Friendly. I have listened to your arguments with the utmost attention: their force and energy is nothing less than divine, as I now believe, and am completely satisfied, that true happiness is only to be enjoyed in the love of GoD: As it is the fountain of happiness itself, the supply to Angels, the glory and possession of the Saints in Heaven, and what makes the Saints here on earth, not only joyful, but infinitely happy compared with me. But, my dear Truth, bear with my inquisitions, as I am searching after happiness as one that is searching for hidden treasures; therefore you must give me leave to enquire into the nature and properties of this love? and then, secondly, how I shall come to the enjoyment of it? Truth. It is with infinite pleasure, that I view you make such deep searches after true happiness; assure yourself that that joy which burns in the bosom of true friendship, flames in mine, to unfold to you the glories and properties of divine love: You will then observe, that the love of God, which contains all our happiness, is one eternal fountain of felicity, as his name and his nature is love; therefore, it is said, I John iv. 16. God is love; yet his love is in his word diversified and known by many characters. Therefore, to begin in the first place, The love of GoD is a free love, by which I mean it is free to us without any motive or expectation taken from us; it is a free love from God himself without any reluctancy; never did a fountain flow so free with water, or the unwearied tide return its usual course, or the clouds drop down their gentle and enlivening showers, with such life and freedom, as the love of God flows to his people; therefore the HOLY GHOST compares it to a river, Ps. xlvi. 4. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of GOD. From the rapidity and freedom of God's love to his people, flow the following invitations, Isa. lv. 1. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; which denotes not only liberty to come, but the freedom of the waters of life flowing; therefore, says our dear LORD, if any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink, and enforces this invitation with all the energy of Omnipotence-with the attraction of divine sweetness-with all the charms of an infinite satisfaction; in Rev. xxi. 6. Unto him that is athirst, will I give to drink of the water of life freely; thus it appears to be a free love in its nature, and in its communications. A second property of this love is, it is a sovereign love, it does not flow by necessity of nature, though it flows from the perfections of his nature; yet so as JEHOVAH was at free liberty to love, with complacency and delight,

the human race, or not; therefore his love flows to his people from his sovereign pleasure; as salvation is the result of sovereignty, he would have mercy upon whom he would have mercy, because it was his sovereign pleasure so to do; therefore says the Apostle, Eph. i. 9. and hath opened to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in himself. But, thirdly, another property of the love of GOD is, it is a rich and valuable love, rich in its nature, as it has all the riches of Deity in it; pregnant with all the glories of the Godhead, glorified with every perfection of the divine nature, clothed with the merit of infinity; therefore it is by the Apostle styled unsearchable riches; as all the riches of nature, grace, and glory are contained in it; its exuberant beams maintain the riches of glory above, and spreads in the mind the riches of comfort here below: it is likewise rich in its effects, for we, by nature, are not only bankrupts and beggars, but by transgression we have forfeited every favour; yet such is the riches of divine love, it raiseth us from the dunghill to the throne, from our being children of wrath by nature, to become children of GoD, heirs with God, and joint heirs with CHRIST JESUS; that we that had nothing by nature to pay, nor nothing to plead, have, through the riches of divine love, wherewith to pay an infinite satisfaction to an infinite justice, and wherewith to plead for the life and salvation of our precious souls, viz. all the perfections and promises of our GOD, the good word upon which he has caused us to hope, which is an anchor to our souls, sure and stedfast, reaching within the vail; thus it is rich in its nature, rich in its effects, and valuable in its provision, so valuable that the Angels adore it, the Saints admire it, the Apostles utter it forth with notes of admiration, the Assemblies of Zion love to commemorate it; therefore says one, Ps. lxiii. 3. Because thy loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

And in the fourth placc, it is a distinguishing love to men and Angels, therefore the Angels are styled elect Angels, and men are called in scripture chosen vessels, vessels of honour, afore appointed unto glory, chosen unto salvation: It appears to be distinguishing in its nature, from the LORD's own mouth; therefore he says, Jacob have I loved; distinguishing in its effects, as it spreads in the mind that lively hope that maketh not ashamed, because the love of GoD is shed abroad in the heart; this love is distinguishing in the spring and rise of it, and it always spreads in the enjoyment of its streams of distinguishing joy, a joy that the stranger intermeddleth not with;

in short the life of Heaven, the cream of comfort, the consummation of glory springs from distinguishing love, therefore says the raptured Church, with her golden harp, Rev. i. 5. To him that has loved us, &c. and says the Apostle, who loved me, and gave himself for me. But shall I forget to tell my Friendly, that distinguishing love shines with beams as bright as the sun to the people of GOD, inasmuch as their names are writ in Heaven; set a seal upon the SAVIOUR'S heart, enrolled in the LAMB's book of life, and in his intercessory prayer, John xvii. 9. I pray not for the world, but for them that thou hast given me out of the world. But my dear Friendly, I fear I trespass on your patience.

Friendly. Go on, my dear Truth, for your words convey life to my mind, knowledge to my understanding, and satisfaction to my soul.

