The Deeds Whereby Love Toward God is Manifested

The love of God manifests itself in many deeds. We shall present them with the objective in mind to declare more clearly the nature of this love, so that an unconverted person, examining himself by means of this, will be convinced that he does not love God, and that gracious persons may be convinced that they love the Lord.

Wherever there is love toward God in the heart, God will first of all be esteemed and exalted exceedingly far above all that exists, this being true not only as far as judgment is concerned, but also with the entire will. Whatever is glorious, adorable, and eminent vanishes before the glory of God, and in esteem for that glory one will say with full acquiescence, “Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty” (1 Chron 29:11).

Secondly, there is joy in love. If the soul is permitted to have an intimate view of God, she cannot mourn, but that view rejoices the heart so that all reason for sorrow disappears. “In Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps 16:11).

Thirdly, there is reverence in love. If the soul in a loving disposition lifts herself up to the Lord, the glory of the Lord will illuminate her in such a measure that she dares not look unto the Lord with uplifted eyes, but will bow down and be astonished that she is permitted to love the Lord. Being irradiated with divine love, she will sink away in her nothingness. She will conduct herself as David did in the presence of the Lord. “In Thy fear will I worship toward Thy holy temple” (Ps 5:7).

Fourthly, love is active. Love motivates the seeking of communion, and the soul is intent upon this. It searches out all opportunities to draw near, and brings herself into the presence of the Lord, so that the Lord might cast an eye upon her and look upon her, and that she might also see Him. At one time she will turn to the Word, then to prayer, then to attending church, and then to joining the company of the saints—all this with the objective of finding the Lord. At times she may become lax, listless, and discouraged, but the heart will time and again turn upward, the eye will repeatedly look up, doing so at one time with quiet tears, then with a sigh, then again with a manifestation of her desire. “By night on my bed I sought Him whom my soul loveth” (Song 3:1); “With my soul have I desired Thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek Thee early” (Isa 26:9). There is a strong yearning in the soul. It is true within, “O when wilt Thou come unto me” (Ps 101:2); “My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God” (Ps 42:2).

Fifthly, where there is love, there is delight in the enjoyment of this love. When the soul is near to God and can delight herself in mutual love, she can do without everything else; she will then be well-satisfied. “As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under His shadow with great delight, and His fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banqueting house, and His banner over me was love” (Song 2:3- 4); “My meditation of Him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord” (Ps 104:34).

Sixthly, where there is love, there will be grief over absence and being at a distance. A loving soul will readily perceive if she is near or afar off. This will immediately trouble her. “My beloved put in His hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for Him … my soul failed when He spake: I sought Him, but I could not find Him” (Song 5:4-6). Since He is her light and the strength of her life and the God of her joy and delight, how can it then be otherwise than that she will mourn if the Lord hides Himself, or if she, due to her conduct, has been the cause of estrangement? This is the cause for these sorrowful complaints: “How long wilt Thou forget me, O Lord? for ever? how long wilt Thou hide Thy face from me” (Ps 13:1); “For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water, because the Comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me” (Lam 1:16).

Seventhly, where there is love, there is willing obedience. There will be joy if one may render a service to the loved one, in doing something in which the loved one finds delight. Such is also the case here. If we love God, then we will also find delight in His will. We shall be united with this will and be very desirous that “whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him” (2 Cor 5:9). This the Lord Jesus indicates: “If a man love Me, he will keep My words” (John 14:23); “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments” (1 John 5:3).

Eighthly, where there is love, the objects of love and hatred will be identical. The enemies of the one will also be the enemies of the other, and the friends of the one will also be the friends of the other. “Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate Thee … I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies” (Ps 139:21-22); “I am a companion of all them that fear Thee, and of them that keep Thy precepts” (Ps 119:63).

Ninthly, where there is love, one will sacrifice everything for the loved one. Such is also the case here; he who loves God will readily surrender to God all that he has. When honor, possessions, life, etc., stand in opposition to God, His will and honor, a lover of God willingly surrenders everything, rejoicing that he may have something which he may sacrifice to God. Paul testified concerning the believing Hebrews: “For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods” (Heb 10:34). And he said of himself: “I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 21:13).

