Section 14

The fourth and last sort of motives to stir up your love to Christ may be drawn from the consideration of that love which Christians have or should have to him; and here consider, 1. The duty. 2. The privilege. 3. The honor. 4. The wisdom. 5. The excellency. 6. The necessity. 7. The usefulness. 8. The delightfulness. 9. The attainableness of this love to Jesus Christ.

1. Consider it is your duty to love Christ; if it be your duty to have a natural affection to parents and children, it is much more your duty to have spiritual affections to Christ; if it be your duty to have conjugal affection to your earthly husband and wife; it is a greater duty to have conjugal love to this your heavenly Husband. If it be your duty to love brothers, sisters and kindred, that love you, it is a greater duty to love Jesus Christ, who loves you above all relations; if it be your duty to love your enemies, it is much more your duty to love Christ who is your best friend. It is the will of your heavenly Father that you should love Christ; the Devil would have you hate him, but God would have you love him, and whether it be most reason that you should obey the will of God or the will of the Devil, judge for yourselves. It is the will of Christ that you should love him; the will of the flesh is against this love, but whose will ought you to comply with? You are not debtors to the flesh that you should obey its command, neither are you debtors to any creatures to give them your choicest affections, but you are debtors to Christ to give him your chief love: Christ has most right to your love, and will you not give to Christ his due? If you are bound to give men their due, are you not much more bound to give to Christ his due? Christ's due is your best, and have you anything better than your hearts to present him with? Will Christ accept of anything at your hands, should you withhold from him your hearts? Had you thousands of rams, and ten thousand rivers of oil to offer to him, had you all the treasures of the earth at your disposal, and should lay it all down at his feet, it would be all slighted and disregarded by him, if you give away your hearts from him.

2. Consider it is your privilege that you may love Christ, that Christ will give you leave to do it, and kindly accept of your love. Should beggars fall in love with princes in order to the marriage union, both their persons and love would be rejected with scorn, anger and disdain: there is a far greater distance between you and Jesus Christ, than there is between the highest prince and the meanest beggar; and yet the Lord Jesus Christ does give you leave to love him with a spiritually conjugal love, in order to the nearest spiritual union and conjunction; and notwithstanding his greatness and your meanness, he is not ashamed to give entertainment to your love; although you are so mean as creatures, and have been so vile as sinners, yet he does not scorn and disdain you, but both persons and love may find ready acceptance with him. It is your duty to love Christ because he commands you, and it is your privilege that you may love Christ because he allows you to do it.

3. Consider it is your honor to love Christ. The real honor of any is not the noble blood which runs in their veins, the high lineage from which they are descended, the great titles with which they are invested, or the most eminent earthly dignities to which they are advanced: the Heathen could say, Et Genus et Proavos, et quae non fecimus ipsi vix ea nostra voco; our stock and noble ancestors, and what we have not done or deserved ourselves, we can hardly call our own. And Virtus sola & unica Nobilitas: virtue is the only true nobility. And the Scripture tells us, that the vilest men are exalted (Psalm 12:8), and that the most high rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whoever he will, and sets up over it the basest of men (Daniel 4:17). Princes and nobles by their vices and wickedness may render themselves more vile than the earth under their feet, more base than the mire in the streets. The Word of God accounts only those to be truly honorable, that are truly gracious; and this grace of love to Jesus Christ does put a great honor and luster upon all those that have it. There is no greater and higher object for your love than the Lord Jesus Christ, a person of so great eminency and excellency: the love of Christ does ennoble the heart, and none in the world have such truly great and generous souls, as those who have the greatest love to him. According to the spirit, so is the man, either base or honorable; and according to the chief love, so is the spirit; if your heart does chiefly love any inferior things, as all sublunary things are, hereby you are debased and dishonored; if your heart chiefly love Christ who is a superior good and superlatively amiable, hereby you are dignified and become truly honorable. We read of hope (that is the grace of hope) that it makes not ashamed (Romans 5:5). And the same may be said of this grace of love to Jesus Christ, it makes not ashamed. The most in the world do love those things which one time or other will make them ashamed; the covetous will be ashamed of their love of riches, and the voluptuous will be ashamed of their love of pleasures, and the ambitious will be ashamed of their love of honors; disappointment of happiness and true contentment will make all ashamed of their inordinate creature-love, especially when they come to reap the bitter fruit of their sin in their everlasting punishment. Romans 16:21: What fruit had you then in those things of which you are now ashamed, for the end of those things is death. But the love of Christ makes not ashamed, it is no matter of dishonor and therefore neither is nor will be matter of shame for any to love Jesus Christ with the greatest strength and ardency: if the wicked do despise and scorn God's people, upon the account of this love, their scorns are their real glory, as on the contrary their esteem of any upon the account of sin, is a real shame and dishonor.

