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ledge, love, and enjoyment of whom confifts the fulnefs of eternal happiness.

Some have imagined (and indeed it is a mere imagination) that the principal caufe of man's enmity to God was and ftill is, the apprehenfion of his being an avenger and engaged to punith him for his fin; which, because there was no hope of escape, filled his heart with hatred against his offended judge; and therefore they fuppofe that the natural way to cure men of this enmity is, to perfuade them to believe that God thro' Chrift, loves and will fave them. This well fuits the natural difpofition of carnal hearts; for even finners love thofe that love them, and from the fame principle, they hate those who punish them for their crimes, however juftly. Nothing is more eafy and natural -than for a corrupt, wicked heart, to feel its enmity rife against a governor and judge that punishes him for his crimes, though it is done according to law and juftice. The carnal heart, which prefers its own perfonal happiness and interefts above every other confideration, will most naturally, and without any force on itself, rife in hatred against any one who ftrikes at its happiness, however righteous and just he is in doing it. Yea,it is impoffible for fuch a depraved foul, while under the power of corruption, fo to fubmit to the punishment of his crimes, as heartily to approve the law and the judge that condemns him but it would be eafy for him to love the judge, if, contrary to the law, he should discharge him from deferved punishthent; and his love would be excited by these two motives, (1.) his own perfonal fafety, and (2.) a conformity of the character and temper of the judge to his own heart, discovered in his countenancing him in the violation of the law. It is in this fenfe only that an unholy, guilty finner can love God, viz. as a friend and benefactor, engaged to promote his happiness without regard to the holiness of the law and whenever any man conceives of God under this character,

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he will, from natural principles of felf love, be conftrained to love him. though wholly unrenewed, and void of all holy difpofitions. Therefore, there is not the leaft need of regeneration or a new creation to bring men to love God on this plan. All that is neceffary, in this cafe, is to perfuade them to believe that Chrift died for them, that God loves them and defigns to make them happy if they can be brought to this, (and their intereft will incline them to believe it, as we eafily believe what we with to be true) they will love fuch a God without any change of heart, because it is natural for finners to love thofe that love them and in proportion to the fenfe of danger and mifery arifing from the anger of God, will be their love and joy when they come to believe that God is their friend, and determines to fave them. But this love is not genuine ; it fprings from felf, and it natúrally returns to felf again. The devil accused Job for having fuch a love as this and if he had had no better, it would have all turned to drofs in the furnace. (Job i. 9, 10, 11.) Then Satan anfwered the Lord,and faid, Doth Job fear God for nought? Haft thou not made an hedge about him?-Thou haft bleffed the work of his hands, and his substance is increafed in the earth. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he bath, and he will curfe thee to thy face. But we find, in the sequel, that this accufation was falie: Job's love continued when every other comfort was gone. The Lord gave, ant the Lord hath taken away and bleffed be the name of the Lord.His heart ftill glowed with love to God, who appeared juft the fame, when his hand was heavy upon him, as in the time of his greatest profperity; and therefore his love fprang from nobler motives than felf. Doubtlefs there are many in the world of whom it may be faid with truth, that they ferve God for self; and when these are tried, they turn to drofs. They are like the ftonyground hearers, who though they receive the word with joy, yet when perfecutions come because of the

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word, they are foon offended, and their seeming love turns to hatred.

Is it not very abfurd to fuppofe that our native enmity to God arises only from the apprehenfion of his anger against us? If this were true, it would follow, that men would have no enmity against God or his law, till they come to believe he is angry with them. But is there not a manifeft contrariety to God in the hearts of men, apart from all confiderations of him as an avenger? Surely the carelefs and infenfible finner discovers much of this, while he runs on God's neck, and upon the thick boffes of his bucklers: and yet he fays in his heart, The Lord doth not fee,neither doth the Almighty regard it; or at worst, he hopes that for fome prayers and sorrows at laft, God is fo merciful as to forgive and fave him; fo that he appears void of a fenfe of God's anger, and yet is full of enmity against him.

But fuppofe a man conformed to God by regeneration, and the law written on his heart, and he moulded into its spirit and temper, fo as to delight in it; will any one fay, that fuch an one cannot love God and his law, even when through want of evidences of his interest in Christ, he views God as an avenger ?

