The object of this love is the world. It was to a world of sinners, towards which this love was exercised. God loved men as a race, as sinners, the enemies of God. It was an unselfish kind of love. The reason why God loved men was not because they deserved that he should do them good - for they deserved evil only at his hands. Observe, there was a good reason why he should love them, but they had no right to demand his love as a matter of justice, for they had forfeited all claim to his affection or protection; and therefore, of course, justice did not demand that God should do them good. The soul of man was so valuable, its happiness would be so infinitely important, and its misery so great an evil, that God, looking at the intrinsic value of their souls, saw good reason for loving them and doing them good - that is, God did the good for the sake of the good itself; he willed good to them for the sake of the intrinsic and infinite value of this good to them considered in itself, and not because they at all deserved it. They not only had no claim upon him for this love, but there were great reasons for his destroying them; yet, nevertheless so great was the value of their souls, so much did he pity them in view of their coming and certain destruction, and so greatly did he love their happiness and desire it, that overcoming all obstacles in the way he rose above any disposition to punish them, or retaliate upon them for their wickedness, and sought only to do them good. There was good reason for this as I have said, not in view of the actions of mankind, but in consideration of the value of their souls.