Treatise of Divinity, Book 2 · Chapter 8
CHAP. VIII.
THe Affections, which the Scripture attributes to God, are.
1. Love which is an act*It is an attribute, whereby God loveth himselfe above all, and others for himself. of the Divine will, moving it self both to the most excellent good in it self, and to that excelling in the reasonable creature, approving it, delighting in it, and doing goodaAmor Dei est, quo se oblectat in eo quod approbat, eique bene vult, & …ibi unit. Wendelinus. God is first affected toward himselfe, and his owne glory. to it, John 6. 16. 35. Rom. 5. 8. In which definition 2 Things are to be noted.
1. The object of Gods love.
2. The effect or manner of Gods love.
The primary object of Gods love is himself, for he taketh great pleasure in himself, and is the Author of greatest felicity and delight to himselfe. The Father, Sonne, and Holy Ghost, love one another mutually, Matth. 3. 17. and 17. 5. John 3. 33. 35. and 5. 20. and 10. 17. and 15. 9. and 17. 24. The Secondary object of Gods love is the reasonable creature Angels and men.John 14. 23. Ezek. 33. 11. Amor Divinus est For though he approve of the goodnesse of other things; yet he hath chosen that especially, to prosecute with his chiefest love,1. Naturall… quo Deus necessario amat seipsum. for these reasons.
1. For the excellency and beauty of the reasonable creature, when it is adorned with its due holinesse.
2. Because between this onelyonly and God,2. Voluntatius. there can be a mutuall reciprocation of love,1. universalis, quo omnes creaturas aliquo modo Deus diligit. Amare enim est velle alicui bonum Matth. 5. 45. since it onelyonly hath a sense, and acknowledgement of Gods goodnesse.
3. Because God bestowes Eternity on that which he loves; but the other creatures besides the rationall shall perish.
Gods love to Christ is the foundation of his love to us, Matth. 3. 17. Ephes. 1. 6.
God loves all creatures with a Generall love, Matth. 5. 44. 45. as they are the work of his hands;2. Speciall…, quo deus inaequaliter amat has & illas creaturas, respectu boni inaequalis, quod ijs vult; sic magis diligit creaturas rationales, & inter illas electos, & Christum. Wendelinus. but he doth delight in some especially, whom he hath chosen in his Sonne, John 3. 16. Ephes. 1. 6.
2. The effect or manner of Gods love is, that God makes the person happy whom he loves.1 John 4. 16. John 3. 35. Rom. 5. 8. Mal. 1. 2. For he doth amply reward that joy aud delight which he takes in the holinesse and obedience of the Elect, while he pours plentifully▪ upon them all gifts, both of grace and glory.
This love of God to the Elect is 1. Free,1 John 4. 10. 19. Hos. 15. 5. He was moved with nothing but his own goodnesse.
2. Sure, firme, and unchangeable, Rom. 5. 8. 10. 1 John 4. 10. John 13. 1. and 31. 3. Infinite and Eternall,Jer. 31. 3. which shall never alter John 3. 16.
3. Effectuall, as is declared both by his temporall and eternall blessings, 1 John 3 1.
4. Great and ardent,Rom. 8. 1. 2. and 5. 5. I…hn 3. 16. and 15. 13. Rom. 5. 6. 7. God bestowes pledges of his love and favour upon them whom he hath chosen, and sometimes he sheds the sence of his love abroad in their hearts.
We must love God Appreciativè love him above all things,God is the onelyonly immediate and proper object of love Psal. 103. 1. Beatus qui amat te, amicum in te & inimicum propter te. August. and in all, Psal. 73. 24. Math. 10. 37. Intensivè and intellectivè withall our might and strength. Affectu & effectu love him for himselfe, and all things for the Lords sake. We should expresse our love to him by our care in keeping his Commandements. 1 John 2. 3. John 14. 25. and 15. 10. and earnest desire of his presence, Psal. 4. 2. 2.
2. Our love should be conformed to Gods, in loving the Saints, 16. Psal. 3. Gal. 6. 10. and Christ above all, desiring to be united to him, 1 Cor. 5. 44. 1 Pet. 1. 8.
3. We should admire the love of God, 1 John 3. 1. For the surenesse, greatnesse, and continuance of it, it passeth our knowledge, Ephes. 3. 19. He hath given his Sonne for a price, his Spirit for a pledge, and reserves himselfe for a reward.
That Tantus so great a God should love tantillos so little creatures as we before we were, Rom. 9. 11. tales when we were Enemies, Rom. 5. 10. tantum so much.
Means to …ove God. 1. Begge this love much of God in Prayer.Master Bradford when others were merry at Table, fell a weeping, because he could not get his dull heart to love God.
