the better inkindle and increase our love to God, the following advices are not ufelets. Helps to encreafe our Love to God by way 1. Cut off all earthly and fenfual loves, for they pollute and unhallow the pure and fpiritual love: Every degree of inordinate affection to the things of this World, and every act of love to a fin, is a perfect enemy to the love of God; and it is a great fhame to take any part of our affection from the eternal God, to bestow it upon its Creature in defiance of the Creatour; or to give it to the Devil, our open enemy, in difparagement of him who is the Fountain of all excellencies and celeftial amities. 2. Lay fetters and restraints upon the imaginative and phantaftick part; because our fancy being an imperfect and higher faculty is ufually pleafed with the entertainments of fhadows and gauds; and becaufe the things of the World fill it with fuch beauties and phantaftick imagenary, the fancy prefents fuch objects as amiable to the affections and elective powers. Perfons of fancy, fuch as are women and children, have always the most violent loves: but therefore if we be careful with what reprefentments we fill our fancy, we may the fooner rectifie our loves. To this purpose it is good that we tranfplant the inftruments of fancy into Religion and for this reafon Mufick was brought into Churches, and Ornaments, and Perfumes, and comely Garments, and Solemnities, and decent Ceremonics, that the bufie and lefs ditcerning fancy being bribed with its proper objects may be inftrumental to a more celeftial and fpiritual love. 3. Remove folitude or worldly cares, and multitudes of fecular bufinelles: for if thefe take up the intention and actual application of our thoughts and our employments, they will alfo poffels our paffions, which if they be filled with one object, though ignoble, cannot attend another, though more excellent. We We always contract a Friendship and Relation with those with whom we converfe: our very Countrey is dear to us for our being in it; and the Neighbours of the fame Village, and thofe that buy and fell with us, have feized upon fome portions of our Love and therefore if we dwell in the Affairs of the World, we fhall alfo grow in love with them; and all our Love or all our Hatred, all our Hopes, or all our Fears, which the eternal God would willingly fecure to himself, and esteem amongst his Treafures and precious things, fhall be spent upon Trifles and Vanities. 4. Do not only chule the things of God, but fecure your Inclinations and Aptneffes for God, and for Religion. For it will be a hard thing for a Man to do fuch a perfonal Violence to his firft Defires, as to chuse whatfoever he hath no mind to. A man will many times fatisfie the importunity and daily folicitations of his first Longings: and therefore there is nothing can fecure our Loves to God, but ftopping the natural Fountains, and making Religion to grow near the firft Defires of the Soul. 5. Converse with God by frequent Prayer. In particular, defire that your Defires may be right, and love to have your Affections regular and holy. To which purpose make very frequent Addreffes to God, by Ejaculations (and Communions, and an affiduous daily Devotion: Discover to him all your wants, complain to him of all your Affronts; do as Hezekiah did, lay your Misfortunes, and all your ill News before him; fpread them before the Lord; call to him for Health, run to him for Countel, beg of him for Pardon and it is as natural to love him, to whom we make fuch Addreffes, and of whom we have fuch Dependences, as it is for Children to love their Parents. 6. Confider the Immenfity and V aftness of the Divine Love to us, expreffed in all the Emanations of his Providence; 1. In his Creation; 2. In his Confervation of us. For it is not my Prince, or my Patron, or my Friend that fupports me,or relieves my needs; but God, who made the Corn that my Friend fends me, who Sect. 3. 207 who created the Grapes, and fupported him who hath as many dependences, and as many natural neceffities, and as perfect difabilities as my telf. God indeed made him the inftrument of his providence to me, as he hath made his own Land, or his own Cattel to him with this only difference, that God by his ministration to me intends to do him a favour and a reward which to natural inftruments he doth not. 3. In giving his Son; 4. In forgiving our fins; In adopting us to glory; and ten thousand times ten thoufand little accidents and inftances happening in the doing every of these; and it is not poffible, but for fo great Love we fhould give love again, for God we fhould give Man, for felicity we fhould part with our mifery. Nay, fo great is the Love of the Holy Sic Fear di Jefus, God incarnate, that he would leave all his tri- xit S Carpo umphant glories, and die once more for Man, if it Pud Dini were neceffary for procuring felicity to him. In the use of these inftruments Love will grow in feveral knots and fteps, like the Sugar-canes of