Tenthly, love cannot be satisfied unless there be a most intimate and perfect union. Therefore, since a lover of God cannot find full satisfaction of this love in this life, and knowing that perfect and immediate union with God will only exist in heaven, he longs to die in order to find perfect satisfaction in this love. “… having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ” (Phil 1:23).

Indications of the Absence of Love Toward God

Everyone knows by experience that love and its effects are indeed such as we before have stated it to be. Apply the nature and the deeds of love to its most adorable object, namely God, and examine your heart accordingly, and you, as in a clear mirror, will perceive whether or not you love God. You will perceive whether you have but a natural love for God as the Supreme Good—which is more a judging that God is worthy of adoration and that man is obligated to love Him, rather than a sweet motion of the heart which manifests itself in the previously mentioned deeds—or whether you love God in Christ as your God and Father, and although love may yet be small and imperfect, you nevertheless love in truth. If many were to search their hearts and examine themselves in this respect, it would become evident to their conscience that the love of God was not in them. Come, examine yourself—may it be a means to your conviction and thus to your conversion. Listen therefore attentively to me and may it touch your heart!

First of all, if you miss that mentioned above, you do not love God. Is there to be found in you esteem, joy, reverence, yearning and seeking, a delighting in the enjoyment of these matters, a grieving over their absence? Is there also found in you obedience, hatred toward sin, and love for the godly? Are you willing to sacrifice honor, possessions, life, soul and body for the Lord’s sake and do you yearn for felicity? Natural man, must you not answer: “These things are truly not to be found in me”? If one does not love God unless these motions are to be found in him—of which I am now also convinced—I therefore do not love God. I have indeed said, “Dear God; dear Lord!” I imagined, without self-examination, that I loved God, but now I perceive that I have deceived myself.

Secondly, he who loves the world does not love God, for God and the world stand in direct opposition to each other. He who loves the one hates the other. This is declared by the mouth of truth: “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matt 6:24). The apostle John confirms this: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:16). If you ask what the world is, then I answer: all that is visible, is upon earth, and occupies your heart—such as, “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). If you ask what love to the world is, I answer you: to cleave intently to visible things, nourishment and clothing, money, honor and prestige (each in his own situations and circumstances), the love of man toward you, delicacies, revelry, lasciviousness, etc. and to have all your concerns, desires, thoughts, and endeavors comprehended in them. The eye focuses upon them, the ear listens to them, the mouth speaks of them, the hands touch them, the feet run after them, and everything—soul and body—is engaged to attain to them, and, having attained them, to hold on to them. Such a person will be either joyous or sorrowful, this being commensurate with whether everything proceeds according to his wishes. Thus, that which is of the world is all his delight and enjoyment. Although one may judgmentally say, “All this is vanity, and salvation is greater,” while the heart is yet in the world, the objective of life is that which is of the world, and all activity is focused upon that which is of the world, such a person is most certainly worldly and a man of this world—a person whose portion is in this life. You therefore who are convinced of this, be further convinced that you love the world and, consequently, that you do not love God.

Thirdly, you do not love God if you are still entirely permeated with self-love. This is not entirely dead in believers, but it no longer has dominion. It is acknowledged to be what it is, declared to be an enemy, striven against, and mourned over. However, wherever self-love has dominion, there can be no room for the love of God. It is entirely contrary to the nature of this love to love and seek self. “Charity … seeketh not her own” (1 Cor 13:4-5). Paul posits love toward God and pleasures as two contradictory matters. “… lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” (2 Tim 3:4). One lives in self-love if in his entire conduct he has himself in view; that is, if he only seeks to obtain and keep things for himself. This is also true if hatred, envy, wrath, and vengefulness are aroused against those who hinder him in his pursuit of self. This proves that one does not love God. This will be all the more evident if, in religion, one does not proceed beyond that which can coexist with self-love—renouncing religion fully or partially if it is detrimental to either our honor or possessions.

