A34689:3967
A practical commentary, or an exposition with observations, reasons, and uses upon the first…A practicall commentary, or an exposition with observations, reasons, and vses upon the first…
A practical commentary, or an exposition with observations, reasons, and uses upon the first Epistle general of John by ... John Cotton ...A practicall commentary, or an exposition with observations, reasons, and vses upon the first Epistle generall of John by ... John Cotton ...
London: printed by M.S. for Thomas Parkhurst, 1658
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.
3. From the […] to […] his love there more abundantly, where he finds […] walking in love; no creature partakes of the boundless love of God, […] are grounded […] love, Eph. 3.17, 18, 19. Let but saith towards Christ, […] our brethren abound in us, and we shall have a large […] to us. According to the capacity of the receiver, so is the thing received: […] no grace is of so enlarging a nature as love is; so that if we abound in love, then we become of a fathoming ⟨p. 319⟩and comprehending nature, so that we comprehend the height, and breadth, and length, and depth of Gods love towards us.
3. From the 〈…〉 to 〈…〉 his love there more aboundantly, where he finds 〈…〉 walking in love; no creature partakes of the boundlesse love of God, 〈…〉 are grounded 〈…〉 love, Eph. 3.17, 18, 19. Let but saith towards Christ, 〈…〉 our brethren abound in us, and we shall have a large 〈…〉 to us. According to the capacity of the receiver, so is the thing received: 〈…〉 no grace is of so inlarging a nature as love is; so that if we abound in love, then we become of a fathoming ⟨p. 319⟩and comprehending nature, so that we comprehend the height, and breadth, and length, and depth of Gods love towards us.
Use 1. It exhorts us all not only to the love, but the constant love of our brethren, this is the benefit of it, you shall have constant and abiding fellowship with God; we should not only grow in love, but grow rooted in love, let no grace be so eminent in you as love; if God had said he dwells in wisdom, how should it have provoked men to study for wisdom; but God doth not say he dwells in knowledge, for what then should the ignorant do? He dwells not in honour and riches; for what then should poor men do? But he dwells in such an house as the poorest may build to God, an house of love, therefore above all endowments and gifts of soul or body, have a special care, to grow rooted in love; a man may have a world of wit, and yet God not dwell in that wit; a man may have abundance of wealth, honours, and beauty, and yet God not in them; but if you ask where God dwells, I answer, God dwells in love.