I. Sunday health, ftrength, food, raiment, and whatever elfe concerns them, are merely his gifts; fo that indeed 'tis impoffible we should be ignorant of his mercies to them, all those outward comforts and refreshments we daily enjoy, being continual effects and witneffes of it; and though fome enjoy more of thefe than others, yet there is no Person but enjoys fo much in one kind or other, as abundantly fhews God's mercy and kindnefs to him in refpect of his Body. fing. 32. And now furely you will think it but reasonable we should love him, who is in all refpects thus lovely: indeed, this is a Duty fo generally acknowledg'd, that if you should ask any Man the queftion, whether he lov'd God or no? he wou'd think you did him great wrong to doubt of it; yet for all this, it is too plain, that there are very few that do indeed love him; and this will foon be proved to you, by examining a little, what are the common effects of Love, which we bear to Men like ourselves; and then trying, whether we can fhew any fuch fruits of our Love to God. Fruit of 33. Of that fort there are divers; but, for Love, de fhortnefs, I will name but two. The firft is, fire of plea a defire of Pleafing; the fecond, a defire of Enjoying. Thefe are conftantly the fruits of Love.. For the firft, 'Tis known by all, that he that loves any Perfon, is very defirous to approve himself to him, to do whatsoever he thinks will be pleasing to him; and accord-unday ing to the degree of Love, fo is this defire I. more or lefs: where we love earnestly, we are very earneft and careful to pleafe. Now if we have indeed that love to God we pretend to, it will bring forth this Fruit, we fhall be careful to please him in all Things. Therefore as you judge of the Tree by its Fruits, fo may you judge of your Love of God, by this Fruit of it; nay, indeed, this is the way of trial, which Chrift himself hath given us, John 14. 15. If ye love me keep my Commandments, and St. John tells us, 1 Ep. 5. 3. That this is the love of God, that we walk after his Commandments, and where this one Proof is wanting, it will be impoffible to testify our Love to God. 34. But it must yet be farther confidered, that this Love of God must not be in a low or weak degree; for befides that the Motives to it, His Excellency and his Kindness, are in the highest, the fame Commandment which bids us love God, bids us love him with all our Hearts, and with all our Strength; that is, as much as is poffible for us, and above any thing else. And therefore to the fulfilling of this Commandment, it is neceffary we love him in that degree; and if we do fo, then certainly we fhall not only have fome flight and faint endeavours of pleafing, but fuch as are moft diligent and earneft, fuch as will put us upon the most painful and coftly Duties, C making Sunday making us willing to forfake our own Eafe, I. Goods, Friends, yea, Life itself, when we cannot keep them without difobeying God. Defire of 35. Now examine thy felf by this; Haft thou this Fruit of Love to fhew? Doft thou make it thy constant and greatest care to keep God's Commandments? To obey him in all Things; earnestly labouring to please him to the utmost of thy Power, even to the forfaking of what is dearest to thee in this World? If thou doft, thou mayeft then truly fay, thou loveft God. But on the contrary, if thou wilfully continueft in the breach of many, nay, but of any one command of his, never deceive thyfelf, for the Love of God abides not in thee. This will be made plain to you, if you confider what the Scripture faith of fuch, as that they are Enemies to God by their wicked Works, Col. 1. 21. that the carnal Mind (and fuch is every one that continues wilfully in Sin) is enmity with God, Rom. 8. 7. that he that fins wilfully, and tramples under foot the Son of God, and doth defpight unto the Spirit of Grace, Heb. 10. 29. and many the like. And therefore, unless you can think enmity, and trampling, and defpight, to be Fruits of Love, you must not believe you love God, whilft you go on in any wilful Difobedience to him. 36. A Second Fruit of Love, I told you, Enjoying was defire of Enjoying; This is constantly to be feen in our Love to one another. If you have a Friend whom you entirely love, you defire his Converfation, wish to be always in his Company: and thus will it be alfo in our Love to God, if that be as great and hearty as this. 37. There is a Two-fold enjoying of God ; the one imperfect in this Life, the other more perfect and compleat in the Life to come: That in this Life is that Conversation, as I may call it, which we have with God in his Ordinances, in Praying and Meditating, in Hearing his Word, in Receiving the Sacrament, which are all intended for this purpofe, to bring us into an intimacy and familiarity with God, by fpeaking to him, and hearing him fpeak to us. 38. Now if we do indeed love God, we Thall certainly hugely value and defire these ways of converfing with him; it being all that we can have in this Life, it will make us with David, efteem one day in God's Courts, better than a thousand, Pfal. 84. 10. We shall be glad to have thefe Opportunities of approaching to him as often as it is poffible, and be careful to use them diligently, to that end of uniting us ftill more to him; yea, we Thall come to thefe fpiritual Exercifes with the fame chearfulness we fhould go to our deareft Friend. And if indeed we do thus, it is a good proof of our Love. 39. But I fear there are not many have this to fhew for it, as appears by the common C 2 Backs Sunday I. I. Sunday Backwardness and Unwillingness of Men to come to thefe; and their Negligence and Heartlefnefs when they are at them; and can we think that God will ever own us for lovers of him, whilft we have fuch a diflike to his Company, that' we will never come into it but when we are dragg'd by fear or fhame of Men, or fome fuch Worldly Motive? It is fure you would not think that Man loved you, whom you perceived to fhun your Company, and to be loth to come in your fight. And therefore be not fo unreasonable as to fay, You love God, when yet you desire to keep as far from him as you can. 40. But befides this, there is another Enjoyment of God, which is more perfect and compleat, and that is, our perpetual enjoying of him in Heaven, where we fhall be for ever united to him, and enjoy him not now and then only, for fhort fpaces of Time, as we do here, but continually without interruption or breaking off. off. And certainly if we have the degree of love to God we ought, this cannot but be moft earnestly defired by us fo much, that we shall think no labour too great to compafs it. The Seven Years that facob ferved for Rachel, Gen. 29. 20. feemed to him but a few days for the love that he had to her; And furely if we have love to God, we fhall not think the fervice of our whole Lives too dear a price of this full Enjoyment of him, nor efteem all the Enjoyments of the |