not troubled because we do not love him For my own part I do complain I cannot love this Blessed Jesus with that strength of Love I ought and earnestly do desire and endeavour to grieve more because I love him no more and to loath my self so much the more by how much I fall short of that Love I ought to have to him Oh that others may make up what I do want and might be enlarged and abound in that love wherein I am straitned and defective that what degrees of Love I cannot reach others on Earth might attain unto that while I mourn for the smalness of my own Love I might rejoyce in the greatness of the Love of others unto this lovely Jesus and yet when all this is less than he is worthy of let it be some joy unto my grieved Soul that saved Souls above and Angels in Glory do love him with a perfect and eternal Love that though I cannot love him as they do yet I may rejoyce on Earth that there are Ten Thousand times Ten Thousands and Thousands of Thousands in Heaven rejoycing in the fullness of Love which is in them to him when Thousands upon Earth never will and Millions in Hell never can love this most lovely Lord Jesus Christ But still I must grieve and groan that when my Lord doth ask me Lovest thou me more than these sometimes I doubt and dare not say Lord thou that knowest all things thou knowest that I love thee but my Heart doth pant my Soul doth long that my love to him might be inflamed that the Actings of it might be more vigorous and the Workings of it so sensible that they may put me into pleasant Pangs and sweetest Pains of Love Lord I shall not account my self to be well till I am sick of love to thee that so I might from what I feel and find in my own Soul recommend the sweetest Delights the Rational Pleasures and the Spiritual Comforts to the Lovers of Vanity to allure and draw their Love to Christ that I may speak more of the unspeakable Joy that fills the Breast of a strong Lover of Christ and more pathetically Perswade more effectually Plead till God powerfully prevail with them to turn the Stream of their Love which now runs waste into the right Channel and glide along till it empty it self into that Sea of Love which Saints and Angels flow in unto Christ I have made a small Attempt in this little Treatise of the Necessity of Sincere Love to Christ whether God by Me might move the Hearts of any to fix their Love upon him in which I have not studied Words and Phrases to recommend Christ to wanton Wits in their Dress but with as much plainness and Gospel simplicity as I could in the very Words in which it was Preached to a People that love plain Preaching and easie to be understood If any for this shall dislike it when they have took it up and look'd into it and see it to be such may as easily lay it down and slight it as they please I sought not my Self in it but the love of Men to Christ by it I can be willing to be accounted a Fool for Christ and I doubt not but I shall have more Comfort on a Dying-Bed when I shall reflect I aimed not at vain Applause of Dying men but to gain the Hearts and hearty Love of once the Hearers and now the Readers of these Sermons and if God will please to own them in mens Reading as he did in the Hearing of them by many when not I but the Grace of God did so much affect their Hearts that they did desire it might be Preached to them some time after the second time which I did and did Work and had as great Success as at the first Not that I was any thing but God did all both first and last Many very many that did confess they loved not Christ but World and Vanity and Sin before did desire all in the Congregation earnestly to Pray That God would give them this love unto his Son which I hope they have and are increasing and growing therein and that God may so Bless it to any Poor plain Country People whom my voice cannot reach and to whom I cannot go where this may shall be the fervent Prayers that one so mean can put up to Heaven Where let the Prayers of all true Lovers of Christ meet that the Number of such may be increased Amen Tho. Doolittle THE Contents THE Introduction pag. 1 2 Anathema explained p. 3 to 9 Maranatha explained p. 3 to 9 The parts of the Text p. 9 A Paraphrase upon the Text p. 10 to 14 The Doctrine and Method p. 14 15 Twelve Requisites in sincere Love to Christ p. 15 to 41 Delighting Love p. 41 42 Desiring Love p. 41 42 Mourning Love p. 41 42 A Description of Love to Christ p. 43 The Necessity of sincere Love to Christ to escape the Curse proved by ten Arguments p. 44 to 55 Ten Properties of the Curse due to Non-Lovers of Christ p. 56 to 69 Eight Reasons why Love is so strictly required that Christ must be Loved or the Sinner Accursed p. 69. to 75 The Uses to be made of this Subject p. 75 76 Ten Inferences deduced from it p. 78 to 96 Twenty Aggravations of want of Love to Christ p. 96 to 124 The Case Resolved how a Man may know he hath or wants sincere Love to Christ p. 124 to 143 An Attempt to gain Sinners Consent to Love Christ p. 143 to 151 Twenty Motives or Pleas that Christ might have the Love of Mens Hearts p. 151 to 176 Ten Directions to get sincere Love to Christ p. 176 to 197 Ten Springs of Spiritual Comfort flowing into the Hearts of the Lovers of Christ p. 197 to 210 The Conclusion and Blessing p. 210 to the end LOVE to CHRIST NECESSARY TO ESCAPE the CURSE At His COMING 1 COR. XVI 22. If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Anathema Maran-atha CHAP. I. SECT I. The Introduction HOW Not love the Lord Hellish Sin How Not love Jesus Stupendous Wickedness What! Not love Christ Monstrous Impiety Not love him that is both Lord and Jesus and Christ What name might we call him by A Man or a Beast A Man or a Devil That doth not love the Lord Jesus Christ Do you confess him to be Lord and Jesus and Christ and love Sin and not Him Love the World and not Him Love Relations and not Him This may be the Astonishment of the Heavens the Amazement of the Earth the Wonder of Angels the Joy of Devils the Burthen of the Creation of God The Earth doth groan to bear them the Sun is grieved to give light unto them the Air laments its putrefaction to be suck'd into such filthy bodies wherein are more filthy souls because void of the Love of Christ Yea all this world looks more like Hell than Heaven because of
