Psalms 31:23

O love the Lord, all ye His saints.

Constraining love

Love Jehovah--so the text runs. God the Father demands your love and deserves it, yea, the warmest affection of your hearts. And so also does the Son who redeemed you; and the Holy Spirit, by whom we are born again unto eternal life. But we speak, now, only of the Lord Jesus Christ, and of Him we say, “O love the Lord, all,” etc.

I. This sentiment should animate every mind.

1. Love the Lord because His Father loves Him. It must always be right for us to love whom God loves.

2. The angels love Him. But shall they love Him who never redeemed them, and shall we, whom He hath redeemed with His precious blood, not love Him?

3. The saints in heaven love Him. We have many friends, very dear to us, there, and they all love Him. And with what intense love. We are cold creatures; like icebergs are our hearts, but theirs are like flames of fire. Shall we not love Him when we think how they love Him?

4. Everything that could possibly enamour our souls and constrain our love is found in Him. Does beauty attract? But what beauty can be compared to His? Wisdom--but whose like His? Perfect character--but where such as His? It were impossible to know Christ and yet not to have the heart affected by Him.

5. And chief of all, “because He first loved us.” Think of His Incarnation, His agony, His cross. Think how He loved you when you were going on in sin. How, after having received you, He has loved you ever since, and what ill return you have made.

II. The excellencies of loving Jesus.

1. It will make you bear suffering for Him with joyousness.

2. And your” service joyous also.

3. And obedience sweet.

4. And communion.

5. Love to Christ will make trust easy. Look at the child’s love for its mother, and because of it, even in the midst of danger, it has no fear. But you who have never loved Him, you must trust Him first, give up your soul into His hands. Believe and live. (C. H. Spurgeon.)