these thy fellow-disciples?" It is not long since, Peter, that thou didst declare, Though all should forsake thee, yet will not I; though all my fellow-disciples should prove treacherous, yet I am determined to adhere to thee, come what will; and art thou still of the same mind?" Peter modestly replies, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee as much as to say, "Lord, I own that I have fallen more foully than any of my brethren, and I dare not say I love thee more than they do: I dare say nothing of the high degree of my love, in comparison with others; but, Lord, I must assert the sincerity of my love, weak as it is, and I humbly adventure to appeal to thee, who knowest all things, and canst not be deceived with fair pretensions, for the truth of my profession."*

Peter, no doubt, hoped this declaration would satisfy his Lord. But Jesus, after a pause, puts the question to him again, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? And Peter insists upon his former answer, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee.

Now he hoped to escape all future questions upon this point. But Jesus, as though he were still suspicious of him, puts it to him a third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me ? Peter was grieved that this inquiry should be put to him successively no less than thrice; it cut him to the heart with the remembrance of his base denial of his Master as often, and perhaps with a fear that he would not now be convinced of his sincerity, but was about to expose him as a traitor, and discard him. Upon this he grows warm, and replies with the most passionate vehemence, Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee. As much as to say, "Lord, why dost thou try me so often upon this point? Look only into my heart, which lies all open to thy view, and be thou judge thyself, whether I do not sincerely love thee. I must confess my late conduct looked very suspicious: and I reflect upon it with shame and sorrow: I am unworthy to be ranked by thee among thy friends. But, Lord, unworthy as I am, and base and suspicious as my conduct was, I must insist upon it, that I do love thee; and it wounds me to the heart that thou shouldst seem so jealous of me. I cannot give up this point; and I ap

Or the comparison in the question may refer to the provision they had just fed upon, and the employment they had just been in. Q. D. "Lovest thou me more than thou lovest these fish and thy fishing trade? Peter re. plies, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. Well, says Christ, if thou dost really love me, leave this employment, and feed my sheep; let that be thy business for the future, and shew thy love to me by thy tender care of my sheep; that is, of my church.”

peal to thyself for the truth of it. Jealousy in love, my brethren, suspicion among friends, is a very painful and anxious passion; and never so much so to a pious heart, as when the sincerity of our love to God is the object of it. Such a person cannot be easy while a matter of so much importance lies under suspicion, but must put it beyond all doubt.

And let me tell you, Sirs, this is a question in which we are all most nearly concerned. Are our conduct and temper towards God so entirely and uniformly friendly and dutiful, as to put it beyond all doubt that we do truly love him? Alas, are there not many things that look very suspicious in our case? Should Jesus now call each of us by our names, as he did Peter, and ask us, one by one, Lovest thou me ? what could we answer? Could we honestly desire him to look into our hearts, that he might see that sacred principle there? and could we produce the genuine evidences of it in our lives? My brethren, if there be an inquiry within the compass of human knowledge that deserves the most solicitous attention, certainly this does. And it is my present design to assist you to come to a determination upon it. I say, we are now going upon this search, "Do I really love the Lord Jesus?" Come, Sirs, let us all join in it; let us all resolve to be determined in this point before we leave this place. For this purpose I shall point out some plain marks of genuine love, and then, supposing that you will have discovered your real character in this respect, I shall address you as divided into two different classes; the friends, and the enemies of Jesus. And as love to God, and love to Jesus Christ, who is God as well as man, are substantially the same, and cannot be separated, I shall not nicely distinguish between them, but speak upon the one or the other, as may be most conducive to my design.

1. I am to point out some plain, genuine marks of divine love; and these I shall derive either from plain scripture, or from the apparent nature and inseparable properties of that passion.

I need hardly tell you, that while there is so much hypocrisy, flattery and compliment in the world, a man's professing the Christian Religion, and a supreme regard to its Founder, is no certain evidence of divine love. Insincerity and treachery, which have done so much mischief in private friendships, and betrayed so many kingdoms, has diffused itself, like a malignant poison, into the affairs of religion; and men dare to compliment and

flatter even the heart-searching God. Judas betrayed his Lord with an Hail, Master, and a kiss; and his conduct before that had the appearance of friendship, otherwise the disciples would have suspected him for the traitor upon the first hint. Therefore there must be something more substantial to evidence the truth of our love, than a mere profession, or the external forms of religion.

Nor does true love consist in a speculative, languid esteem, or a careless, unaffecting good opinion of Jesus Christ. We may think and speak highly of him, and believe very great things concerning him, while the heart is dead and cold towards him; yea, full of enmity against him. All this may be the effect of education, or cool reasoning, and may hover in the head, without sinking deep into the heart, and becoming a governing principle in practice. It is this speculative good opinion of him which, I am afraid, the generality mistake for divine love. They cannot but know that their hearts are habitually careless and indifferent towards God, that they do not feel those affectionate emotions and strong tendencies of soul towards him, which they feel towards all other objects of their love. However, when they happen to think of him, it is sometimes with a kind of high esteem; and this they take to be a genuine love to him, though it has no correspondent effects upon their temper or conduct.

