Ohs. 3. The next point is more particular and express. That of all graces, love needeth keeping. Why ? (1.)' Because of all graces it is most decaying. Mat. xxiv. 12, Rev. ii. 4. Flame is soon spent, graces that act most strongly require most influence, as being most subject to abatement ; we sooner lose our aft'ections than anything else. (2.) Because love is a grace that we can ill spare ; it is the spring and rise of all duties to God and man. (1st.) To God. Love is the first affection corrupted and renewed. The schoolmen dispute whether there be anything a man doth that hath not its first rise from love. It is love maketh us angry, and it is love maketh us hate, Ps. xcvii. 10, and love maketh us grieve, John xi. 35, 36, much more is it love that maketh us hope, and desire, and delight ; so it is gracious love that sets us a-mourning for sin, Luke vii. 47, puts us upon hatred of evil, delighting in God and in his laws ; see 2 Cor. v. 14, 1 John V. 3, Gal. v. 6 : ' Faith worketh by love,' faith receiveth grace, and love exerciseth it. If we would do anything in the resist- ance of sin, in keeping the commandments, we cannot spare our love. (2d.) As to man. Love is a grace that will make us industrious for the good of others, and therefore we read of the ' labour of love,' 1 Thes. i. 3. It is gluten animarum, the glue of souls, the cement and solder of the church ; the jointing that runneth throughout all the living and squared stones, Col. iii. 14 ; by this souls are mingled, and all mutual offices done cheerfully. Want of love to the saints is the cause of apostasy, for the less we love them the more we associate to the wicked, and then zeal is damnified and abated.
Well, then, watch the more earnestly against the decays and abate- ments of love ; ' leaving our first love ' is a disease not only incident to hypocrites, but sometimes to God's own children. Christians go backward in the heat and light of their graces ten degrees, either through the bad- ness of the times, Mat. xxiv. 12, or through a cursed satiety that is apt to creep upon us. Aftections are deadened to things to which we are accustomed. The Israelites cried out, ' Nothing but this manna ! ' Our desires ai'e not so fresh and lively after long acquaintance. Some- times it cometh from negligence, or a sluggish carelessness, we do not
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take pains to keep graces alive, nor dva^wrrvpdv, ' stir up the gift that is in ns,' 2 Tim. i. 6 : as the priests in the temple were to keep in the holy fire, so are we, by prayers and meditation and constant •work, to keep our love alive ; but when these exercises are neglected, it decreaseth. Sometimes it falleth out throuo;h freeness in sinning^. Neglect is like not blowing up the coals ; sinning is like pouring on waters, a very quenching of the Spirit, 1 Thes. v. 19. Again, through secure dalliance with the pleasures of sin, or cumbering the soul with the cares of the world ; when the heart runneth out too much upon the creature, God is neglected. Thus it may fall out.
But now the decay of love is seen in two things : — (1.) The remis- sion of the degrees of love ; (2.) The intermission of the acts of love.
1. A remission of the degrees, when the heart groweth cold, list- less, and loose ; when there is not such a strong tendency and bent of soul towards God as formerly, not such a sense of unkiudness, such an awful respect to God, a care to please him, and desire to enjoy him, nor such complacency and delight in the thoughts of God. But now every loss or abatement of degree doth not mount to a leaving of our first love ; there are certain ravishments and transports of soul which we feel upon the first evidence of our being reconciled to God, or are stirred up upon other special occasions. These are accidental overflowings, which may come and go ; we cannot always bear up under them ; new things strangely aftect us ; love is afterward more settled and diftused in the channels of obedience, and therefore no wonder if it do not run with so full a tide and current. This remission of degrees, then, must be understood with respect to these constant dispositions of love, as care to please, fear to offend, desire of and delight in God ; when these fail us to any degree, love is a-chilling or growing cold.
2. An intermission of the acts and exercise of love, when God is forgotten, duty neglected, sin unmortified, no care of or frequency in private communion with God, no sweet thoughts of him, Ps. Ixiii. 6 ; civ. 34. Where we love there will be musing on the object beloved, there will be familiarity and intimateness of converse. There is not a day can pass but love will find some errand and occasion to confer with God, either to implore his help or ask his counsel. But now, when men can pass over whole days and weeks, and never give God a visit, such strangeness argueth little love. Again, when there is no care of glorifying God, no plottings and contrivings how we may be most useful for him, when we do not mourn over sin as we were wont to do, are not so sensible of oftences, have not these meltings of heart, are not so careful to avoid all occasions of offending God, are not so watch- ful, so zealous, as we were wont to be, do not rise up in arms against temptations and carnal thoughts, love is decayed. Certainly wlien the sense of our obligations to Christ is warm upon the heart, sin doth not escape so freely ; love will not endure it to live and act in the heart, Titus ii. 11, 12, Gen. xxxix. 9. But now, as this is worn off, the heart is not watched, the tongue is not bridled, speeches are idle, yea, rotten and profane ; wrath and envy tyrannise over the soul, all runneth to riot in the poor neglected heart ; yea, further, Gods public