SERMON XL.
I
in them, and thou in me, that they may
be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and
hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.--JOHN XVII. 23.
I come
now to the second observation, that God loveth
the saints as ho loved Christ
The expression is stupendous;
therefore divers interpreters have sought to mitigate
it, and to bring it down to a commodious interpretation.
First, \~kaywv\~, as, is a note of causality as well as similitude. He loveth us because he loved Christ Therefore it is said:
Eph. i. 6, 'He hath made us accepted in the beloved.'
The elect are made lovely, and fit to be accepted by God, only by Jesus Christ;
accepted both in our state and actions as we are reconciled to him; and all
that we do is taken in good part for Christ's sake, who was sent and intrusted by the Father to procure this favour
for us, and did all which was necessary to obtain it The ground of all that
love God beareth to us is for Christ's sake. There is
indeed an antecedent love showed in giving us to Christ, and Christ to us: John
iii. 16, 'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son—That
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.' The
first cause of Christ's love to us was obedience to the Father; the Son loved
us, because the Father required it; though afterwards God loved us because
Christ merited it. All consequent benefits are procured by the merit of Christ
The Father, that is first in order of persons, is first in order of working,
and can have no higher cause than his own will and purpose. And besides, there
is an obligation established to every person. Absolute elective love is the
Father's property and personal operation; but then his eternal purpose is brought
to pass in and through Jesus Christ In the carriage of our salvation, Christ interposeth; so we are chosen in him as head of the elect,
Eph. i. 4, pardoned, justified, sanctified, glorified in and through him. All these benefits and fruits
of God's love are procured by Christ's [Pg. 77] merit; not only as it is the
more for the freedom of grace that the reasons why man should be loved should
be without himself, and so the obligation is increased; and not merely neither
for the greater fulness of our comfort; for if God should love us in ourselves,
it would be a very imperfect love, our graces being so weak, and our services
so trained. But whence should we have this grace at first, which is the object
of his love? He could never find in us any cause why he should love us. God
could not love us with honour to himself, if his
wisdom had not found out this way of loving us in Christ There was a double
prejudice against us—our nature was loathed by God's holiness, and then God s
justice had a quarrel against us.
1. For God's holiness. What
communion could there be between light and darkness? God is holy by nature, and
we are sinners by nature. Nature being corrupted, God cannot love it, unless he
see it in such a person as Christ is: Ps. v. 4, 5, 'For
thou art not a God that hast pleasure in wickedness, neither shall evil dwell
with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight,
thou hatest all workers of iniquity;' not only the
work, but the person. Therefore we are hidden in him, found in him; as when a
man loathes a pill, we lap it up in something which he affects. God abhorred
the sight of man till found in Christ.
2. God's justice had a quarrel
against us. God dealt with man by way of covenant, and so hated man not only
out of the purity of his nature, but out of justice; his righteous anger was
kindled because of the breach of the covenant. When subjects are fallen into
displeasure with their prince, such an one as the king
loveth must mediate for them. So 'God was in Christ,
reconciling the world unto himself,' 2 Cor. v. 19.
How cometh God, who seemed to be bound in point of honour
to avenge himself on sinners, to be reconciled? In Christ he received
satisfaction. God was resolved to manifest an infinite love to man, but he
would still manifest an infinite hatred against sin; which could not be more
fully manifested than by making Christ the ground of our reconciliation. Thus
the wisdom of God hath taken up the difference between us and his holiness, and
between us and his justice, that so divine love may be like itself, not blind,
but rational. This was the great prejudice—how could the holy God, the just
God, who is not overcome with any passion, love such vile and unworthy
creatures as we are? The question is answered—he loveth
us in Christ, and for Christ's sake.
Secondly, Take
the particle \~kaywv\~, as, in the ordinary acceptation. So it signifieth
smilitude and likeness; but then it signifieth not an exact equality, but some kind of
resemblance: 'Be ye perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect,' Mat. v. 48; 'One as we are one.' So here —(1.)
There is a disparity; (2.) A likeness.
1. A disparity; for in all things
Christ hath the pre-eminence, both as God and as mediator.
