And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment (Mark 12:30).
Of all our Saviour’s wise and happy answers to insidious or puzzling questions, this is the most exquisitely beautiful, because so unambiguous, so simple, so exactly corresponding to the form of the question, so evasive of its trifling and unprofitable element, so exhaustive and demonstrative of what was really important in it, and therefore, so unchangeably instructive and so practically useful to the end of time.
These were very familiar words to our Lord’s hearers, for all devout Jews were in the habit of repeating them every morning and evening. Deut. 6:4–9, from which our Saviour quoted, was one of the four passages which were worn as “phylacteries” (Matt. 23:5) … Because he is our God, Jehovah claims our hearts’ love. As our Creator, Preserver, Provider, and Judge, he commands us to yield to him all our heart’s affection.
From Deuteronomy—from the authentic interpretation of the letter of the Sinaitic law already contained therein, which afterwards takes the form of an exhortation to repentance, and ends with the promise of circumcision of the heart—from this book does Christ address the one greatest, all-embracing commandment.
Love To God
The reply was at once our Lord’s final triumph over error, and the very central truth of all his doctrine. Heedless of their refinements, he marks that as the first and great commandment which is the sum and root of all the rest, Love to God; created as a principle in the heart, imbuing the soul—the whole nature of the living man, formed into a sound doctrine by the mind, and carried out practically with all his strength.
W. SMITH
Did ever any prince make a law that his subjects should love him? Yet such is the condescension of divine grace, that this is made the first and great commandment of God’s law, that we love him, and that we perform all other parts of our duty to him from a principle of love. We must highly esteem him, be well pleased that there is such a Being, well pleased in all his attributes and relations to us; our desire must be toward him, our delight in him, our dependence upon him, and to him we must be entirely devoted. It must be a constant pleasure to think of him, hear from him, speak to him, and serve him.
MATTHEW HENRY
The thing enjoined by this law is most substantial,—the life and soul of all other duty, and without which all that we can do besides is but mere shadow; for whatsoever we are enjoined to do else, we must understand enjoined to be done out of love to God as the principle whence it must proceed; and, not proceeding thence, the moral goodness of it vanishes as a beam cut off from the sum: for on this—with the other, which is like unto it, and which also hangs upon this—“hang all the law and the prophets.”
JOHN HOWE
If the heart was right in the sight of God, it would be as easy to love God with all the heart, as to love him in the lowest degree; yea, it would be easier; for the soul would be happier in the perfect exercise of love, than in an imperfect exercise of this affection. Again, if God was satisfied with less than perfect love, he would be content that his rational creatures should possess less moral excellence, less of his own image, than they are capable of; yea, he would be satisfied that they should remain in a state of moral depravity; for every defect of perfect love is moral depravity—is sin, that “abominable thing which God hateth.” The total want of love to God is the essence and root of all depravity; and just so far as we fall short of that perfect love which this first commandment requires, just so far we are inwardly defiled with sin.
ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER
Total Man
God is infinitely amiable and perfect and what does he require of his creatures but that they should love him with all the soul, strength, and heart which he hath given them? Can this ever cease to be an obligation? What should make it cease? Nothing but that God should become less amiable, that his perfection should fade, his goodness be exhausted, or his greatness impaired. On the other hand, what is it that he threatens to those who withdraw their hearts from him? Is it not the loss of his favor and friendship? Can either the obligation or penalty be accused of severity? Surely in this God does nothing unbecoming a wise and righteous governor. Nay, with reverence be it said, He could not do otherwise without denying himself.
R. WATSON
Nothing should be tolerated within ourselves, in our conscious, personal life, that is not inspired, controlled, or sweetened by the love we bear our God. If this be gained, the rest must follow. Such love will overflow through all the three main channels by which our personal life pours itself abroad upon society. The mind, or intellectual activities, will obey it; the soul, or emotional and passionate nature, with its social sympathies and earthly affections, will obey it; the strength or forces of the will, by which a resolved and energetic nature imposes itself upon others, and subdues circumstances to its purposes—this, too, will do its bidding. In short, the entire organism of the individual life is to stand entirely at the service of our love for God.
J. O. DYKES
But although we see nothing in mere man but disconformity to this holy commandment; yet in Jesus Christ, who was made under the law, we observe obedience to this commandment perfectly exemplified. He obeyed both internally and externally, for “he was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners.” He never had a thought or desire which in the least deviated from this rule. And this perfect righteousness of our Mediator, was not only for our example, but for our justification, by being made over to us by imputation.
ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER
Take Christ in all his fulness, not as God merely, not as man merely; not in his life on earth only, not in his death only, not in his exaltation at God’s right hand only, but in all his fulness, the Christ of God, God and Man, our Prophet, our Priest, our King and Lord, redeeming us by his blood, sanctifying us by his Spirit; and then worship him and love him with all the heart, and with all the soul, and with all the strength; and we shall see how all evil will be barred, and all good will abound.
T. ARNOLD
Love to God is the grand leading principle of right conduct, the original source and fountain from which all Christian graces flow; from which the living waters of religion take their rise, and branch out.
B. PORTEUS
