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"us evermore! Do thou direct, sanctify, and govern "both our hearts and bodies in the ways of thy "laws, and in the works of thy commandments; "and grant that all carnal affections may die in us, "and that all things belonging to the Spirit may "live and grow in us! Give us the fulness of thy grace, that we may have power and strength to triumph against the Devil, the world, and the "flesh that so we may walk answerably to our "Christian calling, and as becomes the children of light; and being endued with heavenly virtues, "steadfast in faith, joyful through hope, and rooted "in charity, may so pass the waves of this troublesome world, that finally we may come to thine "everlasting kingdom, there to reign with thee, "world without end, through Jesus Christ our Lord. "Amen, Amen."

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CHAP. IV.

OF THE LOVE OF OUR NEIGHBOUR.

SECT. I.

What it is truly to love our neighbour.

THE love of ourselves being considered, and the due measures of it assigned in the preceding chapter, I proceed now to treat of one genuine object more of our love, and that is our neighbour; and shew what it is regularly to love him according to the directions of the gospel: and the general rule it gives us is, to love him as ourselves a; and whatsoever we would that he should do unto us, to do even so unto him b

Now, however excellent, comprehensive, and most equitable these rules may be, and justly admired, as they are by all the world; yet, as we have seen there is great need of regulating the love of ourselves, so there is of the love of our neighbour too, notwithstanding these excellent directions, which must themselves be understood with this restriction: that is, as we ought to love ourselves, and as we would piously and reasonably desire to be done by, so should we love our neighbour, and in like circumstances so should we do by him. And the reason of this limitation is this; because otherwise, it is possible that men of corrupt minds and vile affections might do very ill things, and put in practice a Mark xii. 31.

b Matt. vii. 12.

the most unnatural and brutish lusts, under colour of being warranted by those commands of our Lord: and thereby the best rules of conversing with one another become the very worst, and most destructive of the happiness of society that could have been invented; and that vicious self-love, which St. Paul puts at the head of some of the most abominable wickednesses, would be made the governing principle of our actions, and the great rule and measure of the duties that are owing to our neighbour. To prevent which most wretched abuse of these admirable rules, we must understand them, as I said, according to the estimate of right reason and religion; and in all things lawful and honest, pious and good, we must do to others as we would be done by, and love our neighbour as we should love ourselves.

And this in general consists in having such a hearty, tender, affectionate concern for the true happiness of every man, (for every man is our neighbour in the sense of the gospel,) as will put us, not only upon wishing, but diligently endeavouring it, as we have opportunity and ability: and that as sincerely, and without dissimulation or reserve, as we endeavour to make ourselves happy, and desire that others should be assisting in doing good to us, when we stand in need of their help.

And this sincere affection for our neighbour will naturally and inseparably attend our entire love of God, and the true, rational, religious love of ourselves, which we have but now been describing.

For that divine passion, the love of God, will daily transform those that have entertained it in

c 2 Tim. iii. 2.

earnest, to a nearer and nearer conformity to the temper and disposition of him our best Beloved; as a means more and more to recommend us to his favour, and the more firmly and intimately to unite us to him. But now God is love, all gracious and kind and good, and always expressing, in the most substantial instances, the tender affection that he bears to the children of men. And therefore he that truly and entirely loves this universal, and most generous and constant friend and patron of mankind, cannot choose but endeavour to resemble him in this most endearing property, the blessed effects of which he is so great a sharer in himself. The frequent contemplation of such infinite love and goodness cannot but smooth off the ruggedness of our nature, and render us of a benign, affectionate, and benevolent disposition to one another.

And accordingly St. John tells us, If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us: and hereby we know that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit, of that kind and good disposition, ready always to promote the happiness of mankind, which is so gloriously conspicuous in God, and his eternal Son our Redeemer. And therefore he declares positively, that if a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar e.

And he likewise that truly loves himself cannot be without great degrees of hearty love to his neighbour. For right reason and religion are the guide of his affection, who truly loves himself: he proceeds in it upon due apprehensions of the dignity of the human nature, and of those noble and refined I John iv. 12, 13. e Verse 20.

d

enjoyments, in which the real happiness of a man consists; and of the near relation he stands in, as a Christian, to the eternal Son of God, and the good title he has through him to an inheritance in the kingdom of heaven.

Now, as such thoughts as these raise his love to himself to a due pitch, and fix it upon a right bottom; so they enlarge and ennoble his mind, and give a generous turn to his behaviour to every body else. For those of the same excellent nature with himself, he cannot but conclude, deserve the same regard and esteem; and which will be raised still higher by the consideration that they have, if Christians, the same relation to the blessed Jesus, and equal title with himself to the same glorious reversion above and after this he cannot but look upon them with a brotherly affection, and express it in all the instances of kindness and endearment, which he could reasonably expect in like circumstances to receive himself.

And indeed till we thus truly and upon such good grounds love ourselves, we can never heartily and truly love our neighbour; but shall either quite estrange ourselves from him, by a narrow, contracted selfishness of spirit, or else love him viciously with a corrupt affection; or with dissimulation, only that we may make a property of him to our own advantage, without any design of good and benefit to him.

Whereas brotherly love is love of benevolence, and his good should be regarded in it as well as our own, and in some cases more than our own; and whatever expressions of our love to him are to his real hurt and injury, however pleased he may be with