DOCTRINE.

I shall speak to this Doctrine under the following Particulars: I. What is this Love of God? II. We may further explain the Command by shewing what is intended by loving God with all the Heart, &c. III. I shall shew that this is the first and great Com­mandment.

I. What is this Love of GOD?

Answ. Love to GOD is a Grace of the Spirit, whereby we esteem and desire him above all, and cleave to him as to our chief Good with holy Delight, from a spiritual Sight of his most amiable Perfections, as manifested in his Word and Works, and in the Per­son of our Lord JESUS CHRIST. Under this gene­ral Description I may say more particularly,

1. LOVE to GOD is a Grace of the Holy Spirit.

LOVE, consider it as an Affection or Passion whereby the Soul uniteth with that which appears amiable, is natural to us, and in its own Nature good, being from GOD: The Object of this uniting Affec­tion is whatever is apprehended to be good for us. And as this Passion was in our first Parents while they retained their Integrity, it had not only a physical, but moral Goodness, being placed on GOD as the [Page 7] supreme Good, and Fountain of all Happiness; and upon the Creature in due Measure, and in a regular Subordination. But when Sin entred, Adam lost that divine Impression which was on this Affection: He became an idolatrous Lover of himself, and of those carnal Pleasures whereby sinful Self is gratified. And now since the Fall, the Character of Men is that, Lovers of their own selves. Lovers of Pleasures more than Lovers of GOD, 2 Tim. 3.2,—4. And be­cause they can find no true Satisfaction, they dote on many Lovers. And as their Inclination is turned to­wards Creatures which gratify their Lusts; so they have a dreadful Aversion to GOD and his holy Law, which stand in Opposition to them. They delight not themselves in the Almighty. The Character of Men left to the Darkness and Corruption of their own Minds is that, Rom. 1.30. Haters of GOD. Yea, when JESUS the Light of the World appear'd, many even of his own People loved Darkness rather than Light, because their Deeds were evil. Now have they both seen, and hated both me and my Father, Joh. 15.24. Accursed Malignity. Is it possible? Yes, the carnal Mind is Enmity against GOD, Rom. 8.7. The Holiness and Justice of GOD appearing in the Commands and Sanction of his Law, are very dis­agreeable to the Sinner: The Presence of GOD is offensive to him, he doth not like to retain GOD in his Knowledge; yea, he says to GOD, Depart from me, I desire not the Knowledge of thy Ways, Job 21.14. This is the vile and wretched State of Men un­til GOD renew them in the Spirit of their Minds, and so write this Law of Love upon their Hearts by his holy Spirit. Gal. 5.22. The Fruit of the Spirit is [Page 8] Love. This is Part of the divine Image drawn on the Hearts of Men when the GOD of Love cometh to dwell in them by his Spirit: They love the Lord, and hate Evil. And when this holy Impression is made on the Will and Affections, the Sinner who was going away from the blessed GOD, returns to him as his Rest and Happiness. Which leads me to say,

2. HE that loveth GOD, esteems and desires him above all.

Now the Language of the Soul is that, Whom have I in Heaven but thee? and there is none upon Earth that I desire besides thee, Psal. 73.25. GOD is infinite Gdodness, and there's nothing good but as it deriveth from him. There is none good but one, that is GOD, Matth. 19.17. And therefore must we esteem him above all other Beings, or we do not truly love him; for his Name alone is excellent, his Glory is above the Earth and Heaven. GOD alone is the Object of our religious Devotion in this Re­spect, and the Desires of our Souls must be to his Name above every Name. Desire and Joy may be call'd different Modifications of Love, as the Object is consider'd to be absent or present. Agreeably, when a Child of GOD, who is born from above, is made sensible of the infinite Amiableness of GOD, and of the great Distance at which Sin hath set him from this glorious Object; he reacheth after GOD in fervent Desires and Longings of Soul. The inward Breathings of GOD's People after him, are well ex­press'd by the Psalmist when driven from GOD's House and Ordinances into the Wilderness of Judah, O GOD, thou art my GOD, early will I seek thee: my [Page 9] Soul thirsteth for thee, my Flesh longeth for thee, Psal. 63.1. Such are the Desires of them that truly love GOD, and have this Love in a lively Exercise; and these Desires give Wings to the Soul as it were, they mount up as Eagles towards Heaven. They aspire after the perfect Enjoyment of the blessed GOD, and can't be fully satisfied till they are present with the LORD in Heaven, where is Fulness of Joys. The Apostle Paul, when in the lively Exercise of this Love, had a Desire to depart, and be with CHRIST. And the longing Desires of GOD's Peo­ple after the glorious Appearing of their GOD and Saviour, we have express'd at the Close of the Revela­tion, Even so, come, LORD JESUS.

