guided by his Divine Laws In the time of man's integrity God was to be regarded and loved first and most of all so it must be still the difference is that then man did it naturally and now by a supernatural assistance he did it then by the grace of his Original Righteousness and now by the grace of the Gospel he did it then without reluctancy now he hath sinful appetites and passions which he must deny and mortifie before he can do it Therefore our Blessed Saviour requires it at the very entrance of his School as a necessary qualification to all that will be his Disciples that they should deny themselves and hate all things in comparison of him Luk. 9.13 If any man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me 14.20 and again if any man come to me and hate not his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters and his own life also he cannot be my Disciple that is he that will own JESUS and he own'd by him must in all things give him the preeminence must relinquish his natural desires deny his own will that he may yield an humble obedience to God he must forsake all things that come in competition with him and even part with his dearest relations and his own life as though he hated them rather than commit what God hath forbidden or disclaim what he would have us profess this self-abnegation Ule satis se diligit qui sedulò agit ut summafrnatur bono this daily self-crucifixion is no act of hatred as the world might think but the greatest kindness we can shew to our selves or others as he that cuts off one of his limbs hates not himself but seeks the preservation of his body and he that casts his goods over-board hates them not but prefers his safety to them so in this case he that parts with his earthly injoyments hates them not but prefers heaven to this earth he that loseth this present life hates it not but loves eternal life beyond it and he that forsakes his friends or parents to follow his Saviour hates them not but loves JESUS above them and seeks to win them to JESUS In this case the promise is verified that he that parts with any thing for Christs sake receives an hundred-fold in compensation and he that loseth his life certainly finds it Therefore hating our kindred and our own lives is otherwise exprest in S. Mat. 10.37 Matthew he that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me c. As much as to say that it is only requir'd that the love of God should be predominant that JESUS should be dearer to us than all persons whatever and that in the first place we should love God with all our minds with all our strength and with all our souls for then afterwards the love of our selves and others being subordinate would become regular and innocent §. 20. Of the love of God Now as all sins and miseries proceed from a misplaced love so all vertues and felicities are the product of love well-guided and plac'd on the right object this is as beneficial and advantageous as the other is pernicious that is as S. Sicut radix omnium malorum est cupiditas ita radix omnium bonorum est charitas Serm. de Charit Augustine saith that as self-love is the root of all evil so the love of God is the root of all good the stock whence all vertues do grow The excellency of Divine Love is so great so transcendent Sine charitate fides potest esse sed non prodesse Aug. 1 Cor. 13. that it alone is accepted on its own account and all other things for its sake a faith strong enough to work miracles alms the most expensive and even the flames of Martyrdom profit nothing without love as S. Paul teacheth love it is that makes all good works meritorious in the best sense love it is that gives a value to all other vertues or rather it is love that produceth all good works and vertues as they are so indeed Love is the discharge of our whole duty the fulfilling of the law Rom. 13.10 saith S. Paul love is that grace which renews and sanctifies our natures and abides for ever it is the greatest the most excellent gift of God it is even the Divine Spirit Vnitas Spiritus continet omnia Serm. Pent. Donum est Spiritus Sanctus in quo nobis omnia bona dantur who unites all things within the bonds of love and unity saith S. Augustine and with whom all good things are ever given Divines teach that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son by way of love wherefore he is call'd nexus amoris quo conjungitur Pater cum Filio Filius cum Patre that is in the Language of the Church that in the Unity of the same Spirit the Father and the Son live and reign evermore Charitas qua paâ—er diligit filium filius patrem quae est Spiritus Sanctus ineffabilem communionem amborum demonstrat De Trin. l. 15. or as S. Augustine expresseth it the love wherewith the Father and the Son love mutually is the Holy Spirit and represents best the Mystery of their Incomprehensible Union Now that Divine Spirit which is the eternal love of God to himself is given to us in the grace of love or charity which are one and the same whereby we are all joyn'd together into one body and all united to God therefore in our holding Communion with the Church we are commanded to keep the Unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace Ephes 4.3 and we are taught Rom. 5.5 that the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given to us 2 Cor. 13.14 and that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost are all one so that to come to the highest pitch and finish the elogium of love we may say with S. John that God is love 1 Joh. 4.16 and then we have said all God is love and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him that is God is an abyss of love and goodness by love he gives himself to us and by love we give up our selves to him and are transformed into him Wonder not therefore Deus chari tas est brevis laus sed maâ—na laus brevis in sermone magna in iatellectu c. Aug. Tract 9. in Ep. Johan if the effects of love are so glorious and wonderful when it proceeds immediately from God and is the communication of himself to us when it is the grace of Jesus Christ and the most precious gift of the Divine Spirit when it is the Sanctification of our natures and the bettering and perfecting of the noblest of humane
