Section 16

Having given directions how you may attain the truth of love to Christ where you are without it, I come now to give directions how you may attain much of this love to Christ, where you have it but in a low degree and weak measure. Would you attain much love to Christ?

1. Be much in contemplation of Christ; consider often what motives there are of love in him, press them upon your spirits and labor to awaken and rouse up your hearts to the vigorous exercise of this love. Spend time in secret retirement, and there think, and think again, of the superlative excellencies and perfections which are in Christ's person, how wonderful and matchless his love is, what heights in it that cannot be reached, what depths in it that cannot be fathomed, what other dimensions which cannot be comprehended: Meditate often of his benefits, how incomparable his love-tokens be: and while you are musing, you may feel the fire burning; while you are looking you may feel your hearts leaping; while you are taking a view of him, ere you are aware, your hearts like the chariots of Aminadab, may run to him: O the ravishments of love! the transports of soul! which some believers have found in their retired thoughts and views of Christ. Get often into the mount of divine contemplation, and there look upwards to Heaven, and think with yourselves. Yonder, yonder above the shining sun is the more glorious Son of Righteousness; there at the right hand of the throne of God, is my beloved Jesus the Son of God seated, and though he be so high above me both in place and dignity, yet he thinks upon me, and pleads for me, and many a gift has he from there sent by his Spirit conveyed to me, and I can ask nothing of the Father in his name, but, if it be really for my good, I have it by his means. O dear Jesus, how lovely are you in yourself, the darling of Heaven! the delight of the Father! the admiration of angels! O what brightness of glory, what shining luster are you arrayed with! you are clothed with most excellent majesty and honor! you are girded with infinite might and power! the beauty of your face is most wonderful! the smiles of your countenance are most sweet and delightful! and does this lovely fair One, this fairest of ten thousand, this most excellent and altogether lovely person bear a particular love to me? to such a vile worm as me? to such a dead dog as me? to such an undeserving, ill-deserving, hell-deserving sinner as me? O what marvelous kindness is this! what [reconstructed: infinite] riches of free grace! does he know me by name? has he given himself for me? and given himself to me? and shall not I give him my heart? am I written in his book? redeemed with his blood, clothed with his righteousness, beautified with his image? has he put the dignity of a child of God upon me, and prepared a place in the Father's house for me? O wonderful! O admirable! what shall I render? what returns shall I make? had I a thousand tongues, should I not employ them all in speaking his praise? had I a thousand hearts should I not present them all as too mean a thank-offering to him. And yet am I slow, slow of heart to love this dear and sweet Jesus? awake O my soul! awake from your dullness and stupidity! shake off your sleep which glues your eyelids so close together, shake out the dust of the earth which has got into your eyes and keeps you from the view of your beloved. Arise O my soul! and lift up yourself, unfetter your feet, [reconstructed: unclog] yourself, take the wing and mount up above the sky and visible heavens, even to the place where the lovely and dear Jesus is. Take your leave of the world, and all things therein. Bid farewell to the flattering honors, the deceitful riches, the deceptive pleasures, that are here below: bid adieu to them, and leave them to those that place their chiefest happiness in them: if earth has your body for a while, yet let it have your heart and chiefest affections no more; come O my soul ascend and soar [reconstructed: aloft] to the Heaven of Heavens, the way to the Holy of Holies is accessible, the veil is rent, the forerunner is entered, and you may have entrance too with your thoughts, and desires, and loves, and hopes and joys; there you may see and view, and admire, and embrace your dearest Lord; there your [reconstructed: heart] may find a fit object for its love, even your dearest Lord Jesus, who will not reject and despise you, but give kind entertainment to your love, and withal give the fullest and sweetest returns; there your heart may find a room to dispose of itself, and not only a lodging like that of a traveler for a night, but an habitation wherein to dwell and to take up its eternal abode; let your heart be your forerunner, that when your body drops off from you you may know where to betake your[reconstructed: self] and find ready entertainment there where your heart has been long before. Why do you hang downwards O my soul? why do you bend so much to the earth and earthly things? what is there here below that is not beneath you, and altogether unworthy of your love? how empty, and vain, and thorny are these things? don't waste your time, weary yourself for very vanity, don't prick and wound yourself with these things any more. What ails you O my soul, that you are so backward to the love of Christ? is it because you cannot see Christ with the eyes of your body? you shall see him with those eyes hereafter, when he comes in his glory, and your body is raised and repaired, and fitted to bear such a sight; you cannot see the wind, but you hear its noise, and feel its blasts; and do you not hear Christ's voice in his Word? do you not feel the breathings of his Spirit in his ordinances. You are invisible yourself O my soul, and are you so drenched in flesh, that visible objects shall have more power to draw down your heart, than this most glorious object (though now invisible) shall have power to draw up your heart? do you question and doubt of his love to you? and does this dampen and discourage your affection? whose image is this which is engraved upon you? is it not the image of Christ? what writing is that upon your heart? is it not God's Law written by Christ's Spirit? whose deckings and adornings have you got about you? what beauty is this which is put upon you? is it not Christ's comeliness? where did you get those bracelets, that ring, those jewels, that chain of graces? are they not Christ's love-tokens which he has given you? and yet will you doubt of his love? if you feel corruption strong, yet do you not perceive some grace? although it be weak? have you not some love to Christ, although it be low? are not your desires chiefly after him, which evidence that your chief love is to him? and is it so with any but such whom Christ does love? does not Christ love first? and yet will you question his love? Banish then your fears, silence your doubts O my soul, rouse up yourself and climb [reconstructed: up] by the Jacob's ladder which is let down to you from Heaven, and settle your love upon Jesus Christ and those things which are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God. Such retired contemplations of Christ, and soliloquies and pleadings with your own souls when alone by yourselves, will tend exceedingly to the promotion of your love to Christ.

