The godly mans iourney to heauen containing ten seuerall treatises. Viz. 1. An heauenly chariot the first part. 2. An heauenly chariot the second part. 3. The blessed chariots man. 4. The lanthorne for the chariot. 5. The skilfull chariot driuer. 6. The gard of the chariot. 7. The sixe robbers of the chariot. 8. The three rocks layd in the way. 9. The only inne Gods babes aime at. 10. The guests of the inne. By maister David Lindsey Minister of Gods word at Leith.

10. There be foure sorts of loue, two most corrupt, and too common, alas, too many: two most pure and heauenly, few, alas, be inriched with it.

VVHen shalt thou beginne, ô my soule, to loue thy God truly, who hath loued thee dearely, with that sincere loue his Maiestie will accept of, as of that loue which commeth from him, and sen∣deth thee backe to him againe? Beleeue me, ô my soule, albeit there be some, yet there are not many, who be beautified and gifted with this sort of loue, for thou must know, ô my soule, that the heart of man hath bene, and is clogged and clothed with a fourefold loue, which would be considered by our Gospellers, who pro∣fesse that they know, and loue that Christ

who hath dearely loued them, if they had hearts to perceiue his loue toward them. The first sort of loue is most corrupt in the corrupt heart of corrupt man: where∣by man loueth himselfe, and beside him∣selfe nothing, hunting after nothing while he liueth, but that which may pleasure and profit himselfe; yea, not regarding, suppose the whole world were destroyed with Sodome, after that his eyes were clo∣sed by death. The second sort of loue, is corrupt also, in the corrupt heart of cor∣rupt man, whereby man seeing and consi∣dering that he is not of himselfe suffici∣ently able, either to procure vnto himselfe such things as he accounteth to be good, or ro defend or deliuer himselfe from such things he holdeth to be euill, he is moued not onely to loue himselfe, but to loue his God also; and yet while he loueth God thus, he loueth not God for Gods cause, but God for his owne cause: and so as De∣metrius loued Diana, who liued by ma∣king of siluer shrynes vnto her. This mo∣ued Augustine to say: Quod non propter se amatur, non amatur. That which is not loued for the selfe, without any by-respect, is not said to be loued. The third sort of loue, is holy

and renewed in the sanctified, softened heart of the regenerate child of God, whereby he hauing happily (through the effectuall working of Christs Spirit dwel∣ling in him) tasted of the sweetnesse, bountie, and goodnesse of his God, begin∣neth to loue God, euen for Gods cause, and that with a more reuerent loue then he loueth father, mother, wife, or child, or any other whatsoeuer. The fourth sort of loue is altogether spirituall and heauenly, transporting (euen with exceeding ioy and alacritie) the soule of man from all things here beneath, towards the third heauens, whereby the child of God is not onely moued to loue God for Gods cause, but to loue himselfe for Gods cause, and all other things, besides himselfe, no other way but in God,* 1.1 and for God. This was that loue,* 1.2 ô my soule, wherewith Moses loued his God, when he forsooke the Court of Egypt, and chused to suffer trou∣ble for Christs cause. This was that loue wherewith Paul loued God, when he said: My life is not deare to me,* 1.3 so that I may ful∣fill my course with ioy, I am readie, not to be bound onely,* 1.4 but also to dye at Ierusalem for the name of the Lord Iesus. Bernard thin∣king

vpon this, was not afraid to say: Sa∣pies tibi cum te senseris nil habere prorsus vn∣de te ames,* 1.5 nisi quantum Dei es. Thou shalt then proue wise to thy selfe, when thou shalt find, that thou hast nothing for thee while thou shouldst loue thy selfe, but in so far as thou art Gods. This same moued Augustine to say: Minus te amat ô Deus,* 1.6 qui tecum aliquid a∣mat, quod non propter te amat. That man, ô God, loues thy Maiestie the lesse, who loues any thing with thee, which he loues not for thee. Yea, this moued Bernard thus to counsell vs:* 1.7 Quaeramus Dominum veraci∣ter, frequenter, perseueranter: vt nec pro illo quaeramus aliud, nec cum illo aliud, nec ab illo ad aliud conuertamur. Let vs seeke the Lord our God truly, frequently, constantly: to the end that we neither seeke any other thing for him, or any other thing with him: and that we attempt not to turne from him, to anie thing beside him. And this sort of loue which is begun onely here, shall be per∣fected in the heauens. Oh Lord God, whē shall I begin to loue no honour, but that whereby I may honour thee? no pleasures but those which may please thee? no wealth, but wherewith I may haue my soule enriched by thee, and with thee, for

the better seeking and finding of thee? yea, when shall I begin onely to liue, to the end that thy Maiestie may liue in me, and be glorified by me? yea, Lord, let me step one step higher; when shall I begin to delight to be shamed, to the end that thou mayest be glorified, to delight to be grie∣ued & pained, to the end that thou mayest be pleased: to delight to be stripped sta••ke naked of all the earthly things which I possesse, or can possesse, to the end that I may possesse thee? yea, when shall I long, and desire to dye, to the end that I may liue with thee? And yet if I could do all this, what could I do, what should I do? I could do nothing but proue mindfull, but proue thankfull, and that not through any grace in me, which is from me, (for, alas, ô my soule, forgettest thou not thy God fearefully, art thou not vnkind to thy God grosly?) but through thine vnderserued fa∣uour onely: would not that blessed Sonne of God, yea, that very God of glorie, thy Sauiour Iesus, ô my soule, be shamed to honour thee, be pained to please thee, be grieued to grace thee, be made poore to make thee rich? yea, would ••e not dye to quicken thee? and so, ô my soule, when

thou hast shamed thy self, to whom shame is due for sinne, when thou hast grieued thy selfe, to whom griefe is due for sinne, when thou hast depriued thy selfe of all things, to whom nothing is due because of sinne, yea when thou hast layed downe thy life, whom sinne must bereaue of life, hauing death for its wages, what hast thou done? considering that he who neuer sin∣ned, being that God of glorie vnto whom all honour, all pleasures, all wealth, and onely life did belong, depriued himselfe of all things, and cloathed himselfe wil∣lingly with the contrary euils, and that for thee? Be mindfull of these things, ô my soule, and forget not to beg grace at thy God to proue thankfull for them.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Exod. ••. 11.
• * 1.2

  Heb. 11. 24. 25. 26.
• * 1.3

  Act. 20. 34.
• * 1.4

  Act. 21. 13.
• * 1.5

  Bern. serm. in Cant. 50.
• * 1.6

  August.
• * 1.7

  Bern.