The Godly Mans Journey to Heaven, Treatise 2 · Meditation 10
10. There be foure sorts of louelove, two most corrupt, and too common, alas, too many: two most pure and heauenly, few, alas, be inriched with it.
VVHen shalt thou beginne, ô my soule, to louelove thy God truly, who hath loued thee dearely, with that sincere louelove his Maiestie will accept of, as of that louelove which commeth from him, and sendeth thee backe to him againe? Beleeue me, ô my soule, albeit there be some, yet there are not many, who be beautified and gifted with this sort of louelove, for thou must know, ô my soule, that the heart of man hath bene, and is clogged and clothed with a fourefold louelove, which would be considered by our Gospellers, who professe that they know, and louelove that Christ who hath dearely loued them, if they had hearts to perceiue his louelove toward them. The first sort of louelove is most corrupt in the corrupt heart of corrupt man: whereby man loueth himselfe, and beside himselfe nothing, hunting after nothing while he liueth, but that which may pleasure and profit himselfe; yea, not regarding, suppose the whole world were destroyed with Sodome, after that his eyes were closed by death. The second sort of louelove, is corrupt also, in the corrupt heart of corrupt man, whereby man seeing and considering that he is not of himselfe sufficiently able, either to procure vntounto himselfe such things as he accounteth to be good, or ro defend or deliuer himselfe from such things he holdeth to be euill, he is moued not onelyonly to louelove himselfe, but to louelove his God also; and yet while he loueth God thus, he loueth not God for Gods cause, but God for his owne cause: and so as Demetrius loued Diana, who liued by making of siluer shrynes vntounto her. This moued Augustine to say: Quod non propter se amatur, non amatur. That which is not loued for the selfe, without any by-respect, is not said to be loued. The third sort of louelove, is holy and renewed in the sanctified, softened heart of the regenerate child of God, whereby he hauing happily (through the effectuall working of Christs Spirit dwelling in him) tasted of the sweetnesse, bountie, and goodnesse of his God, beginneth to louelove God, euen for Gods cause, and that with a more reuerent louelove then he loueth father, mother, wife, or child, or any other whatsoeuer. The fourth sort of louelove is altogether spirituall and heauenly, transporting (euen with exceeding ioy and alacritie) the soule of man from all things here beneath, towards the third heauens, whereby the child of God is not onelyonly moued to louelove God for Gods cause, but to louelove himselfe for Gods cause, and all other things, besides himselfe, no other way but in God,Exod. …. 11. and for God. This was that louelove,Heb. 11. 24. 25. 26. ô my soule, wherewith Moses loued his God, when he forsooke the Court of Egypt, and chused to suffer trouble for Christs cause. This was that louelove wherewith Paul loued God, when he said: My life is not deare to me, Act. 20. 34.so that I may fulfill my course with ioy, I am readie, not to be bound onelyonly, Act. 21. 13.but also to dye at Ierusalem for the name of the Lord Iesus. Bernard thinking vponupon this, was not afraid to say: Sapies tibi cum te senseris nil habere prorsus vnde te ames, Bern. serm. in Cant. 50.nisi quantum Dei es. Thou shalt then proue wise to thy selfe, when thou shalt find, that thou hast nothing for thee while thou shouldst louelove thy selfe, but in so far as thou art Gods. This same moued Augustine to say: Minus te amat ô Deus, August.qui tecum aliquid amat, quod non propter te amat. That man, ô God, loues thy Maiestie the lesse, who loues any thing with thee, which he loues not for thee. Yea, this moued Bernard thus to counsell vsus:Bern. Quaeramus Dominum veraciter, frequenter, perseueranter: vt nec pro illo quaeramus aliud, nec cum illo aliud, nec ab illo ad aliud conuertamur. Let vsus seeke the Lord our God truly, frequently, constantly: to the end that we neither seeke any other thing for him, or any other thing with him: and that we attempt not to turne from him, to anie thing beside him. And this sort of louelove which is begun onelyonly here, shall be perfected in the heauens. Oh Lord God, whē shall I begin to louelove no honour, but that whereby I may honour thee? no pleasures but those which may please thee? no wealth, but wherewith I may hauehave my soule enriched by thee, and with thee, for the better seeking and finding of thee? yea, when shall I begin onelyonly to liue, to the end that thy Maiestie may liue in me, and be glorified by me? yea, Lord, let me step one step higher; when shall I begin to delight to be shamed, to the end that thou mayest be glorified, to delight to be grieued & pained, to the end that thou mayest be pleased: to delight to be stripped sta…ke naked of all the earthly things which I possesse, or can possesse, to the end that I may possesse thee? yea, when shall I long, and desire to dye, to the end that I may liue with thee? And yet if I could do all this, what could I do, what should I do? I could do nothing but proue mindfull, but proue thankfull, and that not through any grace in me, which is from me, (for, alas, ô my soule, forgettest thou not thy God fearefully, art thou not vnkind to thy God grosly?) but through thine vnderserued fauour onelyonly: would not that blessed Sonne of God, yea, that very God of glorie, thy Sauiour Iesus, ô my soule, be shamed to honour thee, be pained to please thee, be grieued to grace thee, be made poore to make thee rich? yea, would …e not dye to quicken thee? and so, ô my soule, when thou hast shamed thy self, to whom shame is due for sinne, when thou hast grieued thy selfe, to whom griefe is due for sinne, when thou hast depriued thy selfe of all things, to whom nothing is due because of sinne, yea when thou hast layed downe thy life, whom sinne must bereaue of life, hauing death for its wages, what hast thou done? considering that he who neuer sinned, being that God of glorie vntounto whom all honour, all pleasures, all wealth, and onelyonly life did belong, depriued himselfe of all things, and cloathed himselfe willingly with the contrary euils, and that for thee? Be mindfull of these things, ô my soule, and forget not to beg grace at thy God to proue thankfull for them.