Love to Christ, Chapter 5 – Chapter 6
CHAP. V. Eight Reaſons why Love is ſo ſtrictly required, that Chriſt muſt be Loved, or the Sinner accurſed.
THE Fourth general Head in the Method propounded, is, Why there is ſuch a flat neceſſity of our ſincere Love to Chriſt, for the eſcaping of this deſcribed Curſe? Why God doth ſo much inſiſt upon our Love unto his Son, that whoſoever doth not love him, ſhall be Anathema.
This is not to be underſtood excluſively, as if other Graces and Conditions were not alſo neceſſary; for in other Texts we find, that for want of Faith, this Curſe will overtake many. Mar. 16.16. He that believeth not, ſhall be damned. John 3.36. He that believeth not the Son, ſhall not ſee life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. And for want of Repentance, Luke 13.3. Except ye repent, ye ſhall all likewiſe periſh. And for want of Converſion, Mat. 18.3. Verily, I ſay unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye ſhall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Joh. 3.3. Jeſus anſwered, and ſaid unto him, Verily, verily, I ſay unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot ſee the kingdom of God. And for want of Obedience, Heb. 3.18. And to whom ſware he, that they ſhould not enter into his reſt? foreign, but to them that were diſobedient; tranſlated, believed not. Sometimes the condition is expreſſed by the term of a new creature. Gal. 6.15. For in Chriſt Jeſus, neither circumciſion availeth any thing, nor uncircumciſion, but a new creature. Sometimes Faith and Love are put together, Gal. 5.6. For in Jeſus Chriſt, neither circumciſion availeth any thing, nor uncircumciſion, but faith which worketh by love. And indeed all theſe are requiſite, and are found together in the ſame perſon; for he that hath Faith, hath alſo Love, and he that hath Love, doth alſo Repent, and he that Repents doth alſo obey; and he that doth Believe, Love, Repent, and Obey, is a New Creature.
Yet Love is thus inſiſted on for ſuch Reaſons as theſe.
1. Love commands the whole man; for it is in the Will, which is the commanding Faculty. Love
1. Commands and ſets on work all the other affections. If a man love Chriſt, it ſets Deſires on work, if he be abſent; it ſets Joy on work, if he be preſent, if Chriſt be abſent, and the Soul doth ſee a probability of obtaining him, Love ſets Hope on work: If there be any impediments that hinders a man in his proſecution, it ſets Anger on work for the removal of them.
2. Love commands the thoughts and mind: For love to Chriſt ſets the mind on thinking on Chriſt, and meditating upon him. The mind doth muſe upon what the heart doth love: Where love is fixt, the thoughts do dwell. Pſal. 119.97. O how I love thy law! it is my meditation all the day.
3. Love commands all the outward members of the body. Love to Chriſt doth ſet the Tongue to ſpeak of Chriſt, and for him; the Ear on hearing of his Word; the Eyes in ſeeing the tokens of his Love and Goodneſs; the Hands in acting, and the Feet in walking to thoſe places and duties where Chriſt is to be found, and enjoyment of him to be had.
2. If Chriſt hath our love, he hath our all: And Chriſt never hath his own from us, till he hath our Love. Love withholdeth nothing from Chriſt, when it is ſincerely ſet upon him. Then he ſhall have our time, and he ſhall have our ſervice, and he ſhall have the uſe of all our Parts, and Gifts, and Graces; yea, then he ſhall have our Eſtates, Liberty, and our very Lives, when he calleth for them.
As when God loveth any of us, he will withhold nothing from us that is good for us, no, not his own only begotten Son, Rom. 8.32. And when Chriſt loveth us, he giveth all unto us, his Merits to juſtifie us, his Spirit to ſanctifie us, his Grace to adorn us, his Glory to crown us; ſo when any of us love Chriſt ſincerely, we lay all down at his feet, and give up all to be at his command and ſervice, Rev. 12.11. And they loved not their lives unto the death.
