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

Chap. 9.

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.

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.

SECTION. III.

Two principal parts of self-love.

MAn, having two principal parts in his con∣stitution, a soul, and a body, has distinct de∣sires in reference to each; but all centring in self∣interest. The soul desires praise, honour, and the like, in reference to itself. In reference to the bo∣dy, it desires and affects sensual delights. Self-love then puts a man upon the seeking and looking af∣ter his own honour and bodily pleasur's, as his two principal goods. And from these two princi∣pal branches of self-love, do arise the secondary loves of all other things, as tending to the en∣crease, defence, or preservation of his own honour and sensual pleasur's. On these accounts, he must needs love, desire, and seek after outward riches, as conducible both to his honour and pleasures. He will also desire and seek after humane scien∣ces, offices, and dignities, as tending to the ad∣vance of his honour.

Thus from self-love do arise these vicious, evil, corrupt loves in man; pride, which is the love of his own honour, with a glorying in it; luxury and gluttony, which is the love of bodily delights; co∣vetousnes, which is the inordinate love of out∣ward things. And he that loves his own honour and pleasur's, does by necessary consequence hate

every thing, that tends to the diminution or de∣struction thereof. Hence arises anger, which is a love and desire of revenge against those that en∣deavour to diminish his honour or bodily plea∣sur's. Hence also spring's up another monster, en∣vy, which contein's in it a hatred of any other's good, as it tend's to the obscuring or diminution of his; as also a love of and delight in another's evil, if it diminish not, but rather tend to the en∣crease of his good. From the love of bodily plea∣sures, do arise negligence, sloth, intemperance, incontinency, and the rest. Thus may we se, how that all vices do arise and spring up from self-love.