Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heaven_n	earth_n	lord_n	prayer_n	8,302	5	6.0570	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09950	The breast-plate of faith and love. A treatise, wherein the ground and exercise of faith and love, as they are set upon Christ their object, and as they are expressed in good workes, is explained. / Delivered in 18 sermons upon three severall texts, by the late faithfull and worthy minister of Iesus Christ, Iohn Preston, Dr. in Divinity, chaplaine in ordinary to his Maiesty, Master of Emmanuel Colledge in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolnes Inne.	Preston, John, 1587-1628.; Sibbes, Richard, 1577-1635, ed.; Davenport, John, 1597-1670, ed.	1630 (1630)	STC 20208; ESTC S105956	328,230	606

banishment where hee lived well enough and enjoyed all things hee wanted nothing but had as much as hee could desire yet saith he what doth all this availe me so long as I may not see the Kings face It was but his craftinesse Yet thus much we may observe out of it that this is the property of love that till a man see the face of God that is till he enjoy a neare and close communion with God untill he can have the love of God witnessed to his soule hee cares for nothing in the world besides As you have it in 2 Chron. 7.14 you have that condition put in If my people saith he when they are in distresse shall humble themselves and seeke my face then I will doe thus and thus As if he should say it may be they may seeke libertie when they are in captivitie it may be they may seeke health when they are in sicknesse it may be they may seeke deliverance from enemies under whom they are enthralled but that is not the condition that I put them upon but if they humble themselves and seeke my face then I will heare in heaven c. So I say now if you will trie whether you love the Lord Iesus or no consider whether you seeke his face that is whether you seeke grace or no whether nothing in the world can content you but his favour For it is the property of one that is truly sanctified mercie alone will not content him but hee will have grace as well as mercy Another man that loveth not the Lord it is true it may be hee is pinched with the sense of his sinnes but let him have mercy it is enough hee thinkes but now take a man that hath his heart right towards God except he have grace it contents him not for that is the property and nature of true love that it careth for no wages all that it desires is the love of the party that what it doth may be acknowledged and accepted and there is a great difference in that You know a nurse doth much unto the childe as well as the mother and it may be more but notwithstanding the nurse never doth it but when she is hired but the mother doth it for nothing and she doth it more abundantly because she doth it out of love and it is wages enough to her that she hath done it because shee loves her childe So I say if you love the Lord Iesus it is not wages that you seeke but if you may have the light of his countenance to shine on you if you may have his favour if you may have opportunitie to doe him service in your place it is enough for you you care not for the present wages nor for future Therefore herein you may know the nature of your love the rightnesse and ingenuity of it if it be so that all that you doe is out of love to the Lord and if you can content your selves with love againe from God it is a signe that you love the Lord Iesus Againe to proceed if you love the Lord Iesus you will also love his appearance as you have it in 2 Tim. 4.8 A crowne of righteousnesse is laid up for me and as many as love the appearance of Iesus Christ and in Heb. 9. ult Hee was offered for the sinnes of many and shall appeare the second time to such as looke for him c. For whom was he offered and to whom shall he appeare To as many as looke for his comming againe So in 2 Pet. 3.13 What manner of men saith the Apostle ought we to be in all godlinesse holy conversation looking for and hasting to the appearance of Christ c. So that it is certaine every man that loveth the Lord Iesus hee loves his appearance hee hasteneth to the comming of the Lord he lookes for his comming againe and it must needes be so in reason For if you love any you know you must needes love their presence will you professe that you are louing to any that when you heare of their comming towards you there is no newes more unacceptable to you If a woman had a husband in the East Indies and report of his comming home should be the worst newes that shee could heare shall wee thinke that such a woman loues her husband So if you did loue the Lord Iesus you would be glad to haue his appearance And Beloved seeing the Apostle hath chosen out this note why should not we presse it in our examination of our selues whereby wee may know whether wee loue the Lord Iesus or no whether wee desire to be with the Lord whether we can say as the Apostle Paul Wee desire to be at home and to be with the Lord If we examine the loue of men by this rule wee shall finde that there is exceeding little loue to the Lord Iesus men are so exceeding backward in desiring to be at home and to be with him and we may know that by our backwardnesse to be in the Lords presence upon earth Shall wee thinke that men are desirous to be in his presence in heauen and yet are so unwilling to draw neare to him upon earth But you will object Many of those that loue the Lord that are men truly sanctified yet are afraid of death and the newes of death is terrible to them and therefore surely this is a rare signe euen in those that haue faith and loue to desire the appearance of Iesus Christ I answer it is true there may be a backwardnesse even in the Saints but you must know upon what ground it is A spouse that is to marrie a husband no question but shee would be glad to be handsome and to be prepared for his comming and though shee may desire his companie exceedingly yet because things are not so readie as she would have them or for feare that he may finde that which may divert and turne away his eyes from delighting in her perhaps shee desires not his comming at that time There is a certaine negligence and unpreparednesse in mens hearts which breedes an unwillingnesse in them sometimes and makes them afraid of seeing the Lord and yet there may be a true and inward love after him Besides you know there is flesh as well as spirit and the spirituall part desires as Paul did to be at home and to be with the Lord and to enjoy his presence but that flesh that is in us is alwayes backward to it Therefore in Revel 14.13 Blessed are those that die in the Lord so saith the Spirit but so saith not the flesh the voice of the flesh is contrary to it but it is the voice of the spirit and the regenerate part that is in us So that this I may boldly say to you that every man that hath this faith and love wrought in him by the Spirit of God hee hath that in him which doth earnestly desire communion with

