the preceding words, challenged Chrift for his own; I am crucified with Chrift, and I live, yet not I, but Chrift liveth in me; IN ME. He ingrones him to himself, as if he were his own, and no man's elfe. And the life I live is by the faith of the Son of God, who is likewife mine; for, He loved me, and gave himself for me. It is the noble art of faith to challenge Chrift for its own, and that with an I and a me, as if none else were concerned but itself. And hence this whole verfe is made up of fo many I's and me's; "I am crucified with Chrift, nevertheless I live yet not I but Chrift; Chrift lives in ME: and the life I live is by faith of the Son of God, who loved мE, and gave himself for ME;" a fhort fentence: but the whole fcripture, and all evangelical comfort is conceived in it, as if the apoftle had ftudied to wrap up all the words in one word; in which two ineflimable jewels are to be found, viz. Chrift's love and Chrift's gift; He loved me, and gave bimfelf for me. Glorious Lover! the Son of God! Gracious act! He loved! And, ftrange object, whom he loved! ME, unlovely me! But, how did he evidence his love? Even by the gift he gave. What did he give? Himfelf. For whom? for me, unworthy me! Every word hath weight, and every act of faith hath a Me in the bofom of it; Chrift liveth in ME; be loved ME, and gave himself for ME.

It is this laft branch at prefent, I intend to speak upon, having formerly spoke to thefe preceding ones. What I propose, at the time, is only, firft, fome explication; and then some application of the words.

I. For explication of the words, we may obferve these two things; firft, Chrift's love, He loved me; and then the proof of it, He gave bimfelf for me.

ift, In the words obferve his LOVE, He loved me. Where you may confider these three things, viz. the lover, the act, and the object.

1. The Lover, or the perfon loving, in the pronoun He; O glorious Lover! The Son of God! He loved me. A person of no mean quality. Love is grateful to us from any perfon: but the greater and worthier the per

fon

fon is, the dearer and more grateful must his love be to us. But, who fo great as He, who is the Son of God; higher than the highest: of equal dignity and greatness with his eternal Father; the King eternal and immortal; without beginning and without end; the firft begotten from the dead; the Prince of the kings of the earth; he who is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end; which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty he that hath upon his vefture and his thigh this name written, "King of kings, and Lord of lords," Rev. xix. 16. This is the Lover, and his love must, of neceffity, be greater than other love; for he himself is the greatest of all. The quality of the person doth com. mend his exceeding great love. O! who is he! Who is this Lover, that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? This that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatnefs of his ftrength? Who is this King of glory? who but God manifefted in the flesh, and whofe going forth was of old, from everlasting, who is the true God, and eternal life? He is the omniprefent God, who hath promised his gracious powerful prefence in these ordinances, faying, "Lo, I am with you." He is the omnifcient God, faying, "I am he that fearcheth the heart and trieth the reins." He is the omnipotent God, "That created the heavens and the earth," and who is able to fave and to damn to the uttermoft. O! who is he, that Arians dare blafpheme him, and deny his neceffary exiftence, who is the fame God with the Father; "I and my Father are one?" O! "Who can declare his generation," who is the only begotten of the Father, and whofe name is Jehovah our righteousness ; whofe name is, I am that I am; whofe name is, Immanuel, God with us?--Here is the perfon loving.

2. Here is the act, He LOVED: and be loved, becaufe be loved. There is no other reafon of his love, but his love: Jacob bave I loved: this is all the reafon. Love in God, is God himself loving; and therefore it must have all the qualities that belong to the nature of God; God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable: therefore his love must be a pure and fpiritual love, an infinite and boundless love, eternal and unchangeable love.

T

He loved: O! this act is glorious like himfelf. His love. muft be an infinitely wife love; for, he is wifdom: a powerful love, able to bring about all his lovely defigns, that infinite wifdom contrives. It must be an infinitely holy love; love accompanied with holiness, love accompanied with jultice, love accompanied with goodness and truth. He is an infinitely true and faithful Lover, and hence, Whom be loves, be loves to the end.-As his love is accompanied with all divine perfections, fo with all loving offices: as a Prophet, his love is teaching love, inftructing love, enlightening, directing, counselling, and conducting love.. As a Prieft, his love is juftifying and pardoning love; reconciling, peace-making and accepting love. As a King, his love is foul-conquering, fin-fubduing love. As a Shepherd, his love is leading and feeding love. As a Surety, his love is debt-paying love. As a Store-house, his love is fupplying love. As he is a Doer, his love is active love. As a Sufferer, it is paffive love.His love is accompanied with all loving relations: as a Father, it is pitying love; as a Hufband, it is cherifhing love. As a Phyfician, it is healing love. As a Friend, it is helping love. As an Advocate, it is pleading and interceding love, As a Mediator between God and man, it is interpofing love. His love is alfo fuited to his nature, as he is God-man: as God, there is divinity in it; it is divine love, and as MAN, there is humanity in it; it is a humane and a natural love. And as God-man in one perfon, his love must be a divinely-humane, and humanely-divine love. The act is in the præterit tenfe, He loved: when did his love commence and begin? Indeed, it is as ancient as from eternity, and as laffing, as to eternity. He loved in the counfel of peace, and it may be called a confulting love about our falvation, before the world began. He loved in the tranfaction between the Father and him, and then it was an undertaking love. He loved in the publication of this merciful defign immediately after the fall; and there we fee it a promising love. He loved in the manifeftation of himself in our nature, to accomplish the promife, and there we see it a performing love. O! but this act, be loped, hath many wonders in it! But this will the better

