Samsons Seven Locks of Hair Compared to the Seven Spiritual Virtues, Part 2 – Part 6
THE SECOND LOCKE. The louelove of God.
THE Spirit of GOD worketh not ſo ſoone Fayth in a Chriſtian heart, but likewiſe as ſoone hee ſheddeth abroad alſo the LoueLove of GOD in his ſoule: For as the Fire hath theſe two principall qualities, to wit, Light & Heate;Simil. euen ſo hath the true knowledge of GOD the LoueLove of GOD conjoyned therewith. For how can wee louelove the thing which wee know not? Yea, the meaſure of the LoueLove groweth according to the meaſure of the knowledge: For no man can louelove the Pearle,Simil. vnleſſe hee know the validitie, vertue, and price of it; and then hee eſteemeth of it. Hee that loueth not the LORD IESVS let him bee accurſed. Hee asked three times at Peter, Iob. 21.15if hee loved him? not if hee knewe him; to declare, that the knowledge of GOD, without his louelove, is vnprofitable.
Trie the louelove which you beare towardes GOD by theſe fiue markes: Firſt,Fiue marks whereby to try our louelove. 1. Principall. if it bee principall: and when yee compare other things (which ye louelove) with him, trie which of them yee louelove beſt. Hee that loveth Father, or Mother, or Wife, or Land, &c. better than mee (ſayeth our Saviour) is not worthie of mee. Matth. 10 37.For he firſt loued vsus: yea, hee loued vsus more than all the other creatures, and tooke our fleſh vponupon him, and died for vsus: what ſhould wee then doe for him? But the ſwiniſh Gadalenes of this worlde louelove their Swine better than him:Matth. 8.34. theſe rich Gluttons louelove their Bellies better than him: and theſe couetous and earthlie minded men louelove Mammon better than GOD.
Next,2. Sincere. trie thy LoueLove by the ſinceritie thereof, and for what cauſe thou loueſt GOD; whether for his owne cauſe, and the ſweetneſſe which is in him; or for ſome temporall gaine and rewarde that thou lookeſt for at his handes becauſe thou loueſt him: If it bee for gaine, it is but mercenarie, and the louelove of an Hyreling: But wee ought to louelove the LORD as a chaſte woman doeth her Husband:Simil. not for his Riches and Honours, but for louelove of himſelfe: yea, ſhee counteth it no burthen to begge with him. Euen ſo muſt wee louelove the LORD for himſelfe, & the goodneſſe which is in him: Yea, it is a part of mercenarie wages to louelove GOD for eternall Life: but rather wee muſt louelove eternall Life for him, that wee may bee with him; for without him eternall Life were eternall Death.
Thirdlie,3. The louelove of GODS Houſe. wee may trie the louelove of GOD to bee true in vsus, if wee finde in our ſelues that wee louelove GOD himſelfe, and his Houſe.Pſa. 116.1 I louelove the LORD dearlie (ſayth the Prophet David.) And, O LORD, I hauehave loued the Habitation of thine Houſe, Pſal. 26.8.and the place where thine Honour dwelleth. And againe,Pſal. 27.4. One thing hauehave I craued of the LORD, that I will require, That I may dwell in the Houſe of the LORD all the dayes of my life, to beholde the Beautie of the LORD, and to viſit his Temple. Reade the foureſcore & eight Pſalme, which beginneth, O LORD of Hostes! how amiable are thy Tabernacles! and reade it vntounto the ende, and yee ſhall perceiue howe well David loued the LORDES Houſe. Which manifeſtlie argueth, that theſe vngodlie Atheiſtes, and faythleſſe Papiſtes, who refuſe GODS publicke Houſe, but at ſome ſuperſtitious times, hauehave no louelove of GOD in their heartes.
Farther, yee ſhall trie the louelove of GOD which yee hauehave in your heart by the louelove that you carrie towardes your Neighbours,4. The louelove of the Brethren. the Brethren, and Members of CHRIST: For howe can yee louelove the inviſible GOD, the Father,1. Ioh. 4.20 whom yee ſee not, if yee louelove not his Children whom yee ſee? David ſayeth that hee was a Companion vntounto all them that feared the LORD: Pſal. 119.63.as alſo hee hated all thoſe that hated the LORD.
