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	let_v	love_n	3,602	5	5.4352	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A01550	The spirituall vvatch, or Christs generall watch-word A meditation on Mark. 13. 37. By Thomas Gataker B. of D. and pastor of Rotherhith.	Gataker, Thomas, 1574-1654.	1622 (1622)	STC 11677; ESTC S102924	129,834	148

ye that loue the Lord saith the Psalmist hate that that is euill Doest thou loue God saith Augustine thou must hate then what hee hateth Yea if thou louest him indeed thou canst not but hate what he hateth Neither indeed can we closely cleaue to that that is good till wee haue brought our hearts to detest and abhorre that that is euill Which thing if it were once throughly wrought in vs there should not neede much Rhetoricke to perswade vs to watch both against sinne and against all occasions of it Wee would of our selues bee carefull enough to shun and auoid that which our hearts abhorred and could not brooke or abide For as the meat that a man loatheth he cannot endure so much as the sent or sauour of it nay nor it may be the sight of it so would it be with vs in regard of sinne had we the like inward dislike and loathing of sinne in our soules And one maine cause of relapse into sinne and of want of due watchfulnesse against it in those that for some time haue surceased the practise of it is because they neuer hated it in heart though they could not but in iudgement condemne it being euidently conuinced in conscience of the euilnesse of it their heart looked still after it though their hand for feare or other respect were for a while with-drawne and with-held from it ready therefore when such respects as before staied and restrained it were at any time remoued to giue friendly entertainment vnto it againe § 68. Would wee therefore keepe a constant Watch against sinne Oh let vs labour then to haue wrought in vs a true hatred of sinne of such sinnes especially as we haue beene most addicted vnto or haue most delighted in before The more formerly wee haue loued them the more now let vs loath them the more we haue for the time past delighted in them the more for the time to come let vs euen detest and abhorre them As the meat that we haue sometime sursetted of wee not only know now to bee euill for vs but euen our stomacke riseth and goeth against it so those sinnes that we haue formerly glutted our soules with let vs not onely condemne now as the bane of our soules but endeuour euen so to be affected towards them that our very hearts may rise against them vpon the memory and remembrance of them Let it be with vs in regard of them as it was with Ammon in his affection to Tamar Hee loued her earnestly at first though with an incestuous loue or lust rather But after that he had abused her and defiled himselfe with her his loue was in a strange manner so turned into hatred that the loue wherewith before he loued her was not so great but the hatred wherewith he then hated her was farre greater So for those sinnes that wee haue formerly defiled our soules with wee should labour to haue our loue in like manner turned into hatred and striue to bring our hearts to it to abhorre them now as much yea if it were possible as there is good ground for it and iust cause of it much more then euer wee loued them or delighted in them before This could wee doe with Ammon wee would doe further as he did He thrust Tamar instantly out at doores when his affection was thus altered hee could no longer endure so much as the sight of her and not that onely but he caused the doore to be bolted fast after her that shee might not haue any free or further accesse in vnto him againe So were our hearts and affections estranged from such sinnes as they had beene linked and fastened vnto before wee would not only bee carefull without further delay to dispossesse our soules of them but wee would bee constantly watchfull to keepe the doore of our heart surely bolted against them that they might neuer be able to gaine entrance againe with vs. § 69. The tenth and last helpe that wee will propound for the present to further vs in this spirituall Watch is the diligent and constant practise and performance of good duties and offices Which helpe diuideth it selfe into two branches the one opposing to Idlenesse and the other to worldlinesse The former is the constant following of the workes of our particular callings Let him that stole saith the Apostle steale no more but let him labour rather and worke with his hands some good thing or other that hee may haue to giue to him that needeth Let him that stole steale no more that is well but that is not enough Let him steale no more but labour rather because else though hee leaue stealing a while if he liue idle he will come to suffer want soone for Slouth wasteth as well as excesse and riot and so bee falling anon to his former trade againe Not to adde that hee that liueth so euen in that he so liueth liuing like a drone on the labours of others is little better then a Theefe Slouth saith Salomon causeth sleepe And sure as we see it to be with drowsie persons that if they sit still and doe nothing they will soone fall asleepe so is it here if wee giue our selues ouer to idlenesse we shall soone come to be ouertaken againe with this deadly sleepe of sinne Fulnesse and idlenesse are noted to haue beene two maine causes of those filthy sinnes of Sodome It is a common by-word with vs that Of idlenesse commeth no goodnesse And By doing nothing saith the Heathen man men learne to doe euill things It is easie slipping out of an idle life into an euill and a wicked life yea an idle life it is of it selfe euill For man was made for action not for idlenesse And howsoeuer saith one well we count him a good man that doth no euill he is indeed rather an euill man that doth no good Sleepe and death are said to bee brethren or Cosen-germanes or the one at least to be an image and a resemblance of the other And as those therefore that are deceased are said to bee fallen asleepe so they that lie asleepe may well be said to be in some kinde or degree of decease Now what difference is there betweene him that lieth fast asleepe and him that is idle though awake saue that the one is restrained from action by the course of nature whereas the other voluntarily restraineth himselfe and that is no sinne therefore in the one that is no small sinne in the other Slouthfulnesse therefore not onely causing sleepe but being it selfe of it selfe a kinde of spirituall sleepe it is consequently also a kinde euen of spirituall death And the idle and slouthfull may bee well said to bee not onely spiritually asleepe euen when they are awake but to bee spiritually dead also euen while they liue their very waking while they so wake

