USE. 1. Reproof. 2. Exhortation.

1. Repent of your Lies 2. Reform.

Confider,

i. Lies fpeak you the Children of Satan.
2. Truth is like God, Lies like the Devil,
Deut. xxxii. 4.

3. What you get by Lying, brings a Curfe
with it.

4. We muft give Account of our idle, much more of our lying Words, Matt. xii. 36.

5. You must never enter into Heaven, Revel. xxi. 27. c. xxii. 15.

Nu M B. XXII. io.
xxiii.

Let me die the Death of the Righteous, and let my latter End be like his.

תמות נפשי מות ישרים ותהי אחריתי כמוהן

WE fhould always defire to die the Death

of the Righteous.

I. How do they die?

I. In the Love of God.
2. In Chrift.

3. With a clear Confcience.

4. They die capable of the Enjoyment of Heaven; having,

1. Their Understandings,

2. Their Wills,

3. Their Affections, fanctified

5. Their Death is but an Entrance into a State of Blifs; confifting,

1. In Freedom from all Evil.

1. Sin.

2. Temptation.

3. Trouble and Sorrow.

2. In the Confluence of all Good; being happy,

1. In their Company.

1. Angels and Saints.

2. Chrift.

3. God.

2. In their Relations.

3. In their Pleasures.

4. Honours.

5. Eternity.

II. How

II. How may we die this Death? 1. Repent.

2. Turn to God.

3. Believe on Chrift.

1. For the Pardon of Sin,
2. Acceptance of your Perfon.'
3. Implanting of Grace.

4. Live the Life of the Righteous, Heb. xii. 14.
5. Meditate on the future Certainties, Death,
Judgment, Heaven, Hell.

6. Be not too much entangled in the World. 7. Live in the continual Expectation of Death.

DEUT. vi. 5.

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart, and with all thy Soul, and with all thy Might.

I. The Agent, Thou, Ifrael, Acts xiii. 23. Romans ix. 6.

*

II. The Act, Love, which is Complacentia Boni ; and denotes,

1. Benevolence, or Well-willing, to the Object beloved; Cant. V. 9, 16.

2. A Defire of the Enjoyment of it.

3. An Acquiescence or Refting in that Enjoyment.

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III. The

III. The Object, Th

1: The Lord Jehovah, as Jehovah, Exod.iii. 14.
2. Thy God, which denotes,

1. Our loving each Perfon, John V. 23.
2. As our God.

IV. The Intenseness of the Act upon that Object, With all thy Heart, and with all thy Soul, and with all thy Might:

Which implies,

I. That we love him with the highest Degree of Love we can poffibly raise up our Souls to.

2. Confequently, That we love him above all Things elfe, Matt. x. 37. Luke xiv, 26.

V. Here is the Neceffity of acting thus upon this Object, Thou shalt.

There is a Twofold Neceffity of it.

1. Of the Precept, Matt. xxii. 37.
2. The Means to Heaven.

What Reasons are there why we should love God above all?

1. Because he is better than all other Things; for he is, Luke xviii. 19.

1. A pure and fimple Good.

2. An infinite Good, Pfal. cxlvii. 5.

3. A fatisfactory Good, Pfal. xvi. 11. Pfal. xvii. 15.

4. An univerfal Good.

5. An unchangeable Good, Jac. i. 17.

6. An eternal Good, Pfal. xc. 2.

7. The only neceffary Good.

2. Because all other Goodness comes from

him.

US E.

USE.

I. Of Reproof, Job. v. 42. for moft Men do not love God thus. If they did,

1. They would think more of him.
2. Long more for him, Phil. iii. 7, 8.
3. Endeavour more to please him.
4. Take more Pleasure in him.

5. Labour more to enjoy him than other
Things

Repent of this Sin.

Confider,

1. Unless you love God above all Things, you are not worthy to be Chrift's Difciples, Luk. xiv. 26.

2. This is the Caufe of other Sins.

3. If we die in this Sin, we are undone, I Cor. xvi. 22.

II. EXAMINATION. Examine,

1. The Ground of your Love to God.
1. God's Goodnefsin himself, Pfal. cxix. 68.
2. His Goodnefs to us, Pfal. cxlv. 9.
2. The Degrees.

3. The Effects.

1. An endeavour to Obey, Job. xiv. rý¿ i Fob. ti. 5.

2. Honour him.

3. Love others, 1 Job. iv. 20.
4. Its Conftancy.

III. EXHORTATION. Love God.

Confider,

1. The Excellency of the Grace.

1. It is the firft and great Command';

Matt. xxii. 38.

2. It fweetens all Duties, 1 Job. v. 3.

3. It is the Work of Heaven.

4

2. The