Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heart_n	affection_n	know_v	love_v	2,057	5	5.7368	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96180	The anchor of hope, for Gods tossed ones, or, Mercies thoughts for the vessels of mercy under misery, or, Gods bowels let out, opened, proclaimed to afflicted saints in a little treatise on the 29 of Jer. 11 vers. / by John Welles ...	Wells, John, 1623-1676.	1645 (1645)	Wing W1290A; ESTC R42975	70,879	217

will be sure to speake full in th● thing I will hearken unto you sayes God now they shall have the listning ear of God● he heares and observes now● what they say as one glad t● heare them make such request●● to him they shall finde me sai●● God I will not hide my selfe from them now they shall find● me in my mercy finde me in 〈◊〉 might finde me in my wisdome finde mein my countenance the● shall finde me to be for the● to save to comfort them I wi●● be found of you saith the Lord and will turne away your Captivity c. This is a finding indeed to some purpose now th● Lord would bee seen in answering them they should find him and he would be found 〈◊〉 them that is look wherein and for what they did seeke ●●to him God would answere them and say behold here am I what is your request it shall be granted You shall have to the full what you beg for and so desire to have however heretofore I have hid my face from you now I intend to appere for you you shall see me again to your joy you shall finde mee again to your full content What can God say more how can he speak sweeter and more to the heart of his people then thus In this verse the Lord brings proofe of what he had spoken before concerning his recovering Israel out of Captivitie at the 70. yeares end wherein we may see the Lord guiding of his Saints even to know the great deep of his own purpose as touching their comming out of Babilon his purpose indeed was revealed in his promise made in the former verse but this will not suffice the Lord to say I will visit you I will cause you to return to this place but he will give in ground for it for I know the thoughts that I think towards you c. We seldome read of a promise thus backt usually God delivers his promises without such a bottome as this when God told Abraham he would be his God and the God of his seed Gen. 17 7 8. he gives no such reason there as this he does not say for I know my thoughts towards thee Abraham I remember not in all the Scripture the like instance that God should give a reason and such a reason as this why he would visit his people with love with salvation Certainly there is somewhat in it more then ordinary it is not because Gods bare word of promise is not sufficient for the faith of his people neither is it because God would now cherish or satisfie any curiositie o● nicenesse that might be in the hearts of his people touching prying into his own secrets 〈◊〉 but God does this most freely and lovingly t is his mercy to his people that makes him give in this over-plus to his promise and heaps up to them this great measure good pressed down and running over into their bosoms The Lord does this 1 Because he would the more affront beat down and shew himself openly and directly against those lying Prophets who did belye the Lord and tell the people that this was not Gods minde that they should stay so long in captivitie but the Lords thoughts his minde was for two yeares only t is for more sayes God I know my thoughts they do not believe me not them 2 Because he would the more ascertain the thing in the eyes and to the hearts of his people he brings in an evidence most cleer and that which none else was able to produce my thoughts have pitcht upon your release your deliverance this I am sure of sayes God for I know the● do not doubt my people of you returning back because you a●● to abide in Babylon so long an● to build and plant there at su●● a time I will visit you beleeve i● I have already concluded upon it my thoughts are immovable set upon your release therefore what ever mountaines be in the way beleeve they shall be di●● down rather then their standing shall hinder the accomplishment of my will in this thing G●● shewes them here not onely 〈◊〉 promise of salvation under h●● broad Seal thus saith the Lord but he shewes them his very heart and minde even the very originall and root of the thing and sayes thus the Lord think● thus he purposes towards you did God ever lay open his heart his counsels more Did he eve● more sweetly go to work t● prop up the weak faith of hi● people or to stop the mouthe● of his Enemies that they might be silent and leave objecting 1 Sayes God you shall come out then for my thoughts are already pitcht upon it my purposes are for it and who can alter them 2 You shall come out then sayes God for my thoughts be towards you they be loving they be full of mercy they be not against you for evill they be for you for good I love your souls your persons your bodies your peace you have my thoughts my intentions my considerations at worke for you 3 Sayes God you shall come out then for my thoughts bee peaceable and bountifull thoughts thoughts of peace thoughts to give and to give you an accepted end They be not thoughts of will of paine of trouble of adversity I thinke not how to do you an ill turne how to watch over you for evill but how to give and to give you somewhat that shall be worth receiving an happy end of your troubles to give you that which you so much so earnestly expect an end and epxectation both a● once you shall have such an end as you desire expect wish for● waite for 4 You shall come out the● saies God for I know my thoughts are thus towards you thus peaceable thus mercifull thus bountifuull thus to give thus to reward thus to let you have double twice as much mercy as ever you had the thoughts I have towards you I can easily understand clearly see quickly read them every one t is impossible for meeither to be unacquainted with my owne vowes with the holy movings of my owne minde or not to approve of my owne thoughts I cannot either be ignorant of them or deceived by them you men think you know not what sometimes your thoughts bee gone from you as Nebuchdnezzars dreame was gone from him hee could not tell it no more can ye many times but I know every thought of my heart every motion of my minde My thoughts saies God as they be neither vaine nor light in themselves so they bee not darke to me I fully know who I pitch upon to what end upon what grounds they be not thoughts against my will such as I cannot consent to the Motions of my heart as they are guided by the perfection of my Wisedome so are they filled with the strength of my affection of my love I know my thoughts towards you I love you therefore do I mule cast in minde purpose for your good and these purposes

