Gods free mercy to England presented as a precious and powerful motive to humiliationGods free mercy to England presented as a pretious and powerfull motive to humiliation

If Englands mercies come from free grace, let England serve God freely. God loves a free people, a free-will offering: let the ¹service of God come freely from us; God gives us freely, let us give freely to Ireland, The Papists upbraid us Protestants (I know not how truly) that there was never any Law made for rates for the relief of the poor, till the reformation of Religion; in times of Popery they gave freely without compulsion. It is for the hardness of our hearts that there needs such a law: let us be ashamed to •e out-striped by Papists in our free serving of God. I deny not, but that it is lawful for a man with Moses to have an eye to the recompense of reward; but there is a great deal of difference between Amor mercenarius, and amor mercedis, between mercenary love, and the love of the reward: Mercenary love is to serve God only for reward, this is meretricious love, this is to serve our selves, not God; this is to make use of God, to enjoy our selves; but the love of the reward, is to make Heaven a motive of our service, but not the last, nor the greatest. A right Christian loves Heaven for God, not God only for Heaven. He that loves God only for heaven, loves God for that which is inferior to God. Chrysostom hath an excellent saying, If God should command me to obey him, & afterwards throw me into hell, yet I would obey him. This is my Heaven to be obedient, this is my meat and drink to do the will of God. Merces amoris amor, He that loves God, that loved us freely, will love him freely.

If Englands mercies come from free grace, let England serve God freely. God loves a free people, a free-will offering: let the ¹service of God come freely from us; God gives us freely, let us give freely to Ireland, The Papists upbraid us Protestants (I know not how truly) that there was never any Law made for rates for the reliefe of the poore, till the reformation of Religion; in times of Popery they gave freely without compulsion. It is for the hardnesse of our hearts that there needs such a law: let us be ashamed to •e out-striped by Papists in our free serving of God. I deny not, but that it is lawfull for a man with Moses to have an eye to the recompence of reward; but there is a great deale of difference betweene Amor mercenarius, and amor mercedis, betweene mercinary love, and the love of the reward: Mercinary love is to serve God onely for reward, this is meretricious love, this is to serve our selves, not God; this is to make use of God, to enjoy our selves; but the love of the reward, is to make Heaven a motive of our service, but not the last, nor the greatest. A right Christian loves Heaven for God, not God onely for Heaven. He that loves God onely for heaven, loves God for that which is inferiour to God. Chrysostme hath an excellent saying, If God should command me to obey him, & afterwards throw me into hell, yet I would obey him. This is my Heaven to be obedient, this is my meat and drinke to do the will of God. Merces amoris amor, He that loves God, that loved us freely, will love him freely.