The book of nature translated and epitomiz'd. By George Sikes.

Section. I.

Two first loves, or chiefly beloveds.

THere are properly but two principal loves or beloveds, God and self, his will or our own. The love of God carries our will forth to a right, general, universal love of all things, as the works of his hands, loved and ap∣proved by him. If our own will be, by way of re∣flexion upon itself, our chiefly beloved; such a narrow private love will not carry us forth to a right love of any other things; but will cause us to regard or value them, no otherwise, then as rela∣ting or subservient unto the great idol, self-inte∣rest. We shall love only ourselvs in them; not them, as the works of God's hands, related to, and approved by him. To these two chief loves, of God or self, are all other loves reducible, as flowing from the one or other of them.

There can be but one thing chiefly beloved, for

whose sake only, other things, in connexiō there∣with, or as related thereunto, are loved. All other subordinate loves to all other things, considered as in harmony, correspondence, union, and con∣nexion with the chief beloved, are included in the first love, as the basis and cause of all; the root and fountain, whence they do pullulate and arise. All are but as one love, centring in, and relating to the chief beloved. Tis the chief beloved only, that is properly loved in all other things. What∣ever is in conjunction with that, must necessarily be loved: and whatever is against it, or contrary to it, will as certainly be hated. It is so strongly and intimately united with the will; does so vehe∣mently and intirely draw and engage it unto itself, that it suffers it not to love any other thing but for it's sake, as in harmony with, and subserviency thereunto. By necessary consequence, so many particular hatreds wilbe begotten in the will, as there are things contrary to, or against its chief beloved; and as many particular subordinate and secondary loves, as there are things in harmony and union therewith. If the radical or chief love be good, just, and orderly, all the rest are so too: if evil, corrupt, and disorderly; so are the rest. As is the root, such are the branches: as the fountain, so are the streams issuing there-from.

Self-love is a narrow, private, unlawfull, de∣structive thing, the fountain and root of all false and unlawful loves of other things. If the love of

God be not the chief, the love of the creature is. And amongst the creatures, that which is most neer and dear unto the will, wilbe its chief belo∣ved; and that is the will itself, which can reflect its love upon itself, as the most dear, lovely, and de∣sireable thing to itself. If then God be not a man's chief beloved, his own will or himself most cer∣tainly is. And then he loves neither God, nor any other creature, but as conducible to the gratifying and pleasing of his selfish, private, narrow will. If he do seem to have some regard unto God, so as to pray to him; he does, in such demeanour, but make use of God in a subserviency to his own sel∣fish will. He askes things of God, to consume upon his lusts. Jam. 4. 3. He regards not God, any body or any thing else, but as conducible and helpful towards the bringing in provisions for his flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof. Rom. 13. 14.

In the first sin of Adam, we all turn'd away from God, into the love of our own will, in distinction from and opposition to his. Such self-love can ne∣ver be destroy'd or eradicated, but by the irresisti∣ble grace of God, which alone can cause man's will freely to draw off and disengage its love from every thing else, in order to the receiving of the omnipotent creatour in the room of a fraile, im∣potent creature, as its chief beloved. By receiving God for its beloved, it is furnish'd with the power and armour of God, ha's the power of godlines in it, whereby to withstand all the powers and

works of darkness. No created being can bear up against a man that's thus furnished with power from on high. If God be for us, in us, with us, who can be against us? Rom. 8. 31.