desire is, that all the saints may be brought to rejoice in Jesus, as the mighty God, the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty, Rev. i. 8.

DIFFICULTIES CONCERNING THE LOVE OF GOD.

Secondly, That Jehovah changeth not, is a self-evident truth, a scripture axiom. "With him "there is no variableness, nor shadow of turning." Being perfection itself, therefore the properties of his nature, and purposes of his will, are absolutely unalterable. What he has determined, shall be done. "He is of one mind, and who can turn "him? For the council of the Lord standeth for "ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations, "and to Zion he says, he will rest in his love. "He will rejoice over her with singing, for having "loved his own which were in the world, he loved "them unto the end." Notwithstanding the above and such like solemn declarations made by the God of truth, such objections have been raised against the unchangeableness of Jehovah's love as greatly to perplex and stumble some who are evidently the distinguished objects of it.

As wrong conclusions may be drawn from principles which are unexceptionably right, so I apprehend many of those things are indisputa

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ble facts from whence the changeable nature of God's love is inferred; and indeed it seems his people are more agreed in their primary principles, than in their conclusions. In the former there may be an happy union, though in the latter they widely differ, and cast stumbling-blocks in each other's way. For the exemplification and removal of which, as relating to the doctrine of divine love, it may be proper to observe, that creatures who are now the objects of God's indignation, were once loved by him, those infernal spirits who kept not their first estate, though now the abhorred of the Lord, were, while innocent, the objects of his approbation; and the same may be said of man, considered as in his present state of corruption, and his original state of perfection as created of God; John i. 1, 14; Phil. ii. 6, 7.

It is evident, God could not produce creatures morally defective or disagreeable to himself; they were what he willed them to be, i. e. good, yea very good, and as such were loved and delighted in by their Maker. Every creature being Jehovah's production, therefore no creature was in its original state the object of his disapprobation, and yet many of them are now the declared objects of his hatred and indignation. From the above self-evident facts it is inferred by some sincere inquirers after truth, that the love of God

is changeable, and not invariably fixed on its objects, which inference has perplexed many of the people of God, and proved a stumbling-block in their way to a proper acquaintance with several very important truths in divine revelation. From this source various errors have proceeded, by which the glorious gospel of the grace of God has been beclouded, the faith of many Christians staggered, and their joy in Jesus and hope of glory greatly diminished. But that the above plausible inference is a false conclusion, (though drawn from undeniable facts) will I hope be made plainly appear, if we impartially survey the doctrine of Jehovah's love, in the light of divine revelation.

The love of God, according to the scriptures, ought to be considered as natural and sovereign. The righteous Lord loveth righteousness, and holiness is his perpetual delight. This love ariseth from the perfection and purity of his nature, and has for its object his own holy image, as instamped upon his rational creatures; or in other words, in holy dispositions and corresponding acts, the Lord taketh pleasure and delight. He is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity with approbation, or look on holiness with disgust. His hatred of sin and love of purity are not acts of divine sovereignty. Sin is not hateful because God willed it should be so, but is odious

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in its own nature to every pure being; and is therefore infinitely hateful to an infinitely holy God.

God does not hate sin, because he has by his law forbid it, but has forbid it, because it is what he loaths as contrary to his holy nature. Perfect conformity to God, and supreme delight in him as the chief good, are inforced by God's holy law, because of their native excellency and propriety. Holiness then being the object of God's natural love, or essential approbation, and sin the reverse; it necessarily follows that every unholy creature is odious in the sight of God, therefore a creature having lost its purity, ceases to be the object of his natural approbation; yet the alteration is not in God, but in the creature, which is become through moral impurity what he abhors. God's natural love is still unalterably fixed on personal purity, wherever it is found; but in reference to a polluted creature, love has lost its object, that on which it was fixed being quite annihilated or destroyed.

Thus it appears, that the various ranks of intelligent creatures were in their original condition interested in God's favour. Even those abominable beings, called devils, were, while holy, the objects of their Maker's love and approbation, as well as the angels who continue to shine in holy splendour and untainted purity. Though

a part of the angelic world, and the whole human race, have by their revolt from God become vile, and cease to be the objects of the Lord's delight, yet there is no variableness or change in Jehovah. But to every proper object God is love; 1 John iv. 16: for God has no aversion to his creatures simply considered as creatures, but on account of their moral depravity; nor does he necessarily love them because they owe their existence to his sovereign will and almighty power, but as the subjects of his moral image, which consisteth in righteousness and true holiness. As all mankind have lost the image of God in which they were created, and become base and abominable in his sight, being filthy and guilty before him, they must have continued in a condition eternally disgustful to God, and in a state tremendously terrible to themselves, had not the Lord been pleased to have shown them kindness in a sovereign way, being graciously determined to save whom he thought proper with an everlasting salvation. That love from which salvation springs is properly sovereign, and absolutely free. None are its objects because they deserved to be so, nor was God under any necessity of nature so to distinguish them, but it consisted in a voluntary determination to do good to the persons he sovereignly fixed upon as his people, with infinite and invariable delight.