BOOK 4. THE INCARNATION.
CHAPTER 2.
4.2.6. Of Loving Jesus in that Respect.
Of Loving Jesus in that Respect.
Let us love Jesus as carrying on the great work of our salvation at his first coming or incarnation. Now, what is love, but an "expansion or egress of the heart, and spirits to the object loved, or to the object whereby it is drawn or attracted?" Mark, O my soul, whatsoever hath an attractive power, it is in that respect an object, or general cause of love. And canst thou possibly light on any object more attractive than the incarnation of Jesus Christ? If love be the loadstone of love, what an attractive is this before thee? Methinks the very sight of Christ incarnate is enough to ravish thee with the apprehension of his infinite goodness: see how he calls out, or, (as it were) draws out the soul to union, vision and participation of his glory! O come, and yield up thyself unto him; give him thyself, and conform all thy affections and actions to his will: O love him, not with a divided but with all thy heart.
But to excite this love, I shall only propound the object, which will be argument enough. Love causeth love; now as God's first love to man was in making man like himself; so his second great love was in making himself like to man: stay then a while upon this love, for (I take it) this is the greater love of the two: nay, if I must speak freely, I believe this was the fullest visible demonstration of God's love that ever was; the evangelist expresseth it thus, "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son," John iii. 16. He gave him to be incarnate, to be made flesh, and to suffer death; but the extension of his love lies in that expression, "he so loved" So, how? Why so fully, so fatherly, so freely, as no tongue can tell, no heart can think: in this love God did not only let out a mercy, give out a bare grace in itself, but he took our nature upon him. It is usually said. That it is a greater love of God to save a soul, than to make a world; and I think it was a greater love of God to take our nature than simply to save our souls; for a king to dispense with the law, and by his own prerogative to save a murderer from the gallows, is not such an act of love and mercy, as to take the murderer's clothes, and to wear them as his richest livery; why, God in taking our nature hath done thus, and more than thus; he would not save by his mere prerogative; but he takes our clothes, our flesh, and in that flesh he personates us, and in that flesh he will die for us, that we might not die, but live through him for evermore. Surely this was love, that God will be no more God, as it were simply; but he will take up another nature, rather than the brightness of his glory shall undo our souls.
It will not be amiss, (whilst I am endeavouring to draw a line of God's love in Christ, from first to last in saving souls), that here we look back a little, and summarily contract the passages of love from that eternity before all worlds unto this present.
1. God had an eternal design to discover his infinite love to some besides himself; O the wonder of this, was there any need or necessity of such a discovery? Deus unus, licet solus, non solitarious: "Though God was one, and in that respect alone, (as we may imagine) yet God was not solitary." In that eternity within his own proper essence or substance, there were three divine persons, and betwixt them there was a blessed communication of love; Christ on earth could say, "I am not alone, because the Father is with me," John xvi. 32. And then before the earth was, might the Father say, "I am not alone, for the Son, is with me;" and the Son might say, "I am not alone, for the Father is with me," and the Holy Ghost might say, "I am not alone, for both the Father and the Son are with me." Though in that eternity there was no creature to whom these three Persons should communicate their love; yet there was a glorious communication, and breaking out of love from one to another; before there was a world, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost did infinitely glorify themselves, John xvii. 5. Surely they loved one another, and they rejoiced in the fruition of one another, Prov. viii. 30. What need then was there of the discovery of God's love to any one besides himself? O my soul, I know no necessity for it, only this was the pleasure of God: "Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight." Such was the love of God, that would not contain itself within that infinite ocean of himself; but it would needs have rivers and channels into which it might run and overflow.
2. God, in prosecution of his design, creates a world of creatures, some rational, and only capable of love, others irrational, and serviceable to that one creature, which he makes the top of the whole creation; then it was that he set up one man Adam, as a common person to represent the rest; to him he gives abundance of glorious qualifications, and him he sets over all the works of his hands, as if he were the darling of love; if we should view the excellency of this creature, either in the outward or the inner man, who would not wonder? His body had its excellency, which made the Psalmist say, "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made, and curiously wrought in the lowest part of the earth," Psal. cxxxix. 14, 15. It is a speech borrowed from those who work arras-work; the body of man is a piece of curious tapestry or arras-work, consisting of skin, bones, muscles, sinews, and the like; what a goodly thing the body of man was before the fall, may be guessed by the excellent gifts found in the bodies of some men since the fall: as the complexion of David, 1 Sam. xvi. 12. The swiftness of Asahel, 2 Sam. ii. 18. The beauty of Absalom, 2 Sam. xiv. 25. If all these were but joined in one, as certainly they were in Adam; what a rare body would such an one be? But what was this body in comparison of that soul? The soul was it that was especially made after the image of God; the soul was it that was tempered in the same mortar with the heavenly spirits; the soul was God's sparkle; a beam of his divine glory, a ray or emanation of God himself; as man was the principal part of the creation, so the soul was the principal part of man: here was it that God's love and glory were centered for the time; here was it that God's love set and fixed itself in a special manner, whence flowed that communion of God with Adam, and that familiarity of Adam with God.
