Looking unto Jesus a view of the everlasting gospel, or, the souls eying of…

SECT. VI. Of loving Jesus in that respect.

6. WE must love Jesus, as carrying on that great work of our Salvation in that Eternity. And this is the fruit, or effect of Faith; if once we believe that all those designs, and transactions were for us, even for us; O then how should we but love that God, and love that Christ who thus firstly and freely loved us? God loved us before we loved him; for he loved us in that Eternity before all Worlds, surely then we are bound to love him: First, and above all things. As the Diamond formeth and fashioneth the Diamond, so love formeth and fashioneth Love; or as fire converteth Fuel into Fire, so this ancient love of God and Christ may well cause our love again. O Christ! didst not thou love us? who doubts it, that but reads over the project, counsel, foreknowledge, purpose, decree, and covenant of God and Christ? who doubts it that but ⟨p. 52⟩reads the eternal design of God, that Christ should go out of himself, and suffer an ecstasy through the vehemency of his love? that Christ should so far abase his Majesty as to dye for us, that we might not dye, but live with him? O then how should this but kindle in our hearts a most ardent love towards God and Christ? what more effectual motive to work mans love, then to be prevented by the love & bounty of another? That this fruit doth spring from the sense of our Election, Bernard observes, who is righteous but he that requiteth the love of God with love again? ¹which is never done, except the holy Ghost reveal unto a man by faith, Gods eternal purpose concerning his future salvation. And hence it is that the heart is most in frame, when it is a considering the eternal love of God in Christ:² As David said of Jonathan, thou hast been very pleasant to me, thy love to me was wonderful; so a poor soul gathering up all the goodness of God in that Eternity, and feeding upon it, and the variety of it, it breaths out in that expression, thou hast been very pleasant to me O God, thy love to me hath been wonderful. O my soul, that thou couldest so live by faith on these eternal passages, as that thou mightest attain to the highest fruits of faith, not only to love God and Christ, but to love them with a burning love, with a mighty love, such a love as lies in the most vigorous prosecution after Jesus Christ, and in the most faithful resignation of thy self to God;