A Godly Man Is Fired with Love to God

3. A godly man is fired with love to God,¹ Psalm 116. 1. Faith and Love are the two Poles on which all Religion turns. A true Saint is carried in that Chariot, the midst whereof is paved with love, Cant. 3. 10. As Faith doth quicken, so love doth sweeten every duty: The Sun mellows the fruit, so love mellows the services of Religion, and makes them come off with a better relish: A godly man is sick of love, Ioh. 21. 16. Lord, thou knowest I love thee. Though dear Saviour I did deny thee, yet it was for want of strength, not for want of love: God is the Fountain and Quintessence of goodness, his beauty and sweetness lay constraints of love upon a gracious heart: God is the Saints portion, Psalm 119. 57. And what more loved then a portion? I would hate my own Soul (saith Austin) if I found it not loving […] A godly man loves God, therefore delight to be in his presence; he loves God, therefore takes comfort in nothing without him, Cant. 3. 3. Saw ye him whom my Soul loveth? —Lilia nigra videntur, Pallentesque rosae, nec dulce rubens hyacinthus, Nullos nèc myrtus, nec laurus spirat odores.

The pious Soul loves God, therefore thirsts after him; the more he hath of God, the more still he desires; a sip of the Wine of the Spirit, provokes the appetite after more: The Soul loves God, therefore rejoyceth to think of his appearing, 2 Tim. 4. 8. He loves him, therefore longs to be with him: Christ was in Pauls heart, and Paul would be in Christs bosome, Phil. 1. 23. When the Soul is once like God, it would fain be with God: A gracious heart cries out, O that I had wings, that I might flie away, and be with my Love Christ. The Bird desires to be out of the Cage, though it be hung with Pearl.

Such is the love a gracious Soulbears to God, that many waters cannot quench it; he loves a frowning God.² Though I am out of sign, and clean forgot, Let me not love thee, if I love thee not.

A godly man loves God, though he be reduced to straits: A Mother and her Childe of nine years old, being ready to perish with hunger, the Childe looking upon its Mother said, Mother, do you think God will starve us? No Childe, said the Mother, he will not: The Childe replied, But if he do, we must love him, and serve him.

Use. Let us try our godliness by this Touch-stone; Do we love God? Is he our Treasure and³ Center? Can we with David call God our Ioy, yea our exceeding Ioy? Psal. 43. 4. Do we delight in drawing nigh to him, and come before him with singing? Psal. 100. 2. Do we love him for his Beauty more than his Iewels? Do we love him, when he seems not to love us?

If this be sign of a godly man, how few will be found in the number? Where is the man whose heart is dilated in love to God? Many court him, but few love him:⁴ People are for the most part eaten up with self-love; they love their ease, their worldly profit, their lusts, but they have not a drop of love to God: Did they love God, would they be so willing to be rid of him? Iob 21. 14. They say to the Almighty depart from us. Did they love God, would they tear his Name by their Oaths? Doth he love his Father who shoots him to the heart? Though they worship God, they do not love him; they are like the Souldiers that bowed the knee to Christ, and mocked him, Mat. 27. 29. He whose heart is a grave, in which the love of God is buried, deserves to have that Curse written upon his Tombstone, 1 Cor. 16. ult. Let him be Anathema Maranatha. A Soul void of Divine Love, is a temper that best suits with damned spirits. But I shall wave this, and pass to the⁵ next.

Footnotes

1. 3 Character. ↩

2. Herb. Poem. ↩

3. Amor ponit amantem extrase· Aquinas. ↩

4. Plurima fiery […] sunt, quae speciem habent bonam, sed non ex radice amoris proficiscuntur; habent & spinae flores; sit intùs dilectio, non potest ex ista radice nisi bonum existere. Aug. in Epist. Ioh. Tom. 9. ↩

5. See Divine Cordial, page 123. ↩