a Holy Life hath been so fully evinc'd and asserted and all things that pertain to life and godliness so cleerly and learnedly explain'd by Catholick Writers Ancient and Modern especially many Pious Fathers and Sons of this Church since the Reformation that I shall not insist upon the fundamentals either of Faith or Practice to inforce it As indeed my design is not to instruct but to move the affections not to argument or explain but to draw inferences from known and granted premises to administer prudential helps and Religious counsels and by devout meditations to affect the heart §. 16. An invitation unto the Cloister of love I ask therefore hast thou conceived a fair Idea of Christianity hast thou observ'd the glory and greatness of it's Mysteries the holiness of it's Doctrine and the perfection of its precepts and counsels hast thou consider'd and admir'd the great exemplar of all vertues the Holy JESUS author of this Holy Institution hast thou read his life with an observing eye and hast thou view'd the fair copies of this perfect Original which have been drawn by many of his Saints in the imitation of his example hast thou weigh'd the excellency of his promises the great immunities and the invaluable advantages which belong to his followers hast thou seriously ponder'd the great obligations which the love of JESUS hath laid upon thee and art thou desirous to be happy by loving again and being grateful If so enter this Cloister love JESUS and thou shalt reign with JESUS The Cloister I mean is not the precinct of a particular Abbey or the confinement of a narrow Cell but the Catholick Church whose inclosure is large enough to entertain all the Religions in the world all that are of the Christian Order And the Rule I would have thee follow is not that of any Founders nor even that of Pachomius said to have been brought down by Angels but that which the Son of God himself delivered the Gospel-rule the Christian Laws and appointments hath not God given his Beloved Son the heathen for his inheritance Psal 2. and the utmost parts of the earth for his possession Cursic arctcmus Christi professionem quam ille latissime voluit patere ego certe sic optarim Evangelicam Religionem sic omnibus esse cordi c. Ench. Why then saith Erasmus Should we confine the excellency and perfection of Christianity to particular places Why should we make that short and narrow which Christ would have to be of an universal extent If it be words we affect is not a City a great Monastery the Abbot whereof is the Bishop set over it by Christ Would to God the Christian Rule were so well belov'd and observ'd that no man might look or desire the Benedictin or Franciscan I say so too all this is true and to be wished yet the universal comprehends many particular Churches and the Christian Rule hath also many several interpretations therefore to be plain and positive the Church of England as the purest part or member of the Catholick which hath repurg'd corrupt innovations and maintains a Blessed Conformity with Antiquity is that which I recommend to thee above all others and for the best interpretation of the Sacred Canon the Doctrine and Worship of this Church is that which I would have thee prefer to all the rest §. 17. The vow to be taken at the entrance of it But because I speak not to dissenters nor intend to dispute with them thou wilt say that thou hast entred this Cloister already and hast undertaken it's Rule but though it be so thou mayst do it the second time by a second choise an after-election Thou didst not come of thy self but wast brought in when first thou entred'st this society and 't was by a proxy thou promisedst to observe the orders of it therefore now that thou hast the use of reason 't is very necessary thou shouldst do it again by a free and considerate act of thine own will Ratifie then thy former ingagements by being confirm'd Quod summum est id omnibus est enitendum ut saliem mediocria assequamur nec est quod ullum vitae genus ab hoc scopo submoveamus c. Eras if thou art not and if thou art by a hearty and sincere indeavour to perform thy vows and promises which are as follows First To renounce the Devil and all his works the pomps and vanities of this wicked world with all covetous desires of the same and the sinful lusts of the flesh Secondly To believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith And thirdly To keep Gods Holy Will and Commandments and walk in the same all the days of thy life This vow contains all thy duty the highest pitch of Christian perfection rules for the most Regular and Spiritual Life let thy serious application and earnest indeavour to observe it discriminate and sever thee from the prophane and less Religious world Thou needest no distinct inclosure no distinct habits no distinct patrons or offices thy sincere Study thy Religious care to discharge this obligation will sufficiently cloister thee in from the looser society and conversation of men and will make a difference great enough betwixt thee and them But though thou dost remain in the civil society of the world and the neighborhood of thy neighbour yet various are the ways that lead through the world to heaven and here I undertake to teach thee a sure and short one through which all glorified Saints have past Some persons here Qui timendo non facit male male faceret si liceret itaque etsi facultas non datur voluntos retinetur August in Psal 32. are eminent in one vertue some in another some are guided by hope and some by fear Many different are the considerations and helps whereby men are brought to make themselves happy in doing their duty but the motive the guide the way Dilectio est via rectissima absque devio via brevis absque taedio via plana absque tumulo via clara absque nubilo via secura absque periculo c. Idiot Cont. the instrument I recommend to thee above all others is Love Love is the strongest motive the surest guide the safest way the best instrument in the world to live well to keep thee from wandring to bring thee to heaven to conquer all oppositions and do the work of God thoroughly Love hath a general intendance over all vertues and duties and makes them pleasant to us and acceptable to God Love is the fulfilling of the Law Love and thou canst never do amiss love and thou canst never miscarry §. 18. Of Love and first of Self-love Love is the common prince and parent of other passions as they all take their Laws so they take their Origine from it Or to speak more properly Amor inhians habere quod amatur cupiditas est idem habens eoque fruens laetitia ect fugiens quod