Now consider these three matters together and draw the following conclusion: He in whom the nature and deeds of love toward God are absent; and he who loves the world and lives in self-love—he does not love God. Since, however, the nature and the deeds of love toward God are absent in me, and since I do love the world and I am completely wrapped up in self-love, I therefore do not love God.

The Wretched Condition of Those Who Do Not Love God

Having convinced you that you do not love God, we shall furthermore show you your miserable condition, in order to thereby lead you to repentance.

First, be assured that you hate God. To hate God will be such dreadful abomination to you that you would not say this of yourself. You will be unwilling to admit this, and will say, “Oh no! I do not hate God.” It is nevertheless the truth. Do not flatter yourself now that your unrighteousness, which is hateful, is found out. It is beyond doubt that there are those who hate God. Observe this in the following passages: “… them that hate Me” (Exod 20:5); “… let them also that hate Him flee before Him” (Ps 68:1); “… haters of God” (Rom 1:30); “… but now have they … hated both Me and My Father” (John 15:24).

Objection: Although there are those who hate God, I nevertheless do not hate God—of this I am very much convinced.

Answer (1) You have been convinced from the previous discussion that you do not love God; from this it is certain that you hate God, for there is no intermediate position here. Relative to people and other things, it can be true in certain cases that not loving does not imply hatred—namely, when there are people with whom one is not acquainted nor has seen; one does not love them, but also does not hate them. He leaves it at that. However, those with whom we are acquainted, such as our employer, those with whom we continually work side by side, and with whom we continually have dealings—toward such persons we cannot be neutral. In our heart we shall either perceive interest and inclination, or aversion and disinclination. Inner aversion, even if it does not stir the passions to the highest degree, and disinclination are tantamount to hatred. Aversion and repulsion are equivalent to hatred.

(2) Furthermore, your aversion for all by which God reveals Himself as being holy and righteous, causing your conscience to become restless, indicates all the more that you hate God. The very thing that stimulates one to love or to hate will be loved or hated more and more. However, you hate, have an aversion for, and are repulsed by the light of true godliness since it discovers you to yourself and makes you restless in view of the impending judgment. God testifies of this: “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved” (John 3:20); “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you … because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:18-19).

(3) Furthermore, since you continually sin against God with pleasure and delight, is that not an unwillingness to have God be Lord over you? Do you not thus reveal your desire to be your own master and to live according to your will rather than His will? You thus despise and reject God. However, despising and rejecting issue forth from hatred and are evidences of hatred—just as the submissive rendering of honor, recognition, and obedience are evidences of love.

(4) Furthermore, since you love the world and those who are of the world, it is thus infallibly true that you hate the opposite. God and the world are opposites; he who loves the one hates the other. Therefore, from your love to the world you can conclude that you hate God. Behold therefore, you who are convinced that you do not love God, you are in that condition which is so abhorrent to yourself, namely, that you hate God.

Secondly, all you who do not love God, be it known that God also does not love you. God hates you and you are God’s enemy. “Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4). Hear once how God is disposed toward you. “Thou hatest all workers of iniquity” (Ps 5:5).

Thirdly, God’s wrath is upon you and will destroy you. “But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before Me” (Luke 19:14, 27); “All they that hate Me love death” (Prov 8:36). What are you—you who do not love God? You are a wretched man in yourself. You—who are so abominable—are hated of God, the Lord Jesus, the holy angels, and the godly. You have nothing else to expect but to be eternally subject to the wrath of God. Poor creature! Have you not lived long enough in such a way? Is it not now time to awake ere it is too late? Therefore, arise and flee the wrath to come.

However, you who are lovers of God and who have read attentively what I have said concerning the nature and deeds of love, examine your heart relative to this. Did not your heart approve of all this and did it not receive a desire for the love of God? Did not your heart become convinced that you truly love God, even though this love is still very small and imperfect? Rejoice therefore in this most precious gift, for it is not due to the goodness of your nature that you have begun to love God; it has been given to you out of grace and been bestowed upon you due to God’s love for you. It is an evidence that God has known you from eternity. “But if any man love God, the same is known of Him” (1 Cor 8:3).

