A Practical Commentary on the Epistle of Jude

2. An intermission of the acts and exercise of love, when God is forgotten, duty neglected, sin unmortified, no ca•e of; or frequency in private communion with God, no sweet thoughts of him, Psal. 63. 6. Psal: 104. 34. where we love there will be musing on the object beloved, there will be familiarity and intimateness of converse, there is not a day can pass but love will find some errand and occasion to confer with God, either to implore his help or ask his counsel; but now when men can pass over whole days and weeks, and never give God a visit, such strangeness argueth little love: Again, when there is no care of glorifying God, no plo•tings and contrivings how we may be most useful for him; when we do not mourn over sin as we were wont to do, are not so sensible of offences, have not these meltings of heart, are not so careful to avoid all occasions of offending God, are not so watchful, so zealous, as we were wont to be, do not rise up in arms against temptations and carnal thoughts, love is decayed certainly, when the sense of our obligations to Christ is warm upon the heart, sin doth not scape so freely, love will not endure it to live and act in the •ear, Tit. 2 11. 12. Gen. 39, 9. but now as this is worn off, the heart is not watched; the ⟨p. 521⟩tongue is not bridled, speeches are idle, yea rotten and profane, wrath and envy tyrannize over the Soul, all runneth to riot in the poor neglected heart; yea further, Gods public worship is performed perfunctorily, and in a careless stupid manner, sin confessed without remorse and sense of the wrong done to God, prayer made for spiritual blessings without desire of obtaining, wrath deprecated without any fear of the danger, intercession for others without any sympathy or brotherly Love, thanks given without any esteem of the benefits or affection to God in the remembrance of them, conference of holy things is either none at all, or very slight and careless, hearing without attention, reading without a desire of profit, singing without any delight or melody of heart. All this is but the just account of an heart declining in the love of God.