2. It is a transcendental love we owe to God ; we must love him above all other things. For he must be loved as our felicity and end. He must have the chiefest place in our hearts, and our principal design must be to please, serve, and glorify him. If we seek God in order to other things, we do not love him, but our own lusts; nay, if all other things be not sought after in order to God, we do not set him up as our chief good or last end. ' He that loves father and mother more than me, is not worthy of me,' Luke xiv. 26 ; 'If any man come to me and hate not his father and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.' Many have a partial, half love to God, but a greater love to other things ; then God's interest will be least minded, for there is some- thing nearer and dearer to us than God, which will be soon preferred before the conscience of our duty to him. No ; all must be subordi- nated to our supreme happiness and last end, or else God is not loved as God.
240 THE SIXTH SERMON. [2 Thes. III. 5.
But now the second tliln2^ propounded is the nature of tliat influence u\MM\ love, wliich is expresseil here by the apostle in tlie word direct' ' The Lord direct your hearts in the love of God.' What doth this imply ?
[1] It in. plies that God works npon us as rational creatures ; he changeth the heart indeed, but he doth it by direction : he ' draws' us to himself, but it is 'with the cords of a man;' he teacheth while he draws : John vi. 44, 4.5, ' None can come unto me but those whom the Father draws ;' and he proves it by this, because ' they shall be all taught of God.' God's drawing is teaching, it is both by the attractive force of the object, and the internal efficacy of his grace ; the Spirit's conduct is sweet, yet powerful, accomplisheth the elfect, but without offering violence to the liberty of man. We are not forced, but directed. There is not a violent compulsion, but an inclination sweetly raised in us by victorious grace, or the overpowering sweetness of his love. For ' we love him, because he loved us first,' 1 John iv. 19. And this love is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, who by giving us an esteem and serious remembrance of his benefits, blows up this holy flame in our hearts. We do not love God we know not why or where- fore ; an account can be given of all the Spirit's operations. Look, as in an impression there must be a seal, and wax to the seal, and the hand that stamps it ; so all concur here. The word doth its part, that is the seal, and the heart of man receives the impression ; but to make it effectual and durable, the hand of God concurs, or the power of his Spirit. The ol)ject is the gospel, wherein God commends his love to us by the incarnation, death, and intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ; as also by the new covenant, because he will work upon man after the nature of man ; by love he will work upon love. Beside all this, there is an internal powerful agent, the Holy Spirit. The external objective means cannot do it without the inward cause. Though God's love doth so gloriously and resplendently shine forth in the gospel, yet the heart of man is not alTected with it till it be shed abroad by the illuminating sanctifying Spirit. The heart of man is dark and dead to tliese things till changed by grace, and when that is once done, that im])ression is according to the stamp.
[2.] The inclination to God as our felicity and end, which is the fruit of this grace, is the inclination of a reasonable creature; so the inclina- tion is necessary, but the acts are vohintary, therefore you must keep them up still. There is an inclination put by God into inanimate things, as in light and airy bodies to move upwards, and in heavy bodies to move downwards; as a stone falls to the earth, but fire and smoke ascend, they cannot do otherwise, because they have no choice. But now in man there is an inclination to God and heaven, which is the fruit of grace. The inclination is necessary. Why? — because all tho.se whom the Spirit sanctifies, he sanctifies them not in vain, he certainly begets this tendency in them towards God : therefore So often they are said in scripture to be converted or turned to God. Their hearts were averse before, but then they tend and bend towards him ; but the acts are voluntary. There is a duty lying upon us to * stir up the gift of grace that is in us ;' the word is dua^coTrupelv, 2 Tim. i. (). When this holy fire is kindled in our bosoms, we must blow it up and
2 TllES. HI. 5.] THE SIXTH SERMON. 211
keep it burning. We must not be negligent and secure, for we cannot reasonably imagine the idle and diligent should fare alike, that the Holy Ghost will direct our hearts into the love of God whether we will or not ; therefore, not only as we are rational agents, but as we are new creatures, we are obliged to use the means, and then expect his help and blessing. What is a prayer in the text, ' The Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, to the patient waiting for Christ,' is an exhortation, Jude 21, ' Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto everlasting life.' There is both again ; you must look to your love, that your hearts be kept straight and bent towards God, and not distracted with worldly vanities. The blessing is from God, but you must use the means ; this direction is not to encourage slothfulness, but industry. We must charge it upon ourselves, as our main work and duty : the Spirit stirs and quickens, we must rouse up ourselves.