Love's pedigree. Or A discourse showing the grace of love in a believer to…Love's pedigree. Or A discourse shewing the grace of love in a believer to…

6. There was nothing in us that could move God to produce this saving quality in us. In all voluntary actions, which are done by a Rational Agent, we are wont to enquire after the Impulsive cause of them, or what it was that moved and engaged him so to do: and by such measures as these are we necessitated to conceive of Gods Works of Efficiency: It is a demonstration of Gods wonderful love to us, that he will put a principle of Sanctification into us, and thereby restores us from death to life, and whence was it that he so did; or what was it that induced him hereunto? Certainly it could not be from any loveliness that he saw in us, for there was none; we had nothing in us that was desirable, but every thing was hateful▪ the Image of God, which once was our beauty and ornament was gone; and the Image of Sin ▪ which is our shame and vileness was contracted, and by virtue of it we were every way abominable: when therefore God speaks of doing such things for backslidden Israel, he would have them to take that humbling remark upon it, Ezek. 36.22. Thus saith the Lord, I do not this ⟨p. 17⟩for your sakes, Oh house of Israel but for mine holy names sake, &c. Nor was he moved hereof by our requests and prayers; it was not because we, in sense of our folly and misery, sought relief of him, that his bowels earned towards us, for he himself saith▪ Isa. 65.1. I am sought of them that asked not for me, I am found of them that sought me not ▪ and though he, hath declared, in Ezek. •6.37. I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them. Yet his preventing grace produceth this in us, otherwise we should never have thus enquired after him, but abode in our distance from him.