God. Love is the end, the sole end of every dispensation of God, from the beginning of the world, to the consummation of all things. And it will endure when heaven and earth flee away; for love alone never faileth. Faith will totally fail: it will be swallowed up in sight, in the everlasting vision of God. But even then love,

"Its nature and its office still the same,

Lasting its lamp and unconsum'd its flame,

In deathless triumph shall for ever live,

And endless good diffuse, and endless praise receive."

2. Very excellent things are spoken of faith, and whosoever is a partaker thereof, may well say with the apostle, Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift. Yet still it loses all its excellence, when brought into a comparison with love. What St. Paul observes concerning the superior glory of the gospel, above that of the law, may with great propriety be spoken of the superior glory of love, above that of faith. Even that which was made glorious, hath no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. For if that which is done away is glorious, much more doth that which remaineth exceed in glory. Yea, all the glory of faith before it is done away, arises hence, That it ministers to love. It is the great temporary means which God hath ordained to promote that eternal end.

3. Let those who magnify faith beyond all proportion, so as to swallow up all things else, and who so totally misapprehend the nature of it, as to imagine it stands in the place of love, consider farther, That as love will exist after faith, so it did exist long before it. The angels, who from the moment of their creation, beheld the face of their Father that is in heaven, had no occasion for faith, in its general notion, as it is the evidence of things not seen. Neither had they need of faith, in its more particular acceptation, faith in the blood of Jesus: for he took not upon him the nature of angels; but only the seed of Abraham. There was therefore no place before the foundation of the world, for faith either in the general or particular sense. But there was for love. Love existed from eternity, in God, the great ocean of love. Love had a place in all the children of God, from the

3 Q2

moment

moment of their creation. They received at once from their gracious Creator, to exist, and to love.

4. Nor is it certain (as ingeniously and plausibly as many have descanted upon this.) That faith, even in the general sense of the word, had any place in paradise. It is highly probable, from that short and uncircumstantial account which we have in holy writ, That Adam, before he rebelled against God, walked with him by sight, and not by faith.

"For then his reason's eye was strong and clear,

And as an eagle can behold the sun,

Might have beheld his Maker's face as near,

As th' intellectual angels could have done."

He was then able to talk with him face to face, whose face we cannot now see and live. And consequently had no need of that faith, whose office it is, to supply the want of sight.

5. On the other hand, it is absolutely certain, faith in its particular sense had then no place. For in that sense it necessarily pre-supposes sin, and the wrath of God declared against the sinner: without which there is no need of an atonement for sin, in order to the sinner's reconciliation with God. Consequently, as there was no need of an atonement before the fall, so there was no place for faith in that atonement: man being then pure from every stain of sin, holy as God is holy. But love even then filled his heart. It reigned in him without a rival. And it was only when love was lost by sin, that faith was added, not for its own sake, nor with any design, that it should exist any longer, than until it had answered the end for which it was ordained, namely, To restore man, to the love from which he was fallen. At the fall therefore was added this evidence of things unseen, which be-` fore was utterly needless: this confidence in redeeming love, which could not possibly have any place, till the promise was made, that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head.

6. Faith then was originally designed of God, to reestablish the law of love. Therefore in speaking thus, we are not undervaluing it, or robbing it of its due praise:

but

but on the contrary, shewing its real worth, exalting it in its just proportion, and giving it that very place which the wisdom of God assigned it from the beginning. It is the grand means of restoring that holy love, wherein man was originally created. It follows, that although faith is of no value in itself (as neither is any other means whatsoever) yet as it leads to that end, the establishing anew the law of love in our hearts, and as, in the present state of things, it is the only means under heaven for ef fecting it it is, on that account, an unspeakable blessing to man, and of unspeakable value before God.

III. 1. And this naturally brings us to observe, thirdly, The most important way of establishing the law: namely, The establishing it in our own hearts and lives. Indeed without this, what would all the rest avail? We might establish it by our doctrine; we might preacht it in its whole extent, might explain and inforce every part of it. We might open it in its most spiritual meaning, and declare the mysteries of the kingdom: we might preach Christ in all his offices, and faith in Christ, as opening all the treasures of his love. And yet all this time, if the law we preached, were not established in our hearts, we should be of no more account before God, than sounding brass or tinkling cymbals. All our preaching would be so far from profiting ourselves, that it would only increase our damnation.