3. IN the Exercise of this Love, GOD's People take Complacency in him as their chief Good, and cleave to him in holy Delight.

THE Language of such as truly love GOD is that, Return unto thy Rest, O my Soul, for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee, Psal. 116.7. They rest in GOD as the only satisfying Portion of their Souls, saying as the Psalmist, Thou art my Portion, O LORD. Love is a uniting Affection, and it takes Pleasure in the Enjoyment of the Object beloved, and rejoiceth when in the nearest Union with it. Agree­ably, he that truly loveth GOD, obeys that Com­mand, Delight thy self in the LORD, Psal. 37.4. He delights in drawing nigh to GOD, and holding Communion with him. From his Heart he says, It is good for me to draw near to GOD; the nearer the better in his Account. He goes to GOD as to his exceeding great Joy, and when it pleaseth GOD to give him the evident Tokens of his gracious Presence [Page 10] and Favour, this is better to him than all Earthly Joy, than the Joy of Harvest. There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the Light of thy Countenance upon us. Thou hast put Gladness in my Heart, more than in the Time that their Corn and their Wine increased, Psal. 4.6, 7. Such delight in all GOD's Attributes, in his Holiness and Justice, as well as in his Grace and Mercy; which appears in their earnest Desires and Endeavours to perfect Holiness in the Fear of the LORD. They also delight in GOD's Law after the inner Man, be­cause it is the Will of GOD declared to them. They likewise rejoice in the Day which the LORD has made, and call the Sabbath their Delight; because this Day is holy to the Lord, and the blessed Season for Communion with him. They love the Habita­tion of GOD's House, the Place where his Honour dwells. How amiable are thy Tabernacles, O LORD of Hosts! Psal. 84.1. However, they are not satis­fied with a bodily Attendance on Ordinances, when they do not find and enjoy GOD in them; but when GOD draweth nigh to their Souls in the Ways of his Appointment, they are satisfied with the good things of his House as with Marrow and Fatness, and praise him with joyful Lips. In a Word, where there is this Love shed abroad in the Heart by the Spirit, we choose GOD as our chief Good and highest End, and cleave to him with holy Satisfaction. Indeed, our Love in this Life will at best fall short of sinless Perfection, and the Exercise of it must be more or less obstructed by remaining Corruption. Alas! the best of GOD's Children here find sad Occasion to complain of the Coldness and Deadness of their Affec­tions, [Page 11] while engag'd in religious Duties. However when this Love is in a lively Exercise, there's holy Joy in the LORD: Now they can say, My Heart is fixed, O GOD, my Heart is fixed, I will sing and give Praise: Unless when it pleaseth a wife and sove­reign GOD to hide his Face, then they are troubled for want of the sensible Manifestations of his gracious Presence. And when this is the sorrowful Case, their Love expresseth it self in an holy mourning after God, Mine Eye runneth down with Water, because the Comforter that should relieve my Soul, is far from me, Lam. 1.16.

4. THIS Love to GOD is drawn forth by a be­lieving View of GOD, his most amiable Perfections and Attributes, as these are manifested in his Works, his Word, and the Person of our Lord JESUS CHRIST.