Believers Stirred Up to Love Toward God

If there is then a small beginning of the love of God in you, stir it up, so that the spark may become a flame. You, who grieve that you love the Lord so little and desire with your whole heart to love Him more, hear and permit your soul to be instructed regarding the love of God.

First, love is the purest of all virtues and no virtue is comparable to it—yes, a virtue is no virtue if it does not derive its luster from this virtue. We never resemble God so much as in love, for “God is love” (1 John 4:8). He who loves is a partaker of the divine nature. In such a person there is light, purity, warmth, holiness, joy, and all that can be related to salvation. You have already perceived how that your soul was enamored with love when you heard the exposition of the nature and deeds of love, as well as when you observed the passions of the soul which loves God (or heard this recounted by others). Therefore yield to your desire and be enamored with that which is so lovely.

Secondly, God is most adorable in Himself, and all that is adorable is to be found in God. To adore that which is beautiful, delightful, glorious, and lovely, is not a heavy task. It is naturally attractive to the heart. All this is true concerning God in an infinite manner, and he who beholds God cannot but love. Words are too insignificant, passions too feeble, and everything falls short in showing forth the beauty of the Lord. No one knows what God is but he to whom God has revealed Himself; and the heart of him to whom God reveals Himself will be kindled in love, because He is God—because He is the Lord who is worthy of all honor and love.

Thirdly, believers, the infinite God who is the eternal Love, loves you! “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love” (Jer 31:3); “For the Father Himself loveth you” (John 16:27); “But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us” (Eph 2:4). The sun cannot shine upon a mirror or it will reflect, nor upon some polished metal, or it becomes warm and reflects warmth in return. Can a man resist the love of Him who is most lovely and adorable, and who desires to be loved in return, without love being activated? Would not then the love of God toward you—the God in whom you believe—having indeed seen and tasted a small ray of that love, set your hearts aflame with that love? “We love Him, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

Fourthly, in addition to this meditate upon all the great benefits which the Lord has bestowed, does bestow, and eternally will bestow upon you; they proceed from love and are evidences of it. The heart of man is so loveless that all the benefits which someone bestows upon him cannot persuade him to love that person. One receives the benefits, but the heart remains cold toward the giver. However, if benefits issue forth from love, and from one who is most adorable within himself and whom we ourselves love, then this will engage the heart. God, the adorable One, who loves you and who is somewhat loved by you, manifests His love to you, along with inestimable benefits as tokens of love. Out of love He gives you His Son as a Surety and Redeemer. “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:9). He draws us, out of love, to Himself. “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee” (Jer 31:3). He adopts His own, out of love, as His children. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God” (1 John 3:1). He chastises them, out of love, to their advantage. “For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth … that we might be partakers of His holiness” (Heb 12:6, 10). If they are sorrowful, His love is stirred up to comfort them. “God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace” (2 Thess 2:16). Have you not become partakers of these benefits? If you know this to be so, and then perceive that they all proceed from a fatherly love, but your love is not kindled, I know not what will do it.

Fifthly, proceed to consider how delightful this is to God. You are privileged that you may love the Lord—and if you love Him, the Lord has delight in this and, according to His promise to those that love Him, will reward this love with love in return as well as benefits. What a wondrous goodness this is! This love originates with Him. By His love He enables them to love, and when they love Him, He rewards that love with love in return. “And he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father” (John 14:21). The Lord’s eye is upon them and He keeps them from all evil. “The Lord preserveth all them that love Him” (Ps 145:20). He bestows benefits upon them which exceed all comprehension. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him” (1 Cor 2:9). Yes, even the evil which appears to be to their destruction will be reversed to the advantage of the lovers of God. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God” (Rom 8:28). A lover of God is not only pleasing to God, but he is also loved by the Lord Jesus, the holy angels, and all believers. Everyone will behold such a person with pleasure and delight.

