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

SECT. II.

THese two chief loves are capital enemies of each other, contending for primacy. The primacy is due to god alone; and he has no enemy to contest with, but self love. As he is infinitly above all, so ought he to be loved above all. The prerogative and honour of being our chief belo∣ved, does, on all accounts, belong to him alone. Whatever then stands in competition with, or oppositiō to him, in this point, ought to be look'd upon and handled as the capital enemy of god.

Self-love is an unjust, false, tortuous, inordi∣nate love, contrary to god, to truth, to the good of man, to the order and voice of nature in the whole universe. Tis the root of all other evil loves, of all vice, injustice, iniquity. To deny God the first place in our hearts, and to place our selvs in his room, is a high contempt of him, a denying and jusslling him out of what is his due by the law of nature. When a man bestow's his chief love on himself, he offends God, both as he is the giver and receiver of his own love. He gives and re∣ceiv's that unto himself, which is indispensabiy and undeniably due to God alone. So, on both ac∣counts,

as giver and receiver thereof, is he the di∣rect enemy of God. If he should bestow his chief love on some other creature, and not on himself, he would be the enemy of God, only as the giver away of his right unto another, but not as the re∣ceiver thereof.

By self-love, man preferr's his own will to God's, and so makes himself his God. In pursuit of self-interest, he will desire to annihilate God, which is the highest enmity to him, imaginable. His will, by self-love, assum's an absolute prima∣cy, refusing to follow or obey another will, which is the incommunicable prerogative of God alone. Tis peculiar to him only, to follow his own will, and not be subject unto, or lead by any other.

When a man has once proudly set up his own will in the room of God's, he wil also rob God of his other dues. He will desire his own honour, his own glory, his own praise, not God's. When he hath presumptuously made himself his God, he will desire all those things for himself, that are due to god. Self-love erects a new Kingdom, domi∣nion, and soveraignty within man, out of God, and against him, which renders man a direct capi∣tal enemy of God.

Man's love of God or himself, is the root and cause of all he does. The love of God in him, is the root and fountain of all good actions. 'Tis al∣so the fountain of all other right love, of all true friendship, courage, rest, peace, comfort, light,

joy, gladnes, and whatever is truly good for man.

Self-love then, as the capital enemy of the love of God, is the root of all evil actions, of all injus∣tice, sin, blindnes, ignorance, and so of all sor∣row's and evils, incident unto man. He that by selflove exalt's his own will, into the roō of god's, find's this false god to be but a weak, indigent thing. This puts him upon agreedy and eager pur∣suit after innumerable vanities, corruptible, tran∣sient things, for the support of his impotent, false God, himself; and so render's him subject unto those things, which by nature are inferiour to him. Such a man must needs be in continuall sol∣licitude and tribulation, his false God and all the supports thereof, being but feeble, fickle, unsta∣ble, indigent things; and the true, omnipotent, all-sufficient God, being all along against him. Thus have we seen how selflove renders a man the capital enemy of God, evil and perverse in himself, exposed to all evils, and slavishly subject to abundance of transitory things, inferiour to his own nature.

The love of God render's the will divine, uni∣versal, communicative and bountiful to others. Selflove renders it narrow, private, incommunica∣tive to others; all for itself. The love of god makes the will just, holy, righteous, meek, good, peace∣able, friendly, humble. Selflove makes it un∣just, evil, perverse, proud, unquiet, litigious, ful of discord, tumult, and confusion. The love of God

gives the will of man dominion over all inferiour creatures: Self-love brings it into bondage and captivity under them. The love of God makes the will unmoveable, firm, stable, and fixed: self-love renders it a fluctuating, unstable, variable thing. In a word, the love of God makes it beautiful and lovely: Self-love makes it filthy, deformed, and detestable. He then that know's what the love of God is, know's all the good of man. He that know's what self love is, know's all the evil of man. He that's ignorant of both, know's neither the good nor evil of man, in the two distinct roots and causes of all. He that has the love of God in him, is thereby so illuminated, that he know's what that is, and what self-love is, together with the comfortable consequents of the former, and sad consequents of the latter. But he that lives in self-love, is thereby darkned, blinded, and con∣founded, as to the making any right judgment of himself. He neither know's what the love of God is, nor what self love is; nor what are the good or evil consequents of the one or other, unto man. The root of all evil in and to man, self love, is the greatest evil; but the most lurking, hidden, undiscern'd thing of all the rest. It obscures and blind's the mind of man, that it may not be disco∣vered, in its native, ethiopian hiew.