063. Chapter 58: Love Toward Jesus Christ

------------ CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT ------------ Love Toward Jesus Christ Jesus Christ: The Object of Love Revealed in the Gospel The law requires love toward God and toward everything which God enjoins us to love. Prior to the fall, love had no other object than God and man (comprehended under the word "neighbor"). The law of nature indeed does not teach anything beyond this. However, God has presented an additional object of love in the gospel -- the Lord Jesus Christ, the Mediator between God and man. The law requires the act of love, and the gospel makes known the object of love. The Lord Jesus is both God and a holy man. One must love Him as God (of whom we have just spoken). We consider Him here, however, as Immanuel -- God and man in one Person -- as Mediator and Savior, and in that capacity He is the object of our love. We have discussed the nature of love and it is thus not necessary to repeat it. We shall therefore stir you up to manifest such love toward the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus has few who love Him in the world. He would have more if He willed to have more, but He deems most not worthy of this. It is a great privilege and grace for the few who have been granted to love Him -- and those who love Him, love Him so much that they will even give their life for Him. They will love Him until their death and to all eternity. The Grievous Sin of Being Acquainted with Jesus and Yet Not Loving Him The heathen, not having the gospel proclaimed to them, do not commit sin in not loving Him. They have not been commanded to do so, as He has not been declared to them. The Jews and Mohammedans know of Jesus; it is therefore their sin that they do not love Him, that they hate Him, and all who, after His Name, are called Christians. The Antichrist, even though he boasts of the name of Christ, sins in that he and his followers do not love Jesus, but persecute Him and His church and become drunk with the blood of the saints. Heretics, who wish to be called "Christian," are also guilty of sin in not loving Him -- hating Him in His truth and in His children, while persecuting every one of them with all their might. These will all endure their judgment and it will be unbearable for them.

However, those who are in the church, of which the Lord Jesus is the Head, ought indeed to love Him; but how few are to be found in her who love Him!

(1) Many have no dealings with Him whatsoever. They hear His name mentioned, hear Him described and recommended in the sermons, make mention of Him themselves, but nevertheless are indifferent as to who and what He is. He is a stranger to them and they have no desire to know Him. They also make no effort in that respect, and if anyone wishes to make Him known to them, they respond, "Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of His ways." They leave Him for what He is, and since they do not know Him they also do not love Him. For it is impossible to love someone we do not know. There is no sorrow over missing Him, no yearning for Him, no uniting of the heart to Him, and no grief over the fact that they do not love Him.

(2) Many know Jesus according to the letter, but not internally by the illumination of the Holy Spirit. Consequently, such also have no love for Him. They do desire Him as a servant to protect them from hell and to help them get into heaven -- of which they also have no correct perceptions. Beyond that they have no use for Him. There is no entering into covenant with Him, no surrendering to Him, no receiving of Him by faith unto justification and sanctification, no heart-union, and no exercising of fellowship with Him. They are neither acquainted with His presence nor with His absence. They are satisfied if they are but good church members, partake of the Lord‘s Supper, live honestly, and have the illusion that they will be saved. On that basis they proceed -- even though Jesus remains a stranger to them, remaining outside of their heart and thoughts. Since you are acquainted with human love, you will thus perceive that you have no love to Jesus whom you ought to love more vehemently than men. You may say that you love Jesus. But then I ask you, "How is this evident? Is there esteem and reverence for Him? Do you grieve and long for Him? Do you endeavor to live in immediate union with Him? Is there a resemblance between your nature and His? Are you obedient and do you keep His commandments? Is there love for the most eminent among the godly? Is there an aversion toward the unconverted, of whom we have dealt with in the above, and of whom you yourself are convinced that they are such? If you consider your love toward men and apply this to love toward Christ, then you must be convinced that you do not love Jesus -- whatever good thoughts you may have concerning yourself."