the Lord pronounceth his Oath negatively then it is to be understood as an affirmation as Isa 14.24 The Lord of hosts hath sworn if not so it shall come to pass that is it shall certainly come to pass But when he setteth it down affirmatively then it is to be understood negatively as Psal 95.11 If they shall enter into my rest that is they shall never enter into my rest When God sweareth thus by himself he mentioneth not the Curse because no Execration or Curse can fall upon him that is God necessarily infinitely and eternally blessed and therefore not to be expressed because it cannot come upon him neither should such a form of speech be supplied as some do prophanely use then let me not be God or such like It is sufficient to alarm Sinners that God doth swear if they continue to the death without love to and saith in Christ they shall not enter into his rest 1. A man loves not Christ that hath 1. an understanding to know the excellencies of Christ the necessity of Christ the danger of being without Christ and the everlasting good and benefits that are to be had by Christ 2. A man that hath a Will to be guided by the Understanding a Will to chuse good and refuse evil 3. A man that hath Affections of love desire and delight and shall not place them upon their proper primary principal Object 4. A man that hath a Conscience to walk and act by to accuse and condemn him when his Affections are not rightly fixed and to comfort him and to testify for him when they tend to and rest in their proper Object 5. A man that is capable of knowing loving and enjoying the best good 6. A man that hath heard of Christ that professeth Christ and hath frequently and earnestly been intreated to give Christ his love 7. A man that is a sinful man a lost man a diseased polluted man that stands in need of washing cleansing and recovering healing Grace Shew me the man that needs not Christ and let him deny him his love 8. A man that is a dying man a man leaving this World going out of Time and entring into Eternity that must shortly be a damned or saved man within a few years months weeks days or houts be eternally happy or everlastingly miserable 3. Any man especially where the Gospel is preached where the joyful sound is heard to whom the tydings of a Saviour and Eternal Life are brought The Heathen cannot love him because they do not know him because they hear not of him but any man especially that lives under the means of Grace any mean man any noble man any ignorant man any learned man any man of any sort of any age of any calling of any place or Nation where they have so often and so long heard of Christ that his blessed name is become too common in their prophane polluted mouths If any such man 4. Love not tho he often talk of him tho he pray to God mentioning his Name tho he profess him hear daily from him suffer or dye for him and not love him that is 5. The Lord the Lord of Lords the only Potentate the Lord that hath the power of Life and Death able to take up to Heaven and cast down to Hell to damn and save that reigns over Men and Devils that hath all Power committed to him that is 6. Jesus the only mighty alsufficient Saviour that came from Heaven to Earth to get and purchase for men a passage from Earth to Heaven that suffered bled and died to save Sinners from Sin from Hell from Everlasting Burnings when there is no other Name under Heaven by which Sinners can be saved than the Name of Jesus who is also 7. Christ anointed of the Father designed from all Eternity and sent in the fulness of time to bring about and accomplish the work of man's Redemption that was furnished with all manner of qualifications to bring Souls to Eternal Glory and yet those that have their Names from him called Christians from Christ and yet not love him shall be 8. Anathema cursed Wretches miserable Caitiffs devoted to damnation separated from God cast to Devils when 9. Maran-atha the Lord comes to be Anathema when Maran-atha is to be accursed indeed and for ever then cursed Men must be with cursed Devils to all eternity CHAP. II. SECT I. The Doctrine and Method FRom this Text thus explained Doct. this Doctrine clearly resulteth That whatsoever man hath not sincere love to the Lord Jesus Christ is in a deplorable condition and shall be accursed when the Lord comes For his Sin is great his Mind is blind his Will perverse his Heart is hard and carnal his Affections corrupt and base and vile and his Soul and Body shall then be doomed down to blackness of darkness to extremity and eternity of misery to pains and punishment that no Tongue can express no Heart conceive no Pen can write how great how terrible how intolerable it will be found to be The method in treating on this Subject is cast into these five general Heads 1. What