Truth. Then another propety of the love of God is, it is a wonderful and amazing love, it is wonderful to Angels, which thing, says the Apostle, the Angels desire to pry into,the angels in glory well knew that CHRIST, in his divine nature, was above all sufferings and sorrows, therefore it appears wonderful to them, that the LORD of glory should undertake to bear all the sufferings, and endure all sorrows in the human nature; how the Divine Word that was with God, and that was GOD, that created all things, could be made flesh, and dwell with man; it appears indeed wonderful to them, how the independant fountain of happiness could say, I thirst, how the rose of glory could lose its fragrancy, how the brightness of the Father's glory could be veiled, how the Sun of righteousness could eclipse his beams in a cloud of wrath, how the bright and morning star could be darkened, appears wonderful to them; well might the Apostle cry out with holy rapture, 1 Tim. iii. 16. Great is the mystery of Godliness: GOD was made manifest in the flesh, seen of Angels: I might justly add, it is wonderful to mankind; the pious Psalmist, upon a prophetic view of this wonderful love, cries out in a kind of transport, How excellent is thy loving kindness, O GOD! Indeed this love appears so wonderful to the soul, when it enjoys a sweet sensation of it, that like one overcome and lost in conceiving of it, cries out, How precious are thy thoughts unto me, O GOD! How great is the sum of them? Herein is love, love to a wonderful degree! behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us. And here I would observe, in the sixth place, that the love of God is a strong and inviolable love, -it is almighty as

to its strength,-omnipotent as to its power,-it is a love stronger than death, Cant. viii. 6. it is a love that conquers by its strength, and goes on to conquer, making the unwilling sinner willing by its power, see Ps. cx. 3. It bowed Manasseh's wicked rebellious will to the obedience of faith, and Paul's hardened heart against the gospel, to love the LORD JESUS CHRIST, so as to count all things but dross and dung, for the excellency of the knowledge of him. Phil. iii. 8. Whom to know is life eternal. The strength and power of JEHOVAH's love appears in bearing with his people's provocations, surmounting the mountains of their corruptions, breaking through a thousand oppositions to their hearts, dashing in pieces the designs of sin and Satan, and effectually accomplishing the salvation of believers. But I hasten, in the seventh place, to observe, that the love of God is an incomprehensible love; here the ideas of men and angels are lost, not about the reality and certainty of this love, but with regard to the glories of it; for what finite being can fathom infinite love? it is too high to be comprehended, and too deep to be fathomed; a Seraph's mind may soar on high, but cannot to eternity reach the heights of infinite love. Well might the Apostle then say, it passeth all knowledge, Eph. iii. 9. Therefore, my dear Friendly, consequently, in the eighth place, it is an unspeakable and unparalleled love; much has been said of the love of GoD, in all ages and generations, the birth of time brought forth the tidings of it, the promises proclaimed it, the prophecies foretold it, the types shadowed it, the prophets sweetly sang of it, the ambassadors of peace preached it, the epistles of the gospel are full of it, the church rejoices in it, yet it remains an unspeakable love; I may say of it as the Queen of Sheba did of the wisdom of Solomon, One half has not been told: It appears to be an unparalleled love, as no love ever equalled it, or could ever bear a competition with it, therefore, says a divine writer, GOD so loved the world, as not to be expressed either by men. or angels, so as not to be paralleled; Jacob indeed is said to serve seven years for Rachel, and to count them but as a few days for the love he had for her:-Jonathan's love to David is said to be wonderful; but Jacob's love to Rachel is lost, and Jonathan's love to David vanishes, when compared to love stronger than death, sweeter than honey; that eye hath not seen, nor ear heard of, neither entered into the heart of man to conceive of, yet commended to us while we were yet sinners; for herein, says the Apostle, is love, not

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that we loved GOD, but that he first loved us, and gave his Son to be a propitiation for our sins, 1 John iv. 10. I go on to observe, in the ninth place, that the love of God is an extensive and boundless love; its extensive nature is seen in the rich, and ample provision it makes for us, see Col. i. 19. in the rich and constant supplies it affords us, in the joy it communicates to us; that however boundless our wants are, the love of God is infinitely more boundless to supply them; it is as wide as eternity, as boundless as the ocean, it fills the angelic host with joy, the church triumphant with glory, and the saints in their militant state with comfort; therefore, says the HOLY GHOST, John i. 16. Out of his fulness we all receive, and that grace for grace; it appears to be boundless in its invitations, whosoever will, let him come and take of the water of life freely; a view of this made the Psalmist to say, all my springs are in thee, Ps. lxxxvii. 7. Which leads me to observe, that the love of GoD is an eternal and unchangeable love; as to its date, it is from everlasting, and as to its duration, it is to the days of eternity; his love can never cease to be, while his name is JEHOVAH, or his power omnipotent, or his promises infinite; there is no limitation of his love, as to duration, for it is as durable as Deity, as lasting as eternity, as permanent as his throne, and as unchangeable as his nature; his love is bottomed upon his oath, springs from his perfections, settled by covenant, and sealed by blood, therefore it can know no change nor the least shadow of turning. If ever any thing can make an alteration in the love of GOD, it must be either something unforeseen by him, or unknown to him; as to his foreknowledge, all things that ever was, that now is, that ever will be, was naked to his omniscient eye; therefore says Job, Hell is naked before him, and destruction has no covering; the LORD himself testifies the truth of this by the prophet Isa. xlviii. 8. I knew (saith the LORD to his Church) that thou wouldest grievously transgress, yet the language of his heart is, go yet, love. Hos. iii. 1. Therefore nothing unknown, or unforeseen, can change his love; hence it is that the Apostle concludes with such authority, nor things present, nor things to come, shall be able to separate us from the love of GOD, which is in CHRIST JESUS our LORD. Therefore the love of GoD remains inviolable, firm, and eternally sure; Adam's fall, nor man's transgression, makes no change in it; Satan's power can never evade its force, nor change JEHOVAH'S mind; having, says an inspired writer, loved his own that were in the world, he loved them to the end. Upon which account the prophet