that is begotten and so reciprocally The Divine Essence is but one it admits of no division therefore whatever honour is paid to one of the Divine Persons is paid to all Three the Ever-glorious Trinity is honour'd by it But then it must be consider'd that JESUS the second Person of that Blessed and Glorious Trinity is not only God but also Man and so Mediator betwixt God and Man so that by and through him we pray we worship we love God As God manifested his love to men in JESUS so in JESUS men offer the returns of their love to God 1 Joh. 4.9 In this was manifested the love of God towards us because God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him and in this is manifested our love towards God that we receive and love and obey that Son With this God is in no wise offended but rather infinitely well pleas'd Joh. 14.21 he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father saith our Blessed Saviour 23. If a man love me he will keep my word and my Father will love him and we will come unto him and make our abode with him and again If any man serve me Joh. 12.26 him will my Father honour Though we owe our redemption to the infinite mercies of God Father Son and Holy Ghost yet in a more especial manner we are ingaged to the Son who personally came down from heaven for us men and for our salvation JESUS is the Author and finisher of our faith he is the Founder of our Holy Religion it is he hath reveal'd those doctrines we are to believe it is he hath given us those laws and precepts whereby we are to live it is he from whom we are called Christians it is he who for us despised the shame and indured the Cross who hath shed his blood and given his life a ransom for ours it is he who by contracting a near relation with us becoming our brother hath caus'd us to be adopted Sons of God and heirs with him of an eternal kingdom it is he who is our Lord and Master and will be our judge and our rewarder if we be faithful to him Rom. 14.9 For this end Christ died and rose again that he might be Lord both of the dead and living saith S. Paul Act. 2.36 God hath made that same JESUS whom ye have crucified both Lord and Christ him God hath exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and Saviour saith S. Peter 5.31 All power is given him in heaven and earth and he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet Hence the frequent and urgent exhortations to follow and imitate to serve and obey JESUS Hence those Pathetick words of S. Paul The love of Christ 2 Cor. 5.14 Phil. 3.7 constraineth us and again what things were gain to me I counted loss for Christ yea doubtless and I count all things loss 8. for the excellency of JESUS CHRIST my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them but dung that I may win Christ 'T is JESUS hath won our hearts to God 't is he hath reconcil'd us from a state of enmity to a state of love besides that God was justly angry for our rebellions his glories are so bright so amazing his Divine Majesty so high that to love a being so infinitely above us might have been thought prophaneness or presumption Non bene conveniunt nec in una sede morantur Majestas amor respect not friendship is the affection of subjects to Princes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was an ordinary Epithete for the heathen Gods and even the Israelites were amaz'd and terrified at the sight of a heavenly messenger crying we shall die for we have seen God 't is the great humiliation of JESUS hath procur'd and establish'd an everlasting reconciliation and friendship betwixt God and man Rom. 5.8 God commended his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us and now there is neither death Rom. 8.39 nor life nor angels nor any other creature can separate us from the love of God which is in CHRIST JESUS our LORD Therefore for a reward for the great sufferings and abasement of JESUS God hath given him a supreme authority over all the world Men and Angels being made subject unto him because he made himself of no reputation Phil. 2.7 8 c. and took on him the form of a servant and humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the Cross therefore God hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name that at the name of JESUS every thing should bow of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth and every tongue should confess that JESUS CHRIST is the Lord to the Glory of God the Father Our love and obedience to JESUS derogates nothing from but belongs to God 'T is to the glory of God the Father God hath highly exalted JESUS for his humiliation and for the same cause we ought also to love and exalt him as much as possibly we can because it was for us not only bow at his name but ever kneel and kiss the ground when he only sees us no fear of exceeding here no fear of superstition we can never shew him too much love or respect Psal 72. All Kings shall fall down before him all nations shall do him service prayer shall be made unto him and daily shall he be praised Amen §. 17. 'T is most pleasant and safe to love God A third consideration will be that it is most pleasant and safe to love God Love may cause trouble but it certainly is the spring or parent of all joy and satisfaction He that hath an affection to nothing hath pleasure in nothing could the imaginary apathy of the Stoicks really seize upon any man if he could never be miserable he would also be uncapable of all happiness 'T is true indeed that the love of worldly things in that they are vain and perishing is it self vanity and vexation qui multum amat plus dolet is certainly true of all but the Divine Love He that hath many friends hath many sorrows he that loves many things hath many things to fear for 'T is only God that hath those infinite excellencies which can fully replenish our minds and desires 'T is only God that admits of no variableness neither shadow of turning and therefore 't is the love of God alone that can make us eternally and intirely happy It is reported of a person of great sanctity that an evil spirit confest to him that were it possible for one who loves God to come into hell yet it were impossible he should be miserable but that it would rather sink hell it self and make it disappear or else make it a paradise for him Though the relation