(3) Many who are in the church show publicly that they do not love Jesus. They live in a worldly and ungodly fashion. They curse, gamble, dance, drink, eat excessively, commit fornication, secretly commit all manner of unrighteousness, hate the godly and persecute them with their tongue and deeds, doing whatever an enemy of Jesus would do. Such are baptized, stay with the church, and imagine that they will yet be saved. We declare to them, however, that they are enemies of Christ; they do not love Christ, but hate Him. It would have been better for them if they had never heard Christ mentioned, than that they, being adorned by the name "Christian," oppose Christ to such a degree. They do not inflict injury upon Christ -- for He is highly exalted above them -- but upon themselves. The Wretched Condition of Those Who Do Not Love Jesus

All who do not love Jesus, focus for a moment upon your wretched condition. You can first of all be convinced by the Word of God that it is impossible to be saved without faith. "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" (John 3:36). To be disobedient to the Son is not to believe in Him; [Note: à Brakel makes this statement considering thatJohn 3:36reads as follows in the Statenvertaling: "Die de Zoon ongehoorzaam is, die zal het leven niet zien," that is, "He that is disobedient to the Son shall not see life."] it is contrasted with believing in the Son. "... but he that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark 16:16). You do not believe in the Son, even though you believe that He is who He is, and that He is a Savior for all believers. For you do not love Him and wherever there is no love, there is also no faith -- "faith which worketh by love" (Galatians 5:6). Faith without works is dead (James 2:26). If you do not wilfully want to deceive yourself, then you must pronounce the sentence of not being saved upon yourself.

Secondly, Jesus does not love you. "I love them that love Me" (Proverbs 8:17). If He only loves those that love Him, then you do not belong to His beloved ones. He has died for those whom He loves (Ephesians 5:25). Not to be loved by Him is not to be redeemed by Him. Those who do not love the Lord Jesus are the objects of His hatred and wrath. Love and hatred stand in opposition to each other. "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated" (Romans 9:13). If you do not love Jesus, Love of Christ Jesus also does not love you, and if Jesus does not love you, He hates you. "Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness" (Psalms 45:7); "The froward mouth, do I hate" (Proverbs 8:13). It was a dreadful experience for the bystanders "when He had looked round about on them with anger" (Mark 3:5). How dreadful it then will be if Jesus, who is not only a Lamb but is also called a Lion (Revelation 5:5), will look upon you in wrath on the Day of Judgment! Consider this attentively, and place yourself among those (for you belong to them) of whom it is written: "And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand" (Revelation 6:16-17). How wretched you then are who do not love Jesus, for Jesus does not love you and you are no partaker of His suffering and death. He hates you and is provoked to wrath against you. Therefore tremble!

Thirdly, you who do not love Jesus are the most cursed creature under the sun. Listen to the following passage, and make application to yourself -- a passage which cannot be read without terror: "If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema (= accursed) Maranatha" (1 Corinthians 16:22). It is the greatest curse imaginable. Not only will this curse come upon such, but they themselves will be the curse, and therefore "shall be an abhorring unto all flesh" (Isaiah 66:24). You will eternally be in that condition if you do not repent in this life. You will experience what is written in Luke 19:27 : "But those Mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before Me." Oh, that the terror of the Lord would persuade you to believe!

Impediments to an Assurance of a Love for Jesus As wretched as those are who do not love Jesus, so blessed are they who do love Him. He who does not love Jesus readily imagines that he loves Jesus, but he who loves Jesus in truth frequently fears that he does not love Him. Such a person finds two reasons within himself causing him to have such suspicion about himself: He does not feel the sweet motions toward Jesus which, in his opinion, ought always to be inherent in love. Furthermore, if he loved Jesus, he would be more obedient to Him and live a holier life.

Such ought to know first of all, that the probability of love being present is very great if one is so suspicious of his conduct. If this is accompanied with a desire to love Him, and there is grief that he does not love Him; if this does not only proceed from a fear for the judgment which will come upon those who do not love Him, and a desire to be saved (thus desiring love as but a means to acquire something), but these concerns proceed from and are accompanied with the desire to love Jesus -- since one delights in the act itself of loving Him -- then there is not only a probability, but proof that one loves Jesus. It is natural for upright souls to distrust themselves if they do not clearly perceive a matter within themselves. Such is the conduct of God‘s children. "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalms 139:23-24).