[1.] As God;
he is most perfect, in whom God hath found all complacency and delight: Prov. viii. 30, 'Then I was by him, as one brought up with
him; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him.'' He was God, we
are creatures; he the natural Son: Ps. ii. 7, 'Thou art my Son; this day have I
begotten thee.' We the [Pg. 78] adopted children: John i.
12, 'To as many as received him, to them gave he power
to become the sons of God.' God's love to Christ was necessary, ours is a free
dispensation: John iii. 16, 'God so loved the world, that he gave his
only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.'
[2.1 As mediator; so he is the first
beloved. God loves Christ as the first object of his love; after Christ, he loveth those that are Christ's. The relation begins with
him: John xx. 17, 'Go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my
Father and your Father, unto my God and your God.' He
is loved as the head of the mystical body, we as members; the head first then
the members. He is loved for his own sake, we for his.
2. Yet there is a likeness. God loveth us with
a like love.
[1.1 Upon
the same grounds—nearness and likeness.
(I.) Nearness. He
loveth Christ as his Son, so he loveth
us as his children: 1 John iii. 1, 'Behold what manner of love the Father hath
bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.' There is a
threefold ecce in scripture. (1.) Ecce demonstrantis,
as pointing with the finger: John i. 29, 'The
next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith,
Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of
the world.' It referreth to a thing or person
present, and it noteth the certainty of sense, as
there he pointed at him as present; or to a doctrine, and then it noteth the certainty of faith: Job v. 27, 'Lo this, we have
searched, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good;' believe it as a
certain truth. (2.) There is ecce admirantis, as
awakening our drowsy minds more attentively to consider of the matter; as Lam. i. 12, 'Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my
sorrow.' So here, entertain it with wonder and reverence as an important truth.
(3.) Ecce exultantis, vel
gratulantis, as rejoicing and blessing ourselves
in the privilege: Ps. cxxi. 4, 'Behold, he that keepeth
(2.) Likeness is another ground of
love. God loveth Christ, not only as his Son, but as his
image, he being' the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his
person,' Heb. i. 3. So he loveth
the saints, who are by grace renewed after his image: Col. iii.
10, 'And that ye put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the
image of him that created him;' and who are thereby made 'partakers of the
divine nature.' 2 Peter i. 4.
We lost by Adam the image of God and the favour of
God; now, first his image is repaired in us, then his love and favour is bestowed on us; without this we could not be
lovely in his eye, for we are amiable in the sight of God by reason of that
comeliness he has put upon us.
[2.] There are like properties.
(1.) It is free. So was God's love
to Christ's manhood; as much of his substance as was taken from the virgin was
chosen out of grace. Christ for his whole person deserved love, but as to his
human nature, he was himself an object of elective love as we are; and this
being assumed into the unity of his person, Christ was set apart by God for the
work of mediation: Isa. xlii. 1, 'Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect
in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my Spirit upon
him.' Choice supposeth the preferment or acceptance
of one, and refusal of another; so was Christ chosen as man. This
the virgin acknow-ledgeth: Luke i. 48, 'He hath regarded the low estate of his handmaid.'
He had done her an honour, the greatest that was done
to any of his servants, among which she acknowledged herself the un-worthiest
So much of the substance of the virgin as went to the person of Christ, and his
human soul, was chosen out of mere grace. Nay, hi his divine person there was a
choice which is to be referred to the wisdom and pleasure of the Father: Col. i. 19, 'It pleased the Father that
in him should all fulness dwell.' The same account as is given of our
salvation: Mat. xi. 25, 26, 'I thank thee, 0 Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed
them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight.' So is
God's love to us free and undeserved; his love is the reason of itself; he
loved us because he loved us: Deut. vii. 7, 8, 'The Lord did not set his love
on you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; but
because the Lord loved you.' There is the last cause, God's act is its own law
and reason, we can give no other account
(2.) It is
tender and affectionate. There is a full complacency and delight in Christ: Mat
iii. 17, 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.' His heart was
taken up with him, he was full of contentment in him;
as a husband is called 'the covering of the eyes,' because a woman should look
no further. So Prov. viii.
31, 'I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him.' So tenderly affectioned is God to the saints: Isa. lxii.