-The Lord Jefus Chrift in the days of his fufferings, looked on God as an avenger; and as determined to lay the punishment of our fins upon him; yet his love to God was not in the leaft abated, but continued the fame through his most bitter fufferings. And whence was all this? Why, he had a right, a holy temper of foul; fuch, as, in degree, is given in regeneration; and when the fame mind is in us that was in Chrift, we fhall have the fame views of and love to the law and righteousness of God, which he had.

It is clear then, that this enmity arifes from the vitiocity of our hearts; and that God's true character muft ever be the object of our hatred, till we are renewed in regeneration, let our perfuafion of his friend

fhip and love to us be what it will. Yea, fhould God himself (allow me the fuppofition) declare with his own mouth to an unfanctified perfon, that he will fave him, and be his friend for ever, this would not, in the least, remove his enmity, nor engage him to love one tittle of God's true character. The favours promised, if his fenfe of danger had brought him to efteem falvation and the friendship of God a favour, he would esteem and value; but a promifing God he would hate ftill. This contrariety to God is innate, and interwoven with the very frame of our hearts; * and this is the effect of our fall from God, and our happinefs in him into felf and the creature; which is the cause why we make our own happiness our highest object, to which God and every thing else must bow; and therefore nothing appears worthy our love, any further than it tends to this end. Thus we deify ourfelves, and debafe Jehovah, which entirely inverts God's order of things: we act for one end, while he acts for another. But in regeneration the whole frame is altered. Old things are passed away, and behold all things are become new; and when this change takes place in any foul, the character of God, as a God

hating

* Mr. H. D. p. 18. fays this is inconfiftent with S. p. 11. where I fay, whether this hatred of God or depravity arises from the withdrawing the aids of the fpirit, or from fome pofitive viciousness [infufed] I fhall not fpend time to determine, tho' I believe the former: Which words he finds no fault with, tho' he is a great enemy to the notion of enmity being innate and interwove with the frame of the heart. And yet if he admits the firft, he muft the laft. Mr. H. will allow that felf-love is innate; but this fets up our own private interefts in the place of God, and fo becomes enmity to him. Does it not deferve a fmile to fee Mr. H. quoting Prefident Edward's answer to Taylor in confutation of my Opinion? For he is fo fully of my fentiments on this head, that I am bold to fay, Mr. H. never read him, or does not understand him, or else injured hi contcience in quoting him. See Edw. agai, T. p. 3. 6.

hating fin, who is determined to execute vengeance on finners, will appear amiable, and become the object of efteem, love, reverence, and fear, as well as his love and mercy exercifed to finners through Jefus Chrift.

This is the nature of our enmity to God, it is most unreasonable and wicked: God hath done nothing to offend man; neither is there any thing in his character, commands, or threatenings, which gives the least just occafion for it; but man is wholly to blame; and he cannot justify his hatred of God by any reafons he can bring either from God's nature, or from any other quarter in heaven, earth, or hell; but God is moft righteous in his hatred † and anger,& no reason could be found to juftify him in fhewing favour to man, till infinite wisdom, love, and power united to form and lay that glorious ground of peace, on which alone God can be just, and the juftifier of him that believes in Jefus.

Thus I have endeavoured to fhew the cause and nature of the enmity or breach of friendship between God and man. The fight hath been shocking indeed; very unpleasant and painful; yet nothing more neceffary; as without it men will never feek a deliverance from their bondage to corruption, nor prize the blood and facrifice of Chrift. O that every unrenewed finner, who fhall read these pages, may ficken at the fight, and being deeply fenfible of the plague and enmity of his own heart, and the guilt of his ftate, may feel his abfolute neceffity of the Lord Jefus Chrift as a compleat and all-fufficient Saviour, in whom the two contending parties, God and man, can meet in everlafting friendship. Till men are fenfible of their ruined and sinful state, they will neither juflify God

in.

+ I hope Mr. H. will not object to the word hatred, fince it is fo often applied to God with regard to the wicked in the fcripture. Job xvi. 9. Pfal. v. 5. & many other places: And yet hatred conveys full as bad an idea as enemy or enmity

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