Hall wee are suddainly caught as he was ere we thinke on it we haue by some sudden iniection our affections so fired that the very frame of our heart is all on a flame ere we are aware of it or are able now well either to preuent it or easily to suppresse it § 65. Againe this iealousie of our owne weaknesse will make vs the more carefull as to shun all occasions whereby we may bee endangered so because it is not in our power euer to auoid them to vse diligently all good meanes whereby wee may be supported and strengthened against them To which purpose our Sauiour ioyneth watching and praier together as there so elsewhere as also his Apostles oft couple them the one with the other No man saith one of the Auncients is enabled by God that is not enfeebled first in himselfe And no maruell For so long as wee finde our selues as wee suppose strong enough to stand alone on our owne legs of our selues wee thinke scorne to vse crutches or to be supported by others so long as wee thinke our selues wise enough and able to wade well enough thorow with our affaires wee regard not to take aduice or to seeke helpe and aid from others So here so long as we misdoubt not our owne weaknesse as we are ouer-forward to presume vpon our owne strength so we are ouer-backward and carelesse of vsing those meanes whereby we might attaine true strength indeed And on the other side the more conscious men are to themselues of their owne wants the more diligent are they wont to be in resorting to those by whom their wants may bee supplied and the more suspitious wee are of our owne infirmity and weaknesse the more carefull will we be daily and hourely to repaire vnto him who alone is able to confirme and strengthen vs yea who is able so to enable vs notwithstanding our weaknesse that his power and might shall appeare in vs amids our feeblenesse and our very infirmity shall make much for his glory And surely In this kinde as one well saith it is more behouefull for a man to be somewhat too fearefull and heedy then to be a little too confident and foole-hardy to take notice of his owne weaknesse that hee may become strong then while hee thinketh himselfe strong in his owne conceit to proue weake In regard whereof also the Wiseman as we said formerly not vnworthily pronounceth him happy that continually standeth in feare as afraid though he may seeme to stand fast and firme lest through infirmitie he should chance to fall § 66. The want hereof hath beene the fault and hath proued the fall of not a few For to passe by that fearefull downefall of our first Parents hereby occasioned What but this was the maine ground of Peters miscariage but this presumption I meane of his owne might and neglect of those meanes whereby hee might haue beene enabled to stand while hee trusted to his owne strength A threefold offence some haue obserued in his behauiour in that businesse that he opposed himselfe to our Sauiour forewarning him of his fall he preferred himselfe indiscreetly before the rest of his Fellow-disciples and he tooke the matter wholly vpon himselfe as that which hee knew himselfe able well enough to goe through with Thou wilt deny me Peter saith our Sauiour Nay but I will not saith Peter Though all should deny thee yet will not I deny thee I will neuer deny thee though I die for it And no doubt of it but that Peter then both meant as hee spake and spake what hee thought hee misdoubted not himselfe nor his owne inability but hee would and should doe as then hee said But the Physitian felt Peters pulse and discerned that in his Patient which the Patient did not nor could then see in himselfe And surely as it befell Peter so falleth it out with many other They are like sicke men that when they haue had a good day or two after some fits of a feuer thinke they are now perfectly well recouered againe and so presuming contrary to the Physitians aduice to venture abroad into the aire or to cast off their sicke kerchiefe or to misdiet themselues either they catch cold or take surfet and so fall backe by relapse into their former disease handling them then more fiercely by far and endangering them much more then before And so is it here with a many they thinke themselues strong enough to encounter with Satan especially if they haue stood out and come off well as they thinke in a temptation or twaine and so grow carelesse either of eschewing the occasions of euill or of vsing meanes whereby they may be enabled to withstand them when they are offered Which when they so doe it is iust oft with God to leaue them to their owne strength as the nurse doth the childe that will not endure to bee lead and so to suffer them to fall as soone then they will sometime to their eternall ruine that they may deseruedly perish through their owne folly and foole-hardinesse sometime to their present paine but their future amendment that hauing had experience of their owne feeblenesse and inability to stand of themselues they may in time to come be more wary more distrustfull of their owne strength and more carefull to resort from time to time vnto him from whom onely true strength is to be had And for this end no doubt hath the Holy Ghost left vpon record the foule slips and fals of many of Gods worthy Saints and Seruants not that any should thereby bee incouraged or emboldned vnto sin but that the ruine of such great ones might make weaker ones more wary that where we haue seene them slip for want of watchfulnesse there might we be more watchfull that when we see others foiled farre stronger then our selues it might make vs the more to distrust our owne strength Which the more we distrust the lesse shall we presume on it and the more carefull shall wee be to vse all good meanes whereby true strength may be atchieued of vs and increased in vs. § 67. A ninth Helpe to further vs in this spirituall Watch is a sincere hatred of euill that we labour not onely to condemne sinne in iudgement but euen to hate and detest it in heart The feare of God saith Salomon is to hate euill not to forbeare it onely but as the Apostle speaketh to abhorre it The seruile feare may make a man breake off the practise of sinne outwardly in his life wicked men had they but it durst not goe on in their wicked courses as they doe but the filiall feare will doe more then that it will make a man hate and detest it also inwardly in his heart For this feare it is a louing feare a feare ioyned with loue yea proceeding from the loue of him whom we feare And