472 SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. [Ser. CII.
mine heart.' When they come to taste, digest, and have experience of the benefit in comforting, changing, supporting their own hearts, then they love the word of God that hath been the instrument of it : James i. 18, ' He hath begotten us by the word of truth.' Then what follows? 'Be swift to hear.' If a man be begotten, if he hath felt the benefit of the word, then he will be taking all occasions to deliglit himself, and refresh his soul in the word of God, in reading, hearing, meditating, because he hath found sensible benefit.
Use 1. To shame and humble us that we are so cold in our love. It is an admirable and an incredible affection David here speaks. Consider who it was that speaks thus. David, he that was encumbered with the employments of a kingdom, he that had so many courtly pleasures, so many great businesses to divert and draw him aside ; yet all his employment eould not withhold him from delighting him- self in the word of God. It was David, that was a king, and mark how he doth express himself; he doth not say, I endeavour to keep thy word, but ' I love thy word.' Nay, he saith more, he speaks of it as a thing he could not express, ' How I love thy law ! ' No great wonder that we cannot express the excellency of the word ; but that our affec- tions, which are so finite, that these should not be expressed, this is wonderful. Then he speaks of it with exclamation too, ' Oh, how I love thy law ! ' and he speaks this to God. The Septuagint reads it, ' Lord, how have I loved thy law ! ' He makes God himself to be judge not only of the truth of his love (as Peter makes Christ the judge of the truth of his love : I have many failings, I have fallen foully of late ; but, ' Lord, thou knowest all things ; thou knowest I love thee') but he makes God the judge of the strength of his love, ' Lord, how do I love thy law ! ' Have we anything answerable ? Heart should answer heart. Are there such affections wrought in us as David expresseth to be in himself ? This should shame us, for we have more reason, there is more of the word of God revealed to us, more of the counsel of God discovered, the canon of scripture being enlarged, more discovered than ever was to David, yet our affections so cold.
SERMON OIL
Oh, hoiu love I thy laio ! &c. — Yer. 97.
I COME now to a second use, to press us to get this love. Take three arguments : —
1. This will wean us from sinful delights, that are apt to insinuate with us and take our hearts ; it will draw us off" from carnal pastimes, curious studies, vain pamphlets : if you had this love, here would be your recreation in the word of God. Castce delicics mece sunt scripturce t/ua\ saith Austin — here are my chaste delights, thy holy scripture, to be ruminating and meditating there. Here you will be employing your time and strength of your thoughts. Tiiere are two things mightily concern us — to make religion our business and recreation ;
Ver. 97.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 473
our business in regard of the seriousness, and our recreation and delight in regard of the sweetness. Now, if you have a word from God, here will be your delight ; you will be exercising yourselves con- templating the height, depth, and breadth of Grod's love in Christ Jesus, and turning over this blessed book: Job xxiii. 12, 'I have esteemed the words of thy mouth more than my necessary food.' Your very food for sustentation of your bodies will not be so sweet to you as the word of God for the comfort and refreshing of the soul. When the promises are as dry breasts and withered flowers, when men have little or no feeling of the power of it upon their hearts, no wonder they are besotted with the pleasures of sin. Men's minds must have some pleasure and oblectation, but their hearts are chained to carnal de- lights, so that they cannot mind the business of their souls.
2. Your hearts will be more stable and upright with God, more constant in the profession of godliness, when you come to love the word and love the truth for the truth's sake : 2 Thes. ii. 12, ' Because they received not the truth in the love of it, therefoi'e God gave them np to strong delusions, that they might believe lies.' The Lord hath seen it fit ever to continue this dispensation in the course of his pro- vidence, to suffer seducing spirits to go forth to try how we have received the truth, whether only in the bare profession of it, or received it in the love of it. Many have received the truth in the light of it ; that is, compelled by conscience, human tradition, current opinions, and custom of the country to profess it ; but they do not love it, there- fore they are easily carried away. There may be knowledge where there is not assent ; there may be assent where there is not love ; there may be some slight persuasion of the truth of evangelical doctrine, but if the heart be biassed with lust and sin, a man doth but lie open to temptations to apostasy. Therefore, until the heart be drawn out unto love to the truth it can never be stable with God.