2. Would you have much love to Christ? Be much in reading and studying the Scriptures. The Scriptures are a glass in which Christ may be seen; he cannot be seen face to face in this world — this is the happiness of the triumphant church in heaven, not of the militant church upon the earth; what may here be discerned of Christ, it is in the glass of the Scriptures and gospel-ordinances: this is that glass spoken of, (2 Corinthians 3:18): We all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory. Christ is the glory of the Lord, the brightness of his Father's glory. Would you have much love to him? Be often looking, viewing and beholding of him in the glass of the Scriptures; by much beholding of him, you may be transformed more and more into the likeness of his holiness, and into the likeness of his love, which is glory begun. The Scriptures have the image of Christ engraved upon them; the image of the Father is upon the Son, and the image of the Son is upon the Scriptures; there you may see the picture of Christ, the beauty of Christ — at least some lineaments are there drawn by the hand of God, although not fully and to the life, I mean such you will see in him when you come to behold him face to face in heaven; yet his beauty is drawn in such proportions and with such shadows as you are now capable of beholding. Would you have much love to Christ whom you have never seen? Look much upon his picture and image in the Scriptures. The Scriptures are Christ's love letters. In the second and third chapters of Revelation, Christ does send seven epistles to the seven Asian churches; there are many epistles and love-letters as it were in the Scriptures, especially in the New Testament, wherein Christ does give most kind expressions of most endeared love to his people. Read much and study Christ's love letters, especially those parts of the Scriptures wherein Christ does express most of his kindness and love. See how kindly Christ does express himself, (John 14:1-3, 13, 16-23, 27; John 15:9, 13-16; John 16:7, 22, 24, 26-27, 33; John 17:9-11, 15, 20-24; John 20:17). Read often and consider such places. Let the Word of Christ dwell richly in you, and this will feed and maintain your love to Christ; this is a means to have Christ dwell in your hearts, not only by faith, but also by most endeared love.

3. Would you have much love to Christ? Be much in prayer to God for this love. (Ephesians 6:23): Peace be to the brethren and love with faith from God the Father. Not only peace is from God, who is called the God of peace, and faith from God, who works it by his almighty power; but also love is from God, who is the God of love; he circumcises the heart to love himself, and to love his Son. This love of Christ is a grace of the Spirit, which God does freely give and powerfully work; the beginnings of it, the increase of it, all the measures and degrees of it are from him. If you would attain high measures of love to Christ, you must apply yourselves to God in prayer, and therein diligently seek to him for it. If you would have much love to Christ in your hearts, you must be often at the throne of grace upon your knees; and there humbly acknowledge, if not the want, yet the weakness of your love to Christ, bewail your sins which do dampen your affections, and earnestly request that he would work your hearts to a strong love. Be importunate in prayer for this, follow God day by day with the same requests, plead with him for it, fill your mouths with arguments, and fill your arguments with faith and fervent desires. Tell him, whatever loveliness and love there be in Christ, whatever attractives to draw forth your love, yet of yourselves you are utterly unable to put forth the least motion of true affection to Christ. Tell him, that this love to Christ, though it be your duty, yet it is his gift, that you ought to act it, but this you cannot do, unless he works it. Tell him how easily he can enkindle this fire of love to Christ in your bosoms, and blow it up into a flame. Tell him, he has bid you to ask and you shall have, and whatever you ask according to his will he hears, and that it is his will you should love Christ not only truly but also strongly. Tell him, you desire much love to Christ, and that these desires do come from himself, and therefore earnestly desire the fulfilling of them. Tell him, if you do not love Christ much, you shall be apt to over-love the creature, which will be displeasing to him, therefore request that you may have such a love to Christ as may overpower all other love, and keep your hearts from all inordinacy of affections to anything beneath and besides the Lord Jesus Christ. Plead how much it will be for his glory, that you should have much love to Christ, that hereby you shall be enabled to honor him the more in the world. Plead how much it will be for your good; tell him, if you asked corn and wine and oil; if you asked wealth and honors, and creature-delights in abundance, they might be a snare to you, and for your hurt; but a strong love to Christ is needful and useful, and be sure will be for your good. Urge his promise of circumcising the heart to love him, and plead his faithfulness; and if you be thus importunate in prayer for much love to Christ, and will not be denied, you shall not be denied.