is the nature of this love to Christ what kind or manner of Love it is without which if man be found he is Anathema and shall be plagued with this heavy Curse at the coming of the Lord 2. That whosoever is without this love to Christ is in such a miserable condition and dying without it shall be damned when Christ shall come is to be demonstrated 3. What are the properties of this Curse that will make it so exceeding grievous and intolerable 4. Why so great a stress is put upon such Love why the Lord insists so much upon the love of man unto his Son that whosoever wants it shall be thus accursed 5. The improving of this Doctrine by practical application In opening of the nature of this Love to Christ I shall not only mention the formal reason of it but also what is presupposed and necessarily requisite to the raising or producing of it in the heart of man my Apprehensions concerning it I shall give you in these twelve following Particulars which being taking up and laid together will contain a description of this Love 1. This Love supposeth the goodness of the Object 2. It includes or implies the illumination of the Understanding to see and discern this incomparable goodness in Christ 3. It includes a discovery of the suitableness of Christ unto the Soul in all respects 4. As also a sight of the communicability of that good that is discerned to be so suitable 5. Highest valuation of Christ greatest estimation of him which is called appretiating Love 6. It contains the permanent volition of the Will the setled inclination of the heart towards the Lord Jesus Christ 7. It includes the prevailing and predominant degrees of our love to be to Christ more than to any thing else whatsoever 8. In this Love is the election of the Will choosing Christ
a corrupt thing for I am a great King saith the Lord of hosts and my name is dreadful among the heathen That is strange then that it should be no more dreadful among his people that pretend to love him that they are not afraid to bring and offer such Duties to him as do so much provoke him and are so greatly displeasing to him that give him only words when they have a Male in their Flock an heart in their breast to give him 4. Such Obedience as is a proof of Love must be persevering to the end expressed not by stepping into Gods ways but by walking in them One that loves not Christ might step into a good way but he that loves doth walk therein Deut. 11.1 Therefore thou shalt love the Lord thy God and keep his charge and his statutes and his judgments and his commandments alway And 19.9 If thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them which I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God and to walk ever in his ways Such then as have made great shews of love to Christ and now are revolted and have forsaken his holy Commandments by this might judge what kind of love it was to Christ that they once made profession of and more by their partial irksom and refuse Obedience might be convinced that their love to Christ is unfound and only supposed Love II. Do you love Christ while you maintain the Love of Sin in your Heart Can the love of Sin and the love of Christ dwell together in highest degrees Can the affection of love in that manner be carried out to two contrary objects at the same time And is there any thing in the World more contrary than Christ and Sin Is there more opposition between Light and Darkness extreamly Sweet and extreamly Sowre Can you love your Health and Poyson too to be in your Stomach Can you love Christ and yet love what he doth hate Can you love Christ and delight in Sin which took away the Life of your Lord Could you carry that Knife continually in your Bosom with delight that was the Instrument of Death unto your dearest Friend You might as soon look down upon the Earth and up unto the Heavens at the same instant as thus love Sin and Christ together Psal 97.10 Ye that love the Lord hate evil and the hatred to Sin that proves sincere Love to Christ must be 1. Vniversal to the Darling Sin as well as others to the Sin that hath been to you as your Right Hand or Right Eye Hatred is to the kind he that hates a Toad It is not this one or that in particular but all He that Loves Christ sincerely hates Sin as a man hates a Toad not only as to the degree but also as to the extent all and every one Psal 119.104 I hate every false way 2. Implacable Anger might be pacified but Hatred planted in the Nature is irreconcileable Antipathy cannot be rooted out nor turned into Love A man might be angry at Sin that loves not Christ but be friends again might turn from it and afterwards return unto it but the hatred to Sin implanted in the new Creature is implacably bent against Sin that the words might have some place here by way of allusion relating the Love and Hatred of Amnon to Tamar 2 Sam. 13.15 Then Amnon hated her exceedingly Hebrew is with great hatred greatly so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her and Amnon said unto her Arise be gone With like detestation will the Lover of Christ pack away his Sin Arise be gone with greater hatred than before he loved it 3. Therefore it is mortal and destructive to Sin that is the object of it Esau hated Jacob because of the Blessing wherewith his Father blessed him and Esau said in his heart The days of mourning for my father are at hand then will I slay my brother Jacob Gen. 27.41 So the Lover of Christ that hateth Sin is resolved to be the destruction of it Shall not I be the death of that cursed Sin