CONFIRMED CHRISTIAN. 485 soul, and might, which therefore signifieth more than to love him as ourselves ; (or elsehe were to be loved no more than our neigh- bor.) So that the strong Christian loveth God so much above himself, as that he accounteth himself, and all his interests, as nothing incomparison of God, yea, and loveth himself-more for. God than for himself: though his own salvation be loved and de- sired by him, and God must be loved for his mercy and benignity ; yet that salvation itself which he desireth, is nothing else but the love of God; wherein his love is the final, felicitating act, and God is the final, felicitating object, and the felicity of loving is not first desired ; but the attractive object doth draw out our love, and therebymake us consequentially happy in the enjoying exercise thereof. Thus God is all and in all to the soul; Psal. lxxiii. 25. Rom. xi. 36. 1 Cor. x. 31. Deut. vi. 5. Matt. xxiii. 37. xiz. 17. 2. A weak Christian also loveth God as one that is infinitely better than himselfand all things ; (or else he did not love him at all as God.) Bpi in the .exercise he is somuch in the mindingof himself; and soseldom and weak in the contemplation of God's per- fections, that he feeleth more of his love to himself than unto God ; and feeletji more of his love to God, as for thebenefits which he receiveth in and by himself than as for his own perfections; yea, and often feeleth the love of himself to work more strongly than his love to the church and all else in the world. The care of his own salvation is the highest principle which he ordinarily perceiveth in any great strength in him; and he is very little and weakly carried out to the love of the whole church, -and tó the love of God above himself; Phil. ii. 20-22. 1 Cor. x. 24: Jer. xlv. 5. 3. A seeming Christian bath a common love of God as he is good, both in himself, and unto theworld, and unto him. But this is not for his holiness ; and it is but a general, ineffectual appro- bationand praise of God, which followetha dead, ineffectual belief : but his chief, predominant love is always to his carnal self, and the love both of his soul, and ofGod, is subjected to his fleshly self - love. Hie chief love to God is for prospering him in the world, and such as is subservient to his sensuality, pride, covetousness, presumption, and false hopes ; Luke xviii. 21, 22. 1 John ii. 15. 2 Tim. M. 2. 4. John xii. 43. v. 42. VII. 1. A Christian indeed doth practically, take this love of God, and the holy expressions ofit, to be the very life and top of his religion, and the very life, and beauty, and pleasure of his soul : hemakes it his work in the world, and loveth himsélf (complacen- tially) but so far as he findeth in himself the love of God ; and so
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