4. Would you have much love to Christ, get much faith. Faith works love both to the Father and to the Son; according to the measure of your faith, so will the measure of your love be: such as are without any faith, are without any love; such as have but a feeble faith, have but a weak love; and such as have the strongest faith, have the strongest love. The strongest faith gives the clearest discovery of Christ's infinite excellencies and perfections; it is not the eye of sense which does discern Christ, neither is it the eye of reason which does discern him; whatever discoveries we have of Christ, it is by revelation, and this is discernible only by faith. Faith is the evidence of things not seen, and the unseen Christ is evident by faith to be the most excellent person, and the most suitable object of love, and the more evident the object of love is, the stronger will the love be. Moreover, faith is not only the eye of the soul to discern Christ, but also the hand of the soul, not only to take hold on him, but also to receive from him of his fullness grace for grace, and by consequence more of this grace of love to him. Our communion with Christ is by faith; the more intimate acquaintance and fellowship we have with those whom we love, the more endeared will be our love; the strongest faith brings us to the greatest intimacy, fellowship and familiarity with Christ, and therefore it is a means of the strongest love. Endeavor then to get a strong faith, and to live daily in the powerful exercise thereof; the more you live by faith, the more you will dwell in the love of Christ.

5. Would you have much love to Christ? Labor for much of the Spirit; labor for much of the light of the Spirit; there must be not only the glass of the Scriptures, and the eye of faith, but also the light of the Spirit, that you may have a clear discerning of this lovely Lord Jesus. Labor for much of the operation of the Spirit; the Spirit is like wind to blow up the sparks of love in your hearts into a flame. Labor for the inhabitation of the Spirit, and that the promise may be made good to you which Christ gives to his disciples (John 14:16-17): And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it sees him not, neither knows him; but you know him, for he dwells with you, and shall be in you.

6. Would you have much love to Christ? Labor for clear evidences of his love to you; the apprehensions of Christ's loveliness may excite to some love, but the full well-grounded persuasions of Christ's love to you, will above all heighten your love to Christ. Doubts of Christ's love do cause fears, and fears do contract the heart, and therefore are opposite to love, which is the expansion and enlargement of the heart; perfect love casts out fear, the more love, the less fear, and the more doubts and fears the less love. Such as doubt much of Christ's love to them, they may love Christ truly, but they cannot love Christ strongly. You will love a less lovely person that loves you, more than a more lovely person that hates you; the love of the person beloved is a most amiable qualification and strong attractive, indeed one of the greatest incentives and inducements to love. Get then a persuasion of the infinite love to you of this infinitely lovely person, that you may be able to say with Paul (Galatians 2:20), Who loved me, and gave himself for me. Look diligently into the Word of God, and find out the characters there of those that are beloved by Christ; and then look narrowly into yourselves, and see whether your face will not answer that face in the looking glass of the Scriptures; see whether you cannot find the lineaments of the new man within you, whether you have not experienced a gracious change. Is there not light where there was darkness? Is there not life where there was death? Is there not love where there was hatred? Is there not the law of God written, where the law of sin did command all? Is not the bias of your wills and hearts God-ward, and Christ-ward, and heaven-ward, which previously was only sin-ward and earth-ward and hell-ward? Pray earnestly to God, that he would give you a full assurance, that if you are indeed effectually called, if you are indeed united and related to Jesus Christ, you may know it, and no longer doubt thereof. In a word, seek diligently after the manifestations of Christ's love in all the ways of his ordinances; rest not in the outside of ordinances, but seek after Christ in ordinances, follow him from Sabbath to Sabbath, from ordinance to ordinance, and always be looking for him, and looking towards him, till he turn about and look upon you, and give you a gracious smile; seek and wait for that manifestation of himself which he has promised to them that love him (John 14:21). Wait for his sending of the Holy Ghost from heaven (1 Peter 1:12), to shed abroad the sense of his love into your hearts (Romans 5:5), and if you did know assuredly and had a sense hereof given to you by the Spirit of Christ, O the joys which then you would have in him! O the love which then you would have to him! As your joys would be unspeakable, so your love would be unspeakable too; such a warmth of heart and burning of love to Christ you would feel within you, as is beyond the rhetoric of the tongue to set forth.

