l.v: 1 JOHN, TV. 9, 10. [2455.
" in this God commendeth his love to us;" and to that pious reflection of his, " He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things6?" These passages abundantly prove, that, as the gift of Christ to us was the fruit of the Father's love, so it was an instance of his love, that infinitely outweighs all else that he ever has done, or ever can do, for sinful man.
Let us now consider,
II. Our love to God as put in competition with it —
It is evidently supposed in our text that some might be blind and impious enough to ascribe their salvation rather to the love which they bore to God, than to that which, of his own free and sovereign grace, he bore to them. Hence the Apostle says, " Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us." It is indeed surprising that any child of man should ever entertain such an idea as this which the Apostle explodes : but experience proves, that there is no merit so great, but man will arrogate it to himself; and no tribute so just, but he will refuse it to his God. We proceed then to notice this senti- ment in a two-fold view :
1. The erroneousness of it —
[Let us for a moment inquire, What is the state of fallen man ? Has he of himself any love to God ? So far from it, we are told, that " the carnal mind is enmity against God ; and that it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can bef." There is not any one thing relating to God, which the natural man loves : not his perfections; not his word ; not his ordinances ; not his people ; not his ways : he is in his heart adverse to them all. But it may be said, that many are brought to love God at last. True : but how is this effected ? by any power in man ? or by any previous good inclination in man ? No: " It is God that gives us both to will and to do, of his own good pleasure5:" it is " he, and he alone, that makes us to differ," either from others, or from our former selves: we neither have any thing, nor can have any thing, but what we receive from himh. How then can that which
e Rom. v. 8. and viii. 32. f Rom. viii. 7.
8 Phil. ii. 13. I' 1 Cor. iv. 7.