the horrors and torments of Hell hath laid on thee at least as great obligations to love him as if he had brought thee out of it after thou hadst been long detain'd therein Therefore I desire thou wouldst bring thy thoughts back again to that unpleasant abode and consider thy self as if thou wert shut up in that dismal dungeon and then express what thou wouldst give to be releast what thou wouldst do for him that should bring thee out of that horrible and bottomless pit I know that they that are afflicted with sharp pains and grievous sicknesses would purchase health with all the wealth they have and I believe no reward would hire a man to hold his hand in the fire but for one hours time therefore I doubt not but that if it were in a mans power he would give this and a thousand more worlds to be brought out of an ever-burning furnace and I am perswaded that if thou wilt suffer thy fansy to be active in framing the black and dreadful scene of hellish horrors about thee thou wilt then heartily say were I owner of the whole universe I would joyfully give it to come out of these ever-burning flames which torment my body and to be freed from this never dying worm the remorses of my guilty conscience which torture my soul but because I have nothing freely would I give my self to him that should bring me out of this woful place O I would follow him any where do any thing that he should command me imbrace his feet kiss the ground they tread on and give him all the demonstrations of a sincere and passionate Love Well thy petition is granted before 't was presented the Love and Mercy of JESUS hath prevented thy request and distress New make good thy vows and resolutions Love and Serve JESUS thy Redeemer and give thy self up wholly to him I know that many may be good Christians without being snatch't out of the fire without these terrors and affrightments but I am shewing what our condition had been without a Saviour what is that gulf of perdition whence JESUS hath sav'd us if we will be saved by him and I mention these terrors of the Lord as S. Paul calls them to perswade men to be motives of an active and vehement Love For 't is too observable that few men seriously consider what Redemption means what it was we were redeemed from else they could no◠be so indevout so disobedient so unthankful to their Saviour S. Paul supposing as I do here that without Christ we were already dead and perish't makes it the reason of that Constraining Love which enabled him and other Primitive Christians to suffer so patiently and act so zealously for JESUS the love of Christ saith he constraineth us because we thus judge that if one died for all then were all dead as if he should say we were certainly dead irrecoverably lost had not Christ died to purchase life and salvation for us therefore we cannot chuse but love him and it is no wonder if that love be strong and if we are govern'd and acted by it That thou maist therefore love affectionately and live devoutly consider seriously that death the misery of that condition wherein thou wert and ever must have been hadst thou not a JESUS I might add that we were delivered from the power and slavery as well as from the condemnation of sin but this is included in the other it being impossible to be saved from the wrath to come without bringing forth fruits meet for repentance and as it is mercy and grace on God's part so on ours it is matter of duty and earnest indeavour and must be the result and effect of our love first that we offend not and then that we serve diligently and faithfully him that redeemed us from our vain conversation and gave himself for us that we being dead unto sin might live unto righteousness §. 7. How we were Redeemed A further ingagement to love and obey will be to consider the manner how our redemption was effected and the price that was paid for it thus The Blessed Son of God the Second Person of the Ever-glorious Trinity undertook that work himself which none else could perform for us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary In praesepe jacet sed mundum continet ubera sugit sed angeles paseit Aug. Ser. de purific 2. and was made man In this act of his miracles and mercies seem to vie one with another that the God of Eternity should be born in time that the Creator of all things should be the Son of a Creature that the most highest should abase himself to the low condition of a servant that God should become an infant is a miracle of Love which we can admire and adore but never fully comprehend The greatness of God is unsearchable his excellencies and perfections are incomprehensible he is infinitely good powerful wise and holy Man contrariwise is in himself wicked and weak ignorant impure and miserable there is so great a disproportion betwixt God and man Haec est mensura amoris non solum quantum fecit nos quanta fecit pro nobis sed quantillus factus est pro nobis so wide so immense a distance that nothing less than an infinite love could have fill'd up the gulf betwixt those two so different natures and united them into one person 'T was never seen that a shepherd would creep upon all four and cover himself with a sheep-skin to call his flock out of danger and to expose himself for it but the good shepherd did much more When he came to lay down his life for his lost and wandering sheep and gather them into his fold he took on him not only the likeness but the very nature of them he became the lamb of God that he might be the shepherd of mankind Though he was infinitely more above man then men are above beasts yet he became the son of man that he might become the Saviour of men 'T was never seen that a Sovereign Prince would seek to reduce to loyalty the most abject of his rebellious subjects by mixing blood with them uniting their families together but behold the Supreme Monarch of heaven and earth contracts a near affinity with his ungrateful rebels who are as vile and miserable as they are criminal that he may free them from their guilt and win them to their duty and their happiness Proud and wretched sinner thou wouldst be so far from entring into the kindred of meaner persons those that are much thine inferiors that thou canst hardly indure to be in their company and behold the most Glorious and Holy God thine offended Sovereign is become thy near relation is become thy Brother that he may win thine affections and become thy Saviour His life all along was a continuation of his great mercy and humility he
