of the PERSON of CHRIST. 105 unaccountable raptures or extafies whichare pretended unto; nor fuck an artificial concatenation of thoughts, as fome ignorant of thefe things do boaft that they_can give an account of: our love to Chrift arifeth alone from the revelation that is made ofhim in the fcripture, is ingenerated, re- gulated, meafured, and is to be judged thereby. *°vGootstog:ti4l:v tikosr,kw+.7o±7t;;1cvweotvactbiáeze:ox0r}* an!9 M'x.',NE'i%.'.E.'J,EN'vt'.E "z.Y 'MMEMON riO:,.400v:3'.70:tJt700:7.9;}7r}Wtt1:700:9iZS0000'sr`'3:VtratiTtOtlt,tit CHAP. XIV. Motives unto the Love of CHRIST. `H E motives unto this love of Chrift, is the laft thing on this macc,, T 44 head of our religious refpeft unto him, that I (hall fpeak 4 unto. When God required of the church the first and high- gl,m eft anof religion, the foie foundation of all others, namely, to take him as their God, to own, believe' and truft in him alone as fuch, which is wholly due unto him for what he is, without any other confideration whatever; yet he thought meet to add a motive unto the performance of that duty from what he had done forthem, Exod. xx. 1, 2. The fenfe ofthe first command is, that we fhould take him alone for our God; for he is fo,' and there is no other. But in the prefcription of this duty unto the church, he minds them of the benefits which they had received from him, in bringing them out ofthe houfe ofbondage. God in his wifdom and grace ordereth all the caufes and reafons ofour duty, fo as that all the rational powers and faculties of our fouls may be exercifed therein. Wherefore he doth not only propofe himfelf unto us, nor is Chrift meetly .propofed unto us as the proper objeil of our affeftions, but he calls us alto unto the confederation of all thofe things, that may fatisfy our fouls that it is the molt juft, neceffary, reafonable and advantagious courfe for us fo to fix our afe&ions on him. And thefe confiderations are taken fromall that he did for us, with the reafons and grounds why he did it. We love him principally and ultimately for what heis; but nextly and immediately for what he did. What he did for us, is first propofed unto us, and it isthat which our fouls are first afFefted withal. For they are originally ailed in all things bya fenfe of the want which they have, and a deftreofthe bleffednefs which they have not. This directs them un- to what he hath done for linnets. But that leads immediately unto the confideration ofwhat he is in himfelf: And when our love. is fixed on him, or his perfon, then all thofe things wherewith from a fenfe of our own wants and defireswe were first affefted, become motives unto the confirm- ing andencreafingofthat love. This is the conftant method ofthe fcripture; itfirst propofeth untous what the Lord Chrift halt done for us, efpecially in the difcharge of his facerdotal office, in his oblation and interceflion, with the benefits which we receive thereby. Hereby it leads us unto his perfon, and preffeth the confideration of Anther things to ingage our love , unto him. SeePhil. ü. g, 6, 7,8, g, lo. withchap. üi.8, 9, 10,11. D d The
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