Fourthly, Our backwardness to obedience, and the tediousness we find in it, shows a great imperfection in our love. All goes on easily, sweetly, acceptably, where love is at the bottom. Gen. xxix. 20, Seven years to Jacob seemed as a few days, for the love that he had to Eachel ; and so love sweetens our obedience : ' His commandments are not grievous.' But when we are wedded to worldly things, and will not be reclaimed from them, then every heavenly business is an inter- ruption to what we would be at, what we delight in.
Fifthly, The many conflicts we have with carnal self-love, or our own foolish and hurtful lusts, show our love is not perfect; as the weakness of faith is seen and felt by the remainders of unbelief, and our frequent conflicts with doubts and fears : ' Lord, I believe ; help thou mine unbelief,' Mark ix. 24. So the weakness of our love is known by the opposition of carnal and inordinate self-love. The flesh will say sometimes, ' Favour thyself,' or ' What a weariness is it,' ]\Ial. i. 13, and grudge everything that is done for God. It doth excuse us in our stragglings and deviations from our great end, and applaud us in our negligent course of living ; as ' the sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason,' Prov. xxvi. 16. Nay, sometimes it will urge us to please ourselves to the grief of the Spirit, and to take our fill of carnal delights. All this be- longs to the first reason.
[2.] There needs much to be done about our love after it is planted in the soul ; we need to get it rooted, to get it increased, to get it con- tinually excited, and kept in act and exercise.
(1.) We need to get it rooted. Our first affection to God and heavenly things may hastily put forth itself, as the early blossoms of the spring do, but they are soon nipt ; and those high tides of affec- tions, which we find in our first acquaintance with religion, afterwards sink low enough. Love is more passionately expressed at first, partly by reason of the novelty of the things represented to us, and partly because of our great necessity, as men that are in a violent thirst take large draughts with pleasure ; and because our love is not as yet dis- persed into the several channels of obedience, but wholly taken up with
2 TiiES. III. 5.] THE SIXTH sermon. 245
admirations of grace ; but yet tliis may vanisli and decay. Our liusi- ness is to be ' rooted and grounded in love,' as tlie apostle saith, Eph. iii. 17, to get a more solid, durable affection to God.
(2.) After it is planted it needs to be more increased : Phil. i. 9, ' I pray God your love may abound yet more and more.' At first love is but weak ; there is fire, but it is not blown up into a flame ; after- wards God gets a greater interest in our hearts, and then the constitu- tions of our souls become more holy and heavenly. Love being the heart of the new creature, he that hath most love hath most grace, and is the best and strongest Christian.
(3.) After it is planted in the soul it needs to be excited and kept in act and exercise. This is mainly intended here. For —
First, All religion is in effect but love. Faith is a thankful accept- ance of Christ, and thankfulness is an expression of love. Repentance is but moin-ning love; as she wept much to whom much was forgiven, Luke vii. 47. Diligence in the holy life is but seeking love; obedience is pleasing love ; self-denial is the mortification of inor- dinate self-love ; sobriety is a retrenching of our carnal love.
Second, If love be not acted and kept at work, carnal love will prevail. The soul of man cannot lie idle, especially our affections cannot ; either they are carried out to God, or they will leak out to worldly things. When our love ceaseth, yet concupiscence ceaseth not, and the love of the world will soon grow superior in the soul ; for the neglected principle languisheth, while the other principle gets strength, and secures its interest to God. The —
Third is the benefit we have by keeping love in act. This makes us more sincere, and to act purely for God : 2 Cor. v. 14, ' The love of Christ constrains us : for we thus judge, that they that live should no more live to themselves, but to him that died for them, and rose again.' The constraining influence of love is that that keeps us from living to ourselves ; and this makes us more diligent. Labour and love are often coupled in the scripture : ' Knowing your labour of love, the work of faith and patience of hope ; ' ' and God is not un- righteous to forget your labour of love ; ' the church of Ephesus ' lost her first love,' she ' left her first work,' Rev. ii. 4, 5.
Use. Oh, then, let us seek this benefit from God, that our hearts may be directed into his love.