4. Consider, it is your wisdom to love Christ. Deuteronomy 4:6: Keep therefore and do them, for this is your wisdom and understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear these statutes, and say surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. None have such wisdom and understanding as those who have and keep this statute and [reconstructed: Commandment] to love the Lord Jesus Christ. Psalm 111:10: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, a good understanding have all they that do his commandments. The fear of the Lord and the love of Christ are always in conjunction, or rather the former does include the latter; this is the beginning and chief part of wisdom, and those have the greatest understandings, who have the strongest affections to the Lord Jesus Christ. The love of Christ is the most reasonable and therefore the most wise love. That love is most reasonable, which is chiefly carried forth towards that object which is most suitable and really most amiable; none so suitable and amiable an object as the Lord Jesus Christ, as appears in what has been already said concerning Christ's Person, Christ's Love, and Christ's Benefits. Such as love other persons or things with a chief love, they are mistaken in the objects of their love, they apprehend more excellency and desirableness in them, than really is in them, and so their love is a foolish love and unreasonable, there being nothing really worthy of it, nothing really amiable in the chief place beneath and besides Christ. Such as make choice of Christ for the object of their chief love, they make the wisest choice, there are really those excellencies in him which they apprehend, and beyond what they can possibly apprehend and conceive. They are fools that are slow of heart to love Christ, and they are most wise that are most forward to this love. It is your wisdom to love Christ chiefly, and to love Christ ardently, such wisdom as will make your faces shine in the eyes of good men, and which will put a lustre upon your spirits in the eyes of God. True wisdom does not consist in the invention of curious and quaint notions, in the framing sound and rational deductions, in uttering the sense of the mind in neat and florid expressions; but the chief wisdom does lie in the right placing of the affections, and none have attained so high a pitch of true spiritual wisdom, as those that have attained the highest pitch of love to Jesus Christ. It is matter of great wonder, when there is the greatest reason and the strongest arguments for the love of Christ, that men of the greatest parts and learning, who have heard of Christ, do not readily fall in love with him, and attain higher degrees of this love, than others of a more inferior capacity. But the Scripture must be fulfilled, Matthew 11:25: I thank you, O Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed them to babes. Such of you as are but babes in worldly wisdom and human learning, as have but mean natural parts, and no improvement by education, yet if you love the Lord Jesus Christ above all persons and things in the world, you are far more wise than the greatest scholars that are without this love.

5. Consider the excellency of this love to Jesus Christ; as the knowledge of Christ is the most excellent knowledge, Philippians 3:8: Indeed doubtless I count all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: so the love of Christ is the most excellent love. It is a love of the most excellent object, the Lord Jesus who is so excellent; it is a love of the most excellent original, it comes down from Heaven, it is wrought by the Spirit of God; it is a love that renders them most excellent that have it. The wicked that are without this love, are like dross; the righteous that have it are like gold; the wicked that hate Christ, are like dirt; the righteous that love him are like jewels; other loves do darken and defile, the love of Christ does brighten the spirit and renders men truly illustrious, and the excellent of the earth.

6. Consider the necessity of this love to Jesus Christ.

1. The love of Christ is universally necessary: some of you have need to do this thing, and others of you have need to do that; but all of you have the greatest need to love Christ: some of you have need of this friend, and to love him, that you may keep him, and others of you have need of another friend, one friend; cannot serve the necessities of all; but all of you have need of Christ for your friend: he is the only friend that can serve all your necessities, and you have need to love him above all friends; it is necessary that you who are poor should love Christ, who have but few or no friends; and it is necessary that you who are rich should love Christ who have many friends; Christ being a friend instead of all to them that have none, and better than all to them that have the most.

2. The love of Christ is absolutely and indispensably necessary: it is not necessary that you should climb up into a high seat of dignity and honor; but it is absolutely necessary that your affections should climb up and ascend to Jesus Christ who is above; it is not necessary that you should abound in wealth, that you should have full bags, and full coffers, and much riches in your houses, but it is absolutely necessary that you should have the riches of this grace of love to Jesus Christ in your hearts. Food is not so necessary to satisfy your hunger, clothes are not so necessary to cover your nakedness, houses are not so necessary to shelter you from the injury of the weather; the most needful thing is not so necessary to your bodies, as this love to Jesus Christ is necessary to your souls. You may be poor and in the lowest condition here on earth, and yet be truly happy while you live, and eternally happy in the other world, if you have this love, to Jesus Christ; but without this love whatever your riches, and honors, and friends, your earthly delights and enjoyments be though never so desirable, never so plentiful, yet you are miserable, and shall be, miserable. You may love other persons and things in the world subordinately, but you must love Jesus Christ chiefly, otherwise you are under the curse both of the law and gospel, and you cannot escape the vengeance of Hell.