5, 'As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so
shall thy God rejoice over thee;' then affections are in their reign and
height. So tender is God of his people; [Pg. 80] Zech. ii. 8, 'He that toucheth you, toucheth
the apple of his eye.' The eye is the most tender
part, and so is the apple of the eye. Can there be a more endearing expression?
(3.) It is eternal. Christ as
mediator was loved before the foundation of the world in God's purpose: John
xvii. 24, 'Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me may be with me
where I am, that (hey may behold my glory that thou hast given me; for thou
hast loved me before the foundation of the world.' And in loving Christ he
loved us; and in choosing Christ as head of the church, the members were
included in that election, for head and body cannot be severed. This grace was
given us in Christ before the world began: 2 Tim. i.
9, 'Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy
calling; not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and
grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.' Some are not
called as soon as others, but all are loved as soon as others, even from
eternity. God's love is as ancient as himself, there was no time when God did
not think of us, and love us. We are wont to prize an ancient friend; the ancientest friend we have is God, who loved us not only
before we were lovely, but before we were at all He thought of us before ever
we could have a thought of him; after we had a being in infancy, we could not
so much as know that he loved us; and when we came to years of discretion, we
knew how to offend before we knew how to love and serve him; we cared not for
his love, but prostituted our hearts to other things. Let us measure the short
scantling of our lives with eternity, wherein God showed love to us. As to our
beings, we are but of yesterday; as to the constitution of our souls, we are
sinners from the womb; and when we are convinced of it, we adjourn and put off
the love of God to old decrepit age, when we have spent our strength in the
world, and wasted ourselves in deceitful and flesh-pleasing vanities. Now it
should shame us when we remember God's love is as ancient as his being. Some
look after God sooner than others; but if you look after God never so soon, God
was at work before us; those that began earliest, as Josiah, John Baptist, find
God more early providing for their eternal welfare.
(4.) It is unchangeable; as to
Christ, so to us; from eternity it began, to eternity it continueth:
it began before the world was, and will continue when the world shall be no
more: Ps. ciii. 17, 'The mercy of the Lord is from
everlasting to everlasting, upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto
children's children.' It is man's weakness to change purposes; we have good
purposes, but they are suddenly blasted; but God s eternal purpose, that shall
stand. We are mutable, and frequently change, out of the levity of our nature
or the ignorance of futurity; therefore upon new events we easily change our
minds; but God, that seeth all things at once, cannot
be deceived; the first reasons of God's love to man are without man, and so
eternal. Among the persons of the Godhead, the Son loveth
because the Father required it; the Father, because the Son merited it; and the
Holy Ghost, because of the purpose of the Father; and the purchase of the Son abideth in our hearts, to preserve us unto God's use, and
to keep afoot his interest in us. [Pg. 81]
Thirdly, There are the like fruits
and effects of it I shall instance in some which are like his love to Christ.
1. Communication of secrets. All
things are in common amongst those that love one another. Said Delilah to
Sampson, Judges xvi. 15, 'How canst thou say, I love
thee, when thy heart is riot with me? thou hast mocked
roe these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.' Now Jesus Christ knoweth
all the secrets of God: John i. 18, 'No man hath seen
God at anytime; the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he
hath declared him.' Christ, lying in the Father's bosom, knoweth
his nature and his will. So it is with the saints: John xiv. 21, 'He that hath
my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me
shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to
him.' As God manifested himself to Christ, so Christ will to us. Christ hath
treated us as friends: John xv. 15, 'Henceforth I call you not servants, for
the servant knoweth not what hie
Lord doeth; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard of
my Father, I have made known unto you.' The knowledge of God's ways is a
special fruit of his love.
