of praise, and glory, and honor, in that day of his appearing!

Ver. 8. Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory;

9. Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

Ir is a paradox to the world which the apostle hath asserted, that there is a joy which can subsist in the midst of sorrow; therefore he insists in confirmation of it, and in all these words proves it to the full, that the saints have not only some measure of joy in the griefs that abound upon them here, but excellent and eminent joy, such as makes good all that can be said of it, such as cannot be spoken too much of, for it is unspeakable, nor too much magnified, for it is full of glory.

To evidence the truth of this, and to confirm his brethren in the experienced knowledge of it, he expresses here more particularly and distinctly the causes of this their joy, which are, 1. the object or matter of it; 2. the apprehension and appropriation of that object: which two conjoined are the entire cause of all rejoicing.

1. The object is Jesus Christ, and the salvation purchased by him; for these two cannot be severed.

2. The apprehension of these is set forth, first, negatively, not by bodily sight; secondly, positively. Whereas it might seem to abate the certainty and liveliness of their rejoicing, that it is of things they had not seen nor do yet see, this is abundantly made up by three for one, each of them more excellent than the mere bodily sight of Christ in the flesh, which many had who were never the better by it: the three things are, those three prime Christian graces, faith, love, and hope; the two former in ver. 8, the third in ver. 9-faith in Christ begetting love to him, and both these giving assured hope of salvation by him, making it as certain to them, as if it were already in their hand and they in possession of it. And

from all these together results this exultation or leaping for joy, joy unspeakable and full of glory.

This is that one thing that so much concerns us; and therefore we mistake very far, and forget our own highest interest too much, when we either speak or hear of it slightly, and apply not our hearts to it. What is it that all our thoughts and endeavours drive at? What means all that we are doing in the world? Though we take several ways to it, and wrong ways for the most part, yea, such ways as lead not to it, but set us further off from it, yet what we all seek after, by all our labor under the sun, is something that may be matter of contentment and rejoicing to us when we have attained it. Now here it is, and in vain is it sought for elsewhere. And for this end it is represented to you, that it may be yours, if ye will entertain it; not only that you may know this to be a truth, that in Jesus Christ is laid up true consolation and rejoicing, that he is the magazine and treasury of it, but that you may know how to bring him home into your hearts, and lodge him there, and so to have the spring of joy within you.

That which gives full joy to the soul must be something that is higher and better than itself. In a word, he who made it can alone make it glad after this manner, with unspeakable and glorious joy. But the soul, while remaining guilty of rebellion against him, and unreconciled, cannot behold him but as an enemy. Any belief that it can have of him while it is in that posture, is not such as can fetch love, and hope, and so rejoicing, but what the faith of devils produceth, only begetting terror and trembling. But the light of his countenance shining in the face of his Sou the Mediator, gladdens the heart; and it is the looking upon him so, that causeth the soul to believe, and love, and hope, and rejoice. Therefore the apostle, in his description of the estate of the Gentiles before Christ was preached to them, Eph. ii, joins these together; Without Christ-that was the cause of all the rest, therefore without comfort in the promises, without hope, and without God in the world.

Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing. The Apostle writing to the

dispersed Jews, many of whom had not known nor seen Christ in the flesh, commends their love and faith for this reason, that it did not depend upon bodily sight, but was pure, and spiritual, and made them of the number of those whom our Saviour himself pronounces blessed, who have not seen, and yet believe.