7. Consider the usefulness of this love to Jesus Christ.

1. The love of Christ is useful in prosperity to ballast the heart, that it be not overset with the full gales of a flourishing condition: it is of use to moderate the affections to lawful things; and it is of use to keep the heart from unlawful and sinful loves; if Christ has not your hearts, some base and foolish lusts will have them, which will wound your consciences with guilt, and pierce your hearts through with many sorrows.

2. The love of Christ is useful in adversity, to bear up the heart from sinking and being overwhelmed with the winds and waves of trouble and affliction; it is of use to establish the heart from being extraordinarily moved in the most stormy times: not only faith but love too is of a fixing nature to keep from amazing fears of evil tidings, and the greatest perils; and of a strengthening nature to stay and support the spirit and keep off pressing griefs and despondencies in the darkest and most doleful days.

3. The love of Christ is useful to quicken and excite to duty, this makes the yoke of Christ easy, and will enable you to draw cheerfully therein; this makes the burden of duty (so accounted by the most,) to be no burden in esteem; if you have much love to Christ you will account duty to be your privilege, and the service of Christ to be freedom, and none of his commands will be grievous, but all of them joyous to you; if you have much love to Christ, your hearts will be [reconstructed: enflamed] hereby with zeal for your Master's glory, and you will never think you can do too much for him.

4. The love of Christ is useful to arm you against temptations. If faith be a shield, love to Christ is a [reconstructed: breastplate] against the sharpest darts which the Devil can throw at you; love to Christ does garrison your hearts against this enemy, and is a strong defense against any overtures which the Devil may make in his temptations to draw you to sin: how can I do this evil and offend my dear Lord, will be the answer of love to repel temptations to sin, whatever alluring proffers they be accompanied with. Temptations will have no force to prevail over you, if this love of Christ be strong within you.

5. The love of Christ is useful to fit you for the cross and the greatest sufferings which you may be called to for the sake of Christ. If you have great love to Christ, you will be ready to suffer for Christ with patience and with [illegible]; the heaviest cross will seem light, disgrace and shame will be accounted honor, losses will be esteemed gains, pains, pleasures, or at least privileges: prisons will seem palaces, and death will be accounted life. O how have some run to the stake and embraced the flames of fire kindled to burn them, when they have felt the fire of love to Christ burning strongly within them! Thus this love is useful in life.

6. The love of Christ is useful at death. This love in its strength will put a beauty upon the aspect of death, which seems so grim and terrible to the most. If you have much love to Christ, you will look upon death as Christ's messenger sent for you to bring you out of the dark prison of the world and the body, and to convey you into the mansions of glory, where your dear Lord is, and you will not be unwilling to leave the world that you may live with Christ.

8. Consider the sweetness of this love to Christ. If there be sweetness in the love of the members, there is much more sweetness in the love of the head; if there be delight and comfort in the love of Christ's disciples for their Master's sake, there is much more delight and comfort in the love of Christ himself the Master for his own sake; the Apostle tells us of comfort in love (Philippians 2:1), that is in the love one of another, but the consolations in the love of Christ are far exceeding; there are no such sweet motions of heart, as those of the strong and fervent outgoings of it in its love to Christ, especially when Christ does draw near and manifest his love to the soul. Christ does rejoice in his love to his disciples, and they may rejoice in their love to him, and this joy in the love of Christ is a full joy (John 15:11): These things have I spoken to you that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full: in the former verse Christ speaks of his love to them, and here of his joy in them they were the objects of his joy as they were the objects of his love, and according to the measure and strength of their love to Christ, so is the fullness of their joy in Christ. (Song of Solomon 4:9) You have ravished my heart, my sister my spouse, you have ravished my heart with one of your eyes, with one chain of your neck: they are the words of Christ the Beloved, to his spouse the Church, expressing the ravishing delight which he found in her looks of faith, or glances of love, and the chain of graces which she was adorned with. How then may your hearts be ravished with unspeakable delight in looking upon Christ's most amiable face, and in the fervent actings of your love to him? When a glance of his eye, a smile, a beam from his countenance does enkindle a fire in the breast, and this fire of love to Christ does burn and flame; O how sweet is this flame, beyond what tongue is able to express.

9. And lastly, consider the attainableness of this love to Christ. [reconstructed: Brutes] are not capable of this love to Christ, but you are capable: as your minds are capable of knowing him, so your hearts are capable of loving him. Others have attained this love who were as much without it, and as much averse to it, as any of you may be. Here you are capable, hereafter if you live and die without it, you will be utterly incapable. You have now the means of grace, and as of other graces, so of this grace of love to Christ, in the diligent use of the means you may attain to it. Thus I have done with the motives to excite you to the love of Christ.