THERE is no Desire of, or Love to that which is unknown. We must therefore be renewed after the Image of GOD in Knowledge, Righteousness and Holiness: And as there must be a Likeness to GOD in his imitable Perfections inwrought into the Soul as a Principle of Union, without this the most excellent and glorious Being cannot be agreeable and pleasing to us; so there must be a spiritual Sight of this glori­ous Object to draw forth the actings of Love. Faith, which is the Evidence of Things not seen, worketh by Love, Gal. 5.6. When the Eyes of the Under­standing are enlightned, and we can say, Mine Eye seeth thee; we shall not only abhor our selves for our most unnatural Rebellion against our heavenly Father, but also return to our Duty in filial Love. Moses by Faith saw him who is invisible, and then refus'd to be call'd the Son of Pharaoh's Daughter; Esteeming [Page 12] the Reproach of CHRIST greater Riches than the Trea­sures of Egypt. Agreeably the Apostle prays for the Christian Philippians, as Chap. 1.9, 10. And this I pray, that your Love may abound yet more and more in Knowledge, and in all Judgment; that ye may approve Things that are excellent. He that truly loveth GOD hath a saving Discovery of his infinite Excellency, a believing Sight of his Glory as revealed in his Word and Works, and in the Person of our Lord JESUS CHRIST. The Heathen had some general Notions of GOD's Perfections, those of them which are made known in the Works of Creation and common Provi­dence; and accordingly they stiled their Jupiter the best and the greatest. But alas! notwithstanding this, when they knew GOD, they glorified him not as GOD, neither were thankful, but became vain in their Imagina­tions, and their foolish Heart was darkned. And changed the Glory of the uncorruptible GOD, into an Image made like to corruptible Man, and to Birds, and four-footed Beasts, and creeping Things, Rom. 1.21,—23. The Light of Nature is not sufficient to direct our Hearts into the Love of GOD. We must by Faith receive the Witness which GOD's Works together with his Word give concerning him, or our Hearts will ne­ver be drawn forth towards him in this holy Love. Through Faith we understand that the Worlds were framed by the Word of GOD, so that Things which are seen were not made of Things which do appear, Heb. 11.3. There was no pre-existent Matter when GOD began to create the World; but all Things were made of Nothing by the Word of GOD's Power. Accordingly, when the Believer lifts up his Eyes to the Heavens which declare the Glory of GOD, or [Page 13] looks to the Earth which is full of his Goodness; he admiring says, How excellent is thy Name in all the Earth! Thy Glory is above the Heavens. But GOD hath magnified his Word above all his Name upon the Account of the Discoveries which he has been pleased herein to make of himself, and the only Way of Salvation by a Redeemer. The Way of the Sin­ner's Recovery by CHRIST could not be known 'till it pleased GOD to reveal it. In this Revelation GOD passeth before us, and proclaims, The LORD, The LORD GOD, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in Goodness and Truth, keeping Mercy for Thousands, forgiving Iniquity, and Transgression, and Sin, Exod. 34.6, 7. Herein GOD gives the Light of the Knowledge of himself in the Person of CHRIST, who is the Brightness of the Father's Glory. Here the Perfections of GOD, which are infinitely excel­lent, appear most amiable unto us, when we behold them in CHRIST God-Man Mediator, conspiring to promote the Salvation of lost, miserable Man. And now the Believer, adoring says, How great is his Goodness! How great is his Beauty! It was the Say­ing of One, I would not have an absolute GOD, that is, a GOD out of CHRIST. Out of CHRIST GOD is a consuming Fire to Sinners; and if we thus con­sider him, we may well fly from him with that de­spairing Cry, Who among us shall dwell with the de­vouring Fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlast­ing Burnings? Accordingly, our first Parents, when they had lost GOD's Image, and expos'd themselves to his Wrath and Curse by their Transgression, hid themselves from the Presence of the LORD, afraid to see his Face as a righteous Judge and Avenger of [Page 14] Sin. But now in CHRIST we behold GOD recon­ciling Sinners to himself, and may say with the Apo­stle John, GOD is Love. What higher Testimony could be given than this, the Father's so loving us as to give his Son to take our Nature, and die for us? The Believer feels the Power of it constraining him to love GOD with mutual Affection. And still the Love of GOD is further shed abroad in his Heart, when he can with the Assurance of Faith say concern­ing his GOD and Saviour, He has loved me, and given himself for me. Propriety in any desireable Object, much more in One infinitely worthy our highest Love, is very endearing. How transporting must it be to say, He is altogether lovely; This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend? Surely such an one must be constrain'd to say with Peter, Lord, thou knowest all Things, Thou knowest that I love thee.

II. I shall endeavour further to explain this Duty, by considering what is intended in loving GOD with all the Heart, with all the Soul, and with all the Mind.

