The Breastplate of Faith and Love

¹Yes, this is a great means: Mary loved much, because much was forgiven her, that is, Mary Magdalen had great sense of her sins, the Lord had opened her eyes to see what a one she had been, what sins she had committed: And because she had that sense of her sins, her eyes were open to see her own vileness: thence it is, saith he, she loved much. For when we are humble and poor in spirit, when we are little in our own eyes, then the Lord will come and show mercy on us; when a man shall see his sin, and shall think with himself, I am worthy to be destroyed, I can expect nothing but death, then the Lord shall come suddenly as it were, and shall tell us you shall live, and shall reconcile himself to us, this will command love. We shall never receive the Gospel as to love Christ, till we come to poverty of spirit, till we be thus humbled: as in the first of Luke, it is the speech of Mary, My soul doth magnify the Lord: and why? because he had respect to the poor estate of his handmaiden: When she was little in her own eyes, and made no account of her self, and thought not her self worthy to be looked after, the Lord comes and takes her, and vouchsafes her such an honour as to cause his own Son to be borne of her: now she could not hold, but that was it that inflamed ⟨p. 53⟩her heart with love to the Lord, my soul doth magnify the Lord, because he had respect to the poor estate of his handmaid: So we see in David, you never find a greater expression of love in David, than at that time when he was most humbled, when the Prophet came to him and told him what the Lord would do for him, that he would build him and house; David begins to consider what he was, what is David, saith he, What am I, or what is my fathers house? That is, I am but a poor miserable man, I am but thus borne, what have I done that the Lord should respect me so far? If David had not been so little and so vile in his own eyes, those great mercies had never so wrought on his heart. And therefore I say, the way to make us abundant in love is to consider our sins, to be humbled, to consider what we are, and to conceive from thence the kindness of the Lord:

¹Yes, this is a great meanes: Mary loved much, because much was forgiven her, that is, Mary Magdalen had great sense of her sinnes, the Lord had opened her eyes to see what a one shee had beene, what sinnes she had committed: And because she had that sense of her sinnes, her eyes were open to see her owne vilenesse: thence it is, saith he, she loved much. For when we are humble and poore in spirit, when we are little in our owne eyes, then the Lord will come and shew mercy on us; when a man shall see his sinne, and shall thinke with himselfe, I am worthy to be destroyed, I can expect nothing but death, then the Lord shall come sodainly as it were, and shall tell us you shall live, and shall reconcile himselfe to us, this will command love. We shall never receive the Gospell as to love Christ, till we come to poverty of spirit, till we be thus humbled: as in the first of Luke, it is the speech of Mary, My soule doth magnifie the Lord: and why? because he had respect to the poore estate of his handmaiden: When she was little in her owne eyes, and made no account of her selfe, and thought not her selfe worthy to be looked after, the Lord comes and takes her, and vouchsafes her such an honour as to cause his owne Sonne to be borne of her: now she could not holde, but that was it that enflamed