justice. It is in this situation, and while they view God as looking upon them as perfectly odious and hell deserving creatures, that they first love him for his own intrinsic excellence; while they are totally ignorant whether he will save or destroy them. This is always the case, when convinced sinners are converted. Their conversion consists in a reconciliation to a holy, sovereign, sin revenging God. They love him for hating just such creatures as they are, and being disposed to give them a just recompense of reward for all their groundless enmity and opposition to him and his cause. The penitent malefactor who was crucified with Christ, first loved God, and became reconciled to his vindictive justice towards himself, while he expected nothing but to sink down to hell, in a very few moments. "And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be the Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering, rebuked him, saying, Dost thou not fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise." This instance of a sound conversion demonstrates that every sinner, in order to be saved, must love a holy, sin hating, and sin revenging God, while he has no evidence of any interest in his special favor; but even while he looks up to him as ready to cast him off for ever. The awakened and convinced sinner hates God for his holiness, his justice, and his sovereignty; but before he can become an object of the divine complacence, he must love God for these very same perfections, which, for aught he knows, may be displayed in his everlasting destruction. And in the exercise of this true love to God, he must go to him for pardoning mercy, as the servants of Ben-hadad advised him to go to Ahab in his distress. "And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings; let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; peradventure he will save thy life." When the sinner first loves God for what he is in himself, and asks for mercy, he cannot possibly know whether God will grant or deny his request; but without knowing this, he is willing that God should do his pleasure, and glorify himself by him, either as a vessel of mercy, or a vessel of wrath.

4. If sinners must love God before he loves them, then they are naturally as unwilling to embrace the gospel, as to obey the law. Many who hate the law, which requires true love to God

and man, pretend to like the gospel, which they imagine speaks a milder language. But this can be owing to nothing but a misapprehension of the true spirit of the gospel, which requires precisely the same pure and disinterested love, that the law requires. Both the law and the gospel require sinners to love a holy, just, sin hating, and sin condemning God, and that upon pain of eternal destruction. The gospel is not a mere declaration of pardoning mercy to sinners, without any condition to be performed on their part. The condition of the gospel is that faith in Christ which immediately flows from love to God the Father, who insists upon sinners returning to him, and submitting to his absolute sovereignty, before they know whether he intends to save or destroy them. And can there be any thing more disagreeable to their carnal hearts, in either the precept or penalty of the law, than such unreserved submission? The same selfish heart which hates the law, equally hates the gospel, when rightly understood. Christ did not come to destroy the law or the prophets, but to fulfil. He did not come to save sinners in their native enmity and opposition to God, but to pardon them upon condition of their renouncing their groundless disaffection, and becoming cordially reconciled to his whole law and his whole character. It is impossible for sinners to approve of the gospel before they approve of the law, or to love the gospel before they love the law. It is a dangerous deception for any to think that they love and embrace the gospel, while they inwardly hate and complain of the rigor of the law, either in its precept or penalty. None but those who delight in the law of the Lord after the inward man, really love the gospel, and stand entitled to the blessings of it.

5. If God love those who first love him, then he is willing to receive them into his favor upon the most gracious and condescending terms. This is the plain import of all his free and universal offers of mercy in his word. "Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts." "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." Can we conceive that God could offer to pardon and save sinners upon lower or easier terms than these? They are the very same terms upon which a kind and indulgent parent would offer to forgive and receive a child who had disobeyed his commands, abused his favors, and left his house and family. So our Saviour more than intimates in the parable of the penitent

publican, and in that of the returning prodigal. As soon as the publican cried, " God be merciful to me a sinner," he went away pardoned and accepted; and as soon as the prodigal said in his heart," I will arise, and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son; make me as one of thy hired servants;" his father met him, embraced him, and forgave him all his faults. The father loved the prodigal as soon as the prodigal loved him; so God loves sinners, as soon as they love him. The father returned to the prodigal, as soon as the prodigal returned to him; so God will return to sinners, as soon as they return to him. This is loving, pardoning and accepting sinners upon the most gracious and condescending terms possible. It is impossible to conceive that God should be willing to save sinners, or that they should be willing to be saved, before they first love him, and become cordially reconciled to his amiable and glorious character. His offers of mercy to sinners are as low, as easy, and as condescending, as infinite grace can propose.