Secondly, one must note the distinction between the propensity, veracity, and the sensitivity of the passions of love. One can have a true and genuine love which is very strong -- even if he does not have sweet and sensible passions. Does a mother not love her child simply because she is not caressing, embracing, kissing, and delighting herself in viewing the beauty of her child? One knows that her heart has a loving disposition toward her child -- also when she does not think upon it and is engaged in something else. One knows that love will surface time and again upon seeing the child, and that the distress experienced when the child is missing or meets with some discomfort proceeds from love. Her entire conduct is directed to seek the welfare of the child, even though she is not mindful of her objective. Such is also the case here. Even if you are not always occupied with sensible expressions of the heart and are not always engaged in embracing Jesus and exercising sweet communion with Him, the love of Jesus can indeed be truly in the heart, manifesting itself in deeds. Sweet frames in believers are generally engendered by the receipt of tokens of love from Jesus -- when He kisses the soul with the kisses of His mouth, when His left hand is under her head, and when He embraces her with the right hand. However, this is a rare hour of short duration. Yet steadfast love is anchored in the heart, manifests itself at given occasions, and reveals itself in the objective of our conduct.

Thirdly, deficiency in sanctification is indeed indicative of the imperfection of love, but no proof of its total absence. Love is still small, and besides that, the old Adam is still present; these two strive against each other. Our corrupt nature prevents love from breaking through -- and furthermore, sins do not proceed from love but from our corruption. Love is, however, not strong enough to prevent and overcome these sins; love groans under them and is grieved by them. "Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me" (Romans 7:17). Wherever there is aversion for, hatred for, and opposition to sin; wherever there is a desire and love for godliness, prayer to the Spirit for sanctification, and elements of a desire to please Jesus (motivated by love), there is true sanctification. Believers, from this you now observe that your reasons for concern are unfounded and that they ought not prevent you in the expressions of your love toward Jesus. Concern and fear are impediments in this respect. To further assure you that you love Jesus, consider the following matters.

Marks of Love for Jesus

First, if you correctly understand the nature and deeds of love which have been presented in the previous chapter, you will be convinced that what has been said there is descriptive of true love. Examine now your heart in light of this in the presence of an omniscient God -- being assured that if there is love, you do not have it of yourself but that it is a gift of God‘s grace to you -- and if you thus compare yourself with matters presented in that chapter, you will have to say, "Truly, I love Jesus!"

Secondly, place all that you love upon earth next to Jesus and observe then toward which side your heart leans. Would you rather be in the presence of those whom you love dearly, or would you rather be with Jesus if you were given and permitted to delight yourself in His love? Do you prefer money, valuables, and that which is beautiful, and delightful -- or do you prefer Jesus? I do not ask for your judgmental observation, but what the issues of your heart are. If you were to make such a comparison, would you not say: "For me it is a thing of great importance. It is Jesus and Jesus only. Everything else, apart from Jesus, would only be grievous to me. To have Jesus, however, while having to do without everything else, would gratify me, and I would wilfully forsake everything for Jesus‘ sake as long as I might live with Jesus in the enjoyment of love toward Him."

Thirdly, if you had the assurance that you were saved, would you then have everything you desire? Would you then live joyously and peacefully? Do you say: "I would rejoice in this; however, it would not gratify me in this life. I must have Jesus and I must live in the enjoyment of mutual love with Him. If I would have to stay away from Him in this life, I would end my days in sorrow. It is not sufficient for me to receive the benefits of Jesus. Rather, my desire is after His Person and to live with Jesus in love. "Jesus only is the wish of my heart, and, instead of everything else and while having to do without everything else, Jesus is sufficient for me."