2. This is therefore the main point to be considered, how may we establish the law in our own hearts, so that it may have its full influence on our lives? And this cau only be done by faith.

Faith alone it is, which effectually answers this end, as we learn from daily experience. For so long as we walk by faith not by sight, we go swiftly on in the way of holiness. While we steadily look, not at the things which are seen, but at those which are not seen, we are more and more crucified to the world, and the world crucified to us. Let but the eye of the soul be constantly fixed. not on the things which are temporal, but on those which are eternal, and our affections are more and more léosened from earth, and fixed on things above. So that faith

general is the most direct aud effectual means of promoting all righteousness and true holiness: of establishing the holy and spiritual law, in the hearts of them that believe.

us.

3. And by faith, taken in its more particular meaning, for a confidence in a pardoning God, we establish his law in our own hearts, in still more effectual manner. For there is no motive which so powerfully inclines us to love God, as the sense of the love of God in Christ. Nothing enables us like a piercing conviction of this, to give our hearts to him who was given for us. And from this principle of grateful love to God, arises love to our brother also. Neither can we avoid loving our neighbour, if we truly believe the love wherewith God hath loved Now this love to man, grounded on faith and love to God, worketh no ill to our neighbour. Consequently, it is (as the apostle observes) the fulfilling of the whole negative law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false wit– ness, Thou shalt not covet: and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Neither is love content with barely working no evil to our neighbour. It continually incites us to do good: as we have time, and opportunity, to do good in every possible kind, and in every possible degree to all men. It is therefore the fulfilling of the positive likewise, as well as of the negative law of God.

4. Nor does faith fulfil either the negative or positive law, as to the external part only: but it works inwardly by love, to the purifying of the heart, the cleansing it from all vile affections. Every one that hath this faith in bim, purifieth himself even as he is pure; purifieth himself from every earthly, sensual desire, from all vile and inordinate affections: yea, from the whole of that carnal mind, which is enmity against God. At the same time, if it have its perfect work, it fills him with all goodness, righteousness and truth. It brings all heaven into his soul, and causes him to walk in the light, even as God is in the light.

5. Let us thus endeavour to establish the law, in ourselves not sinning, because we are under grace, but rather using all the power we receive thereby, to fulfil

all

all righteousness. Calling to mind, what light we received from God, while his Spirit was convincing us of sin, let us beware we do not put out that light; what we had then attained let us hold fast. Let nothing induce us to build again what we have destroyed; to resume any thing, small or great, which we then clearly saw was not for the glory of God, or the profit of our own soul: or to neglect any thing, small or great, which we could not then neglect, without a check from our own conscience. To increase and perfect the light which we had before, let us now add the lightof faith. Confirm we the former gift of God, by a deeper sense of whatever he had then shewn us; by a greater tenderness of conscience, and a more exquisite sensibility of sin. Walking now with joy and not with fear, in a clear, steady sight of things eternal, we shall look on pleasure, wealth, praise, all the things of earth, as on bubbles upon the water: counting nothing important. nothing desirable, nothing worth a deliberate thought, but only what is within the veil, where Jesus, sitteth at the right hand of God.

6. Can you say, Thou art merciful to my unrighteousness; my sins thou rememberest no more? Then for the time to come, see that you fly from sin, as from the face of a serpent. For how exceeding sinful does it appear to you now? How heinous above all expression? On the other hand, in how amiable a light do you now see the holy and perfect will of God? Now therefore labour that it may be fulfilled, both in you, by you, and upon you. Now watch and pray that you may sin no more, that you may see and shun the least transgression of his law. You see the motes which you could not see before, as when the sun shines inte a dark place. In like manner, you see the sins which you could not see before, now the Sun of Righteousness shines in your heart. Now then do all diligence to walk in every respect, according to the light you have received. Now be zealous to receive more light daily, more of the knowledge and love of God, more of the Spirit of Christ, more of his life, and of the power of his resurrection. Now use all the knowledge, and love, and life, and power you have already attained. So shall you continually go on from faith to faith. So shall you daily increase in holy love, till faith is swallowed up in sight, and the law of love established to all eternity.

SERMON