India, according to a thousand varieties in the perfon loving; and it will be great or less in feveral perfons, and in the fame, according to his growth in Chriftianity. But in general difcourfing there are but two ftates of Love, and those are Labour of Love, and the Zeal of Love: the firft is duty, the fecond is per fection. The two States of Love to God. The leaft Love that is must be obedient, pure, fimple and communicative: that is, it muft exclude all affection to fin, and all inordinate affection to the world, and must be expreffive according to our power in the inftances of duty, and must be Love for Love's fake : and of this Love Martyrdom is the highest inftance, that is, a readinefs of mind rather to fuffer any evil than to do any. Of this our Blefled Saviour affirmed, That no man had greater love than this: that is, this is the highest point of duty, the greatest love that God requires of Man. And yet he that is the most imper fect um epift. ad Demophiles fect must have this love alfo in preparation of mind, and must differ from another in nothing, except in the degrees of promptnels and alacrity. And in this fence, he that loves God truly, (though but with a beginning and tender love) yet he loves God with all his heart, that is, with that degree of love which is the highest point of duty, and of God's charge upon us; and he that loves God with all his heart, may yet increate with the increase of God: juft as there are degrees of love to God among the Saints, and yet each of thein love him with all their powers and capacities. 2. But the greater state of love is the Zeal of love, which runs out into excrefcences and fuckers like a fruitful and pleasant tree, or burtting into gums, and producing fruits, not of a monftrous, but of an extraordinary and heroical Greatness. Concerning which, thefe cautions are to be obferved. Cautions and Rules concerning Zeal. Καλόν δε 1. If Zeal be in the beginnings of our fpiritual (8 birth, or be fhort, fudden and tranfient, or be a cona v T fequent of a Man's natural temper, or come upon @mi- any caufe but after a long growth of a temperate and well regulated love, it is to be fufpected for paffion Gal. 4. 18. and frowardnefs, rather than the vertical point of love. 7078. 2. That Zeal only is good which in a fervent love hath temperate expreflions. For let the affection boil as high as it can, yet if it boil over into irregular and ftrange actions, it will have but few, but will need many excules. Elijah was zealous for the Lord of Hofts, and yet he was fo traniported with it, that he could not receive answer from God, till by Mufick he was recompofed and tamed: and Mofe broke both the Tables of the Law by being paffionately zealous against them that brake the first. 3. Zeal must spend its greatest heat principally in thole things that concern our felves; but with great care and restraint in thofe that concern others. 4. Remember that Zeal, being an excrefence of Divine Love, muft in no fence contradict any action of love; love to God includes love to our Neighbour, and therefore no pretence of Zeal for God's Glory Phil. 3 6. muft make us uncharitable to our Brother; for that is juft fo pleafing to God, as hatred is an act of love. 5. That Zeal that concerns others, can spend it felf in nothing but arts and actions and charitable inftruments for their good: and when it concerns the good of many that one fhould fuffer, it must be done by perfons of a competent authority, and in great necelfity, in feldom instances, according to the law of God or man; but never by private right,or for trifling accidents, or in mistaken propofitions. The Zealots in the Old Law had authority to transfix and stab fome certain perfons: but God gave them warrant; it was in the cafe of Idolatry, or fuch notorious huge crimes, the danger of which was infupportable, and the cognizance of which was infallible and yet that warrant expired with the Synagogue. 6. Zeal in the inftances of our own duty and perfonal deportment is more fafe than in matters of counfel, and actions befides our juft duty, and tending towards perfection. Though in thefe inftances there is not a direct fin, even where the Zeal is lefs wary, yet there is much trouble and fome danger: (as if it be spent in the too forward vows of Chastity, and reftraints of natural and innocent liberties.) 7. Zeal may be let loofe in the inftances of internal, perfonal and fpiritual actions that are matters of direct duty; as in prayers, and acts of adoration, and thanksgiving and frequent addreffes: provided that no indirect act pafs upon them to defile them; fuch as complacency and opinions of fanctity, cenfuring others, fcruples and opinions of necellity, unnecelfary fears, fuperftitious numbrings of times and hours but let the Zeal be as forward as it will, as devout as it will, as feraphical as it will, in the direct addrefs and entercourfe with God, there is no danger, no tranfgreffion. Do all the parts of your duty as P earneft |