“ Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets,” Matt. 22: 37-40.
God, as the source of all being, and the center of all perfection and excellency, claims the chief place in our affection. Now, to deny his claim, or prefer another, is to pervert the law of universal order, and to open a door for the entrance of confusion and every evil work. If a Being of infinite majesty, un spotted holiness, and unbounded goodness, is not to be devoutly adored and supremely beloved, there is not a single principle in religion or morals on which we can rely, but all is involved in darkness and uncertainty.
The footsteps of his wisdom and power, goodness and glory, may be traced in the works of creation. But though the earth is full of his riches, and the heavens sparkle with his glory, it is in the Scriptures chiefly that the Divine attributes appear in the most attractive and delightful manifestations. Here we have marvelous light, to give us those spiritual discoveries which are adapted to fill our hearts with s love. Here we behold God in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. Here "mercy and truth meet together, righteousness and peace embrace each other."(Psalm 85:10). "In the only begotten Son, who is the brightness of his Father’s glory, and the express image of his person," we find every thing great and good, to interest and engage the heart. (Heb. 1:3)
As God is the supreme object on which holy love fixes, so creatures ought to have a subordinate measure of love, according to the degree in which they bear his image.
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