Written on board the Arabella in the Atlantic Ocean
 

The deffinition which the Scripture giues us of loue is this. Love is the bond of perfection, first it is a bond or ligament. 2ly it
makes the worke perfect. There is noe body but consists of partes and that which knitts these partes together, giues the body
its perfection, because it makes eache parte soe contiguous to others as thereby they doe mutually participate with each
other, both in strengthe and infirmity, in pleasure and paine. To instance in the most perfect of all bodies; Christ and his
Church make one body; the severall partes of this body considered a parte before they were united, were as
disproportionate and as much disordering as soe many contrary quallities or elements, but when Christ comes, and by his
spirit and loue knitts all these partes to himselfe and each to other, it is become the most perfect and best proportioned body
in the world, Eph. 4. 16. Christ, by whome all the body being knitt together by every joint for the furniture thereof,
according to the effectuall power which is in the measure of every perfection of partes, a glorious body without spott
or wrinkle; the ligaments hereof being Christ, or his love, for Christ is love, 1 John 4. 8. Soe this definition is right. Love is
the bond of perfection.

[p.40] From hence we may frame these conclusions. 1. First of all, true Christians are of one body in Christ, 1 Cor. 12. 12.
13. 17. Ye are the body of Christ and members of their parte. All the partes of this body being thus vnited are made soe
contiguous in a speciall relation as they must needes partake of each other's strength and infirmity; joy and sorrowe, weale
and woe. 1 Cor. 12. 26. If one member suffers, all suffer with it, if one be in honor, all rejoyce with it. 2ly. The
ligaments of this body which knitt together are loue. 3ly. Noe body can be perfect which wants its proper ligament. 5ly. This
sensibleness and sympathy of each other's conditions will necessarily infuse into each parte a native desire and endeavour, to
strengthen, defend, preserve and comfort the other. To insist a little on this conclusion being the product of all the former, the
truthe hereof will appeare both by precept [p.41] and patterne. 1 John 3. 10. Yee ought to lay doune your lives for the
brethren. Gal. 6. 2. beare ye one another's burthen's and soe fulfill the lawe of Christ. For patterns wee haue that first
of our Saviour whoe out of his good will in obedience to his father, becomeing a parte of this body and being knitt with it in
the bond of loue, found such a natiue sensibleness of our infirmities and sorrowes as he willingly yielded himselfe to deathe to
ease the infirmities of the rest of his body, and soe healed theire sorrowes. From the like sympathy of partes did the Apostles
and many thousands of the Saintes lay doune theire lives for Christ. Againe the like wee may see in the members of this body
among themselves. 1 Rom. 9. Paule could have been contented to have been separated from Christ, that the Jewes might not
be cutt off from the body. It is very observable what hee professeth of his affectionate partaking with every member; whoe is
weake (saith hee) and I am not weake? whoe is offended and I burne not; and againe, 2 Cor. 7. 13. therefore wee are
comforted because yee were comforted. Of Epaphroditus he speaketh, Phil. 2. 30. that he regarded not his owne life to
do him service. Soe Phebe and others are called the servants of the churche. Now it is apparent that they served not for
wages, or by constrainte, but out of loue. The like we shall finde in the histories of the churche, in all ages; the sweete
sympathie of affections which was in the members of this body one towards another; theire chearfullness in serueing and
suffering together; how liberall they were without repineing, harbourers without grudgeing, and helpfull without reproaching;
and all from hence, because they had feruent loue amongst them; which onely makes the practise of mercy constant and
easie.

From the former Considerations arise these Conclusions.--1. First, This loue among Christians is a reall thing, not imaginarie.
2ly. This loue is as absolutely necessary to the being of the body of Christ, as the sinews and other ligaments of a naturall
body are to the being of that body. 3ly. This loue is a divine, spirituall, nature; free, active, strong, couragious, permanent;
undervaluing all things beneathe its propper object and of all the graces, this makes us nearer to resemble the virtues of our
heavenly father. 4thly It rests in the loue and wellfare of its beloued. For the full certain knowledge of those truthes
concerning the nature, use, and excellency of this grace, that which the holy ghost hath left recorded, 1 Cor. 13, may give full
satisfaction, which is needful for every true member of this louely body of the Lord Jesus, to worke upon theire heartes by
prayer, meditation continuall exercise at least of the speciall [influence] of this grace, till Christ be formed in them and they in
him, all in eache other, knitt together by this bond of loue.

