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Admit that God deserves to be loved very much, yea,
boundlessly, because He loved us first, He infinite
and we nothing, loved us, miserable sinners, with a
love so great and so free. This is why I said at the
beginning that the measure of our love to God is to
love immeasurably.
For since our love is toward God, who is infinite
and immeasurable, how can we bound or limit the love
we owe Him? Besides, our love is not a gift but a
debt. And since it is the Godhead who loves us,
Himself boundless, eternal, supreme love, of whose
greatness there is no end, yea, and His wisdom is
infinite, whose peace passeth all understanding;
since it is He who loves us, I say, can we think of
repaying Him grudgingly?
'I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord
is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God,
my strength, in whom I will trust' (Ps. 18.1f). He
is all that I need, all that I long for. My God and
my help, I will love Thee for Thy great goodness;
not so much as I might, surely, but as much as I
can. I cannot love Thee as Thou deservest to be
loved, for I cannot love Thee more than my own
feebleness permits. I will love Thee more when Thou
deemest me worthy to receive greater capacity for
loving; yet never so perfectly as Thou hast deserved
of me. 'Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being
unperfect; and in Thy book all my members were
written' (Ps. 139.16). Yet Thou recordest in that
book all who do what they can, even though they
cannot do what they ought.
Surely I have said enough to show how God should
be loved and why. But who has felt, who can know,
who express, how much we should love him. |