diligent and receive commendations from the passers by these are an emblem of the most imperfect Christians who in Gods service seek their own glory and of whom our Blessed Saviour says that they have their reward However all must sow and every one as he doth it sparingly or bountifully so shall he reap at last But heaven is a cheap purchase give we never so dear for it Decay of Christian Piety The Gospel reveals and offers a glorious kingdom great and eternal felicities but he that expects their possession because he reads and believes them is like him that should fansie the whole world shall be his because he hath the History or the Map thereof Ecclus. 37.11 Consult not then with a coward in matters of war as the Son of Sirach adviseth consult not with an irreligious age in matters of Piety and Religion and think it not enough to do as the most do When first Christian Religion was preach't in the world and men understood what JESUS had done for them and what he had promis'd they thought nothing too much nor too good for him they chearfully parted with temporal pleasures honors and riches with their liberties their limbs blood their very lives that they might be faithful to JESUS and come to reign with him they made it appear by their patient chearful and magnanimous sufferings that they valued nothing but JESUS and eternity We are not now expos'd to the same dangers for the belief and profession of Christianity but the commands thereof may have Martyrs as well as the Creed the same Lord and Saviour requires our obedience to the one who exacts our faith to the other he that spends his life in the observance of his Lords precepts and counsels in thus confessing of him before men may be intitled to as great a reward as he that dies that he may not renounce his Religion and deny his Faith I need not insert cautions against vain glory and self complacency after we have done the most we are able for if it proceeds not from the love of God it is nothing worth and if it doth it will never bring pride nor vanity Charity vanteth not it self and is not puffed up 1 Cor. 13.4 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. S. Johan Clim Grad 23.11 Only in the words of a pious Saint If we had died a thousand times for JESUS yet we should not have repaid him the least part of what we owe his infinite mercy and condescension for vast is the difference betwixt the blood of God and the blood of his creatures and servants if we judge according to the dignity and not to the substance of it What hast thou that thou hast not received remember what JESUS saith to all Christians He that loveth father or mother more than me Mat. 10.37 is not worthy of me and he that loveth son or daughter more than me Luk. 14.33 is not worthy of me and whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath he cannot be my disciple We can never do too much for JESUS but we may easily do too little though the most we can do will never merit heaven yet the least we may do shall not obtain it 't is safe and impossible to exceed but 't is easie and dangerous to be defective 6. Sunday after Trinity O God who hast prepared for them that love thee such good things as pass mans understanding pour into our hearts such love towards thee that we loving thee above all things may obtain thy promises which exceed all that we can desire through JESUS Christ our Lord Amen I have now assign'd love its full task to repent and mortifie our lusts to serve and obey God and to abound in good works even free-will-offerings I have no more for it to do I would only have it to increase to grow towards perfection to be constant and to indure unto the end To help this forward and to conclude I have here added four considerations wherewith to assist and incourage the sincere lover of JESUS to the discharge of this great and blessed duty the work and labour of love §. 13. That God should be loved above all things The first is that it is most unjust and unreasonable to love any creature to the prejudice of the Creator As all things have their being from God so they have from him all the goodness and beauty which makes them lovely to us and God drawing upon visible objects fair copies of his invisible perfections design'd to be lov'd in them or that they should be lov'd in him and for his sake If men being delighted with the beauty of the heavenly host took them to be gods Wisd 13.3 let them know how much better the Lord of them is for the first Author of beauty hath created them 5. for by the beauty and greatness of the creatures proportionably the maker of them is seen Beauty and goodness are the proper object of love and therefore God who is the first and supreme beauty and goodness should be loved before all things We indeed reverence Princes in their seals and arms in their meanest servants cloth'd with their livery but should a subject set up these in the royal throne and transfer to them or even to the greatest Favorite those special honours which belong to the Prince only he should justly be deem'd a Rebel and his proceedings would be as unjustifiable as the disloyal distinction of taking arms by the Kings Authority against his Person Yet such are the proceedings of all disorderly lovers I mean of all sinners who setting more of their affections upon the creatures than upon God the Creator pay them afterwards a greater veneration than they do to him having exalted honours pleasures and riches into the Imperial chair they do more for them than for the Sovereign himself nay they obey them to his prejudice and against his express command Thus vicious unreasonable men burn in the shade and freeze where the Sun shines they dote upon inferior beauties and neglect the highest and most perfect they take fire at dark shadows and find no heat in the brightest light Great men have a respect paid them in their degenerating posterity great Artists are respected in their liveless children we highly honour unhappy Pagans in those labors of theirs which adorn our closets and libraries God only is dishonour'd in his works the more perfect he hath made them the more injurious they prove to him Phidias and Apelles are remembred with veneration in a fine picture or Statue God only is ingratefully forgotten in a lovely creature whereof he is Maker An absurd impiety this is Absurdum est genu posito simulacra adorare suspicere fabros vero qui ea fecerunt contemnere which Seneca reprov'd in his Fellow-heathen to worship and deifie the carved image and to take no notice of the Carver that made it God hath done like a