2. Spiritual gifts. God's love to
Christ was a bounteous love: John iii. 34, 35, 'God giveth
not the Spirit by measure to him: the Father loveth
the Son, and hath given all things into his hands.' God's love was showed to
Christ in qualifying the human nature with such excellent gifts of grace. As to
us, God's love is not barren; as a fruit of God's- love, Christ received all
things needful for us. You will perhaps say, as they replied to God when he
said, 'I have loved you, Wherein hast thou loved us?' Mal. i. 2, because he hath not made you
great, rich, and honourable. If he hath given
us such a proof of his love as he gave to Christ, namely, such a measure of his
Spirit as is fit for us, we have no reason to murmur or complain. The Spirit of
illumination is better than all the glory of the world: Prov.
iii. 32, 'The froward is an abomination to the Lord;
but his secret is with the righteous.' The Spirit of regeneration, to convert
the heart to God and heaven: 1 Cor. ii. 12, 'Now we
have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is of God, that
we might know the things that are freely given us of God.' The Spirit of
consolation, to evidence God's love to us, and our right to glory: 2 Cor. i. 22, 'Who hath sealed us,
and given the earnest of his Spirit in our hearts;' 2 Cor.
v. 5, 'Now he that hath wrought us for the self-same thing is God, who also
hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.' As the end of his love to
Christ's human nature was to bring it to heaven, so the end of God's love to us
is to sanctify us, and so to make way for glory.
3. Sustentation, and gracious protection during our work and
service. This was his love to Christ: Isa. xlii. 1, 'Behold my servant
whom I uphold;' Ί am not alone, my Father is with me,'
John viii. 16. His enemies could not touch him till his time came: John xi. 9,
'Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk
in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.' As long as the time of
exercising his function here lasted, there was such a providence about him as
did secure him from all danger; and till that time was past, and the providence
withdrawn, he was safe; and when that [Pg. 82] was out, and he seemed to be
delivered to the will of his enemies, all the creatures were in a rout, the sun
was struck blind with astonishment, the earth staggered and reeled. So God will
carry us through our work, and keep us blameless to his heavenly kingdom; but
if we are cut off by the violence of men, all the affairs of mankind are put in
confusion, and carried headlong, besides the confederacies of nature disturbed,
and divers judgments (as in Egypt, and the land of the Philistines) ensue; odium
in religionis professores; the
world shall know how dear and precious they are to God.
4. Acceptance of what we do. God accepted
all that Christ did; it was -very pleasing to God: Eph. v. 2, 'Walk in love, as
Christ also hath loved us, and given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice
to God for a sweet-smelling savour.' In every solemn
sacrifice for the congregation, the blood of it was brought unto the mercy-seat
with a perfume; but Christ's sacrifice received value from his person, he being
one so dear to God, so excellent in himself. This kind of love God showeth to us, the persons of the upright are God's
delight; and then their prayers: Cant. v. 1, 'I am come into my garden, my
sister, my spouse; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice, I have eaten my
honeycomb with my honey.' Though our services are mingled with weaknesses and
imperfection, they shall be accepted: 'But the sacrifice of the wicked is an
abomination to the Lord, much more when he bringeth
it with an evil mind,' Prov. xv. 8.
5. Reward. Christ was gloriously
exalted; after his sufferings he entered into glory, and was conducted to
heaven by angels, and welcomed by the Father, who, as it were, took him by the
hand: Ps. ii. 7, 8, 'Thou art ray Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of
me, and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost
parts of the earth for thy possession.' So if we do what he did, we shall fare
as he fared: John xii. 26, 'If any man serve me, let
him follow me, and where I am, there shall my servant be: if any man serve me,
him will my Father honour.' When we die, we shall be
conveyed to heaven by angels: Luke xvi. 22, 'The beggar died, and was carried
by angels into Abraham's bosom;' our souls first, then our bodies: Phil. iii.
21, 'Who shall change our vile bodies, that they may be like unto his glorious
body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things to
himself.' And at last we shall have a solemn welcome into heaven: Mat xxv. 21,
'Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few
things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy
Lord.' Christ is not only purchaser, but first possessor, and is gone into
heaven to prepare a place for us, to which he will at
last bring us: John xiv. 2, 3, 'In my Father's house
are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you: I go to prepare a
place for you; and if I go to prepare a place, I will come again and receive
you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also.'
Use 1.
Information, to show what ground we have of patience, comfort, and confidence.
