Selected quad for the lemma: love_n
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A36272
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A sermon preached before the King, Aug. 14, 1666 being the day of thanksgiving for the late victory at sea / by J. Dolben ...
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Dolben, John, 1625-1686.
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1666
(1666)
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Wing D1833; ESTC R15031
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13,657
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34
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and Pray to him 1. Love him VVHo can do other then love God in whom he lives and moves and hath his Being How can we refrain loving that Infinite Wisdom and Power and Goodness which hath made the Universe and wonderfully disposed it in a beautiful Harmony and mutual correspondence and doth so sweetly govern and carefully sustain all the parts of it Beside David knew Love to be the sum of Gods Law and the Compendium of mans Duty to him and could not be a Man after Gods own heart without doing this before and then what new thing doth he promise in my Text Further To love God for his Benefits onely is but to love our selves and our own conveniences to love him as we do fair weather and sweet air as we love meat drink and sleep And the insincerity of such a love would be sure to appear upon the tryal which Satan desired to put on Job J b 1.9 10 11. While God maketh a hedg about its and blesseth all that we have perphas we shall love him But if he put forth his hand and take all we have our Love being grounded on no other Principle will go away with our goods and we shall be in danger of Cursing him to his face We are to love God for his own Excellencies We are to love him because he requires it and the more Because having a just Right and Power to exact from us the most painful hard services He is so gracious as to demand no more but that we love him that we be not so much his Servants Jâ—hn 15.15 as his Friends This is our standing ordinary Duty Indeed this is all we can perform We can do no more then love God That is both the Perfection of our Obedience here and shall be of our Happiness in Heaven But yet this love is capable of degrees The affection may and must be at sometimes and on some occacasions more intense then at others and the acts more lively and vigorous when our hearts are impregnated and our services called forth by signal extraordinary demonstrations as instances of Gods love to us We ought ever to love God with all our Souls that is heartily and entirely yet this hinders not but that the love which was always true and void of Hypocrisie proceeding as S. Paul derives it out of a pure heart 1 Tim. 1.5 and a good conscience and faith unfeigned may now be more ardent then usual That the fire which was alive in the Embers before may now burn out and flame with a Seraphick heat and brightness when God hath descended thus to stir it up to invite and court and even ravish our affections with the abundance of his favours This David intimates in the very Text For though we have it onely I will love yet the Original expression signifies I will ardently or affectionately love thee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 out of my Bowels or from the bottom of my heart will I love thee Ex intimis viscerâ—hus Trâ—mâ—l and so some of the best Translations render it To t'ameâ—ò affettuâ—sa mente Dio dati Well then if this be the Scale and Standard of our Duty in this behalf that our Love ought to rise in proportion to the Benefits we receive As our Saviour indeed sets it in the Gospel Luke 7.47 where he tells us that the most obliged person will love most and were it not so there could be no such sin as Ingratitude in the World that odious inhumane Crime would lose all the ground and reason both of its guilt and shame Then it will presently be evident to all men how much we of this Nation ought to love God who hath so abounded in his favours to us But how much we do love him is hard to say for the expressions of our affection are very untoward Lâ—ke the Course and rude Caresses of Russian Husbands to their Wives our kindness looks much more like to Anger and ill nature then Love If to disobey dishonour injure and affront to do every thing that will displease God and grieve his Holy Spirit be Love then we love him extreamly But if there be any Truth in what Common Sense and the Uniform Voice of Mankind affirm of Love That it is an active vigorous Principle working mightily in the hearts of Men Provoking and even constraining them to do every thing which may be agreeable to those they Love and accordingly hath produced wonderful Prodigious effects in Humane Friendships If the Holy Scriptures and Histories of Times truly Christian deceive us not in representing the sincere Love of God as an affection which can neither be dissembled nor suppressed being always cheerfully and indefatigably employ'd in his service If it devoureth Difficulties casteth out (a) 1 John 4.18 Fear (b) Psal 119. saepe Rendreth Labour easie and desireable delighting not onely in the sweat of its Brows but in the most Bloudy Agonies and Conflicts breaking through the Briars and Thorns of an accursed World and the many flaming swords which Satan draws against it making it self a Paradise and Heaven upon Earth in the doing Gods Will in walking with and (c) 1 John 4.15 16. dwelling in him For which reason Love is called The (d) Rom. 13.10 fulfilling of the e Gal 5 10. Law The keeping God's (f) 1 John 5.3 Commandments That whereon all the Law and the Prophets (g) Mat. 22 40 depend The (h) 1 Jâ—hn 4 7.8 knowing God and being known of him The (i) Eâ—h 3.17 Root and Ground of Religion and the choicest most excellent (k) Gaâ—â—5 22 Fâ—uit of the Spirit If this be the true Character of that Divine Vertue as indeed these are the Lineaments and Features by which it was most eminently discernible in the unparallell'd Example of our dear Lord and Saviour and in the first Copies taken from thence the Primitive Martyrs and Confessors Then may something like to it be found in our Fancies our Discourses or Professions but not the least shadow of it appears in our Lives and Conversations Unhappy Nation that we are for whom the essences of things and the Definition of Duty must be quite changed ere we can pretend to that disposition towards God which Nature dictates and the bare apprehension of a Deity exacts I am not willing to utter words of ill Omen this day but thus much I cannot refrain from saying That had God expressed his kindness to us no otherwise then we have done our returns of Love to Him we had not now been here Surely David lov'd God at another rate else we should not have found him in one Psalm panting and languishing after him like an emboss'd spent Dear Psal 42. 1â— 2. Grieved and afflicted for being kept from his presence Psal â—20 84 2.69.9 Languishing and fainting with desire to get into his Temple burnt up and devour'd with Zeal for it in others Not onely his Book
