The only ground of God’s love is his love. The ground of God’s love is only and wholly in himself. There is neither portion nor proportion in us to draw his love. There is no love nor loveliness in us that should cause a beam of his love to shine upon us. There is that enmity, that filthiness, that treacherousness, that unfaithfulness, to be found in every man’s bosom, as might justly put God upon glorifying himself in their eternal ruin.

God will have all blessings and happiness to flow from His love through free grace:

  1. that the worst of sinners may have strong grounds for hope and comfort;
  2. for the praise of his own glory;
  3. that vain man may not boast;
  4. that our mercies and blessings may be sure to us.

And as God loves freely, so God justifies us freely: “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ” (Rom 3:24). And as poor sinners are justified freely, so they are pardoned freely: “Him hath God exalted,” speaking of Christ, “with his right hand, to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins” (Acts 5:31). And as they are pardoned freely, so they shall be saved freely: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life” (Rom 6:23).

Thus you see, O despairing souls! that all is of free grace; from the lowest to the highest round of Jacob’s ladder all is of grace.

—Thomas Brooks
Adapted from The Complete Works of Thomas Brooks, 2:376–377.

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