6. Let us all be induced to love God with all our heart, with all our foul, with all our ftrength, and with all our mind; efteeming and preferring him above all other things, acquifitions, poffeffions, and enjoyments; giving him the chief room in our hearts, delighting and refting in him as our chief good and upmaking portion; defiring to be more and more acquainted with him, and ardently longing to have copious manifeftations of his love and grace made to ourfelves; and in a fincere respect to all his laws, ftatutes, and precepts. And let us be ready to part with all we have, all our enjoyments and poffeffions, however valuable and dear they may be to us, at the Lord's call and command, whenever we can keep them no longer in a confiftency with our love to God and his caufe. We muft forfake all to follow Chrift; and lay down our life rather than not love the Lord our God.

I now proceed to confider the second part of the text and doctrine, viz.

II. The fum of the fecond table of the law is love to our neighbour.

In difcourfing from this point, I fhall fhew,

1. Who is our neighbour,

2. What is that love we owe to our neighbour. 3. How we are to love our neighbour,

4. Lafly, Apply the point.

First, I am to thew who is our neighbour. Every man is our neighbour, known or unknown, friend or foe, good or bad, Luke x, 29. 37. This neighbourhood is founded on two things, especially, 1. That common relation that is among all as branches of one ftock, having one common nature, Acts xvii. 26. g. The common capacity of all to enjoy the fame God, and to meet in him; all men being capable of that happiness, becaufe of their immortal fouls capable of enjoying an infinite good. Hence fee,

1. How the hatred of evil men and love to them

may be reconciled; Pfal. cxxxix. 21. Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? and am not 1. grieved with those that rise up against thee? Compare the text, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. We have the common grounds aforementioned whereon to love all men; but forafmuch as fin is a depravation of that common nature, and the only thing that mars mens enjoyment of God, we hate their fins, though we love their perfons; as we hate the moth, because we love the garment. Hatred to mens perfons, whoever' or whatever they be, is inconfiftent with this command that enjoins the love of our neighbour as well as the love of God. But to hate and abhor their fins and evil deeds, is quite confiftent with love to their perfons. And agreeably to this David's, hatred to thofe who hated God, ultimately terminated on their fins, and not their persons.

2. We fee here a ground whereon we ought to love our enemies. Their common nature with us, and their common capacity of happinefs with us in the enjoyment of God, remains, though they do evil to us; and therefore we are bid pray for them, Matth. v. 44Love your enemies, bless them that curfe you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which defpitefully ufe you and perfecute you *.

Secondly, I fhall fhew what is that love we owe to our neighbour. In it there is,

1. A due esteem of him, 1 Pet. ii. 17. Love the brotherhood. There are no perfons but who have some thing for which they are to be efteemed. Some have grace, all have gifts natural or moral in greater or leffer meafure, which are from God, Jam. i. 17. None want precious fouls, that are of more worth and value, than the world. And the pearl must be esteemed precious, though in a dunghill.

2. Benevolence or good-will to them, Luke vi. 31.

* This fabject of loving our enemies may be feen well handled in a collection of this au hor's fermons, lately published, entitled, The diftinguishing characters of true believers, p. 248. 274.

As ye would that men should do to you, do ye alfo to them likewife. We are heartily to defire their welfare for time and for eternity, to wish them the best things. This good affection we are to bear to all. And this brings in with it a forrow for the evil that befals them, and joy in their good and profperity.

3. Beneficence, doing them what good we can, do ing to them as we would be done to, Matth. vii. 12. Gal. vi. 10. We are not born for ourselves, but for God and our neighbour; and therefore we should lay out ourselves to be ufeful in the world, and to ad vance the good of mankind, so far as we are capable.

4. Complacency or delight in them, fo far as any good thing appears in them, 1 Pet. ii. 17. Honour all теп. This doth in a fpecial manner belong to the faints, thofe excellent ones, in whom should be all our delight, Pfal. xvi. 3. Yet a delight in the good gifts of God in any man, and their amiable qualities and difpofitions, is our duty.

