20. Hereunto add the consideration of God’s favour and goodwill towards us. Now as the word of God is full of the expressions of his love towards man, so all his works loudly proclaim it. He gave us our being, and by preserving us in it, doth renew the donation every moment. He hath placed us in a rich and well-furnished world, and liberally provided for all our necessities. He raineth down blessings from heaven upon us, and causeth the earth to bring forth our provision. He giveth us our food and raiment; and while we are spending the productions of one year, he is preparing for us against another. He sweetneth our lives with innumerable comforts, and gratifieth every faculty with suitable objects. The eye of his providence is always upon us, and he watcheth for our safety when we are fast asleep, neither minding him nor ourselves. But lest we should think these testimonies of his kindness less considerable, because they are the easy issues of his omnipotent power, and do not put him to any trouble or pain, he hath taken a more wonderful method to endear himself to us. He hath testified his affection to us, by suffering as well as by doing; and because he could not suffer in his own nature, he assumed ours. The eternal Son of God cloathed himself with the infirmities of our flesh, and left the company of those blessed spirits, who knew well how to love and adore him, that he might dwell among men, and wrestle with the obstinacy of that rebellious race to reduce them to their allegiance, and to offer himself up as a sacrifice for them. I remember one of the poets hath an ingenious fancy to express the passion wherewith he found himself overcome after a long resistance, _That the God of love had shot all his golden arrows at him, but could never pierce his heart, till at length he put himself into the bow, and darted himself straight into his breast_. Methinks this doth someway adumbrate God’s method of dealing with men: he had long contended with a stubborn world, and thrown down many a blessing upon them; and when all his other gifts could not prevail, he at last made a gift of himself. The account which we have of our Saviour’s life in the gospel doth all along present us with the story of his love. All the pains that he took, and the troubles that he endured, were the wonderful effects, and uncontroulable evidences of it. But, O that last, that dismal scene! Is it possible to remember it, and question his kindness, or deny him ours? Here, here it is we should fix our most serious thoughts, _that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith; that we being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth and length, and depth and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that we may be filled with all the fulness of God_!¹ ¹ Ephesians iii. 17, 18, 19.