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that you justly deferved to be banished from the divine prefence, and caft into everlafting fire; and that your bleffed Saviour, when there was no other way to prevent it, did fave you by the facrifice of himfelf; tell me, what would you not owe to him? what words would you find to express your love to him, or your fenfe of his love to you? There have been fome convinced finners fo rivet. ted, if I may speak fo, to this circumftance, that they could find little other way of measuring the love of Christ, but by looking into themselves; and to whom, indeed, it has been enough to illuftrate the greatnefs of his mercy that they were not confumed. To this add,

3. The love of Chrift is unsolicited love. It took its rife, not from those who stood in need of it, but from him who bestowed it. It was not the effect of our earneft importunity, but of his own infinite mercy. This is a circumstance which we ought by no means to omit, as we find it particularly taken notice of in Scripture: 1 John iv. 10." Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that "he loved us, and fent his Son to be the propitiation for "our fins ;" and in the fame chapter, verfe 19, "We "love him because he first loved us." It is natural to expect, that those who are in,mifery fhould implore the af fiftance of those who are able to relieve them, or that thofe who have been in the offence fhould humble themfelves before those who have it in their power to punifh, or to forgive them. But it was quite otherwife here. The love of Chrift difcovered itself, when we were in open rebellion against him; or in the words of the apoftle Paul, Rom. V. IO. "While we were enemies we were reconciled to "God by the death of his Son."

This affords us at once an illuftration of the love of Christ, and a moving picture of our own deplorable and guilty ftate. There is fomething infinitely more noble and generous in extending mercy to the miferable, without waiting for their requeft, than when it is hardly procured, or as it were extorted, by importunity and folicitation. And does it not prefent us with a melancholy prospect of our natural ftate, that we are not only unworthy to receive, but unwilling to ask for mercy? I defire,

my brethren, that you may not confider this as only relating to mankind in general, and the voluntary purpose of grace and mercy from above in their favor, but as what makes a part of the experience of every particular convert. As the offer of mercy is made to him freely, fo he will and must be fenfible how cold and unthankful a reception he hath often given to the propofal. He will be fenfible what refiftance he hath often made to the defign of the gospel; what exception he hath taken at the terms of it; and with how much difficulty he was at laft induced to comply with it. I am perfuaded there are few circumftances in the love of Chrift that are more affecting to a believer, than to remember his own obftinacy, when a finner, and his backwardnefs to accept of the invitations of the Saviour. After he hath refted his hope on the divine mercy, after he hath been made willing in a day of divine power, and hath obtained fome comfortable evidence of the divine favor, how does he tremble at the thoughts of his former refiftance! how does he wonder at the patience of God, and adore that victorious love, which formed his heart, as well as paid the price of his redemption !

We find this particularly the cafe with thofe who having been for a feafon remarkably profligate, are faved as brands from the burning. They cannot help recollecting their former condition, their profane madnefs; and wondering, with a mixture of gratitude and fear, that they were not cut off in their wickednefs, and made monuments of divine vengeance. Far from defiring a share in the love of Chrift, they were perhaps doing their utmost in contempt of his name, and in oppofition to his interest. Yet, Rom. x. 20, "was he found of them that fought him "not, and made manifeft to them that afked not after "him" they were powerfully though fweetly constrained to return to God through him.

4. The love of Chrift is a distinguishing love, which must neceffarily and greatly enhance the obligation of thofe who are the objects of it. When one perfon is paffed by, and another is chofen, either to be delivered from impending danger, or to be made partaker of extraordina ry bleffings, the lofs or fuffering of the one, feems to fet

off the fuperior happinefs of, or the favor bestowed upon the other. To apply this to the subject we are now upon, there is a double diftinction pointed out in fcripture; one of our nature, in oppofition to the fallen angels; and the other, of particular perfons, as the veffels of mercy.

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(1.) There is an evident diftinction between our na ture and that of the fallen angels: Heb. ii. 16. "For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; he took "on him the feed of Abraham." 2 Pet. ii. 4. "God fpared not the angels that finned, but caft them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be "referved unto judgment." I am fenfible, that upon this fubject we may be fometimes in danger of fpeaking with impropriety, efpecially if we pretend to affign the reafons of God's procedure, any further than he hath been pleafed himfelf explicitly to reveal them. There can be no doubt that the Lord of all, God infinitely wife, had the beft reafons for his conduct, the most noble and excellent purposes in view in every thing that he ordained; but they are not discovered to us, and perhaps they are above our comprehenfion. The fingle point we are called to attend to, is the diftinction, infinitely gracious, which is made in our favor. A Saviour is provided for us, a mercy infinite in itself, and the more highly to be prized, that (Jude, verfe 6) the angels, our fellow-creatures, "who "kept not their firft eftate, but left their own habitation, "he hath referved in everlasting chains under darkness, "unto the judgment of the great day." If we should attempt a comparison between ourselves and these spirits of higher order, we could find no ground of preference in our own favor; perhaps we fhould find many things that might feem to operate a contrary way; but it is fafeft, in humility and gratitude to fay with the Pfalmift, Pfal. cxv. 3," Our God is in the heavens, he hath done whatsoever "he pleafed."

