[We may suppose that, because our enmity against God is the ground and reason of his aversion to us, our love to him is the ground and reason of his love to us. No : if we love him, it is because he first loved us y. Were it not that he of his own mere mercy vouchsafed to send us his grace, we never should have our enmity to him in the smallest degree abated. We must therefore take nothing but shame to ourselves ; and give nothing but glory unto him. We must confess that our hatred of him was altogether without a cause2; whereas his aversion to us was just and merited. On the other hand, his love to us is free and sovereign ; whereas ours is the tardy, forced, and disproportioned fruit of his victorious grace.]
2. Of encouragement —
["The wicked man is lothesomea:" but how lothesome soever he be, he need not fear but that God is ready to receive
him to the arms of mercy b ■ — Let this be contemplated by
all, till a lively hope is begotten in their hearts, and they are constrained to say, I will no more "abhor the Holy One, and the Justc," but will turn to him, and love, and serve, and glorify him, with my whole heart.]
y 1 John iv. 19. z John xv. 25. a Prov. xiii. 5.
b If instead of continuing the contest we apply to God through Christ, our peace with him shall soon be made. Isai. xxvii. 4, 5. c Acts iii. 1 4.