and you lose but that it might goe well with you and your children for ever So if you love the Lord when you thinke with your selves I shall be a loser by it I shall lose much libertie and much contentment and delight I shall lose the giving satisfaction to many of my desires and lusts No thou shalt lose none of this though a man seeme to lose this when he gives his heart to the Lord but thou gainest all this that is the Lord gives thee thy heart againe and gives thee leave to dispose of it he gives thee leave to love thy friends to love thy wife and thy children and even to love thy recreations he gives thee leave to dispense and to distribute thy heart to this or to that as long as thou doest it lawfully onely thou must doe it at his command Yea when we give our hearts to the Lord hee giues us not them againe onely but hee giues them much better than hee receiued them new painted new beautified and new furnished hee giues them in a farre better condition there is no man that loseth by giuing his heart to the Lord but he giues it him againe much better As we say of vapours that arise out of the earth the heavens returne them againe in pure water much better than they receiued them so will the Lord if thy heart ascend to him thy impure thy sinfull heart the Lord will give it thee better As we say of earth when the earth receives the sea water and puddle water it giues it better than it received it in the springs and fountaines for it straines the water and purifies it that whereas when it came into the bowells of the earth it was muddy salt and brinish it returnes pure and cleane and fresh as you know the waters of the springs and fountaines are so the Lord doth with us if thou wouldest give thy hearts desire thy affections to him thou shouldest have all againe onely with this difference thy affections should be more pure thy thoughts all the faculties of thy soule should be renewed and cleansed and beautified he would restore them better to thee but yet thou shouldest have them let it be thy comfort So that here is all the difference take a man now that loves himselfe and that thinkes with himselfe Well say what you will I will goe mine owne wayes I will provide for mine owne contentment in this life I know not what I shall have after I will looke to mine owne profit I say compare this man with another that resolves this with himselfe Well from hence I will deny my selfe and crosse my selfe and will seeke no more my owne contentment nor to satisfie my owne desires and lusts but I will give my heart wholly to the Lord. The question now is which of these are gainers I say the latter hath as much liberty and as much power of his owne heart he shall have as much use of all that is within him as the other hath that ●akes it to himse●fe all the difference is the one ●s an unjust owner the second the Lord hath made the steward of his owne heart so that the Lord hath thy heart and yet it is thy owne heart ●hou maist dispose of it as a steward under thy Master thou hast it as before onely now thou doest it by his appointment before it was at thine owne Let all this therefore stirre you up to love the Lord. You will say indeede this is enough to perswade us to come in to love the Lord and wee are contented to doe so that is the answer which wee shall have from most men But now what kinde of love is it that wee shall have at their hands My brethren we must add this for a conclusion that it is not every kind of love that the Lord accepts but your love must have these two conditions in it I will breefely name them and so conclude First you must love him with all your hearts and with all your soule you know that is every where requyred in the Scriptures That is the Lord will have the whole streame of your affections and desires and intentions and your endeavours to runne to him there must not any riveret runne out of it it must not be drained away but the whole streame must all be bestowed upon him there must be no division there you must not say here as he saith My Countrie and my father and my children and my friends have a part in my love but the Lord must have all and there is good reason for it because he bestowed all on you It is in this love as it is in marriage in that there is no corrivall admitted but there must be all in all for the husband must bestowe himselfe wholly on his wife and the wife on the husband so if you love the Lord if the match be made betweene you there is all in that equalitie if the Lord bestowe all on you and you should bestowe but halfe on him there would be no equalitie there would be an unennesse But when you bestowe all on him when you loue him with all your heart and with all your soule that makes the match betweene you You will say the Lord doth not bestowe himselfe wholly on me he bestowes himselfe on many others on many thousands besides me and why should not I bestow my selfe on an other I answer it is not so the Lord bestowes himselfe wholly on thee Hos. 3 3. it is a borrowed speech I will be to thee alone I will have thee to be so to me so the Lord saith to every man I will be alone to thee and thou shalt be alone to me I am my beloveds and my beloved is mine This is the match that must bee betweene you And when you say the Lord is not wholly yours I say he is though he bestowe himselfe on many thousands besides You will aske how can that be I say that may be by reason of his infinitenesse for that which is infinite hath not parts and therfore he bestowes not himselfe partly on one and partly on an other but he bestowes all upon every one for he is infinite and hath no parts To expresse my selfe by a similitude a point hath no parts it is one indivisible let a thousand lines come to one point every one hath the whole and yet there is but one that answers all because it is indivisible and every one hath all So it is with the Lord though there be many thousands that God loves yet every one hath the Lord wholly he is to them alone and he lookes for and expects this at thy hands that thou shouldest be to him alone that thou bestowe thy selfe wholly on him thereupon all those words are put in Thou shalt love thy Lord with all thy minde with all thy heart with all thy soule The meaning is this when all that is in a man is