Fourthly, what is the reason for your sorrow? What is the focus of your yearning? When are things well with you? Is it when you earn a profit, are loved by many, and have success in everything according to your wishes? Is your answer: "No, but in the midst of prosperity I become sorrowful if I think that my Jesus has departed. If I hear or see someone who loves Jesus, my heart is overwhelmed, my tears quietly run down my cheeks, I lift my eyes upward toward Jesus, and I sigh, =Where could my faithful, sweet, and beloved Jesus be? Why does He tarry so long?‘ He is my love, my joy, my life, my rest, my all, and I can no longer live in estrangement from Him. Oh, that He would turn to me, visit me, kiss me with the kisses of His mouth, and ignite my love by His love! How I would then delight myself, and how I would sit under the canopy of His overshadowing love! I would become drunk with love. And if He refreshes me with His presence, the earth is too low and the world too small for me. My soul then wishes to be delivered from this and I must be in heaven. Then I long to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Here soul and body are too weak to endure the influences of love; here Jesus departs again; after light comes darkness; and after warmth, coldness. Therefore, oh blessed eternity! Oh, to be eternally with Jesus!"

Fifthly, tell me, why do you go to church? Why do you turn to your Bible? Why do you so frequently seek for solitude? What do you do there? What do you seek there? Do you answer: "My Jesus is gone; He has departed; I seek Him whom my soul loveth. I mourn over my foolishness that I did not open unto Him when He knocked. There I mourn that I have caused Him to depart due to my sin and that I have grieved His Holy Spirit. There I sigh, weep, and pour out my bitter complaints. There I become discouraged when I think how others live in the enjoyment of love, how sweet Jesus is to them, that I must always stand from afar, and that Jesus hides Himself from me and does not allow Himself be found of me. For that reason I go to hear His Word if per adventure He might be there; for that reason I turn to my Bible if perhaps I might hear His voice there. For that reason I frequent the fellowship of the godly, if peradventure He might be pleased to reveal Himself in love to me there." It is thus Jesus whom you are after.

Sixthly, with whom do you associate in the world -- with worldly people or with the godly? Do you say: "I can readily reply to that. Worldly and natural men have the stench of death, and I thus cannot tolerate to be in their presence. I consider them to be a detriment to me and I am not able to unite my heart with them. They are repulsive to me, and their religious conversation is abominable to me, since I perceive that they neither know Jesus nor are sincere of heart. They become intolerable to me if I perceive that they oppose those who are truly godly. If, however, I find someone who loves the Lord Jesus, such a person is precious in my eyes and my heart is wonderfully united with such a person -- even if I have never before met or heard of this person. Those who love Jesus are glorious to me; my heart yearns for them; I love them, and with my entire heart I am one with them. With them I wish to be esteemed and despised, and with them I wish to live and die. I rejoice when I meet them, and deem myself too insignificant to be in their presence. Yet it is to my comfort, and I deem myself happy if I, as the least, may have fellowship with them and be their servant."

Consider all this together. Even a natural man would maintain that such a disposition is a loving disposition, and that such deeds are true evidences of love. You yourself must be convinced of this -- particularly if you read what has been said in the previous chapter. If you were to secretly listen to someone and would notice that his heart was thus engaged, would you not consider him to be happy? Would you not say to yourself, "Truly, this person loves Jesus"? Would you not love this person? Would not your affection for Jesus be stirred up? As you turn to yourself, you are indeed convinced that the above-mentioned disposition and motions are to be found in you. Therefore you must come to the following conclusion: "I cannot deny it and I do not want to deny it: I do and must say that I love Jesus, even though a quiet fear stirs somewhat within me."

Neither allow yourself to be robbed of this, nor rob yourself of it -- either by thinking that this is a matter too great for you or that you would deceive yourself, or because you are so sinful. Cast these thoughts away from you as being harmful to you, for they will prevent the sweet exercises of communion and the free communion with Jesus as being your own, and you being His. The livelier your faith is that you love Jesus -- even though there is much that ought not to be there -- the more love you will beget. Life is life and truth is truth. The Blessedness of Those Who Love Jesus

How blessed are you who love Jesus, for God loves you! "He that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father" (John 14:21); "For the Father Himself loveth you, because ye have loved Me" (John 16:27). The Lord Jesus loves you: "He that loveth Me ... I will love him" (John 14:21). If you are loved by God and the Lord Jesus, They will accomplish in you all that proceeds from eternal love. Would God then not behold the beloved of His soul, deliver them from all that would harm them, and provide for them in all their necessities? "Be Thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and Thy glory above all the earth; that Thy beloved may be delivered: save with Thy right hand" (Psalms 108:5-6); "For so He giveth His beloved sleep" (Psalms 127:2). [Note: The rendering of the Statenvertaling differs significantly from the KJV. It reads as follows: "Het is alzo, dat Hij het zijnen beminde als in de slaap geeft." Literally translated this reads, "He gives it to His beloved as during their sleep."]