3. Love gives the denomination to a man, according as the Object is which he ſuperlatively loveth: For as is the Love, ſuch is the man; and as is the Love, ſuch might you boldly call the man: If he be a lover of Honour, he is an Ambitious man; a lover of Pleaſure, a Voluptuous man; and if he chiefly love the World, he is a Covetous man; if he love Holineſs, he is a Religious man; if the things above, an Heavenly-minded man; and if he love Chriſt with a predominant love, he is a Sincere man, Cant. 1.4. The upright love thee.
4. Without Love all other things, tho never ſo many, great, and excellent in themſelves, are not acceptable unto God. He regardeth not your Prayers, if you do not love him: He matters not your Hearing, if you do not love him; all your Almſdeeds are poor things in his eſteem, if you do not love him; yea, all your Suffering for Religion, and for Chriſt, are nothing, if you do not love him. If a man could Preach like an Angel, and yet not love him, he ſhould not be accepted by him, 1 Cor. 13.1. Tho I ſpeak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as ſounding braſs, or a tinkling cymbal. 2. And tho I have the gift of prophecy, and underſtand all myſteries, and all knowledge; and tho I have all faith, ſo that I could remove mountains, and have no charity, I am nothing. 3. And tho I beſtow all my goods to feed the poor, and tho I give my body to be burn'd, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Love therefore is above all theſe, for all theſe without love are nothing.
5. Love makes us moſt like to God; for God is love, 1 Joh. 4.8. And God loveth Chriſt above all the men on earth, and above all the Angels in Heaven; therefore calls him his Beloved Son, Mat. 3.17.
God loveth
All men with a Common Love, John 3.16. Tit. 3.4.
Holy men with a Special Love.
Angels with an Higher Love.
Chriſt moſt of all, who is the Son of his Love, Col. 1.13.
So our Love is gradual; we ought to love all men with ſome degrees of Love, Holy men and Angels with an higher Love, and Chriſt with the higheſt Love. And when we love as God loves, our Love makes us moſt like to God.
6. Love is the higheſt improvement of the faculties of our Souls.
1. We have Ʋnderſtandings to know God and Chriſt: And Love to God and Chriſt is the higheſt improvement of all our knowledg; for if we know him and not love him, the more we know of him, the more our knowledge doth increaſe our ſin, and will aggravate our condemnation.
2. We have Wills to chuſe the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, and when we chuſe him, Love is the improvement of our Wills, in taking complacency in him who is the Object of our choice.
3. We have Conſciences that do dictate to us that Chriſt is beſt, and beſt for us; and then we improve thoſe dictates when we love him; elſe all thoſe dictates of Conſcience are loſt, and come to nothing.
4. We have Memories, wherein the Sayings of Chriſt to us, the Sufferings of Chriſt for us, and the Benefits of Chriſt beſtowed upon us, ſhould be lodged and laid up; and when we love him, we ſhall love to remember all theſe things that we have by him and from him, and himſelf that is Purchaſer and the Donor of them.
But if our Love is predominantly placed upon any thing below Chriſt, all the Powers of the Soul are debaſed; the Reaſon of man is degraded in contriving the getting of ſuch ignoble and fordid enjoyments as his higheſt end; the Will is debaſed in chuſing of them, and the Memory in being ſtuffed with the remembrance of them, forgetting God and Chriſt, and better things; ſo that a man is more a brute than a man, without ſincere Love to Chriſt.
7. Love is the end of all other Graces, and in which they terminate their Operations. Our knowledge of Chriſt endeth in our loving of Chriſt, our believing on him, hoping in him, truſting to him, like ſo many ſtreams, at laſt run into the Love of Chriſt.
8. Love is the Everlaſting Grace that ſhall abide and be in uſe and exerciſe, when the actings of other Graces ſhall ceaſe. There are ſome Graces ſuitable eſpecially to our ſtate of imperfection in this world. To live by Faith, to Repent, and Mourn for ſin, to live in hope of the glory that is to be revealed, to wait till we be poſſeſſed of the Manſions that are above, to deſire all the good that is promiſed to us, but not yet conferred upon us.