6. If God does not love sinners before they love him, then they have no right to desire, or pray, that he would become reconciled to them, while they continue to hate and oppose him. Though they always cast off fear and restrain prayer as long as they can, yet when they are awakened to realize their guilty and perishing state, they never fail to call upon God to become reconciled to them while their hearts rise in sensible opposition to him. But what right have they to pray in such an unholy and unreasonable manner? Who hath required this at their hands? Though God has required them to ask for his love and mercy, yet he has never required them to ask amiss. Nay, he has expressly told them that if they turn away their ear from hearing the law, even their prayer will be an abomination in his sight. And the reason of this is plain. They pray that he would become reconciled to them while they are unreconciled to him, and that he would love them while they are perfectly unholy and unlovely. God is of purer eyes than to behold sin. It is morally impossible that he should love it in any of his creatures. What right, then, can unholy, unlovely and impenitent sinners have, to pray that God would love them with complacence while they are devoid of every amiable quality, and in the exercise of perfect malevolence? They have no more right to do this, than they have to pray that God would change his nature, and become as unholy and sinful as themselves.

7. If God loves sinners as soon as they love him, then if they properly seek him, they shall certainly find him. This God expressly promises to all sincere seekers. "I love them

that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.” "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." If sinners will only follow these directions in seeking God, they not only may be, but must be saved. The benevolence of God disposes him, and the promise of God obliges him, to love those that love him, and to make them for ever happy. This is the only proper way of seeking God, and the only certain way of finding him. And it is impossible to point out any other way of seeking God, which is either proper or safe. There is no propriety nor safety in directing sinners to seek God in an unholy and impenitent manner; for if they follow this direction, they will certainly be lost. But if they will renounce their own righteousness, become reconciled to God, and penitently ask for mercy, he will hear their prayers, and grant them all the blessings which he has promised to

them that love him.

Finally: If God loves those who love him, then it is not so difficult as some imagine, for them to determine whether they are personally the objects of the divine favor and stand entitled to eternal life. They have no occasion of prying into the secret counsels of God, in order to determine this most serious and important point. They have only to look into their own hearts, and see whether they themselves love God. If they are conscious of loving him sincerely and supremely, they have the witness within themselves, that he loves them, and will be their friend and portion for ever; because he has expressly said, " I love them that love me." Though we cannot know that our fellow men love us, merely by knowing that we love them, yet we can know that God loves us, merely by being conscious that we love him. If we love God as a Father, we may know that he loves us as children. Hence says the apostle to christians, "Ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry Abba, Father. The spirit itself" (that is, the spirit of adoption) "beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God; and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ." Let every one, therefore, who entertains any doubt whether God be his friend, examine his own heart, and see whether he is the friend of God. If he finds in his heart a sincere and supreme affection to God, he may be assured that God loves him as a child, will treat him as a child, and make him an heir of eternal life.

SERMON XXXVI.

CHRIST WILL REJECT MERCENARY FOLLOWERS.

JESUS answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not be cause ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the

loaves, and were filled.-JOHN, vi. 26.

THESE words refer to Christ's feeding the five thousand, with only five barley loaves and two small fishes. This miracle convinced the multitude that he was the Messiah whom they had long expected to come, and deliver them from their national calamities. Under this impression, they formed a secret design to take him by force and make him king. But he perceived their thoughts, and defeated their purpose by departing into a mountain alone. When the evening came on, the disciples also left the multitude, and attempted to cross the sea of Tiberias, which, by means of a mighty wind, threatened to overwhelm them. But in the midst of their distress, they saw Jesus walking on the sea, and approaching the ship, which greatly surprised them at first; but as soon as he made himself known, they invited him on board, and were instantaneously conveyed to land. The next day, the multitude, whom he had miraculously fed, crossed the same sea in order to find him, and when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they were surprised, and said, "Rabbi, when camest thou hither?" Christ took no notice of this appearance of respect, but pointedly reproved them for their mercenary motives in following him. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled." These persons had no love to the character of Christ, but only to his benefits. He said they