Jude 1:20 But you, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, And there be many reasons to move us to keep ourselves in the love of God. 1. The first is His commandment "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God"; and again, "What doth the Lord thy God require of thee but to fear and love Him?" This our Saviour calleth "the great commandment." The Commander is great, the object is great, the use of the duty is great, and their reward is great that take care to do it. 2. A second reason to move us to keep ourselves in the love of God is in regard of equity. For seeing Almighty God doth love us, it is a matter of equity that we should requite love with love again. 3. Commodity should move us to keep ourselves in the love of God. For first, by this love, our faith produceth those good duties which we owe unto God. For faith is as one hand receiving love, as the other giving (Galatians 5:6). Again, by the love of God, we may know what state we are in. St. saith two loves make two cities; the love of God maketh Jerusalem, the love of the world Babylon; therefore let every man but examine himself, what he loves, and he shall see in what state he is, and to what city he belongs. Again, the love of God engenders in us the love of the godly for God, for he that loves the Father cannot but love His children (1 John 3:14). Again, from the love of God ariseth much grace and goodness, as much water from one spring. Good works wither except they be nourished by this love. As the love of money is the root and nourisher of all evil, so the love of God is the mother and nurse of all good, of all pious offices to God, and Christian duties to man. 4. We ought to keep ourselves in the love of God because He is our gracious Father, and "of His own good will begat He us through the word of truth." Now if a child must love his father, of whom he hath received a part of his body, how much more ought he to love God, of whom he hath received his soul, and unto whose goodness he stands obliged both for soul and body? (S. Otes.) Parallel Verses KJV: But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,WEB: But you, beloved, keep building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit. |
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