greatest freedom, not in a personal light, as designed to reflect at all on these authors; but only as designed to give instruction to me. And if you could particularly answer several things I find in them, it would give me much more satisfaction, than to hear your opinion in general. Besides, you know what authors publish to the world, they voluntary submit to the examination of all. And if the good of mankind, which all authors profess to seek, calls for a particular examination of any of their writings, they cannot consistently be displeased, if they are used with candour. These authors themselves have taken the greatest freedom to speak of the sentiments of divines, ancient and modern. And I know my dear Aspasio would be perfectly pleased to hear you, with the utmost freedom, make all your remarks and observations on his piece; for he is one of the most candid, generous, good-natured gentlemen I ever saw: Pray, Sir, therefore make no excuses, nor be at all upon the reserve. Paul. What particular points, Sir, do you refer to? Ther. The nature of LOVE TO GOD, of JUSTIFYING FAITH, and of ASSURANCE. To begin with love to God. I desire to know what is the primary and chief motive, which ought to induce me to love God? A view of the ineffable glories of the Deity, as he has manifested himself in his word and in his works? Or a belief of his love to me in particular? Paul. Before we inquire into the original grounds of love to God, pray tell me, what in God are we to love? and how are we to love him? Ther. "The Lord is not at all loved with that love that is due to him as Lord of all, if he be not loved with all our heart and spirit, and might. And we are to love every thing in him, his justice, holiness, sovereign authority, all-seeing eye, and all his decrees, commands, judgments, and all his doings*. Paul. Who are under obligations thus to love God? saints, or sinners? Christians, or heathens? Some, or all of mankind? Ther. All mankind. Even the heathen, who are without * M. p. 2. any written law or supenatural revelation, are obliged by the light of nature to love God with all their hearts; and that under the penalty of God's everlasting wrath*. Paul. If all mankind, even the heathen world not excepted, are thus under infinite obligations to love God with all their hearts, and to glorify God as God, (to use the apostle's expressions, Rom. i. 21.) it must needs be that there is a ground and reason of love to God antecedent to a consideration of his being our reconciled Father and friend in Jesus Christ. For the heathen, millions of them, never heard of Jesus Christ, And there are great multitudes in the Christian world, who live and die without an interest in God's fatherly love in Christ. And yet you say, all these are under such obligations to love God with all their hearts, that they will deserve hist eternal wrath for the least neglect. And indeed the holy Scriptures most expressly assert the same thing, Rom. i. 18— 21. Gal iii. 10. Ther. But, Sir, is it not impossible + we should love God. before we see that he is our reconciled Father and friend in Jesus Christ? We must know that our sins are forgiven, and be well persuaded that God is reconciled to us, before we can love him‡. Paul. God never manifests himself as a reconciled God and Father, to any of the children of men, until they are first reconciled to him, and love him. John xiv. 21. Acts iii. 19. Their first love to God, therefore, must of necessity begin on some other foundation, from some other inducement; or they never can begin to love him at all. * M. p. 4, 5. Should a lying fellow bring tidings to an impenitent prisoner justly condemned to die for murder, assuring him of a pardon from his judge; the deluded mur. derer might be full of love to his judge, and greatly extol his justice, as well as goodness, and pour out floods of tears: but on discerning his mistake, he would soon return to his former temper. God's nature and law are just the same before he forgives us as after; and as worthy to be loved. But it is easier for an impeni tent sinner to commend God's law, in a firm belief he is delivered from the curse, than to love it as being in its own nature holy, just, and good. Satan knows, it is no evidence of uprightness in God's account, that a man is very religious, if all his religion arises merely from selfish considerations." Job i. 8, 9, 10, 11. Ther. But what is there in God, that can induce us to love him, unless we first know that he loves us? I appeal to the experience of all the true saints, as inconsistent with your supposition*. Paul. This is the language of God's law, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart. Pray, what reasons and grounds are there for this law? Answer my question first, and then I will answer your's. Tell me the grounds and reasons of this law, and I will tell you what there is to induce us to love God before we know that he loves us. Ther. The law teaches us, first to believe that God is our GOD, our reconciled Father and Friend: Thou shalt love the Lord THY GODT. race. Paul. God is our GoD, the God of the whole human race, as he is our Creator, our Preserver, our rightful Lord and Sovereign, who has an entire and absolute authority over us: but he is not a reconciled Father and Friend to all the human Rather the whole world lieth in wickedness. 