that was the death of my blessed Lord Shall I suffer that to live in my heart which would not suffer Christ to live in the World Did Sin shed my Saviours Blood and shall not I be avenged on my 〈◊〉 Did Sin make my Saviour Groan and Sweat in a bloody Agony and shall I take delight therein Was my Sin the Nails that did fasten him to the Cross The Spear that did pierce his blessed Side And the Thorns that Crowned his Sacred Head And shall I lodge it in my Bosom Did Christ in love unto my Soul dye for my Sin and shall not I in love unto my Lord cause Sin to dye in me III. Do you love Christ sincerely when the things of this World have the predominant degrees of your affections As Sin is not to be loved at all by them that love Christ so things that are good must not be loved above Christ nor are by them that love him Mat. 10.37 If any man love father or mother more than me he is not worthy of me Doth that Woman love her Husband with a sincere Conjugal Love that though she love him truly yet loveth another more than him Do you love Riches Pleasures Honours Relations Self Life more than Christ and yet sincerely love Christ As he is better than all greater than all more suitable more durable more sweet more satisfying than all other good things so he must be loved above and more than all 1 Joh. 2.15 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 Jam. 4.4 Ye Adulterers and Adulteresses know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God Though one that is sincere in his love to Christ might not love Christ more than some other persons love him yet he loves Christ more than he loves other persons or things But do you love Christ more than you love other things and yet 1. Your thoughts are habitually set and actually run out upon other things more than upon Christ Can you think on the World with delight but not on Christ And love to have a thousand thoughts on other things for one you have of Christ It is a pleasure to you to think on your Pleasures your Profits your Children but a burden to you to think of Christ and keep your thoughts upon him Are not the thoughts much upon the object of love Psal 139.17 When I awake I am still with thee But if you cannot sleep in the Night your Head is full of the thoughts of the World because your Heart is full of the love of the World Is it not a sign the World and not Christ is loved as your Treasure for where the treasure is there the
hast changed thy Love thou hast changed not only the Lodgers but the Governours and Rulers of thine Heart for now the Father is come and the Son is come and the Holy Ghost is come and have taken up their abode in thee Will God dwell in Hearts of Clay Yes if Love to him dwell there V. Christ will manifest himself unto his Lovers He will discover his Love and that in the worst condition ye can be in While ye are in Prosperity many may manifest much Love unto you but when ye are afflicted distressed and stand most in need of their Help and Love will with-hold it from you Job 19.13 He hath put my brethren far from me and mine acquaintance are verily estranged from me 14. My kinsfolk have failed and my familiar friends have forgotten me 15. They that dwell in my house and my maids count◠me for a stranger I am an alien in their sight 16. I called my servant but he gave me no answer I entreated him with my mouth 17. My breath is strange to my wife though I entreated for the childrens sake of mine own body 19. All my inward friends abhorred me and they whom I loved are turned against me But Christ that dwells in the Hearts of his Lovers is to them a Bosom friend that he makes the time of their greatest Troubles and Distresses to be the time of the discoveries and manifestations of his love Isa 63.9 In all their afflictions he was afflicted and the Angel of his presence saved them in his love and in his pity he redeemed them and he bare them and carried them all the days of old And if he withdraw and for a time conceal his love it is to make them more earnest in seeking after him and for fuller discoveries of his love to them afterwards Cant. 3.1 2 3. VI. All things shall work together for the good of them that love God and Jesus Christ Nothing shall befall them but first or last shall further them in their way to Heaven and tend to their advantage Many things seem to be against you but all shall work for you If you be in Prison your Heart shall be the more enlarged If you lose the things of the World your Heart shall be the more set on the things of Heaven If you be sick and weakly it shall quicken you and stir you up to make more haste to get ripe for Heaven If you be Poor in the World it shall further your Riches in Grace Whatever be the Cross it shall increase the weight of your Crown Rom. 8.28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are the called according to his purpose VII Sincere love to Christ is a mighty help against Apostacy If a man be a Professor and a Lover of the World a Professor and a Lover of Pleasure of his own Ease and Life more than of Christ when these come in danger to keep them he parts with Christ but he that loveth Christ above all will part with all to cleave to Christ Love to Christ hath carried his people through great difficulties and dangers out of love to Christ they have contemned the Allurements and laughed at the Affrightments of this World have gone through Shame and Reproach endured Stripes and Imprisonments Bonds and Bondage and Death it self Rom. 8.35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ Whether it