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The notion of brother must not be understood so narrowly, as only to signify such as we have particular inclination to, as being of our own party and opinion, or kindred, or who have obliged us by special kindness; for to confine our love within such limits, were no argument of our having
passed from death unto life, or more than is to be found with the worst of men, Mat_5:46,47. Nor must it be understood exclusively, of the regenerateonly; but must be taken, first, more generally, in the natural sense, for all mankind, in the same latitude as neighbour in that summary of the second table: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; originally intended not to Jews, as such, but men; and therefore excludes not our enemies, by our Saviour’s interpretation, Mat_5:43,44. Secondly, in a more special (viz. the spiritual) sense, for such as are our brethren by regeneration, so the children with us of the same Father; i.e. whereas the blessed God himself is the primum amabile, the first object of love, all others (persons or things) ought to be loved proportionably to what prints or characters of the Divine excellency we find impressed upon them. Human nature hath resemblances in it of his spiritual, intelligent, immortal nature; regeneracy, of his holiness. And so he loves his creatures himself, severing their malignity, (where that is to be found), that is of themselves, from what of real good there is in them, which is from him. When therefore a correspondent frame of love is impressed upon us, and inwrought into our temper, his image, who is love, is renewed in us, which, in this noble part of it, the devil had so eminently defaced in the world, possessing the souls of men with mutual animosities and enmities against one another, but especially such as should be found to have upon them any impress of the most excellent kind of goodness, i.e. of true piety and holiness. And by this renovation of his image in us, whereby we are enabled to love others for his sake, and proportionably to what characters of him are upon them, we appear to be his children, Mat_5:45, begotten of him into a state of life, out of that death which is upon the rest of the world, Eph_2:1, and wherein every one still abides that thus loves not his brother.