A09950:993
The Breastplate of Faith and Love
The breast-plate of faith and love. A treatise, wherein the ground and exercise of faith and love, as they are set upon Christ their object, and as they are expressed in good works, is explained. / Delivered in 18 sermons upon three several texts, by the late faithful and worthy minister of Jesus Christ, John Preston, Dr. in Divinity, chaplain in ordinary to his Majesty, Master of Emmanuel College in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolns Inn.The breast-plate of faith and love. A treatise, wherein the ground and exercise of faith and love, as they are set upon Christ their object, and as they are expressed in good workes, is explained. / Delivered in 18 sermons upon three severall texts, by the late faithfull and worthy minister of Iesus Christ, Iohn Preston, Dr. in Divinity, chaplaine in ordinary to his Maiesty, Master of Emmanuel Colledge in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolnes Inne.
London: printed by W. Jones for Nicolas Bourne, 1630London: printed by W. Iones for Nicolas Bourne, 1630
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
First,1 you must love him with all your hearts, and with all your soul, you know that is every where required in the Scriptures. That is, the Lord will have the whole stream of your affections, and desires, and intentions, and your endeavours to run to him; there must not any riveret run out of it, it must not be drained away, but the whole stream must all be bestowed upon him, there must be no division there, you must not say here, as he saith, My Country, and my father, and my children, and my friends have a part in my love, but the Lord must have all, and there is good reason for it, because he bestowed all on you. It is in this love as it is in marriage, in that there is no corrival admitted, but there must be all in all: for the husband must bestow himself wholly on his wife, and the wife on the husband; so if you love the Lord, if the match ⟨p. 158⟩be made between you, there is all in that equality; if the Lord bestow all on you, and you should bestow but half on him, there would be no equality, there would be an unevenness. But when you bestow all on him, when you love him with all your heart, and with all your soul, that makes the match between you.
First,1 you must love him with all your hearts, and with all your soule, you know that is every where requyred in the Scriptures. That is, the Lord will have the whole streame of your affections, and desires, and intentions, and your endeavours to runne to him; there must not any riveret runne out of it, it must not be drained away, but the whole streame must all be bestowed upon him, there must be no division there, you must not say here, as he saith, My Countrie, and my father, and my children, and my friends have a part in my love, but the Lord must have all, and there is good reason for it, because he bestowed all on you. It is in this love as it is in marriage, in that there is no corrivall admitted, but there must be all in all: for the husband must bestowe himselfe wholly on his wife, and the wife on the husband; so if you love the Lord, if the match ⟨p. 158⟩be made betweene you, there is all in that equalitie; if the Lord bestowe all on you, and you should bestowe but halfe on him, there would be no equalitie, there would be an unennesse. But when you bestowe all on him, when you loue him with all your heart, and with all your soule, that makes the match betweene you.