Vers. 36, 37.] sermons upon eomans viii. 400
or if he ask fisli, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know liow to give good gifts to your children, how mucli more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that aslc him?' God will not deal worse with his children than men do with theirs ; and that good thing is the Spirit, Luke xi. 13. Use 1. Information.
1. That we cannot secure ourselves by ourselves. The devil is too strong an enemy for sinful, lapsed men to deal withal. He conquered us in innocency ; and what may he not do now, when we are divided in oui'selves, and have something in us on both sides ? much earthliness, carnality, averseness from Grod, as well as love to him ? Tiierefore we subsist every moment by the love of Christ, who became the captain of our salvation, Heb. ii. 10, and in whose cause we are engaged, and who giveth us the Holy Spirit, to move us to good, and to restrain us from evil.
2. What confidence we have, or may have, in Christ. The saints overcome by his love ; and if you will adhere to him in the greatest hazards, will he fail you ? Surely he is kind to his people, and hath given not only such assurance of it in his promises, but such experi- ence of it in the course of his dispensations, that we are still encouraged to wait upon him. He is willing to help his people, for he loveth them ; he is able and sufficient, for infinite power is at the beck of his love. And you have tried him, and he never forsook you ; will he fail at last ? Was all this to trepan men into a deceitful hope ?
3. How little we should suspect his love, when to appearance all things go against us. There are two dispensations Christ useth : either disappointing the temptation, or strengthening his people under it. For the first we have cause to bless him, and many times more cause than we are well aware of. Plures sunt gratice privativce quavi posi- tivoB, say divines in general ; in our case, that of the prophet is verified — ' I led Ephraim, but he knew it not.' In preventing our temptations we know not what the love of Christ hath done for us. But for the second, in what he will try us, take heed of misconstruing any act of Christ's love towards us. Tou think there is some want of love when lie permitteth you to furious and boisterous temptations ; no, then he meaneth to give you some supereminent grace of the Spirit : 1 Peter iv. 14, ' If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye ; for the Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you ; on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.' He loveth you still, but will not manifest his love this way or that way which the flesh pleaseth.
4. It showeth us how much we should love Christ, and adhere to him in the greatest difficulties. Love doth attract and draw love. Ordinary love should be mutual and reciprocal : 2 Kings x. 15, ' Is thine heart right, as mine is with thee ? ' That is, dost thou affect me, as I do thee ? Paul pleadeth it, 2 Cor. vi. 11-13, '0 ye Corinthians, our mouth is open to you, our heart is enlarged. Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels ; now for a recompense in the same, be ye also enlarged.' This showeth the justice of it, that we should retaliate ; be as kind and affectionate as Christ is to us. But alas ! usually Christ may complain, 2 Cor. xii. 15, ' The more abun-
410 SERMONS UPON ROMANS Till. [SeR. XL VII.
dantly I love you, the less I am beloved.' Shall we lessen our respects to him ?
Use 2. Is to persuade us to pjive all diligence to this, that we be assured that Christ loveth us. This is known, partly by an external partly by an internal demonstration.
1. The external demonstration is in redemption ; surely there is no doubt of that, that Christ came to show the loveliness and goodness of God to the forlorn world. This only needeth consideration and improvement. He that loved us at so costly a rate, will he desert us if we choose his ways, and resolve to adhere to him ?
2. The internal demonstration is in conversion, or our receiving the atonement ; entering into peace with God, and adopted as children of the family. Sure if you get this one evidence, you shall be brought to glory. When he hath pardoned thy follies and the frailties of thy youth, and called thee when he pas.^ed by others, and left them in their sins, what will he not do for thee ?
SEKMON XLVII.
Fw I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, ifor angels, nor prin- cipalities, nor poivers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, r.or any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus oy,r Lord. — EoM. viii. 38, 39.