loving father who jealous of his sons affection would have none to tend him but such as wear his livery would have the picture of himself hang in every room and all the goods in the house markt with his name and cypher So God who loves men tenderly and desires to be by them lov'd again hath put something of himself in all the creatures he hath appointed to serve us that which way soever we turn our eyes we might be put in mind of him he hath stampt his name in more or less legible Characters upon all the goods and utensils of this his great house the world wherein he hath plac'd us And now shall we do like a simple child who turning his back upon his father should look and smile on his picture and caress it and wait upon it and ask it blessing while he slights the original So absurd a thing would be counted madness and move pity or laughter but when we act the same folly in loving the world whilst we despise God we are highly criminal we highly provoke our heavenly Father thus to return to him contempt disobedience for the gracious tokens of his love From hence it follows that as we should love God above all and all things things in him and for him we should also love those things most which have most of his impress and likeness Therefore man who is created after Gods image should be by us lov'd above all other creatures and that part of man which is chiefly adorn'd with the likeness of God should have the greater share of our affection God himself values humane souls at a high rate because they are like him as appears by what he hath done and suffered to save them And for the same reason also we should pay to the souls of men the best part of that kindness we owe them and if we do not we give our friends no greater love than children to their puppets for they dress them fine and lay them soft and kiss and imbrace them Just as they who aim at nothing more than to make their friends merry to wish them toys and gaudy things and to see them at ease A fondness inexcusable in rational creatures especially in Christians who know the worth of an immortal soul and the great concern of Eternity and yet seek only to gratifie the material part of their friends which is subject to corruption and to ingage their affections to the world which passeth away and they must soon leave As if when King Edward the first was hastning out of the Holy-land hither to receive the Crown which expected him his friends had staid him by the way and invited him to rest and case and provided for him all Princely delights and entertainments and retarded his coming so long till he had forgot or lost his right and his kingdom What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his soul and what shall a man give in exchange for his soul We are indeed much commanded to love one another and in this consisteth one great half of our Religion all justice and charity and all the duties of the second Table To love our brother as we ought is the best demonstration of our love to God 1 Joh. 4.20 for he that says he loves God and hateth his brother Rom. 13.10 is a liar saith S. John and love worketh no ill to his neighbour Mat. 19.19 and is therefore the fulfilling of the law saith S. Paul but a man is to love his neighbour as himself and therefore as he is most oblig'd to seek for himself the kingdom of God and its righteousness so should he in the first place indeavour to procure it to his friend Or else we are to love one another as Christ hath loved us Joh. 13.33 and that was in redeeming our souls and purchasing for us heavenly joys and eternal life not in providing ease and sensual pleasures to our bodies here in this world The result of this is that in the first place we should love God infinitely and for his own sake and that in the next we should love those things most which have a nearest relation to God Grace and Vertue Religion Holiness and Men especially their Souls which are an image of the Deity especially sanctified souls which are most like God Afterwards our lesser love for less Divine Objects may be reasonable and innocent and however we have secur'd a great duty and a great happiness Mar. 13.33 To love God with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the soul and with all the strength and to love his neighbour as himself is more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices §. 14. 'T is most just and easie to love God A second consideration may be that it is most just and easie to love God That it is most just is shown all along this discourse wherein I have represented the more general and most excellent benefits of God to mankind all the which challenge and deserve the greatest love our hearts are capable of God had requir'd of his people that the first-born and the first fruits should be consecrated to him thereby to acknowledge him the author of all their blessings and the giver of all their increase Now the first-born of our souls the first-fruits of our hearts is love which God who gives us all things demands as an acknowledgment from us thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul We therefore commit a greater sacriledge if we deny him so just a tribute than if a Jew had rob'd him of his first grapes or his first ears of corn But it is so much the more just in that it is most easie to love God Infinite perfections an abyss of goodness whence rivers and oceans of good things do perpetually flow one would think should swallow up the hearts and affections of men as indeed it doth of all that duly consider it And more perfectly of beatified Saints and of those blessed spirits who minister before his throne and are all flame for him Besides 't is natural for men to love what is theirs propriety begets or increaseth love Now God is our God he hath given himself for us he doth now and will more intirely hereafter give himself to us he made us for the injoyment of himself and for that purpose he hath redeem'd us and that we might all say with David O God thou art my God that God might shew his kindness and indear himself to us and assert our right to him he hath assum'd the names of those relations who love us best whom we love most tenderly and whom we count most ours God the Father is pleas'd to be call'd our Father God the Son our Brother and God the Holy Ghost our Comforter as it were our friend thereby to express that affection which he hath for us and the propriety which