And finallie,5. The hatred of ſinne if yee would trie whether yee louelove the LORD truelie, and whether or not yee hauehave the ſecond Locke of Haire on your head, then ſee how yee are affected towardes euerie ſinne:Pſa. 97.10 For hee that loueth the LORD hateth all euill: So that of neceſſitie wee muſt hate all kinde of ſinnes, both in our ſelues, and in all others.
And now by theſe markes yee may trie whether yee hauehave the true louelove of GOD in your heartes, or not.
THE THIRD LOCKE. The feare of God.
THIS may ſeeme ſtrange, that wee muſt both louelove and feare GOD; when as the Apoſtle ſayeth,1 Ioh. 4, 18 that perfect LoueLove chaſeth away Feare. But ye muſt vnderſtand that there is both a ſlauiſh feare, and a childiſh feare: the Slaue feareth duplicate page duplicate page for paine; the Childe out of louelove feareth to offende:Childiſh feare. ſo that the greater louelove there is, there is alſo the greater feare to offende him whome thou loueſt.
But becauſe men may deceiue themſelues concerning this Feare of GOD, I ſhall heere (God willing) giuegive you a briefe Rule, which can verie hardlie …ayle:NOTA. Bee af ayde to offende God in the ſmalleſt thoughts. Pro. 28.14 that is, If thou makest conſcience, and feareſt to offende GOD in the ſmalleſt thought of thine heart: For hee that is afrayd to offend in leſſer things, will he not be more loath to offend in greater matters? as is ſayde, Bleſſed is hee that feareth continuallie.
But (alace) wee may ſay with Abraham, that the ſeare of GOD is not in this place. Geneſ. 20.11.For if the feare of GOD were in your heartes, it would bee a Bridle to reſtraine you from euerie euill, althoug there were neyther King, Law, nor Iuſtice. But if it bee an externall Feare which ſtayeth you from doing euill, then yee lacke the third Locke of Samſons Haire.
THE FOVRTH LOCKE. Obedience to God.
THIS Obedience to GOD is the firſt fruite of the former three: for Abrahams fayth was knowne by his obedience,Geneſ. 12.4 and 22.16 in leaving his natiue Countrey, and ſacrificing …is ſonne. If yee louelove mee, Ioh. 14.21ſayeth CHRIST, keepe my Commandementes. This Obedience is not onlie in doing,Obedience actiue and paſsiue. but alſo in ſuffering for him. As CHRIST was obedient to the death of the Croſſe, ſo wee muſt learne of him obediently to ſuffer for his Names ſake, whenſoeuer wee are called therevnto.1. Sam. 15.22. This obedience is better than Sacrifice: and diſobedience is like the ſinne of Witch-craft, and Idolatrie. But to trie thine Obedience, whether it bee true, yee ſhall marke theſe three thinges in it.Markes of true obedience. 1. Material pointes, and ſubſtantial. Mat. 15.9
Firſt, let vsus beware, that in eueryevery part of GODS worſhip, which is materiall, wee hauehave a warrand out of his worde, or elſe wee worſhip GOD in vaine, following for Doctrine the Traditions of men. If it bee circumſtantiall, as concerning Times, Places, Behauiours, Habites, &c. ſee that they be not againſt the materiall grounds, and that they import no ſuperſtition, nor profanitie; and then it is obedience. For hee that is not againſt vsus, is with vsus. But if they bee Idolatrous, Impious, or Scandalous, they ought not to bee obeyed, leſt wee ſhould obey Men rather than GOD.
Next, that our obedience bee free, and without compulſion:2. Free obedience. For GOD loueth not coacted ſervice, but a willing Sacrifice.
And laſt, our obedience muſt bee in euerie thing:3. Totall. that as the Centurion ſayde of his ſervantes, I ſay to one, Goe, and bee goeth: and to another, Come, and hee commeth, Matth. 8.9.&c. ſo muſt wee, without reaſoning with fleſh and blood, ſimply obey GODS will in euerie thing.
But becauſe wee are not able to perfect eyther the actiue or the paſſiue obedience of our ſelues, therefore our Sauiour CHRIST hath done well for vsus, who hath perfectlie ſatisfied both the Law and GODS Iuſtice for our ſinnes, euen by his owne righteouſneſſe.
THE FIFTH LOCKE. Mortification of our luſts.
