would be so efficacious, were it poured forth; truly it cannot but be matter of very sad reflection, that the thing should not be done; that there should be so great, so dreadful a restraint of this blessed Spirit in our time and age, as we have cause to observe and complain of. It is matter of sad reflection, if you consider, what as an effect, it carries the signification of; and also what farther mournful effects it carries a presignification of, as a cause. Consider, first, what an evil it carries in it the signification of, as an effect. The principle of such a restraint must needs be a very great degree of divine displeasure. It is the highest expression of such displeasure, that we can think of, and the most dreadful piece of vengeance, when God saith; Now because men have offended me at so high a rate, I will take away my Spirit from them. This was the act of vengeance, wherewith he punished the provocations of the old world, when the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and the imagination of his heart was all evil, and that continually: "Well!" saith he, "My Spirit shall no more strive with man, (Gen. 6. 3, 5.) I have done, my Spirit shall strive no more." It signifies the displeasure to be so much the greater,by how much the easier such a happy work as this might be wrought and brought about amongst us: it is no more but to let his Spirit breathe; and all our troubles, and all the causes of them must vanish at once: no, but saith God, "My Spirit shall not breathe, shall not strive." The event speaks the determination and purpose: it doth not breathe or strive are we so stupid as not to observe that? is there that Spirit of love, of prayer and supplication stirring, as hath been wont it is very terrible to think, that there should be such a restraint of that blessed Spirit, upon account of the signification made by it of divine displeasure. Consider, secondly, the presignification it also carries with it of most dreadful effects to ensue, when in displeasure his Spirit retires and is gone. The not pouring forth of the Spirit signifies, that wrath must be poured forth. When the Spirit is restrained, wrath shall not be restrained long. The pouring forth of the Spirit and of wrath do, as it were, keep turns; there is an alternation between them. When the Spirit is not poured forth, then there is blindness, hardness, an eye that cannot see, an ear that cannot hear, and a heart that cannot understand; as you have them joined in Isaiah 6. 10. And how long must this continue? Lord, how long? saith the prophet there, ver. 11. it follows, "Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man." That is the answer given. And therefore methinks we should be all in a kind of trembling expectation, while the matter is so manifest, that this blessed Spirit is under restraint. What doth it signify, but a purpose and determination of the offended majesty of the blessed God? "Let the lusts of men have their swing, let them rend and tear one another by the violent agitations and hurries of their own furious lusts." He hides his face all the while. I will hide my face, saith he, I will see what their end shall be, Deut. 32. 20. It is not difficult to apprehend, what will come of them, when once I give them up and leave them to themselves: then there need no other hands to be armed against them.but their own; they will soon be self-destroyers: each man would be so to himself, if given up to the furious hurry and impetus of indwelling lust. Certainly we have reason to conclude, that this age hath highly displeased the Lord, that his Spirit is so much withdrawn, that could so easily work a cure but yet he will not, he thinks fit to express resentment by holding under restraint that Spirit, that could rectify and set all right, and make us a very happy people in a moment. SERMON X.* WE are yet speaking of the tendency of that radical princi ple of love to make an external happy state of things, which we are to expect the Spirit when poured forth to implant. We have spoken of love to God, and of regular self-love; and of the influence which these severally must have towards a prosperous state. [iii.] Consider what love to other men, as to themselves, would do in this matter. This supposes that second branch we have been insisting on, a due love to ourselves, as not only allowed but enjoined us; when it is made the measure of the love we are to bear and exercise toward other men: and therefore, as being a deeper and more fundamental law of nature, that must be supposed to be more excellent and noble in its own kind. Perfectessimum in suo genere est mensura reliquorum. But the Spirit, whose work and business it is to write the laws of God in the hearts of men, when he shall be poured forth, will write this also, that they love other men as they ought to love themselves: especially in the latter days, the times which our discourse refers to. Because so great a part of that law is wrapped up in this love; therefore it cannot but be that in those latter days, when God doth design to reform VOL. Preached September 4, 1679. and new mould things, the felicity and happy state of things shall be brought about very much by the mediation and interveniency of this love and the influence