2. Study much to know him, his nature, attributes, excellencies. 3. Labour to injoy communion with him. 4. Mortifie other loves contrary to this, inordinate selfe-love and love of the world, 1 I…hn 2. 15.
There are many promises made to the love of God. 1. Of Temporall blessings, Psal. 91. 14. Rom. 8. 28. 2. Spirituall, all the comforts of the Gospell, 1 Cor. 2. 9. 3. of heavenly and Eternall blessings, Jam. 1. 12. and 2. 5.
1. God is maximè amabilis, he is truly lovely 2. Consider the great benefits we receive from him, 116. Psal. 12. 3. He desires us to love him, Deut. 10. 4. Mark. 12. 33. 4. this affection onelyonly and joy abide for ever, 1. Cor. 13. 20. ult.
The second affection in God, contrary to love, is Hatred, which is an act*Gods hatred is that whereby he is ready to that which we doe when we hate, even to separate a thing from himselfe. Ezek. 33. 11. Rom. 9, 14. Psal. 45. 7. & 5. 6: Esay 1. 14. of the Divine will, declining, disproving and punishing of evill, prevailing and reigning in the reasonable creature.
In which definition three things are to be noted.
1. The object of Gods hatred.
2. The cause and condition of the object hated.
3. The effect of Gods hatred.
1. The object of Gods hatred is the reasonable creature,Hatred is of things contrary to us, as God hates sinne, being contrary to his▪ 1 Nature, 2 Law. 3 Hononr. Psal, 45. 8. for that onelyonly sins. He hateth iniquity, Psal. 71. 59. Prov. 11. 1. and the creature which obstinately and stubbornly persisteth in evill, so that he doth rejoyce in the calamity and destruction thereof, Psal. 11. 5. & 5. 6. Prov. 16. 5.
2. The cause and condition of the object hated, is sinne; for which God abhors the delinquent creature; onelyonly the reasonable creature hath left his station, and defiled himselfe with the filth of sinne; all the rest of the creatures, whether brute beasts or insensible creatures, persist in the state of goodnesse wherein they were created, although perhaps not in the same degree of perfection and excellency for mans sinne. But although God cannot hate the creature unlesse as sinfull: yet not every degree of sinne, but a high measure of it, makes the person hated. It is true that God abhors the least sin, yet he doth not abhor the persons of the godly, in which are the reliques of sinne, as he doth those of the wicked in whom sinne raignes.
3. The effect of Gods hatred is to punish the person whom he hates, whom when once it is rejected by God troopes of evill doe invade, God both permitting and commanding; and this actuall hatred or outward manner of manifesting it may not unfitly be referred to the Divine justice. Hatred in God is a vertue, and fruit of his justice, and not a vicious passion.
1. We should hate sinne (for God hateth it) and that with the greatest hatred,Prov. 6. 16. even as hell it selfe, Rom. 12. 9. sinne is the first,Hatred in a reasonable creature is a motion of the will, whereby it flieth from that which it apprehends to be evill and opposeth it. It ariseth from a disconformity of the object. principall and most immediate object of hatred. Paul mentioning divers evils saith, God forbid, I hate vaine thoughts, saith David. Our affections must be conformable to Gods. He hateth nothing simply but sinne, and sinners for sinnes sake. 2. Sinne is as most injurious to God, so most hurtfull to man; therefore it is in it selfe most hatefull. The ground of hatred of any thing is the contrariety of it to our welfare, as we hate wild, fierce, and raging beasts, for their mischievousnesse, a Toade and Serpents for their poysonfulnesse, which is a strong enemy to life and health. Sinne is the most mischievous and harmfull thing in the world. Just hatred is generall of whole kinds, as we hate all Serpents, so we should all sinnes.
Meanes to hate …inne.
1. Pray to God, that his Spirit may rule and order our affections,There is a twofold hatred, … Odium abominationis, a flying onelyonly from a thing. 2. Odium inimicitiae, whereby I pursue what is evill. and set the same against evill.
2. Exercise our selves in meditating of the infinite torments of hell, which sinne deserveth, and the fearefull threats denounced against it in the Word of God of all sorts of evils.
3. We should labour to get out of our naturall estate, for the unregenerate man hates God, Psal. 81. 15. Rom. 1. 30. Christ John 7. 7. and good men, eo nomine, as Cain did Abell, 1 John 3. 10, 12. they hate Gods waies and Ordinances, 1 Prov. 22. 29. This hatred is,As much of our originall corruption is found in his affection as any. 1. Causelesse, Psal. 69. 44. 2 Intire, without any mixture of love. 3. Violent, Psal. 55. 3. 4. Irreconcileable, Gen. 3. 15.