BEFORE I speak particularly to this Head, I would observe to you, that this Duty of Love is here so fully express'd, that our Love to GOD must be com­pleated in sinless Perfection, before we can keep this great Command according to the full Extent of these Words. While we are in this imperfect State, there will be some sinful Defect in our Love to GOD, and some criminal Excess in our Love to the Creature. However in a qualified Sense, as Sincerity is called Perfection, every one that loveth GOD truly, may be said to love him with all the Heart,— By Heart [Page 15] as here used, some understand the Will: We must choose GOD with our whole Heart. By Soul, some understand the Affection. By Mind, the Understand­ing, which is the leading Faculty. In Mark we read, with all the Understanding, as the Command is re­peated, ch. 12. v. 33. In Deuteronomy, where this Command is mentioned, Mind is omitted, and Might is added. In Mark, with all thy Strength is added, ch. 12. v. 30. But we need not be critical in exa­mining the particular Sense of each Expression; take them together, they may imply such Things as these following.

1. WE must love GOD with Sincerity, in Opposi­tion to hypocritical Pretences. My little Children, let us not love in Word, neither in Tongue, but in Deed and in Truth, 1 Joh. [...] 18.

OUR Love to GOD must be hearty, and in this Respect we must worship him in Spirit and in Truth. Behold, thou desirest Truth in the inward Parts, Psal. 5 [...] The inward Motions and Affections of the Heart must agree with our outward Expressions of Love. We must take heed we be not like them, Ezek. 33.31. They come unto thee as the People co­meth, and they sit before thee as my People, and they bear thy Words, but they will not do them: For with their Mouth they shew much Love, but their Heart go­eth after their Covetousness. GOD searcheth, and re­quireth the Heart. My Son, give me thine Heart, Prov. 23.26. And we highly dishonour and pro­voke him, if we lie to the Lord in our outward Pro­fession; and we may depend upon it the holy GOD will reject us with Abhorrence, and give us our Por­tion with Hypocrites, except we repent. The End of [Page 16] the Commandment is Charity, out of a pure Heart, and of a good Conscience, and of Faith unfeigned, 1 Tim. 1.5.

2. THERE must be Integrity, in Opposition to a divided Heart.

WE must take Care we be not of double Heart. There must not be an Heart for GOD, and an Heart for the World too; for our Saviour assureth us, No Man can serve two Masters: For either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve GOD and Mammon, Matth. 6.24. We must choose and love GOD with a perfect Heart; we must cleave to him wholly, and have our Hearts united in his Love, as well as in his Fear. We must give the LORD our whole Souls, and not willingly withhold any Thing from him. Every Power must be devoted to GOD's Service, and the Dominion of every Lust taken away. We must have Respect to all GOD's Com­mandments from Love to him, and hate every false Way. If there be any Idol retain'd, the Love of GOD doth not reign in us. Their Heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty, Hos. 10.2. The in­finitely glorious Jehovah will bear no Rival.

3. OUR Love to GOD must exceed all our other Love.

WE must esteem him most excellent, and our Love to him must be superlative. If any Man come to me, and hate not his Father, and Mother, and Wife, and Children, and Brethren, and Sisters, yea, and his own Life also, he cannot be my Disciple, Luk. 14.26. Not as if Christians might be without natural Affec­tion. By no means; but then so far as our nearest [Page 17] and dearest Enjoyments would tempt us to turn from the blessed GOD; so far must we treat them as evil, and not count our very Lives dear when they stand in Competition with the Glory and Enjoyment of GOD. Unless we love GOD above the Creature, and are in some true Measure willing to forsake all for him; our Love is not genuine. All the Good­ness of the Creature compar'd with the Goodness of GOD, is not so much as a Spark to the Sun, or a Drop to the Ocean. Finite bears no Proportion to Infinite. Accordingly our Love to GOD must excel. We ought to love nothing but in Subordination to GOD; for his sake, and according to the Rule and Measure of his Will declared in his Word. The Apostle Paul suffered the Loss of all Things, and counted them but Dung that he might win CHRIST. However, this doth not suppose that every true Chri­stian is in a next Preparation to suffer Martyrdom for JESUS CHRIST. There may be a willing Mind, and some true Measure of Love, where there is not present Courage and Resolution thus to suffer for CHRIST. The Spirit indeed is willing, but the Flesh is weak, Matth. 26.41. But then, GOD's People may not satisfy themselves with the lowest Degree of that Love which is true for kind. No! They must la­bour to grow in this Grace, and so to be going on towards Perfection.

4. WE must love GOD with the Strength of our Hearts; with a strong and ardent Love, in Opposition to that which is languid and weak.

