betwixt the two feeds, and our Lord commas his difciples to love one another, " even as he has loved them." This love is also distinct from that peculiar love that God's peculiar people, the members of the commonwealth of Ifrael after the flesh, were bound to have toward one another as brethren by the law, as it was delivered to them: for this is a peculiar love among the difciples, Jews or Gentiles, wherewith they love one another, even as he hath loved them."

Our Lord calls this his new commandment. And it may be called new on these accounts: (1.) Because the love here required has a new object: "Every one that is of the truth." Every one of the redeemed unto God by the blood of the Lamb, out of every nation, is to be loved with this love, wherewith Chrift would have his people to love one another, even as he hath loved them. He hath flain the enmity betwixt these two, Jew and Gentile, and hath taken them down, and made them up again into one new man in himfelf. This one new man is the adequate object of this love, and fo it is new, Eph. ii. 14. 15. 16. (2.) Because there is a new reafon for it: "Even as I have loved you." 1 John iii. 16. "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down "his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the "brethren." 1 John iv. 9. 10. II. “And this is his com"mandment to whom the Father hath given authority to ex"ecute judgment, because he is the Son of man," John v. 27. As it was faid to the children of Ifrael," I am the Lord "thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt; "thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyfelf;" fo here he says, "A new commandment give I unto you, That ye love one "another, as I have loved you." (3.) Because obedience to this commandment is a fpecial fruit of the New-Teftament Spirit, the Spirit of Jefus Chrift conforming us to him in his love to his people: "Therefore," fays he, " as I have lo"ved you, that ye alfo love one another." And John xv. 12. 13. "This is my commandment, That ye love one an"other, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man "than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." This is pointed out as the special fruit we bring forth, by "abiding in him, as the branch in the vine," 4. 5. 8. 10. (4.) Because it is the trying command of the New Testament, whereby the Lord puts a difference betwixt his fubjects and the rest of the world: for by means of this he makes "it "manifeft in their own confciences by his Spirit, that they are his," John iii. 18.-24. And by this he would have

his difciples 1nifeft in the world; therefore he prays to the Father," that they may be one, that the world may believe. "that the Father hath fent him," John xvii. 21. And by this he will distinguish his people from the world, "when he "executes judgment at his coming," Matth. xxv. 31-46. "And then the world shall know, that the Father hath loved "them as he has loved him," John xvii. 23. So he fays, "By this fhall all men know that ye are my difciples, if ye "have love one to another."

With respect to this law, putting the difference betwixt the children of God and the children of the devil, believers are called "righteous:" John iii. 7. "Little children, let no "man deceive you: he that doth righteoufnefs, is righteous, " even as he is righteous.". Jefus Chrift is righteous, in the perfect obedience he gave unto the law of eternal life and death, in the room and ftead of his people; and this is the righteousness whereby they are juftified, and ftand for ever as children, in the Father's favour and love, with Jefus Chrift his Son, who kept his commandments, and continues in his love. And he "that doth righteousness," is faid "to be righteous, 46 even as he is righteous." Righteousness must respect a law, against which if a man fin, he cannot properly be called righteous with respect to that law; and here believers are called righteous with reference unto a law against which they do not fin, y 4. 5. 6. "Whofoever committeth fin, tranfgreffeth alfo "the law; for fin is the tranfgreffion of the law. And ye "know that he was manifefted to take away our fins; and " in him is no fin. Whofoever abideth in hin, finneth not; "whofoever finneth, hath not feen him, neither known him." The law with respect to which believers are righteous in doing righteousness, cannot be that with refpect to which Chrift is perfectly righteous, and they in him their head. For though there be none that give any true obedience to the commands of that law but they, yet they fin agai ft them daily; and fo they are not righteous with refpect to that law, in their doing the righteousness of it. But the Apostle plainly points here to the Lord's new commandment of brotherly love, as the Lord himself doth, when he fays, John xv. 10. "If ye keep my commandments, ye fhall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and a"bide in his love." See y 11.-14. 17. "These things I command you, that ye love one another." For the Apostle tells us, 1 John iii. 8. 9. 10. 11. " He that committeth fin, "is of the devil; for the devil finneth from the beginning. VOL. I.

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"For this purpose the Son of God was mar efted, that he

might deftroy the works of the devil. Whoever is born "of God, doth not commit fin; for his feed remaineth in "him and he cannot fin, because he is born of God. In "this the children of God are manifeft, and the children of "the devil: Whofoever doth not righteoufnefs, is not of God, "neither he that loveth not his brother. For this is the mef"fage that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love "one another." It is plainly the enmity and hatred of the devil and his children, against the woman's feed, that is here called fin, as it is alfo John viii. 34. 37. 38. 44. And it is love to the woman's feed, love to our brethren in Chrift for his fake, that is here called righteousness. But it cannot be the perfection of this love which is in Jefus Christ the righ teous, nor fuch measures of it as are to be found with fome eminent faints only, that is here intended for fome of the children of God have it not in this refpect. But the Apostle here fpeaks of a law, against which "none that are born of "God can fin, because the feed of God remains in them.” And that is the law requiring that we have this love one to another, to difference us from the children of the devil, that have not this love at all, nor can have it, because they are not born of God, but hate and perfecute God's children. None of the children of God fin against this law; for "they "have purified their fouls in obeying the truth, through the "Spirit, unto unfeigned love of the brethren; being born a"gain of the incorruptible feed of the word, which remain"eth in them :" So that they cannot be deftitute of this love altogether, as the children of the devil are, nor hate the brethren as they do, ard fo cannot fin against this differencing law, y 12.-15. "Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, "and flew his brother. And wherefore flew he him? Be"caufe his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous. "Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. "know that we have paffed from death unto life, because we "love the brethren: he that loveth not his brother, abideth "in death. Whofoever hateth his brother, is a murderer; "and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding "in him."