be understood Actively or Passively of the love wherewith we love Christ or the love whereby we are beloved by Christ is not material for concerning both we might ask Shall Tribulation or Distress or Persecution or Famine or Nakedness or Peril or Sword 37. Nay in all these things 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we over-overcome we are more than conquerors through him that loved us 38. For I am perswaded that neither Death nor Life nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers nor things present nor things to come 39. Nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. If any leave Christ it is for want of love for so far as love prevails we shall in greatest Troubles and Sufferings for him cleave unto him VIII The Lovers of Christ shall be always under his Eye for good He will be looking upon them in order to the shewing of Mercy unto them He looks upon the Lovers of the World and Sin with an Eye of Observation and Indignation he looks and takes notice of their sinful love he looks and is angry with them for such love but he looks upon his Lovers with an Eye of Compassion to pity and to tender them Psal 119.132 Look thou upon me and be merciful unto me as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name God useth to do so it is his way his manner and custom of dealing so with such as love him it is not a strange thing to God nor a thing that he doth but now and then but it is his daily custom to look upon his Lovers and shew them Mercy Psal 145.20 The Lord preserveth all them that love him but the wicked that do not love him will he destroy IX The Lovers of Christ have great preparations made by God himself for their entertainment in the other World For all the Lovers of the World and Sin and Vanity is Wrath and Hell prepared but for the Lovers of Christ such things as do transcend the most refined Wit to conceive the most eloquent Tongue to express or the ablest Pen to describe 1 Cor. 2.9 Eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither have entred into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him 1. The Eye of Man hath seen admirable things Coasts of Pearl Golden Mines stately Monuments Kingly Palaces costly Raiments but never Eye hath seen such things as God hath prepared for them that love him 2. The Ear hath heard of more than the Eye hath seen and many hear of the joys of Heaven whose Eyes shall never see them 3. The Heart of Man can conceive more than the Eye hath seen or the Ear hath heard it can imagine all Pebles to be Pearls all the Earth to be a silver Heap the Sea to be liquid Gold the Air transparent Chrystal every Star to be a Sun And if all these were so they would be but as a Sand to a Mountain a Beam to the Sun a Drop to the Ocean a Grain to a Golden Mine compared with the things that are prepared for such as love God and Christ for those things are so great they cannot be measured so many they cannot be numbred so precious they cannot be valued so long and lasting they will never be ended they exceed our Faith they are beyond our Hope above our Desires they might be possessed hereafter but they cannot be comprehended here because For Sublimity they are Incomprehensible for Transcendency
Love to Christ Necessary to Escape the CURSE AT His Coming By THO. DOOLITTLE M. A. Mat. x. 37. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me Mat. xxv 41. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels LONDON Printed for Tho. Cockerill at the Three Legs in the Poultrey over against the Stocks-Market 1692. THE EPISTLE TO Non-Lovers OF CHRIST Lamenting Their SIN and MISERY THat Glorious Person who is both Lord and Jesus and Christ hath suffered and done and promised such things that might gain the love of Sinners to himself and by these doth Plead with them to set their Affections upon him In opposition to him the World and Sin stand in competition with him for the love of man's Heart Christ calls Sinner Love me Sin and World cry aloud Place thy love on us The Spirit Word Ministers Mercies and a Well-informed awaken'd Conscience press hard for the Love of Man to Christ The Devil and the Flesh sollicit for the Heart of Man for Sin and World Love man hath and one of these he will Love both he cannot at the same time with a predominant Love 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 Love and serve God and Mammon Mat. 6.24 Predominant Love to the one is inconsistent with such Love unto the other 1 Joh. 2.15 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 This considered what Thinking man can forbear to grieve abstain from floods of Tears and bitter Lamentation when he seeth that the Love of Man such a Noble Affection in it self is set so much on Sin that is so bad in it self and unto its Lovers and upon the World that proves a vexation to those that are so fond of it who Love and vex who vex at it and yet still continue and encrease their Love unto it and their vexation by it doth not abate their inordinate Affection to it while Christ that is the primary principal and most delightful Object of Love is slighted by so many even by the most Blind Sinners Do ye thus love Sin so vile and the World so contemptible and not Christ that is altogether lovely and desirable What perverseness is this that Christ that is best in himself and best for them should be refused and Sin that is worst in it self and worst to them should be embraced What folly and madness is this that Christ should be kept out standing at the Door when Sin and World are