thereof. And because this love hath a most direct influence this way, I have designed the more to enlarge upon it; and shall speak of it according to that double reference, which our subject obliges us to consider; that is, its reference to God and his Spirit, as the author of it; and its reference unto a happy state of things, as that which is to be brought about by it-its reference upwards to God, and downwards to the world-which two considered together will amount to thus much; that by God's working of this love more generally amongst men, that happy and blessed issue, that we are speaking of, is to be accomplished. Consider we, first, its reference to God and to his Spirit: which we are necessarily to consider; otherwise the pouring forth of the Spirit would not include it. And it is requisite we should insist upon this, inasmuch as such love is too commonly meanly thought of it were well, if there were not cause to say, that too generally professors of religion at a higher and stricter rate had not too low an opinion of this love in the scripture-regulation of it, the loving of others as ourselves, the measure unto which it is to be adjusted. And true it is indeed, that they who know no more of this matter than only the mere sound of the words, they into whose heart the thing never entered, and with whom it never yet became a vital, living law will think it but a mean thing. It looks in such persons eyes, while it is only clothed with a verbal representation and no more, as a meanly habited person at their doors, whom they guess at only by his garb: and if such a one should have meanness objected to him only from thence, and the case will admit it; it is but a doing himself right to speak of his parentage, and tell how nobly he is descended. And so much are we to do on the behalf of this love, to let you know it is a heaven-born thing, descended of God, that owes itself to heaven it is of no lower and meaner extraction than so. Do not think I mean by it that common carnal love, which wicked men as such may bear one to another; which is a more mean and less innocent love, than that which birds and beasts have to those of their own kind: but I mean that love, whereby any are enabled to love men as men, and holy men as holy men, in God, and for God's sake, and upon his account. is a heavenly, divine thing, the product of the blessed, eternal Spirit of God alone. For evincing of that, weigh these several considerations, which the Scriptures do plainly and plentifully afford us. Namely, first, This That even this love is called the love of God. So it is most plainly in 1 John 3. 17. Whoso hath this world's goods, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his howels of compassion from him; how dwelleth the love of God in him? So noble and sublime a thing is not to be more meanly spoken of, it is to be called the love of God: no title inferior to that is suitable to it. Again, secondly, That God is called the God of this love. Live in peace, and the God of love and peace shall be with you, 2 Cor. 13. 11. And thirdly, It is also expressly said to be of God, and men upon the account of this love to be born of God. So in 1 John 4. 7, 8, Beloved, let us love one another; for love (this love plainly,) is of God; and every one that loveth, is born of God, and knoweth God; is acquainted with God, intimate and inward with God; as a man's own children would be with him, that are born of him, in whom his own nature is. Whereupon, on the other hand, they are spoken of as mere strangers to God, such as have nothing to do with him, nor he with them, that are destitute of this love. He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love. Again, fourthly, That it is plainly made a character of the elect of God, distinguishing and severing of them from the refuse world, Colos. 3. 12. Put on, as the elect of God, bowels of mercies, kindness, &c. Intimating plainly to us, that wheresoever God doth place his own love, there he doth impress and beget this love. Again, fifthly, It is placed amongst the fruits of the Spirit, and even in the front of them, Gal. 5. 22. The fruit of the Spirit is love; in opposition to the hatred, wrath, strife, &c. mentioned in the foregoing verses as the works of the flesh. And we are told in Eph. 5. 9. that the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, and righteousness and truth-in all goodness it is the proper work of the Spirit upon the spirits of men to fill them with goodness, propensions and inclinations to do good; and so to beget in them that love, which must be the spring of all such doing of good. Hence sixthly, Walking in the Spirit is directed with a special eye and reference unto the exercise of this love; as you may see in Gal. 5. the 14th, 15th, and 16th verses compared together. All the law is fulfilled in one word, (he means the whole law of the second table,) even in this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, (the opposite to this love, or that which follows upon the want of it, or from the opposite principle,) take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, (observe the inference,) Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. To walk in the Spirit is to walk in the exercise of this love. Seventhly, |