But hereafter Faith ſhall be turned into Viſion, Hope into Fruition, Deſires into Poſſeſſion, waiting into Obtaining. And then we ſhall thus believe no more, nor hope, nor deſire, nor wait; but then we ſhall love ſtill, yea, more than ever, more abundantly, yea, perfectly, without diminution; continually, without intermiſſion, and eternally, without ceſſation; in which reſpect, among the three Cardinal Graces, Love hath the preheminence, 1 Cor. 13.13. Now abideth faith, hope, charity, theſe three, but the greateſt of theſe is charity; becauſe it is the longeſt in duration. So that thoſe that love Chriſt ſincerely here, ſhall love him perfectly hereafter, and be for ever bleſſed in that love. But thoſe that love him not on earth, cannot love him in the other world; and for want of ſuch Love, ſhall be accurſed for ever.
CHAP. VI. The Application of the Doctrine.
THE laſt thing propounded in the method of this Subject, is the Ʋſe and Application of it, to bring it down to our own hearts, to work this truth upon our Minds, Conſciences and Affections. And now, O that God would help me, and Chriſt would help me, and the bleſſed Spirit of God and Chriſt would ſo help me, and give me lively words, a lively Heart, lively and inflamed Love to bleſſed Jeſus, and your immortal precions Souls! that I might ſpeak and apply this great Truth, as becomes a man that deth believe, every one of you before God in this Congregation this day muſt be Anathema, when Maran-atha, if you live and die void of love to Jeſus Chriſt! as becomes a man that doth believe you muſt be bleſſed or curſed, damned or ſaved for ever, as you are prevailed with, or not prevailed with, to give Chriſt your Hearts, and hearty love! as becomes a man that doth believe your Everlaſting Stare is much concerned in this one point that now is before us! Alas! Methinks I do foreſee the great multitudes that this Anathema will fall upon. Methinks I ſee the Lord a-coming, methinks I hear the Trumpet ſounding, and the Voice calling to the Dead, Ariſe, and come to judgment; Come ye curſed Souls that have been in the Infernal Lake, and appear before my Bar; come ye curſed Bodies, awake, ariſe, and ſtand before my Judgment-Seat; and let thoſe curſed Souls be again united to thoſe curſed Bodies, and now be both curſed together, and curſed for ever, and let both be inſeparably linked together to endure this Curſe to all eternity. Methinks I ſee them coming, but unwillingly; they come, but with fear, and trembling; with horrour, and amazement.
Now, what is to do now? now, Maran-atha, and now every one of us that loved not that Lord that now is come, muſt be Anathema. O woful Souls! O miſerable Sinners! O curſed Caitifs! What ſhall we now do? and whither ſhall we now go? do? that we ſhould have asked before this day, that the Lord is come. Do? We ſhould have done that which we did not do; and now muſt go thither, whither we would not go. O that we might rather ceaſe to be, than to be what we muſt for ever be; and go, from whence we never muſt return; and feel what will make us cry and roar, toſs and throw, and be for ever reſtleſs, and the more reſtleſs, becauſe hopeleſs and remedileſs. O, Sirs, my Heart is pained, my Bowels roul within me, my Joints do ſhake with trembling, for fear leſt any of you, that pray in this place, and hear in this place, ſhould fall under this Curſe, when the Lord ſhall come.
The Uſes of this Doctrine ſhall be
1. By way of Inference or Inſtruction, what things from hence may be deduced and learned.
2. For Reprehenſion or Reproof; aggravating the Charge againſt ſuch as love not the Lord Jeſus Chriſt.
3. For Examination or Trial; diſtinguiſhing the Non-Lovers of Chriſt from ſuch as do ſincerely love him.
4. By way of Entreaty or Exhortation; That as you would eſcape this Curſe, be careful that you get this Love to Chriſt.
5. For the Comfort, Encouragement, and Joy of ſuch as love the Lord Jeſus Chriſt in ſincerity above all.