admitted in and Lodged and kindly Entertained in the chiefest Room of their Hearts Cursed doings When Sin should have no Love shall it have all When Christ should have all shall he have none When the whole World like that part the Earth should be as your Footstool shall it or any thing in it be set up in your Hearts as in its Throne How is it that ye are so much mistaken as to think ye see Beauty in Deformity and Deformity in Beauty it self Why is odious Sin so lovely and a precious Christ so unlovely in your Eyes Have ye considered what Sin is and what Christ is that ye have greater Love to that Work of the Devil than ye have to Gods own Son And this when Sin is so bad and vile that as Sin it cannot be loved by the worst of men till it be first disguised and dressed up with the appearance of Good and Christ so good that as Christ he is to be loved most of all When called invited and charged in the Name of God by the Ministers of Christ shewing you God's Call Invitation and Charge to love this lovely Jesus why do ye retort and say What is your Beloved above another Beloved O ye Teachers of Christ VVhat is your Beloved more than another Beloved that ye so charge us How long will ye say He hath no form or comeliness VVe see â—o Beauty in him that we should desire him How long shall Christ complain of you that ye hate both him and his Father And is not this complaint more grievous when ye hate him without a cause and do not love him when there is so much cause and reason why you should VVhat hath Sin and VVorld done for you and what did ever Christ do against you that ye love your sorest Enemies and hate him that would be your surest Friend Hath Sin afforded you Pleasures But how long will they last And what will ye do when the Pleasures of Sin are past and fled away and the Pains and Punishment for Sin are come and shall never never pass away Hath the VVorld allowed you its Profits But whose shall these be when ye are Dead and Lodged in the Dust VVhat profit is there in all your Profits if ye gain them and lose your Souls Will not your Gain be your Everlasting Loss Is Christ the Admiration of Angels and is he your Derision Do they Adore him and do ye thus Despise him Do Holy Saved-Souls above delight and joy in their Love to him and in his to them and do ye turn away your Love and Alienate your Hearts from him and Love Sin and Rejoyce in that your Love Do Holy Souls beneath in this Imperfect State cry ouâ— Whom have we in Heaven but Christ or what is there on Earth that we desire like or love in comparison of him and do ye prefer your Lust and Fleshly Pleasures and Worldly Profits before him Have ye done so and will ye still Are ye so resolved Are your Hearts so hardened Your Minds so blinded And so enslaved to Sin and Satan Alas for you Were ye Born without love to Christ And have ye lived so long without love to him And will ye Dye at last without love to him Where are the Mourners that they may with flowing Tears bewail your Sin and Misery Why your Sin Because ye love not Christ Why your Misery Because you must be ANATHEMA when MARANATHA be Accursed when the Lord shall come Alas for you that are Ignorant of Christ for can ye love whom ye do not know Alas for you whose Hearts are full of love to a vain deluding VVorld and empty of sincere Love to Christ for ye must all be ANATHEMA when MARANATHA Accursed when the Lord shall come Let Angels blush Let the Heavens be ashamed Let good men weep Let the Earth mourn Let all the Creation of God sigh and sob and groan that the Son of God is not beloved by so many of the Sons of Men O my Soul where is thy love to these Souls empty of Saving-love unto thy Lord Where is thy sorrow for want of their Love Where are thy Bowels of compassion
to them that have no pity to themselves in that they will have no love to Christ Dost not thou know MARANATHA the Lord will come And art thou not sure that then they will be ANATHEMA under a bitter and an eternal Curse Dost thou see how the Devil turned mens hearts from their Lord-Creator and how he keeps their love from their Lord-Redeemer for which the Devil insults over them and wilt not thou be grieved for them Blessed Jesus I am ready to blame them because they love not thee and I do blame my self for want of grief in me for want of love to thee Methinks that Godly Parents should mourn because they have a Child or Children that love not Jesus Christ and say What! they love us but not the Lord What pleasure can we take in their love to us when they have none to Christ Methinks the Children that have love to Christ should weep and bitterly lament to be loved by their Parents with a greater love than they have for Christ and the Wife that is a Lover of Christ should be filled with sorrow that hath one so near that is so far from loving of the only Saviour and say Alas alas MARANATHA and then my Child my Father Mother Husband will be ANATHEMA Weep then weep weep abundantly for any in your House among your Relations Friends Acquaintance and Neighbours that are not Lovers of Christ Oh that your Heads were Waters and your Eyes Fountains of Tears that ye may Weep Day and Night for these that Love not the Lord Jesus How can ye go with dry Eyes without Tears trickling down your Cheeks one hasting to overtake the other when ye behold Non-Lovers of Christ and consider next ANATHEMA MARANATHA Oh! that ye had in some Wilderness a Lodging place of Wayfaring-men or some retired corner in your House that ye may leave your worldly Business for a while and go from them to