A64995:104
The true Christians love of the unseen Christ, or, A discourse chiefly tending to…
The true Christians love of the unseen Christ, or, A discourse chiefly tending to excite and promote the decaying love of Christ in the hearts of Christians with an appendix concerning Christs manifestation of himself to them that love him / by Thomas Vincent.
London: printed by J.R. for Samuel Sprint, 1677
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.
SECT. XII.
The 2d. sort of Motives to excite your Love to Christ, may be drawn from the consideration of Christs love unto true Christians. If you are Christians indeed, Christ loveth you, 1. with the Freeest Love. 2. With the Truest Love. 3. With the Strongest Love. 4. With the surest Love.
THe 2d. sort of Motives to excite your Love to Christ, may be drawn from the consideration of Christs love unto true Christians. If you are Christians indeed, Christ loveth you, 1. with the Freeest Love. 2. With the Truest Love. 3. With the Strongest Love. 4. With the surest Love.
1. Consider that Christ Loveth you with the Freest Love: There are many motives and attractives for your Love to Christ, but Christs love to you is most free; nothing in your selves to draw and engage his love, except deformity and enmity to him, except filthiness which he loatheth, and wickedness which his soul hateth be motives. There is no man in the world that loveth you but he findeth or fancieth some loveliness in you, something ⟨p. 75⟩to be a motive to draw his love to you; wit is a motive to some, wealth to others, beauty to some, strength to others, near Relation to some, dear love to others, liberality to some, service to others; greatness to some, goodness to others; likeness whether it be in good or evil is a motive to the love of the most; But Christs first love to you, is altogether free, that which is a motive to men and induceth their love to you is no motive to incline the Love of Christ: the sin which you brought into the world with you, and the many sins which since you came into the world have been committed by you, are enough to shut out all motives of Love in Christ, unto whom all sin is so odious and abominable. Whatever motive induced Christ to love you, it was not drawn from your selves, but it was drawn from his own bowels. And will not this free love of Christ incline you to love him? Doth he love you most freely, and will not you love him most dearly? Did Christ love you without any motive to draw his love? and will not you love Christ in whom there are so many motives to draw your love? Did Christ begin to love, and will not you make a return? Did Christ love you under your deformity, and will not you love him in whom there is such perfect