The Measures of Christian Obedience, Book 2 · Chapter 2
CHAP. II. Of LOVE the Epitome of Duty towards God and Men, and of the particular Laws comprehended under Piety towards God.
The CONTENTS.
Of the Duties of Piety and Righteousness, both comprehended in one general Duty, LOVE. It the Epitome of our Duty. The great happiness of a good nature. The kind temper of the Christian Religion. Of the effects of LOVE. The great Duty to God is Honour. The outward expression whereof is worship. The great offence is dishonour. Of the several Duties and transgressions contained under both.
FOR the two remaining Members in St Paul's Division, viz. Godliness or Piety, and Righteousness, which require something from us to God or to our Neighbour; they may yet be reduced into a narrower compass, and are both comprized in that one word LOVE. For all that ever God requires of us, either to himself or towards other men, is only heartily and effectually to LOVE them. And this abridgment of our whole Duty, in respect of these two remaining parts of it towards God and man, into that one compendious Law of LOVE, is no more than what our Saviour Christ and his Apostle Paul have already made to our hands. For hear how they speak of it: Jesus saith unto the Lawyer, Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and all thy soul, and all thy mind. This is the first and great Commandment: and the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self. On these two, which in the thing commanded, LOVE, are but one, hang all the Law (of the ten Commandments, viz. which meddle not with our Duty towards our selves, but only towards God and our Neighbour) and the Prophets, Matth. 22.37, 38, 39, 40. And St Paul speaks home to the same purpose: By love, says he, serve one another; for all the LAW is fulfilled in one word, even this, Thou shalt LOVE thy Neighbour as thy self, Gal. 5.13, 14. And speaking again of the Laws concerning our Neighbour, he tells us that LOVE worketh no ill to his Neighbour, and therefore Love is the fulfilling of the Law, Rom. 13.10.
Thus rare and heavenly a Religion is that of our Saviour Christ: a Religion that is not content to have only great and eminent measures of goodness in it, but is perfectly made up of LOVE and good Nature. All that it requires from us is only to be kind-hearted, and full of good Offices both towards God and men. Every man of a loving good nature is enclined by his temper to do all that is demanded by Gods Law; so that he has nothing remaining to turn his temper into obedience, but to direct his intention, and to exert all the effects of love for the sake of Gods Command, which he is otherwise strongly excited to by the natural propensions of his own mind. His passion and his God require the same service, and that which is only a natural fruit of the first, may become, if he so design it, a piece of Religion and Obedience to the latter. For the particular effects of Love, are the particulars of our Duty. Love is the great and general Law, as ill-will and enmity are the prime transgression: and the instances of Love are the instances of our obedience, as all the particular effects of ill-will are those very instances wherein we disobey. So that by running over all the special effects of love or ill-will, we may quickly find what are the Particulars of Duty and Transgression.
Now the prime and most immediate Effects of Love are,
1. To do no evil to the persons beloved, nor to take away from them any thing which is theirs, and which they have a right to. And this founds all the Duties of Justice. But
2. To do all good offices and show kindness to them, which founds all the Duties of Charity.
And these two take in our whole Duty, both in Piety towards God, and also in Righteousness towards men.
1. The proper and genuine effect of love to God is to do no evil, but in great readiness to do all the good and service which we can for him: in which two are implied all the branches of piety, which is the great and general Duty towards him.
To be kind and serviceable to God is nothing more than to honour him. For his Nature is so perfect and self-sufficient that it cannot receive; and ours so impotent and poor that we cannot give any thing else but honour to him. As on the other side, to do evil to him is only to dishonour him. For he is out of our power as for any other injury, and there is no way possible left for us to reach him, but only by our contumelious usage and disrespect of him.
To do no evil, I say, but to be kind and serviceable to God, is nothing more but to honour him. It implies our having in our minds honourable opinions of him, and expressing in our carriage and behaviour a respect and acknowledgment of those glorious Attributes and Perfections which are in him. The former, viz. the high opinion of his Excellencies, those particularly which are instances of Power and Goodness, in our minds, is called Honour. The latter, viz. the expressions of this honourable opinion and acknowledgment in our thoughts, words or actions, is called worship.
And this worship is an acknowledgment either,
1. Of his Truth and Knowledge, in believing his Word, and taking things upon his Authority, seeing he neither can be deceived himself, nor will deceive us; which is Faith.
2. Of his Power and Goodness,
1. In our good-will or kind affection for him as a most beneficial and lovely Being, which is called LOVE. And this as it effects a warm concernedness for his honour, chiefly when any thing opposes it, is zeal.
2. In relying on him for the supply of our wants, as one that is most able and ready to relieve them which is trust and dependance. A particular effec… whereof is a hopeful making known our desires to him in begging such good things at his hands as we stand in need of; which is Prayer.
3. Of his bounty and beneficence, in a grateful sense and affectionate owning that all the good things which we receive proceed from him; which is thankfulness.
4. Of his Power and Justice, in an awful backwardness to offend him, in regard he will not excuse, and can most severely punish all Offenders; which is fear.
5. Of his Wisdom, and Rule or Authority.
1. In acquiescing in his Disposals, as being most wise and most authentick; which is submission or resignedness.
2. In performing his Commands, as requiring things most fit for us, and most due from us; which is obedience.
These are those particular effects which flow from our love of God, and which make up that part of Duty which he requires from us towards himself.
