3 Why they are worthy to be curfed that love Icfus. ter Chrift, you may bee comforted. This fluts out fuch as have a perfwafion of the pardon of their finnes, and yet have not this love, this prizing, this defiring after Chrift; and takes in fuch as doe thus love and prize him, yet finde not that full perfwafion of his love; fo that this love is that which follows Humiliation and Faith, the breaking of the heart, and the moulding of it up againe: when wee fee our need of him, and his willingneffe to receive us, then wee will take him, which cannot bee without this love to him. Now wee come to the third thing, the reafons why they are worthy to bee accurfed unto the death that Love not the Lord Iefus. This aot the Lord may feeme ftrange and harfh. What then becomes of all unregenerated men? The Apostle meanes, fure, such as 'continue in theit not loving the Lord, or fuch as have finned against the holy Ghost. But the former fence I take to bee the beft, neither is this any ftrange thing for it is one part of the Gofpel. There are two parts of the Gofpel, If you beleeve, you shalbe saved; if you beleeve not, you fhalbe damned. Sometimes it is if you'repent you fhalbe faved; or if you doe not you fhall perish, fo if you love you fhalbe faved; if you love not, you fhalbe accurfed: now why fhould hee pitch on fuch a frame of words to expreffe their condition ? Marke 16. Reafon. Becaufe when Chrift fhall come and bee a fu ter to us, when heefhall woe us, and offer him. felfe to us, and wee will have none of him, then the Pfal. 20 the Sonne waxes angry. When he fhall offer himfelfe unto us, and none will kiffe him, then hee waxes angry unto the death, and they perish in the way. The greatest love not answered, turnes to the greatest hatred: fo when the Father fent to Mar, 22; call them to the feast that were invited, and they refufed it, this made him wrath; when wee shall come to preach Chrift to men, when this light hid from the beginning of the world fhall fhine, and you fhall defpife it, and contemne it, know that now is the axe laid to the roote of the tree. God will beare it at your hands no longer. Now if a man will not Love the Lord Iefus, let him be had in execration, yea let him bee accurfed unto the death. If a man did not keepe the Law, he was to be curfed, now there was a double keeping of the Law: A Legall, which anfweres the exact rigour of the Law; an Evangelicall, which is an earneft endeavouring to keepe the Law, and to make a mans heart as perfect as may be. Now there be ing more mercy in this, there is a greater curfe on the breach of it. Now Love is the fulfilling of the Law; and not to love the Lord, is, not to keepe the Law, and therefore the Curfe follows it. If a man love not the Lord Iefus, it is because he loves fomething better than him. It may be you love your Wealth more than Chrift: And are you not worthy to be curfed for it? It may be you are lovers of pleasure more than of God, and doth not this deferve a Curfe? It may beeyou love D2 5 Vse 1. Itisa great fin, not to love the Lord Iefus. ove the praife of men, before that of God; and is not this to bee accurfed? Adultery was punished with death; and what punishment then is enough for the going a whoring from such a God, after fuch vanties? Againe, Curfing belongs to Hypocrites; Woe be unto you Scribes and Pharifees, Hypocrites, Matthew 23. Now, what a mandoth not out of love, is done out of hypocrifie; which is, to doe the outward action without the inward affection: as counterfeit gold hath the same stamp and colour with true gold. But as wee caft away counterfeit filver and gold, fet it apart to deftruction,nayling them up, that they may bee knowne, so will God deale with fuch as ferve him outwardly, without this love to him on lib a sil Love is that which commands all in a man. It is as the rudder to a fhippe; all followes love. When a man love not the Lord, all go's from him. Now when the whole man fhall go from the Lord, is not fuch a one worthy to bee cur fed, yea to bee had in execration to the death? If this love of the Lord befo neceffary, then fee what a finne it is, what an execrable thing it is, not to love the Lord; and what you are to thinke of your felves, if you love not the Lord. When Iefus Chrift fhall bee propounded unto men, and this light is great, but men doe refift it, and not embrace the Lord: when we fee this, we fhould have fuch a fpirit as Paul, (for this was out of the abundance of his zeale) wee fhould, Ifay, beeftirred against such with an holy indignation, Act. 17. Doe not I hate those that hate thee? Pfal. 139. yea I hate them with a perfect hate. This thou haft, that thou hateft the workes of the Nicholaitans, which thing alfo I hate, Revelations 2. And this was a figne of Lots fincerity, that his righteous foule was grieved, and vexed with the uncleane converfation of the Sodomites, 2 Peter 2. If you can fee Chrift fcorned and re jected, and his Word flighted, and his bloud trampled on, and you your felves are not moved with it, you are not of Pauls fpirit, who fpeaking of fome, whofe God was their belly, whose glory was their fhame, of whom (faith hee) I have told you often, and now tell you weeping, that they are the enemies of the croffe of Chrift, Philip, 3. Whence came this, but out of the abundance of his love to Chrift, and mankinde? I wish yee would all looke to your felves, whether you are in this number or not, of thofe that love not the Lord. This is fuch a finne, as the curfe is doubled upon it: And the punishment is but to fhew the measure of the finne. Hee thunders not out his curfe against him that oppofeth the Lord, or refifteth him, but against him that loveth not the Lord. The Apostle, as Mofes, gets him up to the Mount Ebal; and whom doth he curfe? Even all fuch as love not the Lord Iefus. This Doctrine throughly confidered, may let in a crevice of light to thee, that now thou maist looke on thy felfe, as on an execrable thing which God hates ;. and thou maift fee GOD, even ftretching out his pow 06. Sol. er to confound thee, yea thou maist fee the Gof- But what terrour is there in the preaching of O much more (my Brethren) than may bee expreffed, for the curfe of the Law was not fo peremptory; though we have plaine words for it, yet it was not without all condition. But God fweares to this curfe, as if wee were thus curfed if wee would continue not to love him. The Law is the proper inftrument of humbling, yet the Gofpel humbles more, for finne is the matter of Humiliation. And there bee finnes against the Gofpel, yea greater finnes than against the Law: when thou heareft the curfe of the Law, Curfed be he that continueth not in every thing that is written in the booke of the Law, to doe them, Galathians 3. You will fay, you wil go to Chrift,& he shall do it for you: But when the Gospel curfes fuch as love not Chrift, to whom will you goe to love God? Another man cannot love for you. And if you thinke this be too harsh, let this verse found oft in your cares. , 1C Ifany man love not the Lord Iefus Chrift, let him be accur fed unto the death. This cannot bee altered, it is the Word of God, aske then thy felfe this question, whether thou loveft the Lord, or no? And put not your felfe off with your Hope, but try your Love; for Love will have fenfible ftrings in the heart; it H |