Sermons preached

1. For Doing. If we love God, we shall be loth to offend him, we shall be desirous to please him. Faith, I do confess, is a marvellous Grace, it can apprehend things strange to Nature, but it can do no worthy thing for God, till it be accompanied with Love: Gal. 5. 6. When the Apostle tells us of that Faith, that carries away the prize of Justification, he describes it to be a Faith working by Love. Faith itself serves as the Bellows to blow up this Flame in our Hearts, as the next and immediate principle of Action. In short, Love is the overruling bent of our Souls, the weight and poise upon us, that inclines us to God. And look as all noble Qualities when restrained cannot produce their consummate Act, so Love suffers a kind of imperfection, till it can thus break forth into some Act of Thankfulness to God, but then it is perfected. 1 Joh. 2. 5. Whoso keepeth his Word, in him the Love of God is perfect, that is, hath attained its consummate Act that which it aims at. No Man certainly can be owned as a perfect sincere lover of God, but he that makes conscience of doing what he commands: none but they have a deep sense of his Majesty, none but they have an esteem of his Favour; therefore they dare not hazard it by a breach or neglect of their Duty.

1. For Doing. If we love God, we shall be loth to offend him, we shall be desirous to please him. Faith, I do confess, is a marvellous Grace, it can apprehend things strange to Nature, but it can do no worthy thing for God, till it be accompanied with Love: Gal. 5. 6. When the Apostle tells us of that Faith, that carries away the prize of Justification, he describes it to be a Faith working by Love. Faith itself serves as the Bellows to blow up this Flame in our Hearts, as the next and immediate principle of Action. In short, Love is the overruling bent of our Souls, the weight and poize upon us, that inclines us to God. And look as all noble Qualities when restrained cannot produce their consummate Act, so Love suffers a kind of imperfection, till it can thus break forth into some Act of Thankfulness to God, but then it is perfected. 1 Joh. 2. 5. Whoso keepeth his Word, in him the Loue of God is perfect, that is, hath attained its consummate Act that which it aims at. No Man certainly can be owned as a perfect sincere lover of God, but he that makes conscience of doing what he commands: none but they have a deep sence of his Majesty, none but they have an esteem of his Favour; therefore they dare not hazard it by a breach or neglect of their Duty.