516 THE LOVE OP GOD. the esteemofthe judgment : He must beloved with all the soul, that is, with the strongest attachment ofthe will to him : He must be loved with all the heart, that is; with'the warntest and sincerest affection : And he must beloved with all the'strength, that is, this love must be manifested by the utmost exercise and activity of all the inferior powers. The heart in the language of scripture, and in the common sense of men, is the seat of the passions, that is, of fear, hope, love, hatred, joy, sorrow, shame, desire, and such like, which are usually called the passions or affections of the heart, I shall not stand in this place to give a more exact or philosophical account ofthem, having done that in another treatise.* If it be enquired, why the heart is said to be the seat of thepassions, there is this good reason for it, viz. It is by sensibleeffects on the heart, that several of theaffections do chieflyexert andmanifest themselves ; and itwas chiefly for this reason that Jewish philosophygave the soul of man its chief residence in the heart, and made it to be the seat of the passions. The heart also in scripture, and in almost all nations and languages, is used to express or imply sincerity ; what is done from the heart is done sincerely, perhaps, because the passions are naturally sincere, and are not so easy to be disguisedas the outward actions of men. Now, since it is my design to treat of the exercisesof the passions, or affections ofthe heart in the affairs of religion, T have chosen this sentence as the foundation of my discourses. The plain and obvious proposition contained in the words is this, viz. " The Lordour God is the proper object of our most sincere affection, and our supreme lave." It is not enough for the eye tobe lifted up to him, or the knee to bow before him ; it is not enough for the tongue tospeak ofhim, or the hand to act for his interest in theworld ; all this maybe done by painted hypocrites, whose religion is all disguise and vanity : But the heart with all the inward powers and passions must be devoted tohim in the first place: This is religion indeed. The great God values not the service of men, if the heart be not in it : The Lord sees andjudges the heart ; he has no regard to outward forms of wor ship, ifthere be nó inward adoration, if no devout affection be employed therein. It is therefore a matter of infinite import- ance, tohave the whole heart engaged stedfastly for God. If this be done we shall have a sufficient evidence in ourselves, that we are truly religious, and arebeloved of God. In treating this subject, I shall consider these seven things : I. What ispresupposed and implied in the affectionate and supreme love of God. II. What will be the eflècts of this * The Doctrineof thePassions, page 447.
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