Oh charge thy sin with this aggravation, Oh thou sinner! What against such a God, such Love, Oh what 1a vile heart have I! Saith Augustin, Oh 'tis too hard a spirit; 2that though it will not bestow Love, yet it will not requite Love. O! let not there be such a hardness in the Spirits of the Saints. Thou diddest not begin with God to love, thou diddest not begin to bestow Love; be not so hard towards God as not to requite Love. Do not we see how ⟨p. 89⟩base Love can gain upon mens hearts, adulterous love, 3what strong bonds that love is, the giving of gifts and bribes, what bonds they are to tie mens harts, their hands and tongues! and shall not the Love of God and the fruits of that be a stronger Bond to tie thy heart unto him? Nothing goes more to the heart of Man of God than the abuse of Love: A man can better bear the abuse of his money, the abuse of any thing he doth, or hath, than the abuse of his Love: Gods Spirit is grieved with his Saints: we do not read that the Spirit of God is grieved with the Wicked, God may be angry with the wicked every day, but not grieved, but when the Saints sin against him the Spirit of God is grieved, because their 4sins are against Love; when thou sinnest against God the Lord looks upon thee, as Caesar once upon Brutus; What, thou my Son! What, thou whom I have so loved! What, 5break all those bonds. When we read in the second Psal. of the Kings and Princes of the Earth, that said, Let us break their Bonds asunder, and cast away their Cords from us, We think that's great Rebellion; but for thou that professest thy self to be Gods, it's a greater evil to break these bonds of Love; Oh! thou my Son, my Child, thou whom I have bestowed so much Love upon, yet thou to sin against me, when thou art committing of any evil, 6conceive with thy self as if God were looking upon thee, and pleading with thee, by all those fruits of his love that ever thou hast received from him, and wilt thou yet sin against him for all this? We read in Mark 14. 72. 7when Peter had sinned, Christ did but look upon him, and he wept bitterly; Oh! Peter saw love in the looks of Jesus Christ, and therefore we know after when Christ came to him, he pleaded with him with this argument of love, Doest thou love me? and doest thou love me? Oh!
Oh charge thy sin with this aggravation, Oh thou sinner! What against such a God, such Love, Oh what 1a vile heart have I! Saith Augustin, Oh 'tis too hard a spirit; 2that though it will not bestow Love, yet it will not requite Love. O! let not there be such a hardness in the Spirits of the Saints. Thou didest not begin with God to love, thou didest not begin to bestow Love; be not so hard towards God as not to requite Love. Do not we see how ⟨p. 89⟩base Love can gain upon mens hearts, adulterous love, 3what strong bonds that love is, the giving of gifts and bribes, what bonds they are to tie mens harts, their hands and tongues! and shall not the Love of God and the fruits of that be a stronger Bond to tie thy heart unto him? Nothing goes more to the heart of Man of God than the abuse of Love: A man can better bear the abuse of his mony, the abuse of any thing he doth, or hath, than the abuse of his Love: Gods Spirit is grieved with his Saints: we do not reade that the Spirit of God is grieved with the Wicked, God may be angry with the wicked every day, but not grieved, but when the Saints sin against him the Spirit of God is grieved, because their 4sins are against Love; when thou sinnest against God the Lord looks upon thee, as Caesar once upon Brutus; What, thou my Son! What, thou whom I have so loved! What, 5break all those bonds. When we reade in the second Psal. of the Kings and Princes of the Earth, that said, Let us break their Bonds asunder, and cast away their Cords from us, We think that's great Rebellion; but for thou that professest thy self to be Gods, it's a greater evil to break these bonds of Love; Oh! thou my Son, my Child, thou whom I have bestowed so much Love upon, yet thou to sin against me, when thou art committing of any evil, 6conceive with thy self as if God were looking upon thee, and pleading with thee, by all those fruits of his love that ever thou hast received from him, and wilt thou yet sin against him for all this? We reade in Mark 14. 72. 7
- 1Use.
- 2Ni••• durus est animus, qui amore & si nolebat impendere, noltt rependare. August.
- 3Adulterous love. Gifts.
- 4The Spirit grieved only by the Saints.
- 5[Greek or Hebrew]〈non-Latin alphabet〉
- 6A meditation for a Saint about to sin.
- 7Mark. 14. 72.