And opposite to this love of God and these effects and expressions of it, which are made our Duty, and particularly commanded under this Head; are our hatred and ill-will at him, with all the particular ways of expressing it, which are the contrary instances of sin, and those very Vices that are forbidden.
Now God, as I said, being out of our reach as to any possible way of being injured by us or suffering evil from us, otherwise than by our vilifying him, and lessening of his honour: the prime effect of our hatred of him can be no other than our dishonouring him. And this may be instanced,
1. In denying either his Being or Existence, that he is God; which is Atheism: or his Cognizance and Government of the World; which is Epicurism or denying Providence.
2. In thinking or speaking reproachfully of him, which is blasphemy. And this, when it is such a disfiguration of his Being or Nature, as makes him an arbitrary, foolish and aforeign, says Theophras…us, is foreign, Char. Eth. c. 17. foreign, Maximus Tyrius Dissirt 4. Agreeably whereto Plutarch says in Alexandro, foreign.odious God; is superstition.
3. In having other Gods besides him; or worshipping him alone by false and bThe Idolatrous Images mentioned Isa. 44. are called a Lye, v. 20. and Hos. 7.1. Jer. 13.25. In which sense 'tis true of the Romans, that in changing the Glory of the incorruptible God into an Image made like to a corruptible man; they turned the truth of God into a Lye, Rom. 1.23, 25.lying Similitudes and limiting Resemblances (as are all material Images) not in true and spiritual manner as he is a God; which is Idolatry. And for the former sort of Idolatry, viz. worshipping other Gods besides him, if it be a worshipping of wicked Spirits, and that by contracting with them; it is witchcraft or sorcery.
4. In acting cross to all his honourable Attributes and Perfections, and behaving our selves in such disrespectful sort, as instead of honouring and acknowledging, doth disown and reproach them.
And these Actings are either,
1. Inwardly in our minds, when by some work of theirs we deny or reproach either,
1. His Truth and Knowledge, by giving no heed, nor taking any notice of what he says; but continuing ignorant of his word and pleasure; which the Apostle calls foolishness: An effect whereof is acting against it rashly and inconsiderately; which is headiness. Or, when we do know it, by giving no credit or assent to it, but doubting or distrusting it; which is unbelief.
2. His Power and Goodness.
1. By our ill-will and wishes to him, when we grieve at any thing that makes for him, and take delight in such things as we our selves or others can devise either against himself, or against Vertue and Goodness, which, as bearing his own Image, he ownes above all things and is most tender of; and this is called hating of God. Which as 'tis shown in an unconcernedness at such things as dishonour and affront him or his Religion; is coldness or want of zeal.
2. By our distrust of him and his Providence, when we dare not rely upon him for a supply of those things which we stand in need of, as if he were either careless, and mattered not what becomes of us; or envious, and grudged to have any of those good things which we want, to befal us; which is distrust. One effect whereof is our omitting to seek unto him, as expecting nothing from him; which is not praying to him.
3. His bounty and beneficence, by an utter disregard of what he doth for us, when we either wholly overlook or after some small time forget it, and are not touched with any grateful sense or affectionate resentments upon it; which is unthankfulness.
4. His Power and Justice, by a bold venturing upon any thing that offends him, as if we neither valued his favour nor displeasure; which is fearlessness.
2. Outwardly, In our lives and practice, when by something in them we reproach and vilifie either,
1. His Wisdom and Authority.
1. In disputing and striving against his Disposals, when we quarrel at them as unwisely ordered, and would correct and better them our selves; which is contumacy or repining.
2. In breaking his Commands, when we reject his pleasure, and prefer our own; which is disobedience.
2. His Name, when we use it irreverently, by invoking or calling upon him to judge us according to our faithfulness in what we speak, either customarily and lightly, upon trivial or no occasions; which is common swearing: Or falsly, when we either at present mean, or afterwards perform no such thing as we promised or affirmed before him; which is perjury.
3. His Word, or Ministers, or other things consecrated to him, when we treat and use them as vile and common things, in a careless, unmannerly way, or, as it often happens, in mirth and mockery; which is prophaneness.
And these are such expressions and effects of our hatred of God, as make up the Body of impiety or transgressions immediately against God himself, all which he has most strictly forbidden.
So that for our whole Duty towards God, which is implied in the general Law of piety or godliness, it contains in it all these effects of LOVE, which are commanded Duties; as ungodliness or impiety contains all these expressions of hatred, which are so many particular forbidden sins.
The Laws commanding are the Law of honour, of worship, of faith, of love, of zeal, of trust and dependance, of prayer, of thankfulness, of fear, of submission and resignedness, of obedience.
And the Laws forbidding, are the Law against dishonour, against atheism, against denying Providence, against blasphemy, against superstition, against idolatry, against witchcraft and sorcery, against foolishness, against headiness, against unbelief, against hating God, against want of zeal, against distrust of him, against not praying to him, against unthankfulness, against fearlesness, against contumacy or repining, against disobedience, against common swearing, against perjury, against prophaneness.
And then as for the
2. Sort of Love, our love to men; it implies in it all the Duties contained in the third Branch of St Paul's Division, viz. righteousness; as shall be shewn in the next Chapter.