we may claim in him Sure 't is an easie thing to love them that love us Nimis durus est animus qui amorem eisi nolebat dare nolit tamen rependere Aug. and where God hath exprest so much love 't is strangely unnatural if we are not affected with it Prov. 19.6 Every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts saith the Wiseman Now what gifts hath our God given us or rather what gifts hath he not given us and what perverse violence do they offer nature that seek to confute Solomons saying in this instance where it should be most true Certainly 't is an easie thing to love infinite perfections and infinite goodness one that ever did and ever doth us good from whom we daily receive favours so great and so many that we can tell neither their worth nor number Wherefore S. Aug. saith Potes mihi dicere non habeo quod tribuam egenti non possiâ—m jejunare non possiâ—m flere Numquid potes mihi dicere charitatem habere non possum c. that to love God is so natural so easie so infinitely just and so much our duty that to omit it can admit of no plea nor pretence and is inexcusable and criminal in the highest degree Perhaps thou wilt say I cannot fast I cannot weep I have not what to give to the poor but canst thou say I cannot love God is there any obstacle in thy way dost thou want inducements or a heart to do it No doubtless 't is the easiest thing in the world to love him that is most lovely to love our greatest benefactor to love him who is infinitely kind and loving to us Some vertues require opportunities and cannot be exercised for want of them but whether thou beest sickly or healthy whether thy condition be high or low whether thy leisure be much or little whether thy calling be easie or laborious thou maist love love doth not pinch the belly Facilis res est Domine JESV CHRISTE superamande dilectio a qua nullus cujuscunque status gradus aut conditionis existat excusari potest c. Idiot wearies not the hands makes not the head ake empties not the purse for love is neither grief nor pain 't is easie to all men none can plead any excuses against it §. 15. An Objection answer'd Now here I will digress a little to answer two Objections which possibly might be made against what I have said of Divine Love The first that I have humaniz'd it too much that whereas it is supernatural and should be spiritual I have made it almost palpable and sensible To this I say that whether we set our love upon earthly or heavenly things upon God or upon the world still it is the same passion which resides in the same humane faculty The will of man and the effects thereof are alike evident and real He that truly loves God hath that same hearty affection for him as to the kind as one friend hath for another a sincere lover of JESUS will seek to please him and to be with him and to enjoy him and do all that for him which men would do for those whom they love heartily all the difference is that Divine Love hath its proper expressions can never be too great and is in all respects infinitely more excellent than the love of any creature Therefore if in some places I have represented things plainly and made that in some manner to be touch't by sense which is only the object of faith my design was thereby to move the affections and to bring down the notions of Religion from the head into the heart Heb. 11.1 Faith should be the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen We should consider things of faith whether past or to come as if they had now a real subsistence as if they were present before our eyes their greatness then would be better view'd and have the greater power upon us 27. as Moses who by consideration seeing him who is invisible was thereby enabled to prefer the afflictions of Gods people to the pleasures and dignities of the Courts of Pharaoh I believe it was a great advantage to the Piety of Primitive ages that they liv'd near the time when those things were acted which we now believe at a greater distance for then the Revelations of the New Testament were every Christians discourse and admiration the proximity of the times made them almost visible and the recent foot-steps of those great transactions gave them a kind of sensibility whereby their thoughts and considerations were drawn and retain'd and made serious and efficacious And I believe it may be a great cause of the degeneracy of these latter ages that faith is become too notional too metaphysical and abstracted whereas we should vest the great objects of our faith with material circumstances to make them in some manner the object of sense that to us it might be said as S. Gal. 3.1 Paul to the Galatians Before your eyes JESUS CHRIST hath been evidently set forth crucified among you and that in all other instances our faith might be to us the evidence of things not seen When we look upon the things of revelation as far distant from us they appear hardly credible and not much to be regarded but a closer viewing of them by a nearer and almost sensible consideration would make them appear great and wonderful would make deep and lasting impressions on our minds and cause us to cry out with grief and wonder Lord what is man that thou art thus mindful of him or rather what is man that he is unmindful of thee However I have the warrant and do claim the priviledge of them that write contemplative meditations to represent things as present and visible and well we may especially when we treat of the love of God shewed to mankind in JESUS for that love became palpable and converst among men and was manifested to sense in the birth the actions and the sufferings of our Blessed Saviour who by becoming man seem'd to comply with that unjust and yet general desire which men had of worshipping humane creatures and having things visible and material for the object of their devotion and Religious love §. 16. A second objection answer'd The other Objection would perhaps be made by them who scruple and refuse to bow at the Holy name of JESUS and who might say that I have mention'd it too often and too often call'd Divine Charity The love of JESUS and that in so doing I have been either superstitious or injurious to God To this I answer That as our Blessed Saviour saith He that hateth me Joh. 15.23 hateth my father also so we may say that he that loveth him loveth his father also For the Father the Son and Holy Ghost are one and the same God blessed for ever 1 Joh. 5.1 he that loveth him that begat loveth also him
