[1.] The love of benevolence, or that love whereby he doeth us good, which may be considered either in the eternal purpose of God, or his present readiness to execute his purpose, or indeed our readiness to receive it. Amor intentionis et executionis ; his purpose to do them good remaineth firm, notwithstanding their sins. He had such a good- will to them before they were born, and before they were new-born, and in time it worketh for their good : ' He is the Lord, that changeth not/ Mai. iii. 6. But it is a purpose obstructed ; his present readiness to do them good is much hindered and obstructed by these presumptuous sins. Though God be always ready, yet they are not ready, they putting themselves into an incapacity of receiving these benefits : Isa. lix. 2, ' But your iniquities have separated between you and your God ; and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear;' Ps. Ixvi. 18, ' If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.' The good-will of God is, as it were, bound up and hindered from showing itself in all those gracious effects which otherwise it would put forth for our comfort and peace. He doth not actually pardon their sins, and make them partakers of spiritual benefits in so ample and full a measure as otherwise he would, such as comfort, peace of conscience, protection against temptations ; their sins put a bar against them during that state. You provoke God to withdraw, to hold his hand, and cut you short in these spiritual blessings which otherwise he would plentifully dispense unto his people ; though there be some effects, for the seed of God remaineth in them, 1 John iii. 9. '
[2.] As to his love of complacency. God hath not such a delight in us. We grieve his Spirit, Eph. iv. 30. He hath no pleasure in them that draw back : Heb. x. 38, ' He hatetli the workers of iniquity.' Therefore God's children, when they do so, are no way acceptable to God, neither their persons nor their offerings. He will not take an offering at their hands. We find it by the effects. They have no internal sense of his love ; no external answer of their prayers.
(1.) No internal sense of his love. They lose their assurance. God doth not hold delightful communion with them in the Spirit. The joy of the Holy Ghost is gone. The Spirit of God doth not shed abroad his love in their hearts as formerly, Kora. v. 5. They have not that liberty and holy confidence in prayer: 1 John iii. 21, *If our hearts
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condemn us not, then have we confidence towards God.' Those lively hopes of gloiy, that sweetness in the word, that readiness and cheerful- ness in obedience ; nor strength to resist sin, nor comfort in reproaches, nor courage in afflictions. Oh, in what a sad condition is a christian that is gone backward in God's love, and wants the comfortable effects of it, like Sampson when his locks were gone ! Nothing maketh a well-disposed servant so ready to do his master's will as the knowledge that he is in his favour, that what he doeth will be well taken. So when there is assurance that our persons and work is accepted of God, all goeth on cheerfully : Ps. cxix. 32, ' I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart' Dilatation of the heart is the effect of joy. So for courage in tribulation : Rom. v. 3, * And not only so, but we glory in tribulations ; ' Heb. x. 34, ' And took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.' When anything troubleth us, we may go to God and ease our griefs, and pour out our complaints into his bosom. Well, then, internally all delightful communion with God in the Spirit is suspended and interrupted.
(2.) Externally; this is manifest by the non-audience of our prayers, or non-acceptance of oar persons: Isa. lix. 2, ' Your sins have separated between you and your God ;' Ps. Ixvi. 18, ' If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me ; ' Hosea v. 6, ' They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord, but they shall not find him ; he hath withdrawn himself from them.' To lose our duties is a sad loss. To go to the throne of grace and find the oracle dumb ; to call upon the God of mercy, who is ready to hear, and to have no answer, is a sad case. As Baal's worshippers were abashed when they had lanced and gashed themselves and could not get a drop of water from him, so it is a great cause of sadness when God shutteth up him- self from the prayers of his people, and taketh no notice of their cuy. When a child cannot get the father to speak to him, but rather when he turneth away in indignation ; as it is said of Miriam, Num. xii. 14, ' If her father had spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days ? ' There is a time when God spits in the faces of his children ; when God poureth anger, shame, and contempt upon us by refusing to own us, or accept a prayer at our hands. Is it not sad and grievous when he that formerly had such liberty of access to God and assurance of welcome shall pray and no notice taken of it? Isa. i. 15, 'When ye spread forth your hands I will hide mine eyes from you, when ye malce many prayers I will not hear.' Oh, therefore it is dangerous to sin presumptuously. You lose the sense of the favour of God. David's plotting Uriah's death was more laid to his charge than any other sins which ho committed: 1 Kings xv. 5. 'Because David did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and ttu-ned not aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah.' How many of David's failings are left upon record ! His distrust: 'I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul ; ' his dissimula- tion ; his rash vow to destroy Nabal ; his injustice in the matter of Ziba and Mephibosheth ; his indulgence to Absalom ; numbering the people, wherein he showed his carnal confidence; all these are passed over in silence as infirmities; only the matter of Uriah stuck close to him.