Mark 12:30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength… "Father," asked the son of Bishop Berkeley, "what is the meaning of the words 'cherubim' and 'seraphim,' which we meet with in the Bible?" "Cherubim," replied his father, "is a Hebrew word signifying knowledge; seraphim is another word of the same language, signifying flame. Whence it is supposed that the cherubim are angels who excel in knowledge; and that the seraphim are angels likewise who excel in loving God." "I hope, then," said the little boy, "when I die I shall be a seraph, for I would rather love God than know all things." The first and great commandment: — I. WHETHER WE ARE POSSESSED OF THIS SUPREME LOVE TO GOD? A sincere love manifests itself by approbation, preference, delight, familiarity. Do these terms express the state of our affections towards our heavenly Father? 1. Do we cordially approve all that the Scriptures reveal concerning His character and His dealings with men? 2. Approbation, however, is the very lowest token of this Divine affection. What we really love we distinguish by a decided preference: we have compared it with other things, and have come to the conclusion that it is more excellent than all of them. 3. Further, the love of God will lead us to delight in Him. 4. I will mention but one more sign of love unfeigned; which is seen when a person courts the society and familiar intimacy of the object of his affections. II. BY WHAT MEANS A SPIRIT OF LOVE TO GOD MAY BE ACQUIRED, IF WE HAVE IT NOT, OR INCREASED, IF WE HAVE. 1. The first step is to feel our utter deficiency in this duty. 2. Take up your Bible, and learn the character of Him whom you have so neglected. 3. These views of the love of God, however, will, in great measure, be ineffectual, till you have actually cast yourself at the foot of the cross, and believed in Jesus Christ for the justification of your own soul. 4. My next direction for cherishing this spirit of love to God is, that you should carefully guard against everything in your temper and conduct which might grieve the Spirit of God. 5. I would press upon you the necessity of frequent communion with your reconciled God in prayer and thanksgiving. (Joseph Jowett, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. |
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