happiness to a man even that incomprehensible and increated goodness which is the inexhaustible fountain of perfect Bliss and Felicity in whose presence there is fulness of joy at whose right hand there are pleasures for evermore Secondly It 's Heigth It is above the regions of the air in the highest heavens the sublimity and greatness of it's glory is exprest by being like the Angels of God by shining forth as the Sun by a kingdom a crown incorruptible a crown of life and sitting with the Son of God in his throne Thirdly it's Depth It is pure and unmingled it admits of nothing afflictive neither death nor sorrow neither hunger nor thirst neither pain nor anguish all tears are wip'd from their eyes There is the absence of all evil and the presence of all good therefore 't is called the joy of our Lord than which nothing can express a greater for God is intirely and perfectly happy and so incapable of any sorrow that the least sight of the Beatifical vision would turn hell it self into a paradise Fourthly and lastly Its Length It 's never ceasing duration it admits of no end or period it is everlasting it is eternal it is for ever and ever after as many millions of years as there is drops of water in the sea it will but begin and after as many thousands of millions more it will be no neerer ending then it was at first still eternal and ever eternal This is that Bliss which we had forfeited by sin and are reintitled to by the passion of Christ that Bliss which if often and duly consider'd would make us despise the world long for heaven love affectionately and serve diligently that JESUS who offers it to us and died to purchase it Wherefore S. Paul prays so earnestly for the Ephesians that God would give them the Spirit of Wisdom and revelation the eyes of their understanding inlightned Ephes 1.18 that they might know what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of his glory of his inheritance in the Saints That we might once be possest of this bliss as well as deliver'd from hell was the Cause why JESUS descended down from heaven became poor took on him the form of a Servant and humbled himself unto death even the death of the Cross for the joy that was set before him Heb. 12.2 he despised the shame and endured the Cross saith S. Paul That joy we may say was not the injoyment of heavenly bliss for himself 't was his without suffering there was no need he should bear the Cross for to obtain it he had a sure title to it by nature the joy therefore that was set before him was the joy of saving us the joy of rescuing us from the jaws of death the gulf of eternal perdition the joy of paying the price of our Redemption the joy of making us capable of eternal joys the joy of purchasing the glories and felicities of heaven for us in a word the joy of shewing us his love and expecting the returns of ours This was the joy why he despised the shame because his shame should raise us to glory this was the joy why he indured the Cross because his Cross should exalt us to a happy and honourable Throne This meditation of the great and manifold benefits of God and the wonderful love and charity he hath shewed us in JESUS we may and should prosecute much farther in all instances for 't is infinite and never enough to be consider'd and admir'd But Reader if that little I have here set down doth not affect thee and if being affected with it thou dost not resolve to return to God all possible acknowledgments and demonstrations of a grateful love Haeece via a meris est vera non ficta via cordialis non verbalis via fructuosa non ociosa via non solùm sermonis sed etiam operis Idiot then read no further for as what precedes is matter of mercy from Gods part so what follows is matter of duty on thine I shall now infer that we must love God because he first loved us and that if the love of JESUS to us hath made him bear our Cross our love to him must make us bear his yoke if he died for us because he loved us then we must live to him to make it appear that we love him Our love to Christ saith an excellent late Author is not a subtil airy and metaphysical notion Sherl 412. as some represent it but is a vital principle of action which governs our lives and makes us fruitful in good works thus it should be at least and thus I intend it the tryal of love is obedience if ye love me saith our Blessed Saviour keep my Commandments §. 15. What all these benefits require from us Now then we are to consider that God giving knowledge of salvation to men hath also thereby proclaim'd their duty Manifesting his love he hath ingag'd and requir'd theirs as our being call'd to be Christians makes a great and real change as to the happiness of our condition a great and real change it ought also to make as to the holiness of our conversation Therefore S. Rom. 2.16 Paul calls the Gospel the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth and he prays for the Ephesians Ephess 3.18 that they might know the love of Christ that so they might be fill'd with all the fulness of God as to say that the knowledge of the love of Christ is exceeding powerful and efficacious and would replenish them with all graces and vertues for this cause he sets so high a value upon the excellency of this knowledge Phil. 3.8 esteeming all the world but dung in comparison of it and he exhorting the Cretians to be ready to every good work puts them in mind that they who were once disobedient deceived serving divers lusts had been deliver'd from that unhappy condition by the appearance of the love of God our Saviour towards man Tit. 3. as in other places he exhorteth Christians to walk worthy of their calling worthy of the Gospel thereby declaring that the manifestation of the Divine Love in the Preaching of the Gospel was the promulgation as of their happiness so of their duty whereby they were rescued as well from living as from perishing in their sins 'T is the appearance of that grace of God which bringeth salvation Tit. 2.11 that teacheth men to live soberly righteously and godly and 't is the receiving and crediting that Heavenly Doctrine that quencheth the fiery darts of Satan that purifies the heart and overcomes the world so that the bare belief of the truth of the New Testament is a strong and indispensable obligation to a cheerful universal and persevering obedience to all its precepts the very profession of being Christians doth strictly bind us to the performance of all Christian duties But the necessity of a Holy Faith and