all our worldly concernments but especially the continual endeavours of his Grace and Holy Spirit to conduct us safe to the enjoyment of that Blessedness which his Infinite Wisdom and Goodness have prepared for us Such Reflections as these would we suffer them to settle and fix upon us must needs fill our souls with the Love of God and our mouths with his Praises This would kindle in us a zealous Concern and Passion for the Glory of God and we should apprehend no happiness upon Earth but in the promoting his honour among men Our hearts would be like Altars of Incense with a perpetual Heavenly fire burning on them and sending up continually our Eucharistial oblations that odour of sweet smell made of holy Oyl and fragrant Spices Love and Joy in the Lord and the Cloud of this Incense would cover the Mercy Seat The assistant Angels would as the Jews say go up in this Cloud to offer our Lauds unto God and bring back from him Grace and Peace and Salvation in returns unto us 'T is for want of this because we are such strangers to God and our selves that the life of every Christian is not a continual Eucharist That we come so seldom and with such coldness and Indevotion to join with the Church Militant in her Sacrifice of Praise the Holy Communion Hebr. 13 15. that great peculiar instance of our Religion wherein Christ hath commanded us to continue a perpetual thankful remembrance of all God's Mercies and particularly of his Death which comprehends them all and there to connect our poor Prayers to his powerful eternal intercessions that so both our Petitions and Praises may be acceptable to God 'T is for want of this that the Children of God are so unwilling to have their Conversation in Heaven to join and communicate in this Honourable delectable Duty of Praising God with the Church Triumphant where Saints and Angels incessantly Praise God having nothing to ask or beg of him but in behalf of us We deceive our selves grosly and dangerously while we think we can be Religious without Praising God often and heartily and cheerfully in Private as well as Publick Alas our loud and clamorous Prayers how many or importunate soever they be separate from this are but Hypocritical Devotions terminated in our own interests not in God or his Glory And our Prayers would be as few as our Praises but that the love of the world and our selves which damps the love of God in our hearts and suffers us not to delight and rejoice in Praising him sometimes prompts us to call on him to fly to his help in distress make us look up like the Jews in the Wilderness when we feel our selves stung And this strange fire on the Altar looks like the True burns and blazeth for a while and makes us think our selves very Religious when alas we are onely very fore or very fearful and our necessities and distresses are devout not we I need not Press that further whereof every one hath a sufficient conviction in this that while our case is thus Devotion comes upon us onely by catches and starts and even as in an Ague we have as many cold Fits as hot When the violence of that impulse pulse which warm'd us is spent we freeze again when the Calamity or terror which put us into a hasty fermentation is taken off immediately we settle upon our lees VVhen he kills us then we seek him we turn early and enquire after God when we remember that God is our strength Psal 78. and the most High God is our Redeemer but as soon as the Judgment is removed and we have swallowed and digested the Mercy we turn back and tempt the Holy One of Israel VVe think no more of his Hand and of the Day wherein he delivered us from our Enemies VVhereas were a habit of Religion firmly setled in us rooted and grounded on the love of God and conscience of our Duty it would be both Permanent and Uniform in all its exercises VVe should not think to use God onely as a Property or Convenience but adore the Majesty of our Almighty Soveraign Lord and delight as much to Praise him for the Benefits we have received as to receive any new ones from his hand VVhat then shall I say Shall I reproach a Christian Congregation by exhorting them to love God I am ashamed to do that and I have said enough already if any thing be enough by telling you that without Loving God you ought not to Trust in him you cannot Praise or Pray to him your Praises will be but Flatteries and your Prayers indignities and affronts Shall I desire you to be more frequent and more zealous in your Praises Sure I need not request you if you mean to go to Heaven to practice that beforehand here which must there be your onely Employment to beseech you not to think that a trouble now which then will be your Happiness and Glory I will rather tell you that God needs none of all these things from you Your Love does not benefit nor your Praises exalt him He is the same Omnipotent Majesty Infinitely happy in Himself whether you depend on his Protection and beg your daily Bread and all other good things at his hands or whether neglecting both those Duties you live as without God in the World But He is pleased when you love and honour him because he is delighted in the obedience of his Creature and nothing is so agreeable to him as that we should give him those occasions to love us and do us good which if you thus qualifie your selves to receive his favour I can assure you he will do as the Prophet David here assures himself Upon these Terms we shall be safe from our Enemies So shall I c. SO shall I be safe otherwise I shall not VVe cannot promise our selves to be safe by our own strength For were it never so great it may be matched and exceeded And were we never so much Masters of our Enemies we are not Masters of Occasion We may and have been obliged to fight upon disadvantage We are not Commanders of the Seas nor of the Winds which God keeps in his Treasure Last year they were helpful to us They were otherwise this year And if we cannot protect our selves Who shall protect us I have heard that one of our enemies hath said with contempt and scorne enough We have no Friend But God! Does he make such But 's I pardon his raillery and heartily embrace the good Omen of it If we have no Friend but God then we have him and if he be our Friend I am sure we need not fear what man can do against us Neither they we have so oft conflicted with nor they who hover further off expecting an opportunity to fall upon us when we are sore can be able to do us harm He is too much a Coward that dreads any Enemy when he hath Omnipotence it self