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nito;' but he purposed to make us, and to make us lovely, and to do us good, and so he had that which is called 'amor benevolentiæ' to us: which properly was not love to us, but a love to himself, and the idea in his own eternal mind, which is called a loving us in esse cognito,' and a purpose to make us good and lovely: that which is not lovely is not an object of love: man was not lovely indeed, when he was not; therefore he was not an object of love; (but in esse cognito.') The same we say of God's loving us when we were enemies he really loved us with complacency so far as our physical goodness made us lovely and as morally lovely he did not love us, otherwise than in esse cognito.' But he purposed to make us morally lovely, and gave us his mercies to that end; and so loved us with a love of benevolence as it is called; which signifieth no more than out of a complacence (or love) to himself, and to us, as physically good, to purpose to make us morally good and happy. As to the incident difficulty of love beginning 'de novo' in God, I have fully resolved it elsewhere".

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2. So also we must love a wicked man with a love of benevolence: which properly is but to love him in his physical worth, and his capacity of moral goodness and happiness, and thereupon, (but especially through the love of God) to desire his happiness.

3. And as to the loving of ourselves, (besides the sensitive love before mentioned which respecteth self as self, and not as good,) a wicked man may rationally love himself according to his physical goodness as a man, which containeth his capacity of moral goodness, and so of being holy and serviceable to God and to good men, and happy in the fruition of God. But beyond all such goodness (which only is amiableness) no man may rationally love himself or any other, with the true formal act of love, which is complacence; though he may wish good to himself or another beyond the present goodness which is in them; nay, he wished them good, not because they are good, but because they want good.

And though some define loving, to be bene velle alicui ut illi bene sit,' to desire another's welfare, yet indeed this may be without any formal love at all. As I may desire the a Apology against Dr. Kendal.

welfare of my horse, without any proper love to him, even for myself and use. When God from eternity willeth to make Paul, and to convert and save him, ' ut illi bene sit,' it is called, love of benevolence; but properly it is only to be called, a will to make Paul good and lovely"; it being only God himself who is the original and ultimate end of that will and purpose; and himself only which he then loveth, there being nothing but himself to love; till in that instant that Paul is existent, and so really lovely. For Paul in esse cognito' is not Paul: yet no reality doth ' oriri de novo' in God; but a new respect and denomination, and in the creature new effects. (Of which elsewhere.) Quest. IV. Must I love every one as much as myself in degree, or only some?'

Answ. You must love every one impartially as yourself, according to his goodness; and you must wish well to every one as to yourself; but you must love no man complacentially so much as yourself, who is not or seemeth not to have as much loveliness, that is, as much goodness, or as much of God, as yourself.

Quest. v. Must I love any one more than myself?'

Answ. Yes, every one that is and appeareth better than yourself. Your sensitive love to another cannot be as much as to yourself; and your beneficence (ordinarily) must be most to yourself, because God in nature and his laws hath so appointed it; and your benevolence to yourself and to others must be alike: but your rational estimation, and love or complacence (with the honour and praise attending it) must be more to every one that is better than yourself; for that which is best is most amiable, and that which hath most of God.

Quest. VI. Will it not then follow, that I must love another man's wife and children better than mine own, when they are really better?'

Answ. Yes, no doubt; but it is only with that rational estimative love. But there is besides a love to wife and. children, which is in some measure sensitive, which you are not obliged to give to others and rationally they are more amiable to you, in their particular relations and respects,

b But if any be resolved to call mere benevolence by the name of love, I will not contend about a name.

though others are more amiable in other respects: and besides, though you value and rationally love another more, yet the expressions must not be the same; for those must follow the relation according to God's command. You may not cohabit or embrace, nor maintain and provide for others as your own, even when you rationally love them more: the common good requires this order in the expressive part, as well as God's command.

Quest. VII. 'Who is my neighbour that I must love as myself?'

Answ. Not devils or damned souls, who are under justice and from under mercy, and are none of our society: but, 1. Every natural man in via,' being a member of God's kingdom in the same world, is to be loved as my natural self; and every spiritual man as a member of the same kingdom of Christ, must be loved as my spiritual self; and every spiritual man as such, above my natural self as such; and no natural man as such, so much as my spiritual self as such so that no man on earth is excluded from your love, which must be impartial to all as to yourself, but proportioned to their goodness.

