If thou receiveft the leaft encouragement, from thefe foregoing lines, to make use of this light,know that they proceede from the love of thee in Chrift, in him, who defores thy prayers, hee may love the Lord Icfus both in life and death.

that

Farewell.

SERMON

A

HEAVENLY TREATISE

OF DIVINE LOVE.

Sermon I.

1 Co R. 16. 22.

If any man love not the Lord Fefus Chrift, let him bee Anathema, Maranatha, Let him bee had in execration, or let him be excommunicated unto the death.

Hefe words have little dependance on the words before going, which are thefe, The falutation of me Paul with my owne hands. It was the cuftome of the Apostle, that the Church might not deceived with counterfeit Epiftles to fet his name to thofe hee wrote: And that he would not doe alone,but did alwayes adde fome gracious fentence, as commonly this, The grace of our Lord Iefus Chrift be with you all. And there he addes that fentence, which fo fuits with the fpirit and mind of S. Paul, that it might eafily fhew it to be S.Pauls Epiftle; a man fo abounding in the love of the Lord, as hee is zealous againft fuch as love him not. We fhall finde, in C

all

al S.Pauls preaching, that faith and love, were that which he drave at,thofe two roots,thofe two pillars on which the Church is built, from whence all the rest flow: Hereby teaching Minifters what they thould beat at, what fhould bee their aime: And to people are taught hence what to doe: they must water thefe two roots well, and then the branches will flourish. Our wifedome fhould bee to looke to thefe, for thefe being ftrong, all will be firong: If these bee weake, all will be weake If any man love not the Lord Iefus, let him bee had in execration; yea, accurfed unto the death. His fcope is to commend love to the Co. rinthians. IfI should caft about me to commend fome speciall thing unto you now at the clofing up of my Epiftle, I know nothing better then this Love of the Lord Iefus. And there are two reafons why you should love him, firft ye were in a mise. rable and accurled condition if you doe it not. And the fecond is from the object you are to love, he is the Lord and fo may well challenge your love', Iefus your Saviour, and so hath well deferved it: fo that we have here an exhortation, and two reafons of it. The words have little difficulty. Somewhat I will fay of the two words in the originall Anathema & Maranatha. The word Anathema fignifies the feparatio of a thing onto deftruction. Maranatha is a Syrian word,fignifying curfing;take from the Hebrew root, and fignifies more then Anathema. The Apoftle doubles this curfe to fhew the greatnes of the punithment. It is a great punishment which he would expreffe in two languages. The generall doctrine we will ob

Doctrine. I

What love is

ferve from thefe words, is this, That to love the Lord Iefus is fo neceffarily required of us, that bee is worthy tabe curfed that doth it not. Sometimes in Scripture the promife is made to faith, fometimes to repentance, fometimes to love. Love is fo required, that without it, a man is worthy to be accurfed; yea, and fhall be cursed. I will but open and apply this; not ftanding to prove it. And Firft, I will fhew what love is in generall: Secondly, what this love of the Lord Iefus is; to fhew which there will bee fhowne how it is wrought: And thirdly, how they come to bee worthy to be accurfed, that love him not. And firft for the firft. Love is among the affections, which are planted in the Will; and it may be de fcribed thus, It is a difpofition of the Will and Heart in generall. of man, whereby it turnes and inclines to fome good, which it apprehends to bee agreeable to its owne na. ture. The Willis carried to nothing, but that which is apprehended to bee good. Now this love is a principall act of the Will: and it must bee an agreeable good to him, whose Will inclines unto it; for an envyous man may confeffe the excellencies of another man, but hee hates them; he suffers by them; they feeme not to be an agreeable good to him. And this may bee illuftrated by the contrary. Hate is that whereby a man turnes from a thing which he apprehends contrary to himfelfe. This Love fhews it felfe How love in two effects: first, it defires the prefervation of thews it felfe. what it loves, that it may be kept fafe: fecondly, it defires Vnion with it, that they may draw neerer one to another. That you love, which

The kindes of Love.

3

4

ence.

you defire may bee yours, with which you defire conjunction: Now fometimes a thing may bee neerer, fometimes too far off; therefore it defires fuch a neereneffe as may stand with its conveniAnd this is common to all love; if you love a Glaffe, you will take care that it bee kept cleane, and whole, and for your ufe: fo, if you love a Horse, you will take care that he bee well, and in good cafe, and that he be yours. The fame we fee in the love of a Father to his Sonne, of one friend to another. This is the nature of Love. Now Hate contrariwife,defires the destruction of that which is hated, that it may bee taken out of the world; and if that cannot bee, it defires feparation from it, as far as may bee. And thus you have seene the nature of Love in generall. Now there are divers kindes of Love: There is a Love of Pitty,whe you defire the preservation of a mans perfon, and the removing of fome ill quality; As, our Saviour mourned in Spirit, for the hardneffe of their hearts; hee did pitty them, and yet was angry with their finne.

There is a Love of Defire, when a thing is dered to bee kept fafe for our ufe: And this is for the inferiour faculties, as the figh loves a pleasant object should be continued.

There is a Love of Complacence, when wee looke on a thing, in which all the faculties are pleafed; not onely the inferiour, but the fuperiour, as the Minde and the Will.

There is a Love of friendship, when a man loves where he is loved again, when love is reciprocall; there is an intercourfe of Love.

There