will, but to do. Study the Scriptures regularly and devoutly; for the holy men of old who wrote them, wrote as they were moved by the Holy Ghoft. Be diligent, be fincerely pious, in attendance on all the outward ordinances of religion; for through them the Holy Ghoft difpenfes his grace. Receive with a willing mind the instructions, public or private, of the minifters of the Gospel; for, at the peril of their own fouls, they are to feed and to watch over the flock, over which the Holy Ghoft has made them overfeers:

Lastly: Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God (t), by returning to fins which you have forfaken; or by allowing yourself to proceed in any new course of iniquity. Knowingly to continue in any habit of tranfgreffion is to forfake the Holy Ghost. It is not only to refuse to obey the influence of the good Spirit of God: it is to follow the guidance of the evil spirit, the adversary of God, the devil. It is to provoke the Holy Ghost to depart from you; to caft you off; to abandon you to yourself, and to the dominion of the powers of darkness. Keep then your heart diligently, that neither wrath, nor envy, nor hatred, nor impurity, nor covetousness, nor deceit, nor difcontent, nor pride, nor worldly (c) Ephef. iv. 30.

anxiousness,

anxiousness, nor any other unchriftian dispofition, may harbour there. Review from

time to time your outward conduct, that you may discover whether you are indulging any practice unbecoming a fervant of the Lord Jefus. Endeavour day by day to grow in grace; to gain more and more the maftery, through the Holy Spirit, over your remaining corruption. Then will he preferve you under his care. He will advance you in spiritual understanding, in spiritual strength, in faving faith, in moral attainments. He will make you more and more meet to be a partaker of the inheritance of the faints in light, and will feal you unto the day of redemption.

SER.

1213

1961

SERMON VI.

3

The Love of GOD with the whole HEART an INDUCEMENT to ftrict MORALITY.

MATTHEW, Xxii. 37.

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart, and with all thy Soul, and with all thy Mind.

IN the time of our Saviour's ministry, many of the Jews appear to have imagined that fome of the commandments of God were in their nature of much higher excellence than others: that the obfervance of thefe was of much greater confequence, was much more acceptable, than the obfervance of others: nay, fo important, fo acceptable, that ftrict obedience even to one of these principal commandments would excufe the neglect of the remainder, and prove fufficient for the attainment of falvation. A teacher of the Jewish law, whose attention

had

had been raised by the wisdom of our Lord's discourses, partly from a defire to prove the depth of that wisdom, and partly for his own inftruction, propofed this question: Mafter, which is the great commandment in the law? As though he had faid; Upon this point, "our eminent Rabbis are not agreed. Some are of opinion, that the commandments " which relate to the offering of facrifices are entitled to the highest rank. Others give this honour to other command

ments. What fayeft thou? Which "commandment doft thou confider as the "chief of all the commandments?" Our Saviour, referring him to the words of Mofes, which, if well confidered, might have prevented the enquiry (a), replied; Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy foul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.

If this be the first and great commandment, to understand it, and to obey it, must be of the first and greatest consequence. For this purpose then let us humbly enquire into its meaning.

I. Confider who it is, whom the commandment requires us to love. It is the

Lord our God. It is the great and glorious Jehovah, who inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy. Why are we to love Him? We are to love Him, because he is beyond expreffion worthy of our love. He poffeffes, in unbounded perfection, every quality which is deferving of love. His goodness is infinite. His truth is unchangeable. His mercy mercy is over all His works. We are to love Him, because He first loved us (b). He created us ; created us of His own free will; created us that we might be happy; that we might be happy for ever; that we might be for ever happy to fuch a degree as the mind of man is not at present able to conceive. In Him we live and move and have our being. He fupports, by his protecting care, the existence which he gave. He upholds us, and all things, by the word of His power. He is always prefent with us, to guard us both from temporal and from spiritual evil. We are to love Him, because, having firft loved us, He forgiveth all our fins, and healeth all our iniquities. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveneffes, though we have rebelled against Him. He has fo loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whösoever believeth in Him fhould not perish, but (6) 1 John, iv. 19.

fhould