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betwixt the two feeds, and our Lord commands his disciples 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 disciples, 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 Christ 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 so it is new, Eph. ii. 14. 15. 16. (2.) Because there is a new reason for it: "Even as I have loved you." I 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. 11. "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 said 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 thyself;" so 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 special fruit of the New-Teftament Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ conforming us to him in his love to his people : "Therefore," says he, " as I have lo"ved you, that ye also 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 subjects and the rest of the world: for by means of this he makes " it " manifest in their own confciences by his Spirit, that they " are his," John iii. 18.-24. And by this he would have his disciples 1 nifest in the world; therefore he prays to the Father, " that they may be one, that the world may believe "that the Father hath sent him," John xvii. 21. And by this he will diftinguish 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 says, " By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, 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:" 1 John iii. 7. "Little children, let no " man deceive you: he that doth righteousness, is righteous,

even as he is righteous." Jesus Christ is righteous, in the perfect obedience he gave unto the law of eternal life and death, in the room and stead of his people; and this is the righteousness whereby they are justified, and stand for ever as children, in the Father's favour and love, with Jesus Christ his Son, who kept his commandments, and continues in his love. And he "that doth righteousness," is faid " to be righteous,

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. "Whosoever committeth fin, transgresseth also "the law; for sin is the tranfgreffion of the law. And ye " know that he was manifefted to take away our fins; and " in him is no fin. Whosoever abideth in hin, sinneth not; " whosoever finneth, hath not seen him, neither known him." The law with respect to which believers are righteous in doing righteousness, cannot be that with respect to which Christ 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 so they are not righteous with respect 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 says, John xv. 10. "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall 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 Apoftle tells us, 1 John iii. 8. 9. 10. 11. "He that committeth fin, " is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. VOL. I.

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" For this purpose the Son of God was marested, that he " might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever is born " of God, doth not commit sin; 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: Whosoever doth not righteousness, 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 also 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 Jesus Chrift 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 respect. But the Apostle here speaks 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 destitute of this love altogether, as the children of the devil are, nor hate the brethren as they do, ard so 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"cause his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous. " Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. "know that we have passed from death unto life, because we " love the brethren: he that loveth not his brother, abideth " in death. Whosoever 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 promifed to them that keep his commandments, John xiv, and xv. And because there is so little of the labour of this love which is the fruit faith, yea so little access to perform the duties of this love in a constant way, through the neglect of Chrift's great institution for that end, Matth. xviii. 15.-20. Acts ii. 41. 42. therefore those manifestations are so 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 Jesus, and love unto all the saints, might be heard of, " After that ye believed, ye were " sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the ear" nest of our inheritance," Eph. i. 13. 14. 15.

3. Christ's subjects hear his voice in his threatenings: “He "that believeth not, shall be damned." See further these instances of gofpel-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 promises. And if his subjects be not they that hear this voice of his, who are they then that give it a suitable hearing? This voice of Chrift is very useful to his people, to keep them from carnal security and self-confidence, and to move them to hold faft the grace of his kingdom, " whereby they may serve God ac" ceptably, with reverence and godly fear." For even their " God is a confuming fire." It is far from being an evidence of unbelief or felf righteousness, to be poor, and of a contrite spirit, and to tremble at God's word. And they that hearken not to the voice of Chrift's threatenings, while fin and self 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 Christ, 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 subjection, " left that by any means, when he had preached to others, " he himself should be a cast-away," 1 Cor. ix. 24.-27.

4. Christ's subjects hear his voice in his promises : "He " that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved." See Rom.x. 8.-13. John vi. 37. 1 John v. 11. 12. 13.

This is the great promise of the gospel, wherein all that is promised is the reward of Christ's righteousness, the only foundation of our title to all the promises: and then only can we have folid hopes of enjoying the good things promifed, when we look upon them as the reward of his righteousness; yet

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

The gospel contains "the promises of this life, and of that "which is to come; and godliness has these promises. See the tenor, first, of the promises of this life : "Take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we " drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? But seek ye " first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all "these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no

thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall take thought " for the hings of itself: fufficient unto the day is the evil "thereof," Matth vi. 31.-34. Unto this promise the A. poftle seems to refer, when he says, That" godliness has "the promise of the life that now is." See 1 Tim. iv. 7.-10. We have also something like a promife of this life in our Lord's saying, "That there is no man that hath left " house and lands for his fake and the gospel's, but he " shall receive an hundred-fold now in this time houses, and

lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come, eter"nal life," Mark x. 28. 29. 30. But there are other forts of promises made out unto Christ's subjects in this world; such as, the promise of Christ's being always present with his minifters in teaching, and with his people in observing all thing that he commands; and that promise, John xiv. 23. and the promises to the churches. See the promise to Philadelphia, Rev iii. 10. " Because thou hast kept the word of

my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temp"tation." We must next confider the tenor of the promise of the life that is to come, which is the main promise 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 " grant to fit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, " and am fet down with my Father in his throne." John xii. 25. 26. Rom. viii. 17. 1 Cor. xv. 8 "Be stedfast, 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 whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as " unto the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the " Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for

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