Mount Ebal, or A heavenly treatise of divine love Showing the equity and necessity…Mount Ebal, or A heavenly treatise of divine love Shewing the equity and necessity…

Now it may be thou art a Magistrate, a master of a family, a Minister, a Tutor, or any other governor, and then thou must do God more service then another private and inferior person; thou mayst compel them that are under thee, to love the Lord by thy authority and example; God looks for this (I say) at thy hands; for to whom much is given, of them much shall be required; thou art but as a servant sent to market, which must give an account for what he hath received, and the more money he hath given him to bestow and lay out, the more commodities his master looks he should bring home with him for it; so the more wit or understanding, or learning, or knowledge, or authority, and power ⟨p. 38⟩thou hast, the more love must thou bear unto Christ, and show it by thy bringing forth more fruits thereof unto him, then others that have none of all these opportunities, or not in so great a measure as thou hast, this is the first thing.

Now it may be thou art a Magistrate, a master of a family, a Minister, a Tutor, or any other governour, and then thou must doe God more service then another private and inferiour person; thou mayst compell them that are under thee, to love the Lord by thy authority and example; God lookes for this (I say) at thy hands; for to whom much is given, of them much shall be required; thou art but as a servant sent to market, which must give an account for what hee hath received, and the more money hee hath given him to bestow and lay out, the more commodities his master lookes he should bring home with him for it; so the more wit or understanding, or learning, or knowledge, or authority, and power ⟨p. 38⟩thou hast, the more love must thou beare unto Christ, and shew it by thy bringing forth more fruits thereof unto him, then others that have none of all these oportunities, or not in so great a measure as thou hast, this is the first thing.

Secondly, thou must love him above all things in the world besides, whether it be pleasure, or honour, or pride, or profit, or what else thou wilt, or canst name besides; yea thou must love him above thy self and thine own salvation; so that if his glory, and any, or all of these come in competition together, thou canst be content to be accursed for his sake, to have thy name razed out of the book of life, and to be Anathema for Christ; then is thy love such as God will accept of, for this is that self-denial which Christ himself speaks of, and calls for of us.