Ye love. The soul that believes, cannot choose but love. It is commonly true, that the eye is the ordinary door by which love enters into the soul, and it is true in respect of this love. Though it is denied of the eye of sense, yet it is ascribed to the eye of faith-though you have not seen him, you love him, because you believe; which is to see him spiritually. Faith indeed is distinguished from that vision which shall be in glory; but it is the vision of the kingdom of grace, it is the eye of the new creature, that quick-sighted eye which pierces all the visible heavens, and sees above them; which looks to things that are not seen, and is the evidence of things not seen, and sees him who is invisible. It is possible that a person may be much beloved upon the report of his worth and virtues, and upon a picture of him lively drawn, before sight of the party so commended and represented; but certainly when he is seen and found answerable to the former, it raises the affection already begun to a far greater height. We have the report of the perfections of Jesus Christ in the gospel, yea, so clear a description of him, that it gives a picture of him, and that, together with the sacraments, is the only lawful, and the only lively picture of our Saviour. Now faith believes this report, and beholds this picture, and so lets in the love of Christ to the soul. But it gives further a particular experimental knowledge of Christ and acquaintance with him. It causes the soul to find all that is spoken of him in the word, and his beauty there represented to be abundantly true; makes it really taste of his sweetness, and by that possesses the heart more strongly with his love, persuading it of the truth of those things, not by reasons and arguments, but by an inexpressible kind of evidence, which they only know who have it. Faith persuades a Christian of these two things, which the philosopher gives

as the causes of all love, beauty and propriety, the loveliness of Christ in himself and our interest in him.

The distinctions which some make in love need not be taken as importing differing kinds, but different actings of the same love, by which we may try our pretended love of Christ. There will then be in this love, if it be genuine, these three qualities, good-will, delight, and desire.

1. Good-will, earnest wishing and, as we can, promot. ing God's glory, and stirring up others so to do. They who seek more their own things than the things of Jesus Christ, more their own praise and esteem than his, are strangers to this divine love; for she seeks not her own things. The bitter root of self-love is most hard to pluck up this strongest and sweetest love of Christ alone doth it actually though gradually. It loves the hardest tasks and greatest difficulties, in which it may perform God service, either in doing or in suffering for him. It is strong as death, and many waters cannot quench it.

2. There is in true love, a complacency and delight in God; a conformity to his will; a loving what he loves. It is studious of his will, ever seeking to know more clearly what it is that is most pleasing to him, contracting a likeness to God in all his actions by conversing with him, by frequent contemplation of God, and looking on his beauty. Thus the soul possessed with this love of Jesus Christ, the soul which bath its eye much upon him, often thinking on his former sufferings and present glory, the more it looks upon Christ, the more it loves; and still the more it loves, the more it delights to look upon him.

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3. There is in true love a desire; for it is but small beginnings and tastes of his goodness which the soul hath here; therefore it is still looking out and longing for the day of marriage. The time is sad and wearisome, and seems much longer than it is, while it is detained here. I desire to be dissolved, saith St. Paul, and to be with Christ.

And this love is the sum of all that God requires of us. It is that which makes all our meanest services accepta

ble, and without which all we offer to him is distasteful. God doth deserve our love not only by his matchless excellency and beauty, but by his matchless love to us, and that is the strongest loadstone of love. He hath loved me, saith the apostle. How appears that? In no less than this, He hath given himself for me. Certainly then there is no clearer character of our love than this, to give ourselves to him who hath so loved us and given himself for us.

This affection must be bestowed somewhere. There is no man but hath some prime choice, something that is the predominant delight of his soul; will it not then be our wisdom to make the worthiest choice? Seeing it is offered us, it is extreme folly to reject it.

Grace doth not pluck up by the roots and wholly destroy the natural passions of the mind, because they are distempered by sin. That were an extreme remedy, to cure by killing and heal by cutting off. No; but it corrects the distemper in them. It dries not up this main stream of love, but purifies it from the mud which it is full of in its wrong course, or turns it into its right channel, by which it may run into happiness and empty itself into the ocean of goodness. The Holy Spirit turns the love of the soul towards God in Christ, for in that way only can it apprehend his love: so then Jesus Christ is the first object of this divine love; he is the medium through whom God conveys the sense of his love to the soul, and receives back its love to himself.

Many directions as to the means of begetting and increasing this love of Christ may be here offered, and they who delight in number may multiply them; but surely this one will comprehend the greatest and best part, if not all of them-believe, and you shall love; believe much, and you shall love much. Labor for strong and deep persuasions of the glorious things which are spoken of Christ, and this will command love. Certainly did men indeed believe his worth, they would accordingly love him; for the reasonable creature cannot but affect that most which it firmly believes to be worthiest of affection. O this mischievous unbelief is that which makes the heart cold and dead towards God! Seek then