1. Of patience in afflictions from God. Would
we be loved otherwise than Christ was loved? We see in the person of
Christ that love may stand with fatherly correction. Christ was beloved by God,
[Pg. 83] yet under poverty, disgrace, persecution, hunger, thirst, &c. When
Christ was hungry, the devil came unto him: Mat. iv. 3, 'If thou be the Son of
God, command that these stones be made bread.' So he taketh
advantage of our troubles and afflictions to make us question our adoption; but
we may retort the argument: Heb. xii. 7, 8, 'If ye endure chastisement, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the
father chasteneth not? But if ye be without
chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.'
Brambles are not pruned, but vines. God loved Christ in the lowest degree of
his abasement, as much as at other times. Shall I desire to be otherwise
beloved of God than Christ was? Nay; God's love may stand with sad suspensions
of soul-comforts: Mat. xxvii. 46, 'My
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?' The natural Son was in the love of God
when at the worst; God loved him still, though he appeared to him with another
face; as the sun is the same when it shineth through
red glass, only it casts a more bloody reflection. God had one Son without sin,
but none without suffering.
2. Comfort when we meet with
ill-usage in the world. Our Lord Jesus prayeth that
the world may be convinced that God loved them as he loved Christ. When the
world entreated Christ ill, how was the world convinced that God loved him? There
was an eclipse at his death, which was a
3. Confidence in the midst of
dangers and temptations. When once we are assured of God's love, what shall
separate us from it? Rom. viii. 38, 39, 'For I am
persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor
powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any
other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in
Christ Jesus our Lord.' Can anything alienate God's love in Christ? If it were
God's love in us, that were an uncertain ground of hope; but it is God's love
in Christ. Get but an assurance of his love, and you will never be ashamed.
What can alienate the heart of God from you, while you are faithful to him, and
have the sure pledge of his love, his Spirit in your heart? Love or hatred is
not known by anything that is before us. But if you have a heart to seek him,
fear him, obey his laws; this is the favour of his
people, and this was his love to Christ.
Use 2. Direction.
1. Whereby
chiefly to measure God's love; by his spiritual bounty: John iii. 34, 35, 'God giveth not the Spirit by measure
to him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath
given all things into his hands.' So the gifts and graces of the Spirit are the
special effects of his love; [Pg. 84] for he loved us as he loved Christ, and
thus he manifested his love to Christ: Ps. cvi. 4, 'Remember me, Lord, with the love that thou bearest to thy people.' When one gave Lather gold, he said,
Valde protestatus
sum, me nolle sic a Deo saliari. Be not satisfied till God love you with such a
love as he loved Christ. Inward excellences, though with outward crosses, these
are the best fruits of his love; a heart to seek him, to fear his name, to obey
his laws, an understanding to know his will. God's love is best known by the
stamp of his Spirit, that is his mark set upon us. Let
us leave outward things to God's wisdom. Love or hatred is not known by all
that is before us. Let us labour for a share in his
peculiar love: Ps. cxix. 132, 'Look thou upon me, and
be merciful unto me, as thou usest
to do unto those that love thy name.' Lord, I do not ask riches, nor glory, nor preferment in the world; I ask thy love, thy
grace, thy Spirit. Doth our Saviour care for outward
things? Other things are given promiscuously, these to his favourites.
God's love is conveyed through Christ: Rev. i. 5, 'To him that loved us, and washed us from our
sins in his own blood.' He loved us, and sanctified us: Eph. v. 25, 26,
'Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church, and gave himself for
it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the
word.' Nothing more worthy, nothing more suitable to Christ's
love.
2. It directeth
us what to do when we are dejected through our own unworthiness. Look upon
God's love in Christ If God did take arguments and grounds of love from the
creature, where would he have found objects of love? God hath proclaimed it
from heaven: Mat. iii. 17, 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased;'
and 'We are accepted in the beloved,' Eph. i. 6.
Jesus Christ is worthy; desire 'to be found in him, not having thine own
righteousness.' Lord, for the merits of thy blessed Son, accept
of me. Christ, being beloved of the Father, is the storehouse and conduit to
convey that love to his people.