It rests now to make some application of this discourse, by the present designe, which gaue the occasion of writing of it.
Herein are 4 things to he propounded; first the persons, 2ly the worke, 3ly the end, 4thly the meanes. 1. For the persons.
Wee are a company professing ourselves fellow members of Christ, in which respect onely though wee were absent from
each other many miles, and had our imployments as farre distant, yet wee ought to account ourselves knitt together by this
bond of loue, and, [p.45] live in the exercise of it, if wee would have comforte of our being in Christ. This was notorious in
the practise of the Christians in former times; as is testified of the Waldenses, from the mouth of one of the adversaries
Aeneas Sylvius "mutuo ament pere antequam norunt," they use to loue any of theire owne religion even before they were
acquainted with them. 2nly for the worke wee have in hand. It is by a mutuall consent, through a speciall overvaluing
providence and a more than an ordinary approbation of the Churches of Christ, to seeke out a place of cohabitation and
Consorteshipp under a due forme of Government both ciuill and ecclesiasticall. In such cases as this, the care of the publique
must oversway all private respects, by which, not only conscience, but meare civill pollicy, dothe binde us. For it is a true rule
that particular Estates cannot subsist in the ruin of the publique. 3ly The end is to improve our lives to doe more service to
the Lord; the comforte and encrease of the body of Christe, whereof we are members; that ourselves and posterity may be
the better preserved from the common corruptions of this evill world, to serve the Lord and worke out our Salvation under
the power and purity of his holy ordinances. 4thly for the meanes whereby this must be effected. They are twofold, a
conformity with the worke and end wee aime at. These wee see are extraordinary, therefore wee must not content ourselves
with usuall ordinary meanes. Whatsoever wee did, or ought to have, done, when wee liued in England, the same must wee
doe, and more allsoe, where wee goe. That which the most in theire churches mainetaine as truthe in profession onely, wee
must bring into familiar and constant practise; as in this duty of loue, wee must loue brotherly without dissimulation, wee must
loue one another with a pure hearte fervently. Wee must beare one anothers burthens. We must not looke onely on our owne
things, but allsoe on the things of our brethren. Neither must wee thinke that the Lord will beare with such faileings at our
hands as he dothe from those among whome wee have lived; and that for these 3 Reasons; 1. In regard of the more neare
bond of mariage between him and us, wherein hee hath taken us to be his, after a most [p.46] strickt and peculiar manner,
which will make them the more jealous of our loue and obedience. Soe he tells the people of Israell, you onely have I
knowne of all the families of the Earthe, therefore will I punishe you for your Transgressions. 2ly, because the Lord
will be sanctified in them that come neare him. We know that there were many that corrupted the service of the Lord;
some setting upp altars before his owne; others offering both strange fire and strange sacrifices allsoe; yet there came noe fire
from heaven, or other sudden judgement upon them, as did upon Nadab and Abihu, whoe yet wee may think did not sinne
presumptuously. 31y When God gives a speciall commission he lookes to have it strictly observed in every article; When he
gave Saule a commission to destroy Amaleck, Hee indented with him upon certain articles, and because hee failed in one of
the least, and that upon a faire pretense, it lost him the kingdom, which should have beene his reward, if hee had observed his
commission. Thus stands the cause betweene God and us. We are entered into Covenant with Him for this worke. Wee
haue taken out a commission. The Lord hath given us leave to drawe our own articles. Wee haue professed to enterprise
these and those accounts, upon these and those ends. Wee have hereupon besought Him of favour and blessing. Now if the
Lord shall please to heare us, and bring us in peace to the place we desire, then hath hee ratified this covenant and sealed our
Commission, and will expect a strict performance of the articles contained in it; but if wee shall neglect the observation of
these articles which are the ends wee have propounded, and, dissembling with our God, shall fall to embrace this present
world and prosecute our carnall intentions, seeking greate things for ourselves and our posterity, the Lord will surely breake
out in wrathe against us; be revenged of such a [sinful] people and make us knowe the price of the breache of such a
covenant.

Now the onely way to avoyde this shipwracke, and to provide for our posterity, is to followe the counsell of Micah, to doe
justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with our God. For this end, wee must be knitt together, in this worke, as one man.
Wee must entertaine each other in brotherly [p.47] affection. Wee must be willing to abridge ourselves of our superfluities,
for the supply of other's necessities. Wee must uphold a familiar commerce together in all meekeness, gentlenes, patience and
liberality. Wee must delight in eache other; make other's conditions our oune; rejoice together, mourne together, labour and
suffer together, allwayes haueving before our eyes our commission and community in the worke, as members of the same
body. Soe shall wee keepe the unitie of the spirit in the bond of peace. The Lord will be our God, and delight to dwell
among us, as his oune people, and will command a blessing upon us in all our wayes. Soe that wee shall see much more of
his wisdome, power, goodness and truthe, than formerly wee haue been acquainted with. Wee shall finde that the God of
Israell is among us, when ten of us shall be able to resist a thousand of our enemies; when hee shall make us a prayse and
glory that men shall say of succeeding plantations, "the Lord make it likely that of New England." For wee must consider
that wee shall be as a citty upon a hill. The eies of all people are uppon us. Soe that if wee shall deale falsely with our God in
this worke wee haue undertaken, and soe cause him to withdrawe his present help from us, wee shall be made a story and a
by-word through the world. Wee shall open the mouthes of enemies to speake evill of the wayes of God, and all professors
for God's sake. Wee shall shame the faces of many of God's worthy servants, and cause theire prayers to be turned into
curses upon us till wee be consumed out of the good land whither wee are a goeing.

I shall shutt upp this discourse with that exhortation of Moses, that faithfull servant of the Lord, in his last farewell to Israell,
Deut. 30. Beloued there is now sett before us life and good, Death and evill, in that wee are commanded this day to
loue the Lord our God, and to loue one another, to walke in his wayes and to keepe his Commandements and his
Ordinance and his lawes, and the articles of our Covenant with him, that wee may liue and be multiplied, and that the
Lord our God may blesse us in the land whither wee goe to possesse it. But if our heartes shall turne away, soe that
wee will not obey, but shall be seduced, and worshipp and serue other Gods, our pleasure and proffitts, and serue
them; it is [p.48] propounded unto us this day, wee shall surely perishe out of the good land whither wee passe over
this vast sea to possesse it;

                                                  Therefore lett us choose life
                                                  that wee, and our seede
                                                  may liue, by obeyeing His
                                                  voyce and cleaveing to Him,
                                                  for Hee is our life and
                                                  our prosperity.

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