3. Within a while, this man, the object of God's love, fell away from God, and, as he fell, so all that were in him, even the whole world, fell together with him; and hereupon God's face was hid, not a sight of him, but in flaming fire ready to seize on the sons of men. And yet God's love would not thus leave the object; he had yet a further reach of love, and out of this dark cloud he lets fall some glimpses of another discovery: these glimpses were sweet; but, alas, they were so dark, that very few could spell them, or make any sense or comfortable application of them; but by degrees God hints it out more, he points out with the finger, by types and shadows, he makes some models of it in outward ceremonies; and yet so hid and dark, that in four thousand years, men were but guessing, and hoping through promises for a manifestation of God's love. This is the meaning of the apostle, who tells us of "the mystery that was hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints," Col. i. 26 . This love of God was hid in the breast of God from the sons of men for many an age; so that they knew not what to make of this great design: I speak of the generality of men, for in respect of some particulars, as to Adam and Abraham, and Moses, and David, and the patriarchs, you have heard the Lord made his loves clear to them in a covenant way; and still the nearer to Christ, the clearer and clearer was the covenant of grace.
4. At last, God fully opens himself in the fulness of time, God takes the flesh of those poor sinners, which he had so loved, and joins it to himself, and he calls it Christ, a Saviour; O now was it that God descended, and lay in the womb of a virgin; now was it that he is born as we are born; now was it that he joined our flesh so nigh himself, as that there is a communication of properties betwixt them both, that being attributed to God, which is proper to flesh, as to be born, to suffer; and that being attributed to flesh, which is proper to God, as to create, to redeem; who can choose but wonder when he thinks of this phrase. That a piece of flesh should be called God, and that God should be made flesh, and dwell amongst us? That flesh should infinitely provoke God, and yet God in the same flesh should be infinitely pleased? That God should veil himself and darken his glory with our flesh, and yet unveil at the same time the deepest and darkest of his designs in a comfortable way to our souls? O my soul, how shouldst thou contain thyself within thyself? How shouldst thou but leap out of thyself, (if I may so speak) as one that is lost in the admiration of this love? Surely God never manifested himself in such a strain of love as this before; herein was love manifested and commended indeed, that God would come down in our nature to us. One observes sweetly, That "God did so love the very nature of his elect, that, though for the present he had them not all with him in heaven, yet he must have their picture in his Son to see them in, and love them in." In this respect, I may call Christ incarnate, a statue and monument of God's own infinite love unto his elect forever.
Well, hitherto we have followed the passages of his love; and now we see it in the spring, or at full sea: if anything will beget our love to God, surely Christ incarnate will do it; come then, O my soul, I cannot but call on thee to love thy Jesus; and to provoke thy love, O fix thy eye on this lovely object; come put thy candle to this flame; what, doth not thy heart yet burn within thee? Dost thou not at least begin to warm? Why, draw yet a little nearer, consider what an heart of love is in this design. God is in thy own nature, to take upon him all the miseries of thy nature. Mark it well, this is none other than God's heart leaping out of itself into our bosoms, q.d. "Poor souls, I cannot keep from you, I love your very nature; I will be nothing, so you may be something; my glory shall not hinder me, but I will veil it rather than it shall hurt you; so I may but show myself kind and tender to you, and so I may but have communion with you, and you with me; I care not if I become one with you, and live with you in your very flesh." Oh, my heart, art thou yet cold in thy loves to Jesus Christ? Canst thou love him but a little who hath loved thee so much? How should I then but complain of thee to Christ? And for thy sake beg hard of God. O thou sweet Jesus, that clothest thyself with the clouds as with a garment, and as now clothest thyself with the nature of a man, O that thou wouldst inflame my spirit with a love of thee, that nothing but thyself might be dear unto me, because it so pleased thee to vilify thyself thine own self for my sake."