Sixthly, love is holiness and begets holiness—which believers long for and desire so strongly. Love preserves a believer in communion with God. “And he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16). This is not only a sweet, but also a holy and sanctifying disposition. Love teaches what duty is, stirs up to perform the duty, and guides in the execution of duty. Without love the very best deed is deficient (1 Cor 13:2). Instead, all must transpire in love. “… that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love” (Eph 1:4). The entire law is comprehended in love. (Matt 22:37). “Now the end of the commandment is charity” (1 Tim 1:5). Love cannot remain concealed, for it is a holy fire. It is operative externally and is a strong incitement. “For the love of Christ constraineth us” (2 Cor 5:14). God, love The apostle therefore speaks of the “labour of love” (1 Thess 1:3). Love renders all labor easy, conquers all danger, penetrates through all opposition, and glories in tribulation. “We glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts” (Rom 5:3-5). He who therefore wishes to be holy, let him become active in love toward God. “Ye that love the Lord, hate evil” (Ps 97:10).

Seventhly, follow the example of the Lord Jesus who loved the Father (John 14:31). Join yourself to the godly, for they are lovers of God and are frequently denominated as such (cf. Song 1:3; Ps 69:36; Isa 41:8). Exercise yourself to increase in love. “O love the Lord, all ye His saints” (Ps 31:23); “Keep yourselves in the love of God” (Jude 21).

Believers to Abstain from That Which Hinders an Increase in Love

You therefore who delight to walk in the love of God, henceforth abstain from that which until now has hindered you from increasing and from breaking forth in love (Isa 54:3). These hindrances are the following:

(1) Ignorance. Little knowledge begets little love. Search the Word of God attentively, and thoughtfully give heed to His work without and within you. Focus upon getting a view of the Lord and labor to keep yourself near to the Lord.

(2) Partial love. Believers still have the old Adam within themselves which continually hankers for that which is of the world; self-love is not yet dead. If one yields somewhat to this love, it will increase all the more, and the more self-love increases, the more love toward God will be diminished. He who therefore wishes to increase in love toward God must resist and cast out the other love. This halting between two opinions prevents growth.

(3) Infrequent communion with God. Love wants to be exercised or else it will become cold. Separate yourself from all that you are permitted to separate yourself from, so that the Lord alone will have your heart. Continually pray, meditate, ask counsel, be dependent, and particularly observe your devotional time strictly. This will, time and again, restore you, and you will become more adept in acquainting yourself with the Lord.

(4) Unbelief. “Faith worketh by love”; if one does not believe that he is loved by God, he also cannot be stirred up by this love. However, if one believes that God loves him, his heart will in turn be kindled with in love toward God. “We love Him, because He first loved us.”

(5) Fearfulness. If, for the sake of God’s cause, we are in danger of losing our honor in some measure; if harm, shame, and the loss of life are feared; and if we then shrink back, come up with excuses, and hide ourselves, love will then be very much injured, and it sometimes takes a considerable effort to recover a loving disposition. However, if we then break out of this when it comes to the point, love will receive double strength. Perfect love casts out fear—not only a fear for God, which causes a fleeing from God, but also the fear of danger.

Counsel for the Increase in Love Toward God

However, if you wish to increase in love:

(1) Take your life, honor, possessions, and all that you have, and surrender them to the Lord. Let Him care for them and do not concern yourself about them, so that you can readily part with them if love toward God requires this.

(2) Display the image of God which is in you—however small or great it may be—and show the world that you have a different nature, being in covenant with God.

(3) Believe in God’s love toward you and rejoice in this.

(4) Pray for the increase of love.

(5) Have continual fellowship with those who love God, and be their companion.

(6) Abstain from willful sins and be zealous to do the will of God. If you fall, do not continue in this sin, but with sorrow humble yourself, as having sinned against love, and arise again—holding fast to the unchangeable love of God and the immutability of the covenant. While thus acquainting yourself with the Lord, you will go on from strength to strength and become more abundant in love. “And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God” (2 Thess 3:5).