(2.) But this is not all; there is also a diftinction of particular perfons as the veffels of mercy. Since I am introducing this fubject, to prevent mistakes, I must observe, that every finner of the race of Adam who fhall perish eternally, fhall alfo perifh moft juftly; his blood fhall lic VOL. I

at his own door, and he fhall be found guilty of rejecting the counsel of God against himself. At the fame time, all who are effectually brought to the faving knowledge of God through Chrift, fhall be obliged to confefs, that they were brought in by almighty power, or, in the language of the Holy Ghoft, 1 Pet. i. 2. that they are "elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through fanctification of the Spirit unto obedience, and fprinkling of the blood of Jefus Chrift."

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On this, as on the former branch of this head, it may be observed, that we must not prefume to penetrate into the unfearchable depth of the divine counfels; but at the fame time it must be remembered, that we are not permitted, and cannot pretend, to find the reasons of preference in ourselves; for no flefh may glory in his prefence. God in many paffages afferts his own fovereignty and perfect liberty in the diftribution of his grace: Rom. ix. 15, 16. "For he faith to Mofes, I will have mercy on whom I "will have mercy, and I will have compaffion on whom I "will have compaffion. So then it is not of him that 66 willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that fhew"eth mercy." And again, in the 18th verfe, "There"fore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and "whom he will he hardeneth." Nothing can be harder, indeed, than for the proud and carnal mind to bow before the fovereignty of God; yet nothing is more evident, than that the deftination of the veffels of mercy.doth not proceed upon the ordinary grounds of human eftimation. Nay, there feems to be an express design to ftain the pride of all human glory I Cor. i. 26, 27. "For you fee your calling "brethren, how that not many wife men after the flesh, "not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God "hath chofen the foolish things of the world, to confound "the wife; and God hath chofen the weak things of the world, to confound the things which are mighty." Experience daily illuftrates this; for while we fee fome. brought to an entire fubmiffion to the gofpel, and an obedient conformity to the will of God, we fee many of equal, or of greater rank, of equal or of greater ability and endowments of mind, and favored with equal or fuperior ad

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vantages and opportunities of inftruction, who yet continue to bear the marks of reprobation. The fame mercies difpofe one to thankfulness, and infpire another with pride. The fame trials will foften one heart, and harden another. All this our Redeemer makes the fubject of a folemn thanksgiving to God, Luke x. 21. "In that hour Jesus rejoiced in fpirit, and faid, I thank thee, O Father, Lord "of heaven and earth, that thou haft hid these things from "the wife and prudent, and haft revealed them unto babes: " even fo, Father, for fo it feemed good in thy fight," Who that believes, in this affembly, will prefume to take the leaft part of the honor of it to himself, or will refuse to adore the diftinguishing love of God? And how often must those who bare the meffage of peace be obliged to feek the cause of an unsuccessful gospel in the counfels of the Most High? 2 Cor. iv, 3. "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid "to them that are loft; in whom the god of this world "hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, left "the light of the glorious gospel of Chrift, who is the image of God, fhould fhine unto them."

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5. The love of Chrift was an expensive love. So great a deliverance would have called for the most humble and thankful acknowledgment, though it had been as much without price to the Saviour as to the finner. But oh! my brethren, how far was it otherwife! and what fhall we think or say of the love of Chrift, when we confider how much it coft him to procure falvation for us! when we confider the depth of his humiliation, the variety, the continuance, and the greatnefs of his fufferings! You cannot but be fenfible how frequent mention is made of this in fcripture, or rather how feldom it is omitted when the love of Chrift is introduced at all. It is the circumftance particularly pointed at in the text, Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. The fame thing appears from the other daxologies, or acts of worship to the Saviour, which are contained in this book, as Rev. v. 9." And they fang a new fong, faying, Thou "art worthy to take the book, and to open the feals there"of; for thou wast flain, and haft redeemed us to God

by thy blood," It appears alfo, from the frequent men.

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