I may add farther, That some may love God upon a mistake; that is, they love him upon supposition that he is quite another kind of being than he really is; and did they conceive of him as he is, he would appear to their depraved hearts rather an object of terror and abhorrence, than of love and delight. For example, they may suppose him so soft, easy, and passive a being, as not to resent their rebellious conduct: so merciful as hardly ever to execute justice upon sinners; so careless of the honour of his law and government, as to pass by all their disobedience; and so foolishly fond of his creatures, as to advance them to happiness promiscuously, without any regard to their moral character, or the honour of his perfections. Such a deity as this is formed exactly according to their taste, to encourage them in sin, and relieve them from horrors of conscience and the fears of futurity; and no wonder they should love such a being as this, so like themselves; even criminals would love a judge of this character. But this is not the true God, but the creature of their own foolish imaginations. This is not that God before whom the ce

lestial armies cry, holy, holy, holy; who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity; who is a God of truth, and without iniquity; just and right is he who turns the wicked into hell, and all the nations that forget God; and who will not admit one soul into heaven but what is made holy in temper and practice beforehand. And did they view him in this light, they would be so far from loving him, that their carnal minds would rise in enmity against him. Now to love God upon such a supposition, is not to please him, but to reproach and affront him; and he resents it as the highest indignity. How would you take it, if a rake or a villain should love you upon a mistaken notion, that you were a libertine, a thief, or a liar, like himself? Would you thank him for such a friendship? No; you would esteem it the basest affront. And when you had convinced him of his mistake, his love would be turned into hatred. My brethren, we must love God for what he is, otherwise we do not love him at all. We must, therefore, know him in some measure as he is, before we can rationally love him; and particularly we must know and delight in those perfections which are most unacceptable to guilty and depraved creatures, his justice, holiness, and infinite hatred of sin, before we can truly love him.

Having cautioned you against these plausible and popular mistakes, I now resume my purpose, and shall point out some undoubted marks of genuine and sincere love. And that I may not perplex you with too many particulars, I shall only mention these four that it is of a divine and supernatural original; and that it produces frequent and affectionate thoughts of its object; a delight in communing with him and an earnest study and endeavour to please him, by a life of universal obedience.

1. If you would determine this important inquiry," Do I really love the Lord Jesus Christ?" you must previously inquire how you came by your love? whether it be the mere effect of nature, of education, or of any thing within the power of man? or whether it was wrought in your hearts by the almighty power of God, after many rebellious struggles and insurrections, and a full conviction of the innate enmity of your carnal minds against him? If it be the spontaneous production of your own hearts, or of natural causes, if you have always been possessed of it, and never found it difficult to obtain or cherish it? If you have not been sensible of a supernatural power working it in you, you may be sure it is all delusion.

For though the passion of love be innate

in our nature, and is easily excited by a thousand created beauties, yet, alas it has no natural tendency towards God. Human nature in its present state is strangely indisposed and disaffected in this respect, as experience has abundantly convinced us, unless we have been stupidly unobservant with regard to ourselves. A state of nature is uniformly represented in scripture as a state of enmity against God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, John iii. 6. and therefore, by nature, we are all flesh in the scripture style. Now they that are in the flesh cannot please God, says St. Paul, because the carnal mind is enmity against God, &c. Rom. viii. 7, 8. The scriptures every where represent us as being saved in the way of reconciliation; now reconciliation supposes a previous variance and enmity. Nay, St. Paul expressly tells us, that we were enemies, when we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son. Rom. v. 10. By nature we are children of wrath, Eph. ii. 3; and surely we cannot be children of wrath and lovers of God at one and the same time! Here then you must all plead guilty. Whatever you now are, it is beyond all doubt that you were once enemies to God. It is sufficient conviction against you that you are men, and belong to a race universally disaffected. And now have you ever been brought out of that state? If not you are enemies to God still. You could not pass from death unto life in a dream, or an entire insensibility; for you must have experienced a great change, and you must have been sensible of, and may now recollect a great many deep and affecting sensations that attended it. You must have seen and been shocked at your disaffection: you must have been brought to cry in the most importunate manner to God to give you a better temper, and to shed abroad his love in your hearts by the Holy Ghost. Rom. v. 5. In short, you are made new creatures; old things are passed away, and all things are become new; and all, these new things are of God, who hath reconciled you to himself. 2 Cor. v. 17, 18. Now if this be the test, what would you say to this question, Lovest thou me? Some of you, I trust, could answer, “ Lord, I am afraid of the truth of my love; but this I am sure of, a great change hath been wrought in my soul. Whether I am now a sincere lover of God or not, I am sure I am not what I once was; not only my outward practice, but the inward temper of my heart towards thee is vastly altered; it is more filial, affectionate and dutiful." If any of you can advance thus far in your answer, my brethren, it looks comfortable, though you