7. Would you have much love to Christ? Get much hatred of sin, and accordingly watch and pray, and strive and fight against sin, as the worst of evils, as that which does so much displease your Lord. Bewail sins of daily incursion, and labor that your sins of infirmity may be less every day than other. Take heed of sins of sudden surprise, but chiefly of designed sins, and that you comply not with any temptations to grosser miscarriages, which like water cast upon the fire of your love to Christ, will put out the flame, and leave only a few unperceivable sparks in the corner of your hearts. Suffer not sin to have any room in your hearts, or if it will abide and you cannot thrust it quite out, let it not have a quiet habitation within you; disturb sin as much as you can, wage war every day with your remaining lusts, let no day pass over your heads without giving some blows, some thrusts and wounds to sin. Straighten the room of sin in your hearts as much as may be; the more room sin has in your hearts, the less room Christ will have there. Particularly, take heed of inordinate love to the world, and the things in the world, the prevalency of which love will damp your love to Christ; by how much more the world gets of your love, by so much the less Christ will have of it. A subordinate love you may have to persons and things in the world, but let no person or thing have your chief love but only Christ; love nothing for itself with an abstracted love, but love all inferior things with inferior love, love all under the Lord, and in the Lord, and for the Lord's sake; get all inordinate affections to the world crucified by the cross of Christ. You must have dying affections to perishing things, if you would have a living and active love to the ever-living Jesus.

8. Would you have much love to Christ? Associate yourselves most with those that have most love to Christ; you may fetch light from their light, and you may fetch warmth from their fire; dead coals are enkindled by the living, and your dead hearts may be enkindled with love to Christ by the warm discourse of those that have warm hearts. Be ready to speak of Christ and for Christ in any company as you have fit opportunity, and diligently watch for an occasion; shut your ears against and reprove profane and filthy communication; divert that which is vain and frothy, and be ready to begin and promote that which is serious and savory, that which is gracious and may tend to your own and others' edification. Study the art, and practice it, of provoking all whom you converse with, not to strife and contention, but to this love and affection to the Lord Jesus Christ, and while you are endeavoring to warm others with this love, you may be warmed yourselves.

9. And lastly, Would you have much love to Christ? Be much in the exercise of this love, hereby it is increased and heightened; use legs and have legs; and if you act this love frequently, it will hereby get strength and activity; every day endeavor to put forth some vigorous acts of love to Jesus Christ. In your ordinary callings and secular business and employment, you may send up some looks of love to Jesus Christ in your ejaculations. But especially in the duties of God's immediate worship, labor that your love may flow out to Christ most vigorously. In your daily secret devotion and family worship, let love to Christ draw forth tears from your eyes, at least cause grief and sorrow in your hearts, in the acknowledgement of your sins, whereby he has been dishonored and displeased. Let love to Christ draw forth earnest desires after Christ, and those communications, manifestations, and consolations which he does give to none but such as are his; let love to Christ put requests into your mouths, arguments into your requests, and fervor into your arguments in your pleadings with him at the throne of grace for further supplies of his grace, and that you may be brought into more intimacy of acquaintance with him. Every day you should express your love to Christ, especially on the Lord's day, when almost the whole day is to be spent in public and private exercises of religious worship, in all your love to Christ should be in exercise; in your attendances upon him in ordinances you must bring not only your bodies before him, but present your hearts to him; this you should be careful to do in public prayer and hearing of the Word, preaching and singing Psalms; often should you endeavor in every ordinance to lift up your hearts to the Lord; but above all when you approach the Lord's Table, all your graces should there and then be in exercise, especially this grace of love to Jesus Christ, your eye there should affect your heart, when you see the representations of your crucified Lord, and think what manner of love he did bear to you, that he should submit himself to such a death for you, how should this affect your hearts! And if ever, then your love to Christ should show itself, and act with the greatest vigor and strength.