THIS is the fifth neceſſarie gift of the holie Spirit, of the which th'Apoſtle ſaith,Coloſ. 3.5. Mortifie therefore your members which are vponupon the earth: fornication, vncleanneſſe, &c. And againe hee deſireth the Corinthians to keepe themſelues from all pollution of the fleſh. 2. Cor. 7.1And likewiſe hee willeth the Galatians, not to fulfill the deſires of their fleſh. Gal. 5.16.17.And this is a continuall exerciſe: for ſo long as wee liue heere on earth our fleſh will ſtill rebell againſt the Spirit: therefore muſt we ſtriue continually to beate downe the corruptions of our vilde and wicked nature.
Nowe the true triall of Mortification is,Triall of Mortification. firſt if it bee vniverſall; leſt that yee reſiſt your fleſh in one affection, and yeelde vntounto it in another. As if ye would refuſe Papiſtrie,1. Vniverſall. and imbrace Sacriledge;Iudg. 15.15. & 16.4 1. Sam. 15.9. fight againſt the Philiſtims, and play the Harlot with Dalilah; kill the poore Agagits, and the leane Cattell, tell, and ſpare the King and his fatte Beaſtes aliue. So yee will entertaine a ſinne which is pleaſant, and profitable for you, and thinke to caſt off the reſt. No, no, make no diviſion, I beſeech you, in this ſlaughter of ſinne; but cut it whollie downe, and pull it vp by the rootes, that all its branches may periſh. Bee not onelie an enemie vntounto one ſinne, but vntounto all; leſt that one ſinne beeing left aliue, and nouriſhed without repentance, it openeth the doore vntounto all the reſt.
Next, if yee humble your bodie, and chaſtiſe your fleſh, without hypocriſie, and deſire of vaine glorie:2. Without hypocriſie. without ſuperſtition, and without anie pryde, and a vaine opinion of merite. For what will thy ſillie Sufferinges, Pilgrimages, Faſtinges, and Abſtinences availe thee before GOD? for Hee delighteth not in the torture and tormenting of mens fleſh; neyther doeth His Kingdome conſiſt in Meate or Drinke: but Hee requireth of vsus a perpetuall mortification, and ſanctification: and not that we ſhould take libertie to ſinne, vnderunder hope of Pardon, and thinke to acquite our ſelues by doing of Pennance. But let vsus continuallie ſtudie to mortifie and ſubdue our vilde luſtes and affections, purting our whole truſt & confidence in the mercies of GOD, and merites of CHRIST our Saviour.
THE SIXTH LOCKE. Prayer and Prayſes.
THE ſixth Locke is PRAYER and PRAYSES, which are the life of Religion: for either we lacke ſome things for which wee muſt pray vntounto God; or hauehave receiued ſome, for which wee ought to bee thankfull. So all our life time, that is, eueryevery day, eueryevery night, yea euerie houre and moment, wee muſt pray:1. Theſ. 5.17. Pray continually, ſayth the Apoſtle. But our Prayer muſt not onlie bee verball: for wordes ſerue more for men, than for God. Our Prayer muſt bee mentall:Prayer mentall. Exod. 32.10. as God is a Spirit, and heard Moſes crie, although hee vttered no words. Let vsus not bind our ſelues vntounto words, as manie doe: but as our neceſſitie increaſeth, ſo let vsus powre out our heart vntounto God.Reuerent in prayer. But aboue all thinges let vsus ſpeake reuerentlie vntounto God, and conſider with what Majeſtie wee hauehave to doe: and as hee is the moſt excellent Majeſtie, ſo we ſhould dreſſe and compoſe our ſpeaches, and drawe in our wandering affections and cogitations, that our Prayers bee not turned into ſinne, and that hee caſt not backe the dongue of our ſacrifices vponupon our faces: (for the Lord abhors the ſacrifices of fooles:) leſt our Prayer, which is the Key to open the Heauens, become a Barre to ſhut them vponupon vsus.
Pray in fayth.Let vsus pray alſo in faith, perſwading our ſelues that the Lord heareth vsus, and will grant vsus all thinges which are neceſſarie and expedient for vsus. Let vsus pray ardentlie and earneſtlie, not fainting in prayer,Luke 18.5. following the importunate widow. Let vsus not preſcribe times vntounto him, nor grudge againſt him, limiting the holie One of Iſrael: No preſcription of time.but attende patiently his Majeſties good pleaſure: for hee is faythfull who hath promiſed. As alſo, let vsus prayſe him chearfullie, and rejoyce in him with all Hymnes, and Pſalmes, and Spirituall Songs, with grace in our hearts.