and to lie naked and exposed, in our own single
persons, to all the wiles and darts of the devil; &c.
Inferiour creatures are to be loved by mā, only on
God's account, as the works of his hands, bearing
some characters and shadowy resemblāces of his
infinitly persect being and life. We are not to look
on ourselvs as obliged to them, for any benefit,
use or service we receive from them, or have of
them; but unto God only, who causes them to
perform such beneficiall service. The loving of
inferiour creatures, as gratifying, our sensual de∣sires,
is so far from being a natural consequent of
our loving God, that 'tis direct enmity to him.
Such love of this world and the things thereof, is en∣mity
to God. If any man thus love the world, the love of
the father is not in him. Jam. 4. 4. 1 Jo. 2. 15. To
ask of God creature-contentments, to consume
upon our lusts, (Jam. 4. 3.) is to desire him that he
would maintein us in our enmity against himself.
The multiplicity of heathen Gods, and the va∣rious
idolatries in the world, have arisen from
man's unlawful, prohibited love of inferiour crea∣tures.
Many heathens concluded that any thing
that did them good, was a God. On this account
were they induced to worship the sun, moon,
stars, fire, air, earth, water, sheep, oxen, &c. Such
unlawfull, idolatrous love of inferiour creatures,
has its rise, as a natural consequent, from self-love.
When we love our own wills, in distinction from
and opposition to God's, we love the creatures ap∣pointed