towards himself ill thoughts against his own soule in all he does he is a self-destroyer Psal 85.8 these are the fruits of his owne thoughts but Gods thoughts they are all for good for life for peace to a poore soule Hee that speaks peace to his people purposes peace first thinks thoughts of peace towards his before Gods good pleasure of his will which he purposes in himself Eph. 1.9 goes before the saving revelation of the mystery of his will to his Secondly his thoughts may well be said to be towards them because they tend so much to advance and honour them My heart sayes Deborah 〈◊〉 towards the Governours of Israel Judg. 5.9 that offered themselves willingly among the people as if she had said Oh! how I love and honour such Oh my heart is much taken with them Oh● what commendations do the● deserve Oh these be nob●● Governours indeed So wh●● God sayes My thoughts are towards my people it is as muc● as if he should say These a●● they that I intend to honou● yea delight to honour if a● my purposes of good will do i● they shall have it if all 〈◊〉 mercifull thoughts will 〈◊〉 them up they shall be advanced Now they are base mea● in captivity under the hands 〈◊〉 their cruell enemies but I wi●● set them aloft again 〈◊〉 thoughts run for their recovery for the regaining of their name for to make them 〈◊〉 name and a praise they shal● be the head and not the taile 〈◊〉 have set my heart upon them 〈◊〉 deliver redeem them crow● them Thirdly because in thes● thoughts of God there was 〈◊〉 mixture of the evill of punishment they were onely they were purely for good thoughts not of evill not of afflictions sayes the Text these thoughts were wholly made up of mer●y they be all towards you sayes God none against you Fourthly because these lo●ing thoughts of God were ●eer the birth when few years viz. 70. were over they would break forth and shine and scat●er away the darknesse of their condition these thoughts were comming directly towards ●hem and that apace too Fifthly because all these thoughts of God towards his were united as it were for ●his one thing even to deliver ●hem Gods thoughts were not divided they did not set themselves one against another some thoughts were not for them and some against them ●ut all went this one way and not with a major vote but with a generall one cried up the prosperity of Gods people they all agreed in one nemine contradicente as we use to say not a thought gainsaying Sixthly because all these thoughts of God towards hi● people continue so they remain fresh and strong and lively in the breast of God these are not like Ephraims goodnesse which was like the mornin● deaw these passe not away b●● they abide in Gods heart ti●● they bring forth their good● My thoughts towards yo●● that is so as that they will never turn their faces from you shall think still towards you til● I work fully according to my own thought according to th● purpose of my own will they be so towards you that the● will come to you in the fulnes● of their blessings my heart i● so on you that I shall not re●● till I am at work for you Seventhly because in thes● thoughts God aimed at this what mercy to give them he that by his owne perfect wisdome knew most exactly the fittest mercy to bestowed now sayes my thoughts are towards you as if he should say I am thinking yea I have already in my thought what mercy what kinde of mercies how many mercies and at what season I shall bestow them I will fit you with right mercies helpe you with saving mercies come to you with seasonable mercies fill you with ●atisfactorie mercies 8. Because that in all these ●houghts God next unto him-●imselfe aymed at them at their ●ood God thought what mer●y to give but that was not all ●or the main of all my thoughts sayes God be towards you ●he thing I ayme at is that you ●ay be blessed that you may be ●riched that you may be com●rted you are in my thoughts in my eye above more then all the gifts I give t is for your sakes I thinke thus my thoughts are towards you Hee that thinkes what to give to one he loves his thoughts bee not so much towards the gift as towards the person to whom he intends to give and for whose sake he hath such thought-contrivings so God he thinks indeed what to do for his own people but hi● thoughts be alone towards these for whom he so thinks upon thi● on the thoughts of God center and they rest not thy are not towards any blessing so as to wa●● those whom he loves to blesse Thirdly for the unfolding 〈◊〉 the next terme I know th● thoughts I thinke towards you the Spirit of God in this Phra● speaks much most excellently for the consolation of his servants to make them assured th●● this was his determination th●● these were his thoughts indee● towards them for I know th● thoughts I thinke towards you That is 1. No man can tell my thoughts but my selfe Who can search into my decerees my ●urposes Cheere up your selves my people your owne hearts may rise and tell you this is ●ot this cannot be Gods minde Gods thoughts towards you do ●ot you see the sad pressures you ●re under the cloud over you is ●arke and when is the storme ●ke to blow over Well well sayes God comfort your selves ●oore hearts flesh and blood ●nowes not my thoughts Cor●uption is none of my Counsel●●urs is not acquainted with my ●inde a fleshly minde is with●ut light it understands not my ●ounsell it is enough for you ●hat I know my owne thoughts ●●wards you tell your corruptions ye take too much upon ●ou cheere up your selves my people your enemies may in●●t over you as a lost an undone people and run to gaze upon your misery with joy yea to sharpen their eyes upon you as such as blesse themselves in your sorrowes they may thinke we● shall now have our will upon them now wee shall have o●● lusts satisfyed Micah 4.12 and our mali● pleased no saies God th●● shall not feare not my people 〈◊〉 they know not the thoughts 〈◊〉 the Lord they understand n●● his Counsell these speake without book they utter the dream and deceits of their own hearts I sent them not they are no●● of my privie Counsell I inte●● not as as they I thinke not 〈◊〉 they my thoughts are of another nature run or other end● to other purposes and I wi●● make way and worke for 〈◊〉 owne ends to shape thing● persons and actions to my ow● minde Secondly I know 〈◊〉 thoughts that is I understand my self my secrets and all 〈◊〉 waies perfectly I can read in this secret book of my Counsels which is sealed up and to deep for finite creatures to reach