VeR. 2.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JUDE. 75
should see a wise man careful to preserve the relics of what we counted a nej^^lected weed, it would make us think there were some- what in it. We lavish away our love upon trifles, and God prizeth every grain of it. You see he speaketh as if he would not lose one dust of love : ' All thy soul, all thy heart, and all thy miglit.' When he hiddeth us love our neighbour, he sets limits to it, ' Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself ;' but when he biddeth us love God, he requireth all the heart. The only measure is to love him without measure. The next place tliat I shall take notice of, where the pre- cept is recorded, is Deut. x. 12, ' And now Israel, what doth the Lord require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, and to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord with all thy heart, and with all thy soul,' God doth not require of us things without the sphere of duty ; that we should go into the depths of the sea, toss mountains in the air, pluck the stars from heaven, <fec. These things lie out of the power of man. He doth not require of us barbarous austerities — to offer our first-born, to lance ourselves, to mangle our flesh with whips and scourges. He doth not require of us absolutely such things which some men can and ought to perform ; not such a measure of alms, what then would become of the poor ? not such a degree of wisdom and learning, what then would become of the simple and unlearned ? But, ' 0 Israel, what hath the Lord required of thee, but that thou shouldest love the Lord thy God ?' A duty to be per- formed by poor and rich, learned and unlearned. Wliatever their estate and condition be, they may all love God. There are many in heaven that never were in a condition to give, but to receive, that were never learned and skilled in sciences ; but none that never loved God.
Secondly, God hath deserved love. Let us a little take notice of God's love to us. He beginneth and loveth us that we may love him again, 1 John iv. 19. If God should hate us, we were bound to love him, because of his excellency, and because of our duty and obligation as we are creatures. How much more when God hath loved us, and bestowed so many benefits upon us ? Love is an affection which God will have repaid in kind. When he chideth us, he doth not expect that we should chide him again. When he judgeth us, we must not judge him again. In these things the creature is not to retaliate. It is true, we do it too often, but still to our loss and blame. But now when he loveth us, he willeth us to love him again. He loveth us for no other cause but that he may be loved. Love must be paid in kind. As water is cast into a pump when the springs lie low to bring up more water, so God sheddeth abroad liis love into our hearts, that our love may rise up to him again by way of gratitude and recompense. Now in the love of God we may take notice of — (1.) The properties ; and (2.) The efi'ects of it.
First, For the properties of God's love, consider : — 1. The ancientness of it : Ps. ciii. 17, ' From everlasting to ever- lasting,' &c. With reverence we may speak, ever since God was God he was our God. You may track his love from one eternity to another. Before the world was he loved us, and when the world is no more he loveth us still. His love began in eternal purposes of grace, and it
76 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [VeR. 2.
endeth in our eternal possession of glory. It is not a thing of yester- day. He is our ancient friend. He loved us not only before we were lovely, but before we were at all. We adjourn and put off our love of God to old age, and thrust it into a narrow corner. When we have wasted and spent our strength in the world, we dream of a devout retirement. But the Lord thinketh he could never love us early enough. ' From everlasting to everlasting,' &c. We receive the fruits and effects of love in time, but all cometh out of God's ancient and eternal love. This grace was provided for us before we were born. Tea, look upon God's love in time. How merciful was God to us before we could show the least sign of thankfulness to him ? He loved us a long time before ever we had a thought of him. In infancy we could not so much as know that he loved us. When we came to years of dis- cretion we knew how to offend him before we knew how to love and serve him. How many are there of whom it may be said, ' God is not in all their thoughts ;' and yet all this while God hath ' thoughts of peace ' and blessing towards them.