Use 3. Exhortation, to endeavour
after the sense and apprehension of this love in our own hearts. Surely
this is our duty; for Christ afterward saith, ver. 26, 'That the love wherewith
thou hast loved me may be in them.' There is a love of God towards us, and a
love of God in us; so Zanchy, citing the text His
love, ergo nos, towards us, is carried on from
all eternity; but nondum in nobts, it is not in us, but in time. He loved us before
the foundation of the world, though we know it not, feel it not; but now this
love beginneth to be in us when we receive the
effects, and God is actually become our reconciled Father in Christ. God's love
from everlasting was in purpose and decree, not in act. God's love in us is to
be interpreted two ways—both in the effects and the sense. In the effects, at
conversion: Eph. ii. 4, 5, 'But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love
wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses and sins, hath
quickened us together with Christ.' In the sense, when we get assurance, and an
intimate feeling of it in our own souls. Both are wrought in us by the Spirit:
First, I shall press you all to get
the sense and comfortable apprehension of this love, that God loved you as he
loved Christ.
1. Motives: The benefits are exceeding great.
[1.] Nothing quickeneth
the heart more to love God. Certainly we are to love God again, who loved us
first, 1 John iv. 19. Now though it be true that radius
reflexus languet, that God loveth
us first, best, and most, yet the more direct the beam, the stronger the
reflection; the more we know that God loveth us in
Christ, the more are we urged and quickened to love God again: 2 Cor. v. 14, 'For the love of Christ constraineth
us.' And this consideration is the more binding; if you expect those privileges
which Christ had, you must express your love by suitable obedience: John vi. 38, 'I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will,
but the will of him that sent me;' John iv. 34, 'My
meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to
finish his work;' John viii. 29, 'And he that sent me is with me; the Father
hath not left me alone, for I do always those things that please him.' You must
love him as Christ loved him. Will you sin against God, that are
so beloved of him? Thus we must kindle our hearts at God's fire, for love must
be paid in kind.
[2.] It maketh
us contented, patient, and joyful in tribulations and afflictions: Rom. v. 3,
'And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also;' and 1 Peter i. 8, 'Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now
ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of
glory.'
[3.] Nothing more emboldeneth the soul against the day of death and judgment
than to know that God loveth us as he loved Christ,
and therefore will give us the glory that Christ is possessed of: 1 John iv. 17, 'Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have
boldness in the day of judgment, because as he is so
are we in the world;' the greater apprehension we have of the love of God in
Christ, the more perfect our love is.
2. Means that this may be increased
in us.
[1.] Meditate more on, and believe the
gospel. It is good to bathe and steep our thoughts in the remembrance of God's
wonderful love to sinners in Christ: John xvii. 26, 'I have declared to them
thy name, and will declare it, that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may
be in them, and I in them.' Fervency of affection followeth
strength of persuasion, and strength of persuasion is increased by serious
thoughts.
[2.] Live in obedience to the
Spirit's sanctifying motions; for this love is applied by the Spirit: Rom.
viii. 14, 'For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of
God;' compared with 16th verse, 'The Spirit itself beareth
witness with our spirits, that we are the children of God.' The Spirit obeyed
as a sanctifier will soon become a comforter, and fill our hearts with a sense
of the love of God.
[3.J Take
heed of all sin, especially heinous and wilful sins:
[Pg. 86] Isa.
lxix. 2, 'Your iniquities have separated between you and your
God, and your sins have hid his face from you that he will not hear;' Eph. iv.
30, 'And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed to the day of
redemption.' Otherwise you may lose the sense of God's love once evidenced. Men
that have been lifted up to heaven in comfort, have fallen almost as low as
hell in sorrow, trouble, and perplexity of spirit One frown of God, or
withdrawing the light of his countenance, will quickly turn our day into night;
and the poor forsaken soul, formerly feasted with the sense of God's love, knoweth not whence to fetch any comfort and support.
