Looking Unto Jesus, Book 10 · Chapter 2 · Section 6
SECT. VI. Of Loving Jeſus in that reſpect.
6. LET us love Jeſus, as carrying on the great Work of our Salvation for us in his ſecond coming. In proſecution of this, I muſt firſt ſet down Chriſt's love to us, and then our love to Chriſt; that is the cauſe, and this effect; that is the ſpring, and this the ſtream; in vain ſhould we perſwade our hearts to love the Lord, if in the firſt place we were not ſenſible that our Lord loves us,John 4.19. We love him (ſaith the Apoſtle) becauſe he firſt loved us; it is Chriſts way of winning hearts, he draws a lump of love out of his own heart, and caſts it into the ſinner's heart, and ſo he loves him. Come then let us firſt take a view of Chriſt's love to us, and ſee if from thence any ſparks of love will fall on our hearts to love him again. Should I make a Table of Chriſt's acts of love and free-grace to us, I might begin with that eternity of his love before the beginning, and never end till I draw it down to that eternity of his love without all ending: his love is as his mercy, from everlaſting to everlaſting; he loved us before time, in the beginning of time, in the fulneſs of time, at this time the flames of his love are as hot in his breſt as they were at firſt, and when time ſhall be no more he will love us ſtill; this fire of Heaven is everlaſting; there is in the breſt of Chriſt an eternal coal of burning love, that never, never ſhall be quenched. But I have in ſome meaſure already diſcovered all thoſe acts of his grace and love, till his ſecond coming: and therefore I begin there.
1. Chriſt will come; is not this love? as his departure was a rich teſtimony of his love.John 14.18. It is expedient for you that I go away; ſo is his returning, I will not leave you comfortleſs, I will come unto you; Oh how can we think of Chriſt's returning, and not meditate on the greatneſs of his love? might he not ſend his Angels, but he muſt come himſelf? is it not ſtate and majeſty enough to have the Angels come for us, but that he himſelf muſt come with his Angels, to meet us more than half the way? what King on Earth would adopt a beggar, and after his adoption would himſelf go in perſon, to fetch him from the dunghil to his Throne? we are filthy lazars, from the crown of our heads to the ſoles of our feet we are full of ſores, and yet the King of Heaven puts on his beſt attire, and comes in perſon with all his retinue of glory, to fetch us from our graves, to his own Court of Heaven. Oh the loves of Chriſt in this one act, he will come again, he is but gon for a while, but he will come again in his own perſon.
2. Chriſt will welcome all his Saints into his preſence; and is not this love? after he is come down from Heaven; he ſtays for them a while in the Clouds, and commanding his Angels to bring them thither, anon they come; and oh how his heart ſprings within him at their coming! what throbs and pangs of love are in his heart at the firſt view of them? as they draw near, and fall down at his feet, and worſhip him; ſo he draws near, and falls upon their necks, and welcomes them. Methinks I hear him ſay, Come bleſſed ſouls, you are my purchaſe, for whom I Covenanted with my Father from eternity; O you are dearly welcome to your Lord, in that now I have you in my arms; I feel the fruit of my death, the acceptation of my Sacrifice, the return of my prayers; for this I was born and dyed, for this I roſe again and aſcended into Heaven, for this I have interceded a Prieſt in Heaven theſe many years; and now I have the end and deſign of all my actings and ſufferings for you, how is my joy fulled? look as at the meeting of two lovers there is great joy, eſpecially if the diſtance hath been great, and the deſires of enjoying one another vehement; ſo is the meeting of Chriſt with his Saints; the joy is ſo great that it runs over, and wets the fair brows, and beauteous locks of Cherubims and Seraphims; and all the Angels have a part of this banquet at this day.
3. Chriſt will ſentence his Saints for eternal life; here is love indeed, every word of the ſentence is full of love; it contains the reward of his Saints, a reward beyond their work, and beyond their wages, and beyond the promiſe, and beyond their thoughts, and beyond their underſtanding; it is a participation of the joyes of God, and of the inheritance of the Judge himſelf: Come enter into your Maſters joy, inherit the Kingdom. Oh but if all the Saints have only one Kingdom, where is my room? fear not O my ſoul, thou ſhalt have room enough; though but one Kingdom, yet all the Inhabitants there are Kings; whole Heaven is ſuch a Kingdom, as is intirely, and fully injoyed by one glorified Saint, all and every one hath the whole Kingdom at his own will; every one is filled with God, as if there were no fellows there to ſhare …ith him Oh that I may come under this bleſſed ſentence! never was more love expreſſed in words, than Chriſt expreſſeth in this ſentence, Come ye bleſſed, &c.
