iq ih rho Chap.' 2. Oftbe Love ofGod,and the contraries thereto. Corn.I, P 1.16. u. Eye to fee it ) paifethall thefe. The Prophet faith, that he law the likenefs of God but ina Vifion, and it filled him. 2.. The invifible Beauty Saint Aagufline tells us how to find. It may be ( faith he ) that thou loveft a Man bccaufehe is thy friend , may it not be alto that he is an Old.man ? And what loveft thou then in him ? His Head is white , his Body crooked, and his Face wrinkled : but thou wilt fay, fidelis homo eJF, he is a faithful Man ; well,faith he quibua audit videtar i fidei, üfdem videtur Deua : with what Eyes is that teen ? ofFaith. Why with the fameGod is feen. God is feen with the Eyes of Faith by nothing more. And in Godwe haveperfeft reft ; but fet thine Eye or Heart upon any other Countenance , or onany earthly pleafure, thou (halt find no reft in it ; but quicquid eft quofatigationi occurritur, whatfoever meets with wearinefs, the fame thing in fatigationem vertimr, turneth to wearinefs ; it wearieth us,if we fix our Eyesbut a whileupon it. z. Propinquity,or neerncfs. Name any name ofneernefs(not thatof Dominus and Rev. tg.ro. fermi excepted ) and there this love is: and that is a great priviledge ofours, that the Angels are not our Lords, but Fellow.fervants. John z f' ` f' z. But the name of Friend is ofgreater propinquity, One Saviour faith,I call you not Servants. but Friends; and fuch a Friendas (notwithftandinghis glorious eftate) made him not think fcorn tobe our Friend; and in the pinch ofour adverlty did moft of all thew his love to us. a. The name of Brother is yet neerer; yet we John _0.17. fee he vouchfafed to call us fo. Go tell my Brethren, &c. And whereas naturally Ge,,.37,1. if there be many Brethren , it qualifieth the affeftion ofParents , as 7acob loved 3ofeph more than all his Children ; here it is otherwife. Betides, Brethren accord- ing to the flefh are a means, that the Inheritance continueth not whole. But this Brother is fo far from witholding any of the Inheritance from us, as that having two rights, he was content to part with one, to entitleuowith the fame. 3. Befrdes Luk, t =.t 3. this he is our Father , Deut.3z. 6. and not asa Father after the flefh , that begets them haply to a benefit,it may be to a curie. q,.He is an Husband,married tous.Cant. a jealous God. g. But yetfarther, there isone propinquity more; he was not near Heb.:. =7. enough , when the Apoftle faid It behoved him in all things to be like us; but is. he took uponhimour nature, the Seed ofAbraham: and that is tobe like us indeed in all things , fin only excepted , which made us unlike to him ; that there might be perfc&hu amor, abi perfetta lfimilitudo, apedal love, where there is a per- fect likenefs. Eta,ra r. 3. The laft motive is benefit. Setup a Crib andput provender in it, and the Oxe and the Als will know you for it; fo it is in the cafeof benefit betweenMan, and Man : they that have more given, or forgiven them, are apt to love more. Love in- creafeth, and decreafeth, according to benefits received. And this the Heathen Man could confefs to be but Julice, Hoc certe juflitia convenir, foam eaique raddere be- nificiogratiam, certainly this is confonant to Juftice, to render thanks for every ones benefit .Now what benefits dothGod confer, that we arefetli & refetti made Lai. 7.47. and renewed, is from his goodnefs ; our own Tables will inftrutt us how bountiful he is in ferving up the Creatures for our ufe ; fo promotion , riches , honour, they come not from Men, but from God : Ipfe eft quiinclinavit corda corms, whatfo- everbenefit we receive from Men, we are accountable to God for all. If then we are to love for every benefit , then are we not tyed to love him , that dedit , gave his Son for a price, ér {firitum, and his fpirit for a pledge , & fervat fetaneans in premium, and referved himfelf only for a Crown, or reward of the love we (hall afford hint. If we know not his Crib , let the Oxe and theAfs teachus. Now the proper figns of Love, are patience, and obedience; which are alto the propereffects of Love, of which we(hall fpeak afterwards. Others handle them more particularly, and diftinguith them by fixfeveral figns. r. The firft is if the heart be well affected towards God,by often thinkingof him e for our Saviour tellsus,where our Treafure is (or that which we love)there will beour Mat. 6. ti. hearts alto. By our hearts,our love will beknown; andby the thoughts of our heart Mark 8,t4, we may know what we love, what we think ofmolt. Wehave an example of this in Saint A(ark Our Saviour taught his Difciples to beware ofthe Leavenof the Pharifees; now becaufe their thoughts ran upon Bread which they had forgotten to
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