Thirdly, I fhall fhew how we are to love our neighbour; As ourselves, fays the text. Here two things are to be noticed.

1. That there is an allowable felf-love, a love that we may and ought to bear to ourselves; for that is the rule of love to our neighbour. We are to love our own bodies, by all lawful means to fee to their welfare. For, fays the apoftle, Eph. v. 29. no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherifbeth it. And we are to love our own fouls, by all means to endeavour their falvation, and to beware of all that may obftruct it. For fays Wifdom, Prov. viii. 36. He that finneth against me, wrongeth his own foul. We are to love ourfelves in God and for God; for he, and not man's felf, is his chief end. This becomes finful felf-love when it does .ot remain in due fubordination to the love of God, or destroys love to our neighbour.

2. In what fenfe we are to love our neighbour as ourfelves? This hath a refpect both to the matter and

to the manner: As to the matter, this likeness lies chiefly in three things.

(1.) That we neither wish evil nor do evil to our neighbour, more than to ourselves. (2.) That we with all good to our neighbour as to ourfelves, and be ready to do all we can to procure and further it. (3.) That we defire these things to our neighbour, out of a true respect to him and his advantage, not our own.

As to the manner, (1.) We must love our neighbour as truly and really as we love ourselves. No man feigns a love to himself; fo muft our love to others be unfeigned, not like the devouring lips and the wicked heart.

(2.) Earneftly, as we love ourselves without coldness and remiffness, Matth. xxiv. 12. This is a fire that fhould never flacken, but burn intenfely.

(3.) Conftantly, without changing. Though they be not fo favourable to us at all times, yet we are still to love them as ourselves. Our love to them must not be fufpended on their love to us, and the effects of it: but it must glow to them, even though we meet with ungrateful returns.

Fourthly, I fhall now draw fome inferences from this point, the loving of our neighbour as ourselves. Inf. 1. Great need have we to have our felf-love rectified. For as when the rule is wrong, nothing can be right that is regulated by it; fo when our love to ourselves is wrong, we cannot rightly love our neighbour. This is the love of companions in fin, who involve themselves and one another in one common ruin.

2. All the commands of the second table have respect to ourselves in the first place as our nearest neighbour. Thus, Thou shalt not kill; that is, Thou shalt not kill thyfelf nor thy neighbour. So the duties of religion are reduced to these three, to live foberly, righteously, and godly, Tit. ii. 12.

3. Hatred of our neighbour is an univerfal fin against the commands of the fecond table; as love to VOL. II.

3 F

our neighbour is the chief, comprehenfive, and univerfal duty of the fecond table, to is the hatred of our neighbour, the chief, comprehenfive, and univerfal fin against that table.

4. Several perfons are reproveable here.

(1.) Those that in effect do not love themselves, but go on in finful courfes, ruining to their bodies, and ruining to their fouls; who treat themselves as the worst of enemies. Men muft anfwer to God for this; for their fouls and their bodies are not their own, but the Lord's.

(2.) Those that love themselves only, and not their neighbours; who value not how it be with others, if it go well with themselves; and can comfortably build up themselves on the ruins of others. All seek their own things. This is a moft bafe and felfifh difpofi tion, deftructive of fociety, and very offenfive to God.

(3) Thofe that love fome of their neighbours, but not all. One will fay, Such an one is my enemy; be it fo; but yet love to him is law; and his enmity a gainst you cannot diffolve the obligation of the law of God to love him. Love him that he may be thy friend; love him, but not his faults. The more need he has of thy love, that he may be reclaimed; as we run to the phyfician for love to the man, not to his difeafe. The loving and fhewing love to one that is our enemy, is the faireft and readieft way to reclaim and gain him. If any thing will do it, this is the most feasible means.

(4.) Thofe that love in word, but hate in heart; that love like Joab and Judas: they will fpeak fair to a man's face, but would cut his throat behind his back. Such a practice is abominable hypocrify, odious to God, and naufeous to every honeft man.

(5.) Thofe that pretend to love their neighbour, but their love is fruitless; their neighbour is never the better of it. They fay they love fuch a one; but they never give him good counfel, though he stands