4. Chriſt will take up all his Saints with him into glory; where he will preſent them to his Father; and then be their all in all to all eternity. This is the heig…t of Chriſt's love; this is the immediate love that comes out from the precious heart and bowels of Jeſus Chriſt; this is that Zenith of love, when ſenſibly and feelingly it burns at hotteſt; it is true, that Chriſt's love breaks out in all thoſe precedaneous acts, we have already ſpoken; Oh but what loves will he caſt out from himſelf in glory? the more excellent the Soyl is, and the nearer the Sun is, the more of Summer, and the more of day; the more delicious muſt be the Apples, the Pomgranates, the Roſes, the Lillies that grow there; ſurely Chriſt in glory is a bleſſed ſoyl; Roſes, and Lillies, and Apples of love, that are eternally Summer-green and ſweet, grow out of him; the honey of Heaven is more than honey; the honey of love that is pure, and unmixt, and glorious in Chriſt, muſt needs be incomparable. I cannot ſay, but that Chriſt's love, like himſelf, is the ſame yeſterday, and to day, and for ever; there is no intenſion,1 John 4.8. or remiſſion of his love as in it ſelf; for God is love, he is eſſentially love; and therefore admits of no degrees; yet in reſpect of the ſenſe, or manifeſtation of this love of Chriſt, there muſt needs be a difference; thus if he loved his ſpouſe on earth, how much more will he love her when his Bride in Heaven? If he loves us while ſinners, and enemies to his holineſs, how much more will he love us, when we are ſons, and perfected Saints in glory; he that could ſpread his arms, and open his heart on the Croſs, will he not then open arms, and heart, and all to them that reign with him in his Kingdom? if in this life ſuch is loves puiſſance, that we uſually ſay of Chriſt, Though the head be in heaven, yet he hath left his heart on earth with ſinners; what ſhall we ſay of Chriſt in glory, where love like the Sun ever ſtands in the Zenith?Deut. 33.27. where the eternal God is the ſouls everlaſti…g refuge, and underneath are his everlaſting arms?
5. And if Chriſt love thus; how ſhould we love again for ſuch a love? Lord, what a ſum of love are we indebted to thee? is it poſſible that ever we ſhould pay the debt? can we love as high, as deep, as broad, as long as love it ſelf, or as Chriſt himſelf? no, no; all we can do is but to love a little; and Oh that in the conſideration of his love we could love a little in ſincerity! Oh that we were but able feelingly to ſay, Why Lord I love thee, I feel I love thee, even as I feel I love my friend, or as I feel I love my ſelf. Such arguments of love have been laid before us, as that now I know no more; we have ſeen whole Chriſt cap-a-pe; we have heard of the loves of Chriſt from eternity to eternity; we have had a view of the everlaſting Goſpel of Jeſus Chriſt, wherein his love is repreſented to us as hot as death, or as the flames of God; and do we not yet love him? hath Chriſt all this while opened his breſt and heart to us, ſaying, Friends, Doves, come in, and dwell in the holes of this rock? And do we ſcratch his breſt? do we turn our backs upon him, and requite his love with hatred? ſurely this is more than ſin; for what is ſin but a tranſgreſſion of the law? but this ſin is both a tranſgreſſion of Law and Goſpel. What? to ſpurn againſt the warm bowels of love? to ſpit on grace? to diſdain him who is the white and ruddy, the faireſt of Heaven? Oh the aggravation of this ſin! 'its an heart of flint and adamant that ſpits at Evangelick love: Law-love, is love, but Evangelick love is more than love; its the gold, the flower of Chriſt's wheat, and of his fineſt love. Oh the many Goſpel-paſſages of love that we have heard! Oh the ſweet ſtreams of love that we have followed, till now that we are come to a Sea of love, to an heaven of love, to an infinite, eternal, everlaſting love in heaven! I want words to expreſs this love of Jeſus; a Sea of love is nothing, it hath a bottom; an Heaven of love is nothing, it hath a brim; but infinite, eternal, everlaſting love hath no bottom, no brim, no bounds, and do we not yet love him? do we not yet feel the fire of love break forth? if not, it is time to turn our Preaching into Praying; O thou who art the Element or Sun of love, come with thy power, let out …ne beam, one ray, one gleam of love upon my ſoul, ſhine hot upon my heart, caſt my ſoul into a love-tranſe, remember thy promiſe to circumciſe my heart, Deut 30.6that I may love the Lord my God with all my heart, and with all my ſoul. Surely the great Marriage of the Lamb is coming on, he will come, and welcome all his Saints into his preſence; he will bid them inherite the Kingdom, and put them in a poſſeſſion of the inheritance; and then we cannot chooſe but love our Jeſus with all our hearts, and with all our ſouls; onelyonly begin we it here; let us now be ſick of love, that we may then be well with love? let us now rub and chaſe our hearts (our dead cold hearts) before this fire, till we ſay with Peter, Why Lord thou knoweſt all things, thou knoweſt that I love thee.