The World's Great Sermons, Volume 01: Basil to Calvin
Religion
The World's Great Sermons, Volume 01: Basil to Calvin
Sermons
Seeing the time is so far spent, we will take no more in hand at this
time than this one sentence; for it will be enough for us to consider
this well, and to bear it away with us. "This I command unto you, that
ye love one another." Our Savior himself spake these words at His last
supper: it was the last sermon that He made unto His disciples before
His departure; it is a very long sermon. For our Savior, like as one
that knows he shall die shortly, is desirous to spend that little time
that He has with His friends, in exhorting and instructing them how they
should lead their lives. Now among other things that He commanded this
was one: "This I command unto you, that ye love one another." The
English expresses as tho it were but one, "This is my commandment." I
examined the Greek, where it is in the plural number, and very well; for
there are many things that pertain to a Christian man, and yet all those
things are contained in this one thing, that is, love. He lappeth up
all things in love.
Our whole duty is contained in these words, "Love together." Therefore
St. Paul saith, "He that loveth another fulfilleth the whole law"; so it
appeareth that all things are contained in this word love. This love is
a precious thing; our Savior saith, "By this shall all men know that ye
are my disciples, if ye shall love one another."
So Christ makes love His cognizance, His badge, His livery. Like as
every lord commonly gives a certain livery to his servants, whereby they
may be known that they pertain unto him; and so we say, yonder is this
lord's servants, because they wear his livery: so our Savior, who is the
Lord above all lords, would have His servants known by their liveries
and badge, which badge is love alone. Whosoever now is endued with love
and charity is His servant; him we may call Christ's servant; for love
is the token whereby you may know that such a servant pertaineth to
Christ; so that charity may be called the very livery of Christ. He that
hath charity is Christ's servant; he that hath not charity is the
servant of the devil. For as Christ's livery is love and charity, so the
devil's livery is hatred, malice and discord.
But I think the devil has a great many more servants than Christ has;
for there are a great many more in his livery than in Christ's livery;
there are but very few who are endued with Christ's livery; with love
and charity, gentleness and meekness of spirit; but there are a great
number that bear hatred and malice in their hearts, that are proud,
stout, and lofty; therefore the number of the devil's servants is
greater than the number of Christ's servants.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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