wash your Faces in your Tears that your dear Relations love not that Lord of yours that is dearer to you than they are or all this World besides Take on most bitterly when ye think how by them your dearest Lord is undervalued and their precious Souls are endangered by their not loving of him for they must be ANATHEMA when MARANATHA Alas poor Loveless Souls The Lord will come will surely quickly come and then they will be miserable surely then they will be miserable Souls indeed But is this enough for you O ye Non-Lovers of Christ that others do lament your woful case while ye your selves do spend your Time and waste your Days in sinful Love and carnal Delights and sensual Joy Were ye convinced of your present Sin and did ye see your future approaching Misery could ye be so full of Mirth upon the very Borders of the place where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of Teeth Could ye Laugh and Sing so near the bottomless Pit where your Laughing shall be turned into Mourning and your Mirth into everlasting Sorrow Were ye the Men that had your Eyes opened would ye not every one of you bitterly bewail your present danger in the sense and apprehension of your speedy and eternal Woe and say Alas what shall I do when Sickness shall come and Death shall come and the Lord himself shall come when I have no love for him Wo is me How shall I dye and after Death appear at his Tribunal whom I never loved O my poor departing Soul now as full of Terror as empty of the love of Christ what will become of thee when thou steppest out of Time into Eternity O dreadful dreadful this is exceeding dreadful to leave all that I did ever love and go to be judged by him whom I did Woe to me that I did never love I did love my Wise and Children but not Christ and now I must leave them whom I did so much love and receive my Doom from him whom I did so much hate I did love my Pleasures and my sensual Delights and now there is an end of them and now I must go unto those Miseries Woes and Torments that shall never never end Wo is me that now I am a dying man and shortly alas a day or two more an hour or two more so shortly for want of love to Christ and I must be a Damned man When I waâ— well and loved not Christ well and loved not Christ when I thought I was well without love to Christ I thought my Pleasures were sweet my Riches my Happiness and my beloved Relations my Joy and I thought my love was rightly placed upon them but now upon this Dying-Bed when I look backwards upon time now past and forwards into Eternity that never will be past I see I find the remembrance of them doth torment my departing Soul they are as bitter as Gall for the more I loved them heretofore the more they do torment me now Now Wo is me They will for ever Oh what did I mean to give that love to them which I should have given unto Christ Had I loved him as I loved them my love to him would have been as great a Comfort to me on this Dying-Bed as the love of them is now a Terror to me but I did not O cursed Catiff that I did not And now the Lord by Death is come to me and I after Death must go to him to be Judged by him and in my Sentence I shall hear ANATHEMA Depart thou Cursed into everlasting Fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels In that I never loved Christ I Sinned like the Devil and in my Sentence for that Sin I must be Condemned and in Hell suffer with and as the Devil But yet all this may be prevented may it And will ye not endeavour it How By calling off your love from other things and placing it predominantly upon the Lord Jesus By Faith in him and Love unto him the Curse might be escaped and the Blessing obtained at his coming and had ye rather be Damned than love Christ Indeed Is your Enmity so much to him that ye had rather be miserable for ever than place your Affections upon him Are ye not yet willing to forsake your Old Love and get New Love to Christ Can ye be willing to be miserable and pained and tormented in extremity to all Eternity I know ye cannot And yet I know whether ye be willing or unwilling without love to Christ miserable you must be Oh that ye did clearly see stedfastly believe and distinctly apprehend the transcendent Excellency the amiable Beauty the invaluable Worth of this Lord Jesus that ye might prize him more than Gold and Pearls and costly Jewels and love him more than all How is it when ye hear those on Earth that love him most so much complain of the smalness of their love to him that ye do not reflect upon your selves and say What Sinners then are we that have no love at all to him and yet are
and work in being wise in the reproved sense for my self I should be found an egregious Fool. He that preacheth so that no man can rationally contemn him and yet every man understand him and thereby wins Souls to set their love on Christ is a Wiseman and a Learned Preacher when he that preacheth so that few or none of the meaner Capacities which are the greater number can understand him any further than to understand they do not understand him and so the People perish for want of knowledge under the sound of profoundest knowledge shall have little thanks from such People at the Judgment-day and what Reward he shall have from Christ when he comes to take an account of Ministers for preaching and People for hearing let him take into his serious thoughts and learn of Learned Paul who hath left a pattern of the wisest Preaching 2 Cor. 4.5 For we preach not our selves but Christ Jesus the Lord and our selves your servants for Jesus