never dryed up; whom he loved from eternity, thofe he loves to eternity, and they are believers. Now firs, is not this a great favour to be beloved of God? John xiii. 5. He loved them even to the end; not for a day, or a month, or a year, not for a flash and away, but even to the end. And in Jer. xxxi. 3. fpeaking there of his love, it is called an everlasting love, I have loved thee, Jays God, with an everlasting love, Oh firs, this is a love that fhall bed and board with thee, that shall lie down and rife up with thee, that shall go to thy death bed with thee, to the grave with thee, and to heaven with thee, the Saints shall put off the jewel of faith, when they die, but not the jewel of love, for that shall remain with them to eternity; God loves his faints with an everlafting love. 9. With an univerfal love; his love is univerfal to all the faints: Oh there is not one faint but Christ infinitely loves, he loves them as the father loves him, he loves poor Lazarus as well as rich Abraham, and defpifed Job as well as honourable David, he loves the pooreft faints as well as the richest, he loves them all alike, God is no refpecter of perfons. Oh, where is there fuch a king now as Chrift? They love their nobles, their favourites, they are their darlings; but Chrift loves all his fubjects, Christ's love extends to all all his faints; his love it is like the beams of the fun, which reacheth all ways, eaft, weft, north and fouth, fo doth Chrift's love. 10. His love it is a correcting love; whom he loveth he chaftifeth, he correcteth every fon whom he receiveth. 11. Chrift's love it is a directing love; he hath promifed to guide and direct his people in the way wherein they ought to walk. Oh firs, put all these particulars together, and fure you must needs confefs that Jefus Chrift loves his fubjects infinitely, as it was faid of Lazarus when Chrift wept for him, they made this conftruction of it, Oh how he loves him! Oh firs, how doth Chrift love you, who are his people? he loves you infinitely, even beyond measure, his love it paffeth knowledge. Now O firs, for the Lords fake confider of it, and let this draw forth your love to him. I fhall the next opportunity come to fhew you the love of Chrift's fubjects to him, if the Lord give leave. SERMON SERMON The KING of KINGS. III. CANT. V. 16. He is altogether Lovely. THE HE spouse indeed was fick of love whilft we were finners Chrift died for us, fays the Apoftle, he loved us more than his own life; yea, the very life of Chrift, to him was not too dear for us. Some write of a fowl called a Pelican, and they fay fhe feeds her young ones with her own blood. Oh Sirs, Chrift is our Pelican, that hath nourished and fed us with his own blood: My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed, fays Chrift, John vi. 55. Chrift's red blood hath taken away our red guilt, fcarlet, red finners are by grace become milk-whitefaints: All our precious mercies come fwimming to us in precious blood; Chrift bled love at every vein, his drops of blood were drops of love, yea, the more bloody the more lovely; he was moft lovely upon the cross, because then he fhewed moft love to us. The last day I fhewed you the great love which Jefus Chrift bears to all his fubjects: And the fum of my difcourfe was this, that Jefus Chrift bears to all his fubjects with an everlasting and enduring love. That which 1 am I am to fhew you, is this, that all Chrift's fubjects love him, and what kind of love it is. The faint's love to Chrift is vehement and ftrong: This will appear, if you confider to what the Scripture likens and compares the faints love. Now it is compared to four things. 1. To Sickness. 2. To Death. 3. Το the Grave. 4. To Fire. To these things is believers love compared in fcripture: I hall handle them in order. 1. Sickness, this is the firft comparison which doth fet forth the ftrength of the believers love: this is fet down in two places of this book of Canticles, Cant. ii. 5. Stay me with flaggons. and comfort me with apples, · for I am fick of love and in chap. v. 8. Tell ye him whom my foul loveth, that I am fick of love. She is over-whelmed, fhe is overcome, and even ravished with his love and beauty. Oh I thirst, I faint, I pant, I long for him. Oh firs, the church is very fick and ready to fwoon: Never was Ahab fo fick for vinyard, never was Sifera fo defirous of milk, Sampfon for water, Rachel for a child, nor Ammon for his fifter Tamar, as broken hearted finners are for Chrift; when Chrift gets into the heart, he draws all the affections to him. I remember the fpeech of a gracious woman, I have born (fays fhe) nine children, with as much pain as other women do, and yet I could with all my heart bear them over again, fo fo I might be fure of a part in Chrift. Oh how infinitely do believers love Christ! David wonders at his own love, Pfalm, cxvi. 97. Oh, how I love thy law! he makes a wonder at it here, with what vehemency he loves God's word, Oh how I love thy law! So the spouse here, fhe doth not only love him, but she is fick of love, ready to die for love. Oh firs, here is a fickness, but not unto death, but unto life; it is a ficknefs that bringeth bleffednefs and happinefs with it; a sickness which fhall be cured by him who is the great phyfician of fouls: This is the firft, fhe compares her love to sickness. 2. The next thing whereby fhe expreffeth the ftrength of her love to Chrift, it is by death; this you have in Cant. viii. 16. fhe there tells you, Her love, it is as ftrong as death. Beloved, you know death is ftrong, it is the king of terrors, and the terror of kings; it fubdues all forts of people, high and low, rich and poor, old and young, good and bad; the greatest monarchs, kings and emperors are thrown by death; where did ever that man dwell that was too strong for death? If ftrength could have refifted it, then Sampson had miffed it; could greatnefs have over-looked it, Nebuchadnezzar had efcaped it; could beauty have out-faced it, then Abfalom had never met it; could riches have bribed it, Dives had avoided it. But alas, none of these gallants were hard enough for |