WE must labour after that Love which is stronger than Death, and burns like the Fire which hath a most vehement Flame. Our Love to GOD should [Page 18] be intense and active. In this Respect we should en­deavour to resemble the holy Angels, who are as Flames of Fire for the Fervour and Activity of their Love; and are accordingly called Seraphim, burners Isa. 6.2. We must burn in Love to GOD, and holy Zeal against Sin; so as to be not slothful in his Business, fervent in Spirit serving the LORD; doing, his Will on Earth in some Measure as the Angels do it in Heaven.

5. OUR Love to GOD must be intelligent.

WE must have right Thoughts and spiritual Ap­prehensions of GOD leading and directing the other Faculties. It must be with the Understanding. We must frequently think of GOD, and our Meditation of him should be sweet unto us. One Character of the Wicked is that, GOD is not in all their Thoughts, Psal. 10.4. We should then muse till the Fire burn, and often warm our Hearts with serious Tho'ts of the blessed GOD, his glorious Perfections, and wonderful Works. When the Psalmist had been me­ditating of the Goodness of the LORD in his won­derful Works to the Children of Men, he closeth the Psalm with these Words, Whoso is wise, and will ob­serve those Things, even they shall understand the loving kindness of the LORD, Psal. 107.43. The more we see of the Creature, the more we see its Vanity and Emptiness; but the more we follow on to know the LORD, the more shall we see of his divine Ex­cellency and Glory to increase our Esteem and Love. But I forbear, and shall only further say in a Word: We should with all the Powers of Soul and Body ex­press our Love to GOD, devoting our selves wholly to him, employing all our Abilities in his Service, [Page 19] and doing his Commandments with all our Might. I can't dismiss this second Head without this Reflecti­on, How far short do we fall of our Duty! Surely this Commandment is exceeding broad. Which brings me to the third and last Head.

III. WHICH is to shew, that This is the first and great Commandment.

THAT this is GOD's Command, is plain from the Old and New Testament. Hear, O lsrael, The LORD our GOD is one LORD. And thou shalt love the LORD thy GOD with all thine Heart, and with all thy Soul, and with all thy Might, Deut. 6.5, 6. But it would be to light a Candle in the Sun, to go about to prove that this is GOD's Commandment. We therefore proceed to shew that it deserveth the Character here given; the first and great Commandment.

THE Love of GOD is the first Commandment in Order and Dignity. In Order of Nature, says a worthy Divine, because the Love of our Neighbour flows from our Love of GOD: And also in Dignity, says another, because it commands us Things con­cerning GOD. And the great Command. That is, says BEZA, "The greatest of All; for otherwise, as he also observeth, there is nothing small which GOD commands." Here to confirm and illustrate this last Head, I would say more particularly.

1. THE Love of GOD may fitly be called the first and great Command with respect to the Object of it, the infinitely great and good GOD, the first Cause, and last End of all Things.

BEHOLD, GOD is great. Behold, the Nations are as Drop of a Bucket, and are counted as the small [Page 20] Dust of the Balance: Behold, he taketh up the Isles as a very little thing. All Nations before him are as No­thing, and they are counted to him less than Nothing, and Vanity, Isa. 40.15,—17. A few Years past, so may we speak when meditating on the Eternal GOD, there was no Creature existing; only this self-existent, self-sufficient Being, whose Name is JEHO­VAH, from Everlasting to Everlasting. And now let the Universe stand in Comparison with Him, and it shrinks into Nothing before Him, the infinite GOD. But we are Babes: Let the Angels then declare how great and good the LORD is. Behold, They also stand amazed in awful Silence before him, covering their Faces. The Tongues of Angels fail, and our most enlarged Thoughts are swallowed up. How great then is this Command objectively considered. Surely it challengeth the first and chief Place.

2. THIS will further appear if we consider the Relations which GOD bears to his People.

THAT GOD, who is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; is the Creator, Redeemer and Sancti­fier of his People. He is the Father of our Spirits, and Former of our Bodies. We were nothing 'till GOD gave us our Being, and that this excellent Be­ing; and when we were worse than Nothing by our Apostacy from GOD, it pleased the Father of Glory to fond his Son to redeem us. When GOD deliver'd the Ten Commandments to his ancient People, we have that Preface to them, I am the LORD thy GOD, which have brought thee out of the Land of Egypt, out of the House of Bondage, Exod. 20.2. This was in­deed a strong Obligation upon them to love GOD, and keep his Commandments; but it is as nothing if [Page 21] compar'd with GOD's sending his Son to take our Nature, and give his Life a Ransom for us; and then with his sending the Holy Spirit to apply the Benefit of this Eternal Redemption to us. What are our natural Parents, or spiritual Fathers in CHRIST, but Instruments of conveying to us the Goodness of GOD? Surely then the Love of GOD must stand as the first and chief Commandment.