Oh, how great is that good which the Lord will give to His beloved! "I ... will manifest myself to him" (John 14:23); "We will come unto him, and make our abode with him" (John 14:23); "That I may cause those that love Me to inherit substance" (Proverbs 8:21). God‘s heart is inclined toward you, God‘s eye is upon you, God‘s hand is for you, and all discomforts come upon you in love (Revelation 3:19) -- all things must work together for you for good (Romans 8:28). All that is subservient to your salvation and can satisfy you is intended for you (1 Corinthians 2:9). Of you it may be said, "Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency!" (Deuteronomy 33:29). The very zenith of your felicity is love itself and the privilege to love eternally -- without end to remain satisfied with the immediate manifestations of love, and the mutual enjoyment of love with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Exhortations to Increase in Love Toward Jesus

Love is imperfect here, and we are therefore continually in need of exhortations. Therefore you who desire to become more abundant in your love toward the Lord Jesus, consider these matters:

First, consider Jesus in His preciousness. After the bride had described Him from His head to His feet, she concludes, "His mouth is most sweet: yea, He is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem" (Song of Solomon 5:16). According to His divine nature He is the brightness of His Father‘s glory and the express image of His person. He possesses all divine perfections to an infinite degree. According to His human nature He is perfectly holy. He who delights in holiness must find delight in Him. As Mediator He is crowned with honor and glory, and He is most benevolent, friendly, compassionate, and loving. Grace and love are poured out upon His lips, and He is full of grace, truth, righteousness, and benevolence, so that He is simultaneously majestic and lovely. If there is therefore anything that will beget and stir up love within you, it must be the Lord Jesus -- that is, if He would but reveal Himself to you and you could but behold the King in His beauty.

Secondly, love begets love. Jesus, however, loves you with the greatest love imaginable. Since He is love, He can therefore love those that are not loveable, and delight Himself in blessing His beloved ones. His love toward you is an eternal love, and thus without beginning and without end; it is a most intimate and vehement love. Meditate for a moment upon all in which he manifests His love toward you.

(1) He came into the world for your sake, assumed your nature, and became like unto you in all things, sin excepted. He even took upon Himself the form of a servant. He thus put Himself in your place, became your Surety, took your sins away from you, took them upon Himself as if He had committed them, and bore the punishment due upon your sins. "Even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it" (Ephesians 5:25).

(2) How He has been despised and what griefs He has borne! Everything was against Him; God was angry toward Him, and poured upon Him His righteous wrath against your sin. Go to the manger and follow Him to the cross. Behold Him there in His utmost distress and anxiety, and imagine that in His deepest sorrow He were to address you as follows: "Look at Me, My elect, My beloved. Love to you brought Me into this condition. My love is so great that I would be willing to suffer a thousand times more before I would allow you to perish." In love He paid your ransom, accomplished eternal redemption for you, reconciled you with God and established peace between Him and you, and led you to Him as a reconciled Father.

(3) You are still bound upon His heart. He continually thinks upon you, prays for you, is your Advocate with the Father, and His eye is upon you to preserve you.

(4) Consider in what a lovely manner He has drawn you to Himself. For your sake He sent the gospel to the locality where you were to be born, and when your time came He called you, allured you, and, while knocking, stood before your heart waiting for you to open to Him. When you were averse to His way and disobedient, He bore you with longsuffering, He regenerated you, illuminated you, gave you a heart that fell in love with Him so that you yourself sought Him and ran after Him.

(5) How frequently He has spoken to your heart! How many kisses of love has He given you! How frequently has He comforted you in your sorrow, delivered you in your perplexities, and encouraged you in your discouragements! With how much longsuffering has He borne with your weaknesses! Time and again He has manifested His goodness to you, as if you had not sinned against Him at all!

