonly called love, may be defined, a paffion acting involuntarily in favour of a pleafing object-often against reafon-never in confultation with it. The gratification indeed of this paffion may afterwards be subject to the difcuffion of reason: but our present enquiry goes only to the paffion itself.

The term has fometimes a larger acceptation. A fon loves his parent-a fervant loves his master -a foldier his officer-and a person who has received benefits, his benefactor. But if we analize this fpecies of love, we shall find it very different from the other. The firft refpects chiefly the pleafing form; when it refpects the moral qualities, it fo far becomes efteem.--But in the

other fpecies of love all is moral. It confifts chiefly in an admiration of fome ftriking quality -in a sense of gratitude-in a firm truft, reliance, and dependence-that is, we fhall find in it rather what may be called the rational part of love, than the mere passion.

Now this feems to be the general idea of the love of God. It is founded on a high admiration. of his perfections, which produces adoration, and praise on a firm belief in his goodness and promises, which produces truft and dependenceand in a strong fenfe of gratitude, which pro

duces

duces obedience, an earnest defire to please, and to be, as much as we can, in his prefence.-In what more the love of God confifts, I know not: fo that I fcruple not to reft it on reafon, rather than on paffion. Indeed this feems to be the idea, which the fcripture every where gives of divine love. God is a Spirit, we are told, and we are ordered to worship him in fpirit and in truth. This is certainly making worship a rational act, Paffion has nothing to do with Spirit; paffion is of corporeal origin,-The text itself indeed feems to favour the explication I have given, The heart, the foul, and the mind, all seem to belong chiefly to the province of reafon-the two laft efpecially.

THE love of our neighbour also rests on a foundation, equally rational.

your neighbour as yourself.

You are to love

How is that? In

felf love there is nothing of what is properly called the paffion of love.

Befides, felf-love often prompts us to act very viciously. But we are to follow only its rational lead. That is, it must be put under the direction of reafon. Under this direction therefore our love to our neighbour will prompt us to avoid every thing, that will injure him; and do every

I

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