(i.) Our love to God must be entire, and that, in regard of the subject, it must
(i.) A fullness (Col. 1:19). He has a fullness of grace to cleanse us, and of glory to crown us; a fullness not only of sufficiency, but of redundancy. He is a sea of goodness without bottom and banks.
(ii.) A freeness. God has an innate propensity to dispense mercy and grace; He drops as the honeycomb. "Whoever will, let him take of the water of life freely" (Rev. 22:17). God does not require that we should bring money with us, only appetite.
(iii.) A propriety, or property. We must know that this fullness in God is ours. "This God is our God" (Psalm 48:14). Here is the ground of love - His Deity, and the interest we have in Him.
3. The kinds of love - which I shall branch into these three:
(i.) There is a love of appreciation. When we set a high value upon God as being the most sublime and infinite good, we so value God, as that if we have Him, we do not care though we lack all things else. The stars vanish when the sun appears. All creatures vanish in our thoughts when the Sun of righteousness shines in His full splendour.
(ii ) A love of satisfaction and delight - as a man takes delight in a friend whom he loves. The soul that loves God rejoices in Him as in his treasure, and rests in Him as in his centre. The heart is so set upon God that it desires no more. "Shew us the Father, and it is enough" (John 14:8).
(iii.) A love of benevolence - which is a wishing well to the cause of God. He who is endeared in affection to his friend, wishes all happiness to him. This is to love God when we are well-wishers. We desire that His interest may prevail. Our vote and prayer is that His name may be had in honour; that His gospel. which is the rod of His strength, may, like Aaron's rod, blossom and bring forth fruit.
4. The properties of love.
(i.) Our love to God must be entire, and that, in regard of the subject, it must be with the whole heart. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart" (Mark 12:30). In the old law, a high priest was not to marry with a widow, nor with a harlot - not with a widow, because he had not her first love; nor with a harlot, because he had not all her love. God will have the whole heart. "Their
heart is divided" (Hos. 10:2). The true mother would not have the child divided; and God will not have the heart divided. God will not be an inmate, to have only one room in the heart, and all the other rooms let out to sin. It must be an entire love.
(ii.) It must be a sincere love. "Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus in sincerity" (Eph. 6:24). Sincere; it alludes to honey that is quite pure. Our love to God is sincere, when it is pure and without self-interest: this the school-men call a love of friendship. We must love Christ, as Augustine says, for Himself: as we love sweet wine for its taste. God's beauty and love must be the two loadstones to draw our love to Him. Alexander had two friends, Hephestion and Craterus, of whom he said, "Hephestion loves me because I am Alexander; Craterus loves me became I am king Alexander." The one loved his person, the other loved his gifts. Many love God because He gives them corn and wine, and not for His intrinsic excellencies. We must love God more for what He is, than for what He bestows. True love is not mercenary. You need not hire a mother to love her child: a soul deeply in love with God needs not be hired by rewards. It cannot but love Him for that lustre of beauty that sparkles forth in Him.
(iii.) It must be a fervent love. The Hebrew word for love signifies ardency of affection. Saints must be seraphim, burning in holy love. To love one coldly, is the same as not to love him. The sun shines as hot as it can. Our love to God must be intense and vehement; like coals of juniper, which are most acute and fervent (Psalm 120:4). Our love to transitory things must be indifferent; we must love as if we did not love (1 Cor. 7:30). But our love to God must flame forth. The spouse was sick of love to Christ (Cant. 2:5). We can never love God as He deserves. As God's punishing us is less than we deserve (Ezra 9:13), so our loving Him is less than He deserves.
(iv.) Love to God must be active. It is like fire, which is the most active element; it is called the labour of love (I Thess. 1:3). Love is no idle grace; it sets the head studying for God, the feet running in the ways of His commandments. "The love of Christ constrains" (2 Cor. 5:14). Pretences of love are insufficient. True love is not only seen at the tongue's end, but at the finger's end; it is the labour of love. The living creatures, mentioned in Ezekiel 1:8, had wings - an emblem of a good Christian. He has not only the wings of faith to fly, but hands under his wings: he works by love, he spends and is spent for Christ.
(v.) Love is liberal. It has love tokens to bestow (I Cor. 13:4). Charity is kind.
Love has not only a smooth tongue, but a kind heart. David's heart was fired with love to God, and he would not offer that to God which cost him nothing (2 Sam. 24:24). Love is not only full of good will, but good deeds. Love which enlarges the heart, never closes the hand. He who loves Christ, will be liberal to His members. He will be eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame. The backs and bellies of the poor shall be the furrows where he sows the golden seeds of liberality. Some say they love God, but their love is lame in one hand, they give nothing to good uses. Indeed faith deals with invisibles, but God hates that love which is invisible. Love is like new wine, which will have vent; it vents itself in good works. The apostle speaks it in honour of the Macedonians, that they gave to the poor saints, not only up to, but beyond their power (2 Cor. 8:3). Love is bred at court, it is a noble munificent grace.
(vi.) Love to God is particular. He who is a lover of God gives Him such a love as he gives to none else. As God gives His children such a love as He does not bestow upon the wicked - electing, adopting love; so a gracious heart gives to God such a special distinguishing love as none else can share in. "I have married you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ" (2 Cor. 11:2). A wife married to one husband gives him such a love as she has for none else; she does not part with her conjugal love to any but her husband. So a saint married to Christ gives Him a particular love, a love not given to any other, namely, a love joined with adoration. Not only the love is given to God, but the soul. "A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse" (Cant. 4:12). The heart of a believer is Christ's garden. The flower growing in it is love mixed with divine worship, and this flower is for the use of Christ alone. The spouse keeps the key of the garden, that none may come there but Christ.
(vii.) Love to God is permanent. It is like the fire the vestal virgins kept at Rome, it does not go out. True love boils over, but does not give over. Love to God, as it is sincere without hypocrisy, so it is constant without apostasy. Love is like the pulse of the body, always beating; it is not a land, but a spring flood. As wicked men are constant in love to their sins, neither shame, nor sickness, nor fear of hell, will make them give over their sins; so, nothing can hinder a Christian's love to God. Nothing can conquer love, not any difficulties, or oppositions. "Love is strong as the grave" (Cant. 8:6). The grave swallows up the strongest bodies: so love swallows up the strongest difficulties. "Many waters cannot quench love" (Cant. 8:7). Neither the sweet waters of pleasure, nor the bitter waters of persecution. Love to God abides firm to death. "Being rooted and grounded in love" (Ephes. 3:17). Light things, as chaff and feathers, are quickly blown away, but a tree that is rooted abides the storm; he who is