1 John v. 19. And the greatest part of mankind are under the divine wrath. John iii. 36. And God is angry with them every day; his soul hates them, and he is whetting his sword for their destruction, if they repent not. Psalm vii. 11, 12. xi. 5. And yet even while in such a state, you grant, they are under infinite obligations to love God with all their hearts; and that the least defect exposes them to eternal damnation. Nor have you granted any more than St. Paul expressly asserts, Gal. iii. 10. Now, pray tell me, is this a reasonable law? Ther. I grant this law is holy, just, and good‡. Paul. But then it will follow, that there are reasons and grounds why God should be thus loved, antecedent to a consideration of his being our reconciled Father and Friend. Reasons and grounds which are sufficient; which really oblige us in point of duty and therefore ought to influence us in practice. And if we are not influenced by them, we are to blame. Yea, so much to blame, you say, as to deserve God's eternal wrath. Ther. It is certain, that all the perfection, goodness, and * M. p. 25. † M. p. 28. # M. p. 4. excellency of the divine nature, cannot render God an amiable object to us, unless we know that he loves us, and is our reconciled Father and Friend*. Paul. The first question is not, whether unregenerate sinners, while dead in sin, and enemies to God, do actually love God: but whether they ought not to love him. Whether the perfection, goodness, and excellency of the divine nature is not a proper inducement, which renders it reasonable and fit: yea, which obliges; nay, infinitely obliges them to love God. I think you must grant this; for how else can the law be holy, just, and good? Ther. If I should grant that the perfection, goodness, and excellency of the divine nature, does render it fit and reasonable that we should love God with all our hearts; yet it is impossible we should love him, except first we know he loves ust. Paul. If God is really a being infinitely amiable in himself, and if it is fit and reasonable we should love him for the perfection, goodness, and excellency of his nature, then there is, yea, there can be no difficulty in the way of the practice of this duty, but what lies in the badness of our hearts; and so, what we are to blame for. And therefore, were our hearts right, we should love him for his own loveliness, and feel disposed to glorify God, AS GOD; as the very heathen ought to do, who never heard of his designs of mercy by Jesus Christ. Nay, all the heathen world are at this day, and ever have been, entirely without excuse, in not being thus affected towards the infinitely glorious God that made them. Yea, they are for this infinitely to blame, so as to deserve eternal wrath. And this is St. Paul's doctrine, Rom. i. 18. If our hearts were right, i. e. were as they ought to be, were as the law requires them to be, we should love God for his own loveliness. But in regeneration our hearts begin to be right; therefore, then, even at that instant, we begin to love God for his own loveliness. For at that very instant when the vail is taken from our hearts, we all with open face, behold as in a glass, the glory of the Lord. 2 Cor. iii. 18. Even the law, as a ministration of death and condemnation, appears glorious. ver. 7. 9. But every man is to blame, that his heart is not right. Theron pleads impossibility. St. Paul, however, declares this kind of impossibility to be no excuse. Rom. i. 20, 21. 204 21. Nay, this doctrine is fundamental to St. Paul's whole scheme of religion. Overthrow this, and you will overthrow his whole scheme; for it is in this view that he pronounces Jew and Gentile, even the whole world, to stand guilty before God, with their mouths stopped, without one excuse to make for themselves, though doomed to eternal destruction for not loving God with all their hearts. And so holy, just, and good, does he esteem this law to be, as that it was needful the Son of God should be set forth to be a propitiation, to declare God's righteousness, that HE MIGHT BE JUST, and not go counter to all good rules of government in pardoning and saving true penitents. Rom. iii. 9. 26. Ther. The heathen were liable to destruction for their idolatries, and gross immoralities. Paul. Yes, and also for their not glorifying God AS GOD. The wrath of God, says the apostle, is revealed from heaven against ALL ungodliness: against the least degree of disrespect towards the infinitely glorious Majesty of heaven. The least defect of love towards God, exposes them to eternal destruction. This was the apostle's constant doctrine, and a chief foundation of his whole scheme of principles. Gal. iii. 10. Rom. i. 18. and iii. 20. Ther. But the Gentiles had not so much as heard of the of salvation by Christ; and must therefore, if their conway sciences were awakened, be in fearful expectation of eternal wrath. But surely it must be absolutely impossible we should love God, if we view him, as disposed to punish us in hell for ever. Yea, "if I look on God as contrary to me, as one that hates me and will damn me, my own innate self-love will breed hatred and heart-risings against him in spite of my heart*." Paul. That is, the divine law is so intolerably cruel, that unless it is entirely set aside as to us, we can never be pacified towards our Maker. We are in arms, in open rebellion, so virulent that we are full of" hatred and heart-risings," in spite of all restraints. And we proclaim in the sight of heaven, our cause is so just, that we can never lay down our * M. |