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Quest. VIII. Are not antichrist and those that sin against the Holy Ghost excepted out of this our love, and out of our prayers and endeavours of their good?'

Answ. Those that (with Zanchy) think Mahomet to be antichrist, may so conclude, because he is dead and out of our communion. Those that take the Papacy to be antichrist (as most Protestants do) cannot so conclude; because as there is but one antichrist, that is, one papacy, though an hundred popes be in that seat, so every one of those popes is in via' and under mercy, and recoverable out of that condition; and therefore is to be loved and prayed for accordingly. And as for those that blaspheme the Holy Ghost, it is a sin that one man cannot certainly know in another, ordinarily at least; and therefore cannot characterize a person unfit for our love, and prayers, and endeavours.

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Quest. IX. May we not hate the enemies of God? How then must we love them as ourselves?'

Answ. We may and must hate sin in every one; and where it is predominant, as God is said to hate the sinner

for his sin, so must we; and yet still love him as ourselves ; for you must hate sin in yourselves as much or more than in any other and if you are wicked you must hate yourselves, as such; yea, if you are godly, you must secundum quid,' or in that measure as you are sinful, abhor, and loathe, and hate yourselves as such; and yet you must love yourselves according to the measure of all that natural and moral goodness which is in you; and you must desire and endeavour all the good to yourselves that you can. Just so must you hate and love another: love them and hate them impartially as you must do yourselves.

Quest. x. May I not wish hurt sometimes to another, more than to myself?'

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Answ. You may wish a mediate hurt which tendeth to his good, or to the good of others; but you must never wish any final hurt and misery to him. You may wish your friend a vomit or blood-letting for his cure; and you may wish him some affliction, when it is needful and apt to humble him and do him good, or to restrain him from doing hurt to others and on the same accounts, and for the public good, you may desire penal justice to be done upon him, yea, sometimes unto death; but still with a desire of the saving of his soul. And such hurt you may also wish yourself as is necessary to your good; but you are not to wish the same penalties to yourself, 1. Because you have somewhat else first to wish and do, even to repent and prevent it. 2. Because you are not bound ordinarily to do execution upon yourself. It is more in your power to repent yourself, and make repentance less necessary by humble confession and amendment, than to bring another to repentance. Yet I may add also, that hypothetically you may wish that destruction to the enemies of God in this life, which absolutely you may not wish: that is, you must desire first that they may repent, and secondly, that they may be restrained from hurting others; but if neither of these may be attained, that they may be cut off.

Tit. 2. Directions for Loving our Neighbours as ourselves.

Direct. 1. Take heed of selfishness and covetousness,

the two great enemies of love.' Of which I have spoken more at large before.

Direct. II. Fall out with no man; or if you do, be speedily reconciled: ' For passions and dissensions are the extinguishers of love.

Direct. III. Love God truly, and you will easily love your neighbour' For you will see God's image on him, or interest in him, and feel all his precepts and mercies obliging you hereunto. As 1 John iii. 11. 23., and iv. 7. 12. 20, 21.

Direct. IV. To this end let Christ be your continual study.' He is the full revelation of the love of God; the lively pattern of love, and the best teacher of it that ever was in the world: his incarnation, life and sufferings, his Gospel and covenant, his intercession and preparations for our heavenly felicity, all are the great demonstrations of condescending, matchless love. Mark both God's love to us in him, and his love to man, and you will have the best directive and incentive of your love.

Direct. v. Observe all the good which is in every man.' Consider of the good of humanity in his nature, and the goodness of all that truth which he confesseth, and of all that moral good which appeareth in his heart and life; and let not oversight or partiality cause you to overlook it, or make light of it. For it is goodness which is the only attractive of love and if you overlook men's goodness, you cannot love them.

Direct. VI. Abhor and beware of a censorious disposition, which magnifieth men's faults, and vilifieth their virtues, and maketh men seem worse than indeed they are.' For as this cometh from the want of love, so doth it destroy that little which is left.

Direct. VII. Beware of superstition and an erring judgment, which maketh men place religion where God never placed it.' For when this hath taught you to make duties and sins of your own humour and invention, it will quickly teach you to love or hate men accordingly as they fit or cross your opinion and humour: thus many a Papist loveth not those that are not subjects of the Roman monarch, and that follow not all his irrational fopperies. Many an Anabaptist loveth not those that are against his opinion of re

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