To come then to the point itself, the disposition of those that shall come to
A GLANCE OF HEAVEN. 181
heaven then is, t/ieij must he snch as love God. Now lie names this because these two go alwaj-s toge'Jier. There goes somewhat of ours together with somewhat of God's, to witness to us what God doth. There goes our choice of God, with his choosing of us ; our knowing of God, with his knowledge of us ; our love to him, with his love to us. Therefore, because these are so connexed and knit together, he takes the one for the other ; and to make it familiar to us, he takes that which is most familiar to us, our love to him.
Now he names this above all other affections, because love is the com- manding affection of the soul. It is that affection that rules all other affections. Hatred, and anger, and joy, and delight, and desire, they all spring from love ; and because all duties spring from love both to God and man, therefore both tables are included in love. And when the apostle would set down the qualifications of those that shall enjoy these things, he saith they are for those ' that love him.' Because it stirs up to all duty, and adds a sweet qualification to every duty, and makes it acceptable and to relish with God. It stirs up to do, and qualifies the actions that come from love to be accepted.
All duties to man spring from love to man, and love to man from love to God. It is the affection that stirs up the duty, and stirs up the affection fit for the duty ; it stirs up to do the thing, and to do all in love. What- soever we do to God or man, it must be in love. All that God doth to us it is in love. He chooseth us in love, and doth everything in love ; and all that we do to God it must be in love. Therefore he names no other affection but this, because it is the ground, the first-born affection of the soul. Therefore Christ saith it is the great commandment to love God, John XV. 12. It is the great commanding commandment, that commands all other duties whatsoever ; it is the first wheel that turns the whole soul about.
Again, it is such an affection as cannot be dissembled. A man may paint fire, but he cannot paint heat. A man may dissemble actions in religion, but he cannot affections. Love is the very best affection of truth. A man may counterfeit actions ; but there is none that can love but the child of God. * God hath prepared these things for those that love him.''
Then again, without this, all that we do is nothing, and we are nothing. We are nothing but an empty cymbal. Whatsoever we do is nothing ; all is empty without love. ' My son, give me thy heart,' Prov. xxiii. 26 ; that is, if thou wilt give me anything, give me thy affections, or else they are still-born actions, that have no life in them. If we do anything to God, and do it not in love, he regards it not. That is the reason why he men- tions love instead of all. It is so sweet an affection, and so easy ; what is more easy than to love ? It is comfortable to us to consider that God hath made this a qualification of those that he brings to heaven ; they are such as ' love him.'
Quest. But why doth he set down any qualification at all, and not say, for Christians ?
Ans. Because profession must have e:rpression. When God sets down a professor of religion, he sets him down by some character that shall dis- cover him to be as he is termed. How dost thou know thou art good ? Dost thou love God, or call upon God ? as it is in other places, ' To all those that call upon his name,' 1 Cor. i. 2, to let us know that religion and holiness is a matter of power. Wouldst thou know what thou art in religion ? Dost thou love God, or call upon God ?
It is not to be tolerated, to be Christians, to profess as Demas, 2 Tim.
182 A GLANCE OF IIKAVEN.
iv. 10. Oh no ! but tlicy must bo such as from the heart-root arc good, * such as love God.'
Therefore, dark disputes of election and predestination, at the first espe- cially, let them go. How standest thou affected to God and to good things? Look to thy heart whether God have taught it to love or no, and to rclinh heavenly things. If ho hath, thy state is good. And then thou mayest ascend to those great matters of predestination and election. But begin not with those, but go first to thine own heart, and then to those deep mysteries afterward. If a man love God, he may look back to election, and forward to glorification, to the things that * eye hath not seen nor ear heard,' &c. But see iirst what God hath wrought in thy heart, what affec- tion to heavenly things ; and thence from thy affections to go backward to election, and forward to glorification, there is no danger in it.