Secondly, I shall seek to comfort
them that have but the effects, not the sense. For many serious Christians will
say, Blessed are they who are in Christ, whom God loveth
as he loved Christ; but what is this to me, that know not whether I have any
part in him or no? To these I will speak two things—(1.) What comfort yet remaineth; (2.) Whether these be
not enough to evidence they have some part in Christ
1. What may yet stay their hearts.
[1.] The foundation of God still standeth sure: 'The Lord knoweth
those that are his.' 2 Tim. ii. 19. He knoweth his own, when some of them know not they are his
own; he seeth his mark upon his sheep, when they see
it not themselves. God doubteth not of his interest
in thee, though thou doubtest of thy interest in him;
and you are held faster in the arms of his love than by the power of your own
faith; as the child is surer in the mother's arms than by its holding the
mother.
[2.] Is not God in Christ willing to
show mercy to penitent believers? or to manifest
himself to them as their God and reconciled Father? Did not his love and grace
find out the remedy before we were born? And when we had lived without God in
the world, he sought after us when we went astray; he thought on us when we did
not think on him, and tendered grace to us when we had no mind and heart to it:
Isa. lxv. 1, 'I am sought of them that asked not for
me; I am found of them that sought me not'
[3.] Hast
thou not visibly entered into the bond of the holy oath, and consented to the
covenant, seriously at least, if thou canst not say sincerely? Or dost thou
resolve to continue in sin rather than accept of the happiness offered or the
terms required? Then thou hast no part in Christ indeed. But if thou darest not refuse his covenant, but cheerfully submittest to it, then God is thy God: Zech. xiii. 9, 'I
will say, It is my people; and they shall say, The
Lord is my God.' If thou consentest that Christ shall
be thy Lord and Saviour, thou art a part of the
renewed estate whereof Christ is the head.
[4.] If thou
wantest a sense of his love, because of thy manifoldings, it is unreasonable to think that all will end
in wrath, which was begun in so much love. If he expressed love to thee in thy
unconverted estate, and hath brought thee into God's family, will he destroy
thee, and turn thee out again upon every actual unkindness?
The Lord doth gently question with Jonah in his fret: 'Dost thou well to be
angry?' Jonah iv. 9. When the disciples fell asleep in
the night of Christ's agony, he doth not say, Ye are
none of mine, because [Pg. 87] ye could not watch with me one hour; but rather excuseth it: Mat. xxvi. 41, 'The Spirit indeed is willing,
but the flesh is weak.' This great love of God overcometh
all the unkindnees of his children.
2. What may evidence they are concerned
in this love.
[1.] There is some change wrought in
you; thou art now no despiser of God and his holy ways; the heart of thy
sensuality, pride, and worldliness is broken, though too much of it still remaineth in thee. Now it is good to be in the way to a
further progress; and we begin with mortification: 2 Cor.
v. 17, 'If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed
away, behold, all things are become new.' Every change for the better is either
the new creature or a preparation to it
[2.] The gift of the sanctifying
Spirit is more prized by thee than all the riches and honours
in the world. Now without holiness we cannot esteem holiness, and practically
prefer it about other things. God loveth Christ as he
bore his image; so he loveth us as we are sealed by
the mark of the Spirit: Ps. cvi. 4, 'Remember me, Ο Lord, with the favour
that thou bearest unto thy people: Ο visit me with thy salvation;' and Ps. cxix. 132, 'Look thou upon me, and be
merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that
love thy name.'
[3.] Thou lovest
and preferrest Christ's people,
and that for their holiness, and therefore seekest to
discountenance all sorts of wickedness: Ps. xv. 4, 'In
whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he lionoureth
them that fear the Lord.' He laboureth to
discountenance all sorts of wickedness, and desireth
to bring goodness and godliness into a creditable esteem and reputation, and payeth a hearty honour and
respect to those that excel therein: so Ps. xvi. 3, 'But to the saints that are
in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.' He doth value
them, and esteem them, above the greatest men in the world, because they are so
loved, prized, and set apart by God.
[4.] You labour
more and more to be such, whom God loveth as he loved
Christ. Jesus Christ was the express image of his person; we strive to be such
in the world as Christ was, 1 John iv. 17, hating what
God hateth, and loving what God loveth;
then we make it our business to walk as he walked, 1
John ii. 6, doing his will, seeking his glory. God loved Christ for that spirit
of obedience that was in him, who shrunk not in the hardest duties, but,
whatever it cost him, was faithful in his work.