sake lest not preaching Jesus the Lord but himself as if he were more than a Servant and Jesus not Lord he find when Preaching and Hearing are ended and cease Maran-atha and Anathema be joined together VIII Must they be cursed that love not Christ then know that outward Prosperity and this Curse are consistent A man might be a prospering man in this World and cursed in this World and in the World to come Do you see many whose Lives declare they have no sincere love to Christ in their Hearts thrive and abound in outward Enjoyments not love Christ and yet are strong not love Christ and yet are rich not love Christ and yet be in honour What then Might not a man in health be a cursed man nay the more strength he hath the more able he is to do the Devil Service and so his strength is a curse unto him The more he enjoyeth of the World the more he hath to love and the more he loves it and so his Enjoyments are a curse unto him when they keep him from placing his love upon Jesus Christ Have you not read that mens Blessings are cursed Mal. 2.2 If ye will not hear and if ye will not lay it to heart to give glory to my name saith the Lord of hosts I will even send a curse upon you and I will curse your blessings yea I have cursed them already because ye do not lay it to heart God threatens to curse wicked mens Blessings I will curse your blessings I will that is not to do now I have cursed them already Many are apt to call the proud happy Mal. 3.15 The Rich though bad are thought by many to be blessed a great mistake all men might see their outward Blessings but all have not eyes to behold the inward Curses that lie under those outward Blessings Is it not a Curse to have Riches without Grace to have our Portion and Blessings and all in this Life to prosper in the World and to be every moment in danger of Hell do you look upon it to be such happiness to have all for the Body and nothing for the Soul to have Earth and nothing of Heaven and nothing to shew for them You read of some that have their Portion in this life on Earth Psal 17.14 and you might read that their Portion on Earth is a cursed Portion Job 24.18 and was it not so with the Rich man spoken of in the Gospel that on Earth had his purple robes and fine linen and sumptuous costly dishes every day O happy man but stay till you hear the end He died and whither then to Hell Where is now your happy man and what is his condition there what there he finds more pain than on Earth pleasure there he feels more torment and terror than all his days on Earth had pleasure and delight Luk. 16.25 But Abraham said Son remember that thou in thy life-time receivedst thy good things and likewise Lazarus evil things but now he is comforted and thou art tormented Remember that vexeth not easeth in thy life-time but that was but for the time of life which then was short and sweet but this Life where now I am more properly called Death than Life is long and bitter receivest thy good things but amongst them all hadst not a good God a good Conscience nor one good Fruit of the Spirit no not so much as love to Christ but now he is comforted and thou art tormented he is blessed and thou art cursed he is happy and thou art miserable Behold the change the world 's blessed man is now the cursed man and he that was the miserable man in the esteem of the World is now the blessed man Then do not judge of Blessedness or Misery by the prosperity or poverty of this World but by the graces of the Spirit or want of them in your hearts particularly by your love or want of love to Jesus Christ For it is not said Let him that is not rich but let him that loves not Christ be Anathema Maran-atha IX Must all that love not Christ be cursed then tremble at the thoughts of the great number that shall be cursed There are but few comparatively that have sincere Love to Christ therefore but few comparatively that shall be blessed by entring into Eternal blessed life Mat. 7.13 Enter in at the strait gate for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction and many there be which go in thereat 14. Be cause strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and few there be that find it Many for want of Love to Christ will not bear his Cross but all that want this love Finally shall bear his Curse The number of the Curse-bearers and Non-lovers of Christ shall be an equal number so many and no more Consider then what multitudes there are that love other things more than Christ and see what vast numbers of men shall be accursed 1. How many are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lovers of pleasures more than lovers of Christ 2 Tim. 3.4 2. How many are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lovers of money more than lovers of Christ They prize their Silver above the Saviour and part with him to keep that Luke 16.14 2 Tim. 3.2 3. How many are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lovers of honours more than lovers of Christ John 5.42 44 and and 12 43. 4. How many are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lovers of themselves more than lovers of Christ 2 Tim. 3.2 And indeed sinful self-love is the very heart and core of the carnal man and the great Idol of all unconverted sinners Principles of selfishness are the rise of all their actions and self is the end and scope at which they aim in all they do and so set up self in the room of God and Christ and love carnal self when they should love Christ and so shall lye under the Curse when they would have a Blessing Few love