A. 2. We must love God propter se, — for liimself, for his own intrinsic excellen- cies ; we must love him for his loveliness. Meretricitcs est amor plus annulum quam sponsum amare ; " It is an harlot's love, to love the portion more than the person." Hypocrites Ioac God because he gives them corn and wine : we must love God for him- self, for those shining perfections which are in him. Gold is loved for itself
//. 3. We must love God with all oui miglit (in the Hebrew text our vehemency). We must love God, quoad posse, — as much as we arc able. Christians should be like seraphims burning in holy love ; we can never love God so much as he deserves ; the angels in heaven cannot love God so much as he deserves.
yl. 4. Love to God must be active in its sphere ; love is an industrious affection, it sets the head a-studying for God, — hands a-\A<)rkiiig, — feet a-running in tlu; ways of his commandments, — it is called " the la- bour of love," 1 Thess. i. 3. Mary Magda* leiie loved Christ, and ])oured her oint- ments on him. We think Ave never do e- nough for the person whom we love.
A. 5. Love to God must be superlative. God is the quintessence of beauty, a whole paradise of delight ; and he nnist have a priority in our love. Our love to (Jod must be above all things besides, a.s the oil swims above the water ; avc must love God above estate, relations. Great is the love to relations : there is a story in the French Academy, of a daughter, who, when her father was condemned to die by hunger, gave him suck with her own breasts. But our love to God must be above father and
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OF LOVE.
mother, Mat. x. 37. We may ^ve the crea- ture the milk of our love, God must have the cream ; the spouse keeps the juice of her pomegranates for Christ, Cant. viii. 2.
y/. (). Our love to Cod must he constant, like the fire the Vestal virgins kept in Rome, which did not go out. Love must he like the motion of the pulse, it heats as long as there is life. Cant. viii. 7., " Many waters cannot quench love ;" not tlie wa- ters of persecution. Ej)h. iii. 17., " Rooted in love." A hranch withers that doth not grow on a root ; that love may not die, it must be well rooted.
Quest. 5. What are the visible signs of our love to God ?
Ana. \. If we love God, then our desire i^ after him, Isa. xxvi 8., " The desire of our soul is to thy name." He who loves Ciod, breathes after communion with him, Ps. xlii. 2., " My soul thirsteth for the living God." Persons in love desire to be often conferring together; he who loves God, desires to be much in his presence; lie loves the ordinances, they are the glass where tlie glory of God is resplendent : in the ordinances we meet with him whom our souls love, we have God's smiles and whispers, and some foretastes of heaven. Sucli as have no desire after ordinances, liave no love to God.
A. 2. The second Aisible sign : lie who loves God cannot take contentment in any thing without him. An hypocrite who pre- tends to love God, give him but corn and wine, and he can be content A^nthout God : but a soul fired with love to God, cannot be without him ; lovers faint away, if they have not a sight of the object loved. A gracious soul can want health, but not want God, who is the health of his counte- nance, Ps. xliii. 5. If God should say to a soul that entirely loves him, 'take tbv ease, smm in pleasure, solace thyself in the de- lights of the worUl, but thou slialt not enjoy my presence,' — this would not con- tent the soul. Nay, if (jod should say, ' I wUl let thee be taken u]) to heaven, but I will retire into a withdrawiiig-rcMtm. and thou shalt not see my face,' — this would not content the soul, it is an hdl to want God. The ])hilosopher saith there can be no gold witlu)ut the influence of the sun :
there can be no golden joy in the soul with- out God's sweet presence and influence.
A. 3. The third visible sign : he who loves God, hates that which would separate between him and God, and that is sin Sin makes God hide his face ; it is like an incendiary which parts chief friends ; tliere- fore the keenness of a Christian's hatred is set against sin, Ps. cxix. 128., " I hate every false way." Antipathies can never be reconciled; one cannot love health but he must hate poison ; so we cannot Ioa'c God but we must hate sin, wliich would destroy our communion with him.