appear,

appear, if we confider the object of his love, or the perfon, whom he loved. This is the

Third word in the text, He loved ME; Me, that am fo wicked, fo wretched, fo unworthy! O! that every one here were, by faith putting in their Me; He loved me; Me, fays Paul, that was a blafphemer; me, that was a perfecuter; me, that was injurious; me, that was a vile mifcreant! O! that he fhould love fuch miferable me's as we are; fo unworthy of his love, fo unlike to his love; and in whom he found greater reason to hate than to love! That God fhould love the glorious angels, is no wonder; for they are meffengers and minifers executing his pleasure, Pfalm ciii. 20. That he fhould love good men or faints, is not ftrange; becaufe they love him, and can say to him, "O thou, whom my foul loveth," Song i. 6. Yea, that he fhould love the fenfelefs, inanimate creatures, whether in the heaven. above us, or, in the earth about us, is not ftrange; for, the fun, moon, and stars run their courfe; they fland still, or go forward, as he commands them; yea," The fire, hail, fnow, and vapour, and ftormy wind fulfil his word,” Pfalm cxlviii. 8. But to love us, that were enemies, traitors, rebels, and run away prodigals, and profligate finners; He loved me, guilty me, filthy me, weak me, wicked me: O! How does God commend his love? and commend it to the highest degree of mercy, when it is extended to these that are in the lowest pit of fin and mifery, Rom. v. 8. "Ged commendeth his love to us, in that while we were yet finners, Chrift died for us;" while we were yet enemies and outcafts, lying in our blood: a rare commendation indeed, ver. 10. "While we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son." To love fach was an unexpected and unparalleled, but a molt merciful love. He that wanted nothing, loved us, that had nothing, and worse than nothing. O the wonders of his love! that the King of heaven fhould love wretched earth; that eternity fhould love death; and, that immortality fhould love duft and afhes; yea, that infinite holinefs fhould love fuch as were a mafs of fin! He first loved us, 1 John iv. 19. not only when we could not love him, but alfo afterward, when we would not love

G 4

him.

him. If a man had the tongues of men and angels, he could not exprefs this love, wherewith this great majesty, the Son of God, loved fuch mifery, the fons of men; and wherewith he loved me, fays Paul; and wherewith he loved me, may you fay.

But, Oh! there is the difficulty, fay you, I cannot win to put in that ME, and fay, He loved me. Indeed it is no wonder, if many here cannot fay it, if they have not learned the language by which it is faid: I must tell you, it is not the language of earth, but the langu age of heaven, Rev. i. 5." He loved us, and washed us from our fins in his own blood:" and fo here is the language of heaven upon earth, He loved me, and gave himfelf for me. But, why can you not speak this language? Why, becaufe it cannot be fpoken right, but by the mouth of faith. It is not the language of fenfe, nor of unbelief, but the language of faith; The life I now live, says the apoftle here, is by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me. The faith, by which he lived, was the faith by which he spoke this language: now, if the Spirit of faith mix in with the hearing, and the grace of faith be given in any lively act of it this day, it will coft faith but a word, to fay, He loved me.

QUEST. But, what ground hath faith for this language?

ANSW. The ground is in the general word of grace, from which faith draws the particular inference. The word fays, He came to fave finners; he loved finners; he loved enemies; he loved rebels, and gave himself for them. Unbelief, indeed, will put in its objection, faying, "Well, but did he love them all? Did he die for them all? Did he elect them all? Perhaps, you was never defigned to fhare of his love."-" Away, fays. faith, away with thefe needlefs difputes of the devil, and of unbelief; my life and falvation is at the stake; I have no time to lofe. Let thefe that have no need of a Saviour, flay, and debate these matters with the de vil, and their unbelieving hearts. I have prefent use for this Saviour, for my prefent and future falvation; and I fee he is come to fave finners, and that is my

name.