Observe, thirdly, that God would
have the world know so much, and be convinced of this great love which he beareth to the saints: 'That the world may know that thou
hast loved them,' &c.
1. The necessity of the world's
knowledge.
[l.] Because the world is blinded
with ignorance and prejudice against the children of God; they cannot, or
rather will not see: 1 Cor. ii. 14, 'But the natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; neither can
he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.' They will not see,
because they have a mind to hate.
[2.] The
life that floweth from this union is a hidden thing:
Col. iii. 3,
'For our life is hid with Christ in God.' It is hidden, because Maintained by an invisible power; the spiritual life is
hidden under [Pg. 88]
he veil of the natural life: Gal. ii. 20, 'The life
which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved
me, and gave himself for me.' It is obscured by infirmities. The best show
forth too much of Adam, and too little of Jesus. It is hidden under afflictions:
Heb. xi. 37, 38, 'They were stoned, they were sawn
asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in
sheep-skins, and goat-skins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; of whom the
world was not worthy,' &c.; and the world's reproaches: 2 Cor. vi. 8, 'By honour and dishonour, by evil
report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true.'
2. The means whereby the world is
convinced.
[1.1 The promises of the word show God's
great love to the saints, and hereby he hath engaged himself to do great things
for them: 2 Peter i. 4, 'Whereby
are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these ye might
be partakers of the divine nature.' He hath engaged to pardon their sins,
accept their persons, sanctify their natures, keep them blameless to his
heavenly kingdom, and finally, to translate them to glory: Deut. xxxiii. 29,
'Happy art thou, Ο Israel: who is like unto thee, O
people saved by the Lord, and who is the shield of thy excellency
I thy enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt
tread upon their high places;' Ps. cxliv. 15, 'Happy
is that people that is in such a case; yea, happy is that people whose God is
the Lord.'
[2.] By the visible fruits of the
mystical union. The gift of the Spirit cannot be hidden,
they have a power and presence with them which others have not: 1 Peter iv. 14,
'The Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you.'
They live contrary to the course of this world, so as to become the world's
wonder: 1 Peter iv. 4, 'Wherein they think it strange
that you run not with them to the same excess of riot.' And reproof: Heb. xi.
7, 'By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with
fear prepared an ark for the saving of his house, by the which he condemned the
world.'
[3.] By the wonderful blessings of
God's providence; they are hidden in the secret of his presence, strangely
preserved: Ps. iv. 3, 'But
know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself';' not only as
instruments of his glory, but as objects of his special favour
and grace.
[4.] This is more fully seen for the
utter confusion of the wicked at the last day: 2 Thes.
i. 10, 'When he shall come to be glorified in his
saints, and to be admired in all them that believe.' Now it is for their
conviction or conversion, then for their confusion; these are those whose lives
we judged madness, and ways folly!
3. Why Christ was so earnest that
the world should know this.
[1.] To restrain their malice: 1 Cor. ii. 5, 'Had they known it, they would not have
crucified the Lord of glory.' If God loveth
believers, it should stop the violence and malice of the world against them;
they are the beloved ones of God whom they malign, and against whom their heart
riseth.
[2.] It stirreth them up to come out of their wicked condition,
that is, out of a state of nature: Ps. vii. 11, 'God is angry with the wicked
every day.' [Pg. 89]
[3.] To put in for a share in this blessed
estate, that they may be some of those whom he loveth
as he loved Christ.
Use 1. Caution to
the carnal world. Do not hate those whom God thus loveth.
To you they are accursed, but God counteth them
precious: Isa. xliii. 4, 'Since thou wast
precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and
I have loved thee.' To you they are the scurf and offscouring:
1 Cor. iv. 13, 'We are made
as the filth of the world, and the offscouring
of all things to this day.' But to God they are jewels: Mal. iii. 17, 'They
shall be mine, saith the Lord, in the day when I make up my jewels.'
Use 2. Advice to
the children of God, to promote the conviction and conversion of the carnal: 1
Peter ii. 12, 'Having your conversation honest amongst the Gentiles; that
whereas they speak against you as evil-doers, they may by your good works which
they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.' Herein you imitate
your master, and your own safety lieth in it.