3. THE Love of GOD is the first and great Com­mandment, as it comprehends the Sum of the four first Commandments.

WE commonly call these the first Table; tho' we do not certainly know how many Commandments were written on the first, and how many on the se­cond of the two Tables delivered to Moses by GOD. However, it is plain these stand foremost as they con­cern our Duty to GOD. And these great Matters of GOD's Law are all sum'd up in this comprehen­sive Command, Thou shalt love the LORD thy GOD with all thy Heart. Doth GOD require us to serve him only; with religious Worship, and that in the Ways of his own Appointment? Doth he require us to worship him with Reverence and godly Fear, and to beware of taking his Name in vain? Doth he re­quire us to sanctify his Day by separating our selves from worldly Cares and Business, and Pleasures; and by devoting that holy Time to religious Exercises? In these Commands GOD has written to us the great Things of his Law, and all is comprehended in this of Love. Well then may it be call'd the first and great Commandment.

4. THIS is in a Sense, the End and Perfection of other Commandments. This may be said of Love in [Page 22] general, and in an especial Manner of this Love of GOD. The End of the Commandment is Charity, 1 Tim. 1.5. This is what GOD designs in the Du­ties he requireth of us, even to perfect his Love in us. And this is what we ought very much to aim at in our Attendance on religious Duties, the Exercise and increase of Love. This is one great End of the In­stitution of the Gospel-Ministry, that the Body of CHRIST, his Church may be edified in Love. The most excellent Gifts without this, are as nothing in GOD's Account, and the most costly Performances, the giving our Goods to feed the Poor, and our Bo­dies to be burned, profit not without this Love, which is very much the animating Life and Soul of true Obedience, 1 Cor. 13.1, 2. But where there is true Love to GOD in Exercise, a willing Mind is accepted according to what a Man hath, and the giving a Cup of cold Water shall not lose its Reward.

5. This Love shall never fail. 1 Cor. 13.8. And upon this Account especially Love is said to be grea­ter than Faith and Hope. 13 v. And now abideth Faith, Hope, Charity, these three; but the greatest of these is Charity. Not as if Faith and Hope would absolutely fail, and cease as to their Existence. We are requir'd to trust in the LORD for ever. But then Faith and Hope, those excellent Graces, may be said to fail respecting some principal Office or Exercise in which they are of eminent Usefulness in the present Life; Faith, as it is the Evidence of Things not seen, will cease, when we shall walk by Sight. Faith, as it is a Shield to defend us from the fiery Darts of the Wicked, shall not be used, when our Warfare is ac­complished. We are now commanded, above all to [Page 23] take the Shield of Faith. But there will be no further Need of it or Use for it under this Character, when the Believer shall triumph for ever in Heaven; for the old Serpent can't enter the heavenly Paradise to tempt GOD's People. But now when Faith shall as it were be swallowed up in the open Vision of GOD, and Hope in the full Enjoyment of him; then shall Love, be perfected for ever respecting its highest Of­fice. Then there will be the highest Exercise of Love in Delight and Joy. The Mansions of Glory are the happy Places in which Knowledge and Love are for ever compleated; and yet, the Object being infinite, I can't see why they may not continue to grow and increase to all Eternity. O divine Life! To have the highest Actings of Love on an infinitely glorious Object most intimately present, and most fully manifesting his Love to us. O Joy unspeaka­ble, and full of Glory! Surely our perfect Confor­mity to GOD's Will in this great Matter of his Law, is our highest Perfection and Blessedness. In keeping this Commandment there's a great Reward. When the glorified Saint loveth the LORD with all his Heart, and Mind, and Strength; he reacheth the Cen­tre of all true Desire and Perfection, and finds Rest in the full Enjoyment of GOD to all Eternity.

AND thus have I considered a few Things to shew the greatness of this Command; I now proceed to the