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The more we do of this righteousness, the more full evidence we have of our being the children of God, and enjoy the more of those manifestations of his love that are promised to them that keep his commandments, John xiv. and xv. And because there is fo little of the labour of this love which

is the fruit faith, yea fo little accefs to perform the duties of this love in a conftant way, through the neglect of Chrift's great inftitution for that end, Matth. xviii. 15.-20. Acts ii. 41. 42. therefore thofe manifeftations are fo little known, as they were at the beginning, when faith and this love was lively, and when it could be faid of believers in the churches, whose faith in the Lord Jefus, and love unto all the faints, might be heard of," After that ye believed, ye were "fealed with that Holy Spirit of promife, which is the ear" neft of our inheritance," Eph. i. 13. 14. 15.

3. Chrift's fubjects hear his voice in his threatenings: "He "that believeth not, shall be damned." See further these inftances of gospel-threatenings, Matth. vii. 21.-27. Luke xiii. 24.-27. Matth.xxv. Matth. xviii. 6. 17. 18 32.-35. John xv. 2. Heb. ii. 1. 2. 3. and vi. 3.-8. and x. 23.-31. 38. and xii. 25. 28. 29. 2 Pet. ii. 20. 21. and the threatenings to the churches, Rev. ii. and iii.

His threatenings are his voice as well as his promifes. And if his fubjects be not they that hear this voice of his, who are they then that give it a fuitable hearing? This voice of Chrift is very useful to his people, to keep them from carnal fecurity and felf-confidence, and to move them to hold faft the grace of his kingdom, "whereby they may ferve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear." For even their "God is a confuming fire.". It is far from being an evidence of unbelief or felf righteoufnefs, to be poor, and of a contrite fpirit, and to tremble at God's word. And they that hearken not to the voice of Chrift's threatenings, while fin and felf remain in them, will very foon give little ear to the word of his grace, and be little under the influence of it. Paul knew as much of free grace, and of the everlasting righteousness brought in by Chrift, as any in our day; and he did not think that he was doing any thing inconfiftent with it, when he kept under his body, and was bringing it into fubjection, " left that by any means, when he had preached to others, " he himself should be a caft-away," 1 Cor. ix. 24.-27. 4. Chrift's fubjects hear his voice in his promises : "that believeth, and is baptized, fhall be faved." See Rom. x. 8.-13. John vi. 37. 1 John v. 11. 12. 13.

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This is the great promife of the gofpel, wherein all that is promifed is the reward of Chrift's righteoufnefs, the only foundation of our title to all the promifes: and then only can we have folid hopes of enjoying the good things promised, when we look upon them as the reward of his righteoufness ;

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yet so as we must always attend to this tenore promises, "teaching them to obferve all things whatibever I have "commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, unto the "end of the world. And if ye keep my commandments, ye "fhall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's "commandments, and abide in his love."

The gofpel contains "the promises of this life, and of that "which is to come;" and godlinefs has thefe promises. See the tenor, firft, of the promifes of this life: "Take no "thought, faying, What fhall, we eat? or, What shall we "drink? or, Wherewithal fhall we be clothed? But feek ye "first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all "these things fhall be added unto you. Take therefore no "thought for the morrow; for the morrow fhall take thought "for the things of itself: fufficient unto the day is the evil "thereof," Matth vi. 31-34. Unto this promise the A. poftle feems to refer, when he fays, That godliness has "the promise of the life that now is." See 1 Tim. iv.

10. We have alfo fomething like a promife of this life in our Lord's faying, "That there is no man that hath left "house and lands for his fake and the gofpel's, but he "shall receive an hundred-fold now in this time houses, and

lands, with perfecutions; and in the world to come, eter. "nal life," Mark x. 28. 29. 30. But there are other forts of promifes made out unto Chrift's fubjects in this world; fuch as, the promise of Chrift's being always prefent with his minifters in teaching, and with his people in obferving all things that he commands; and that promife, John xiv. 23. and the promises to the churches. See the promise to Philadelphia, Rev iii. 10. "Becaufe thou haft kept the word of "my patience, I alfo will keep thee from the hour of temp"tation." We muft next confider the tenor of the promise of the life that is to come, which is the main promife of the gospel, the earthly inheritance being now done away, and the promise of Chrift's coming in the flesh being now ful filled. See Rev. iii. 21. "To him that overcometh will I 66 grant to fit with me in my throne, even as I alfo overcame, "and am fet down with my Father in his throne." John xii. 25. 26. Rom. viii. 17. 1 Cor. xv. 8 "Be ftedfaft, unmove"able, always abounding in the work of the Lord, foraf "much as ye know that your labour is not vain in the Lord.". Col. iii. 23. 24. "And whatfoever ye do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the "Lord ye fhall receive the reward of the inheritance: for