(6) He will at last bring you unto Himself into heaven in order that you may be eternally with Him. There He will glorify you; there He will cause you to rejoice; there He will cause you to be perfect in love. He will thus be with you eternally and you with Him, to eternally satiate you with love. Meditate upon this, and believe this, for if this cannot stir up your heart to love in return, you are indeed void of love. Therefore stir up your love.

Thirdly, there is joy in love, and the heart of man is inclined toward joy. There is no joy in the world for you. That which is most delightful grieves you when Jesus has departed. You will have to acquiesce in a song I once made about the month of May:

How sweet is the time of songs and flowers, in which animal and man rejoice!

Yet it is nothing but sorrow to me as long as I miss the love of Jesus. But if He would but speak to my soul, "Thou art Mine and I am Thine eternally," And cause my sinful life to disappear -- then it is for me the time of songs and flowers!

If the soul may sit in the shadow of the love of Jesus, and if her love sweetly issues forth to her Beloved, she has a heaven full of joy, and only then is she in her element. Then she wishes that this love would never be disturbed -- just as the bride expressed it, "I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till He please" (Song of Solomon 2:7). Jesus rejoices in the expressions of His love to you. "As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee" (Isaiah 62:5). Likewise a loving soul also rejoices in the expressions of her love to Jesus, and in the sensible enjoyment of Jesus‘ love toward her. "The King hath brought me into His chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in Thee ... the upright love Thee" (Song of Solomon 1:4).

Fourthly, consider attentively how Jesus is the object of the love of the Father, the angels, and believers.

(1) The love of the Father goes forth to Jesus; God loves Him. "For the Father loveth the Son" (John 5:20); "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 17:5).

(2) The holy angels love Him, rejoice in beholding Him, worship Him reverently (Hebrews 1:6), and are ready to serve Him (Matthew 4:11) -- as seen at His birth, in His suffering, and at His resurrection. At His coming unto judgment they will accompany Him with joyful willingness and love.

(3) Believers on earth love Him, their hearts go out after Him, and He is the focal point of the passions of their love. "Therefore do the virgins love Thee" (Song of Solomon 1:3). The bride continually has the word Beloved in her mouth. Just consider how each believer mourns when Jesus is absent; how they long for His coming to them; and how delighted they are when they may sweetly enjoy His fellowship. All their asking, crying, and weeping is for Jesus. In Jesus only do they find all their satisfaction. What beautiful expressions we find in the meditations of believers! "It is much better for me to die for Jesus than to rule over the world -- My love is crucified -- If you were to cut my heart in a thousand pieces, on each piece you would find the name Jesus written with golden letters -- Lord Jesus, I love Thee more than my possessions, than my loved ones, and than myself -- Money must perish (with all those who love possessions more than fellowship with Jesus for one day)," etc. Shall the heart of each believer bring forth a flame of love, and shall your heart then also not be set aflame? Come, join yourself to all who love Jesus, and say with them, Jesus, sweet Jesus -- Jesus is the most eminent of all who I can find delight in. Jesus, if Thou dost desire to have me, I desire to have Thee and desire none other than Thee. To all creatures I say, "No!" If Jesus were to ask you, "Lovest thou Me?" would you then not answer, "Yea, Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee"? Therefore hold fast to this and continually immerse yourself in this love. Let it give you wings to render you fit to run your course with joy. Let the love of Jesus compel you to live a life pleasing to Him, in order to glorify Him here, and patiently wait until He takes you to be eternally with Himself.

Guards Against All That Impedes the Exercise of Love Toward Jesus

Henceforth be diligent in maintaining, increasing, and frequently stirring up this love. To that end you must be on guard for some matters, and despise others.

First of all, be on guard against ignorance. Knowledge begets love, and one must therefore strive to increase in the knowledge of Jesus. Those who have but little knowledge are generally very deficient and unstable in love. If the Lord comes to them in an extraordinary manner, it goes well, but if that ceases, their love immediately becomes more faint. However, those who by the Word have become more acquainted with Jesus in all that pertains to Him, are more able to view Him from nearby and to become enamored with Him. Their love is more steadfast -- also when such sweet encounters are not experienced so sensibly.

Secondly, be on guard against partial love. If the world and all that is in it is still desirable and attractive to the eye and the heart, and if you are still so set upon your own will, honor, and delight, the love for Jesus cannot be very strong. Jesus wants to have the heart for Himself. If the enemy gains entrance, Jesus departs; and if He departs, your love will become weaker. Therefore, do not halt between two opinions. If you wish to love the world and to be loved by her, then love it in its entirety and let go of Jesus. If, however, you wish to love Jesus and be loved by Jesus, then love Him and Him alone and let go of the world. Pay no attention to it any longer.

Thirdly, be on guard against a lack of fellowship. Love wants to be maintained. If we are too far from the fire, we shall become cold. The very closest of friends will become estranged due to lack of fellowship. Such is also the case here. Jesus wants to be sought for and perceive that His friendship is of great value to us. Jesus wants to be waited on and to have time made available for mutual manifestations of love. You must therefore frequently endeavor to speak to Him and to tell Him again what your heart‘s disposition toward Him is, while in an intimate manner expressing your desire toward Him, and your grief that you cannot love Him more. That stirs up love.

Fourthly, be on guard against unbelief. If we readily doubt our portion in Jesus, if we have no confidence that He loves us, if we are actively contradicting all arguments that He has manifested love toward us, readily acquiescing in arguments to the contrary -- yes, searching them out as if it were a masterpiece to conclude that Jesus does not love me and that I do not love Jesus -- then, you will be incapable of exercising love and receiving love in return. Be on guard therefore neither to quarrel against love, to hold Jesus‘ love suspect, nor to deny the graces which are evidences of Jesus‘ love, for that is the direct way to cause Jesus to depart.

Fifthly, be on guard against willful sins. Jesus is holy, delights in holiness but hates ungodliness. He has compassion with daily weaknesses and improprieties, and will not withhold the manifestation of His love for that reason. However, willful sins are committed against love -- and then Jesus will withhold His love and His Spirit will be grieved. And when Jesus withholds His love, you will also not be able to love Him. Willful sins will render you incapable of exercising love. The conscience will be troubled, you will lose your freedom, and you will not dare to approach in prayer. You have ruined too much and there has come too great a separation. At times it will take much effort before a loving disposition will be restored.

Sixthly, be on guard against fearfulness, that is, to be in some measure ashamed to confess Him. You wish to exercise love in secret, but do not wish this to be known by others. One is ashamed of Him for fear of harm or shame, and thus withdraws himself. If you enter into situations requiring that love toward Jesus, His honor, and His cause be manifested, you then hide and dare not say, "This is my Beloved, yea, this is my friend." Jesus readily perceives this and it displeases Him. It is the cause that Jesus will hide Himself from you and it is evidence that you have but little love -- love which is very much diminished by such conduct.

Exhortation to Stir Up Love Toward Jesus It can be deduced from the foregoing what it is that stirs up love, and what is to be observed to that end.

(1) You must believe that He loves you and acknowledge every true grace to be evidence of His love toward you.

(2) You must continually separate yourself from everything and only find delight and satisfaction in love toward Jesus.

(3) You must surrender your all to Jesus, without holding anything back, and offer yourself and all that you have to Jesus, declaring a willingness to do without it for His sake.

(4) You must declare Jesus‘ beauty and preciousness to others, to the end that they also would begin to love Jesus -- and that He thus shall be loved by many.

(5) You must joyfully wear His livery, being desirous for everyone to know that you have Jesus as your Lord.

Furthermore, if anyone were to do anything toward Jesus which would be disadvantageous, he will have us with soul and body as his opponent, and we shall defend His honor with all that we have.

(6) With tender carefulness you must be on guard against that which displeases Him and endeavor to please Him, to be conformed to Him, and to resemble Him in His nature.

(7) You must take time to delight yourself in mutual love, and if some estrangement has occurred and darkness has come, you must endeavor to restore familiarity.

(8) You must yearn, and stir up this yearning time and again -- to depart and be with Christ -- doing so by continually reflecting upon what will be above and how sweet it will be to always be with the Lord. Amen.