and this is the curse upon his soule in this respect in regard of exclusion from grace which is to the soule as an obstruction in the liver is to the body as a theefe in the candle is to the candle which causeth it to waste and consume and weare away so it is in this curse when God shall lay it upon the soule of any man he shall not thrive in grace his inward man shall not prosper at all he shall be still in the wearing hand the Lord shall take away from him that which hee seemes to have when the Lord shall say to thee as to the figtree Never fruit grow more on thee that is a fearefull curse when the Lord shall curse and say to a man though thou hast some leaves upon thee there are some things that seeme to be good in thee yet because thou hast not love never fruite shall grow upon thee more What a curse is it thinke you that shall make the soule of a man to wither as the figtree withered after the speech of Christ that is when every thing shall drive a man off from that which is good and carry him on to destruction whatsoever befalleth him in poverty in prosperity riches and friends or enemies every thing shall breed his hurt hee shall have riches when he is most ready to abuse them he shall have adversity then when it is worst for him to be in adversity that shall be to him as the lopping of trees out of season hee shall be as an unthrifty sonne set him to a trade in the Citty there he goes downe the winde put him to husbandry in the Country that thrives not with him such is the case of every one that loves not Christ. So my brethren when Christ is preached to you when you will not receive the doctrine but refuse it you see the doome here saith the Apostle let him be accursed this causeth men to goe away from the Lord Because they receive not the love of the truth therefore he gives them up to beleeve lies because that men receive not Christ in the love of the Gospell hee gives them up to a reprobate sense from one degree to another till there be no remedy We see by experience are there not many that are given up to the sinne of drinking and idlenesse and company-keeping and others to other sinnes you see many plod on in an olde tracke of sinne some lying a long time in a dead sottish course so as the most powerfull ministery in the world will not stirre them which is an evidence that the Lord hath cursed such therefore the ministry can doe them no good And this is the first curse upon men that love not the Lord Iesus But perhaps thou regardest not this curse because thou regardest not grace and holinesse from which it sequestreth thee but yet there is another branch of it thou shalt be separated from the presence of the Lord that is from the joy from the influence from the protection of God and this is a very fearfull curse You know what it was to Cain in the fourth of Genesis when the Lord had cursed him saith he I am hid from thy face that was the great curse that was laid upon him of which he was most sensible that he was separated from the presence of the Lord. And my brethren this is no small thing because God is the God of all comfort and to be separated from his presence is the worst thing that can befall us in this life It was Sauls case when the Lord had once cast him off he was separate from the presence of God so that when he came to aske counsell the Lord would answer him no more hee would have no more to doe with him you know how fearefull and how bitter this was to Saul On the other side see how much Moses magnifies this presence of God Lord saith he if thou goe not with us carry us not hence as if the presence of God were the greatest comfort in the world as indeede it is This is another thing wherein ye shall be cursed Againe there is yet another branch of it yee shall not onely be separated from grace and from the presence of the Lord but there shall be a curse upon your outward estate It is said of Cain in the same chapter Thou shalt be cursed from the earth it may be many that heare of being cursed from grace and of separation from the presence of the Lord are of that minde that they care not for it that they regard it not it may be you care not to be cursed from heaven but to be cursed from the earth is that which goes neere to you and that is a thing which the most earthly-minded man in the world is sensible of Now you must know that whosoever loves not the Lord Iesus shall be cursed from the earth that is there shall be a curse upon you in all earthly things in all things that belong to this present life whatsoever they are But you will say wee see it quite otherwise we see such men as they described to be men that abound in outward wealth in outward blessings It may be so in outward shew but yet there is a curse upon them notwithstanding Abimelech had the kingdome yet there was a curse that never ceased till hee was rooted out of the kingdome The Israelites had the quailes but yet there was a curse with them Ahab had the vineyard but it was a curse to him So all these things that are of themselves blessings and mercies in their owne nature yet if the Lord will mingle them with a curse yee shall finde no ease from them at all and this is a thing that is well knowne by experience if the hearts of men will speake what they know This is the case of those that love not the Lord The earth shall not give her increase you shall not have that sound comfort that sweetnesse that influence of comfort from earthly blessings though you have the creatures about you which naturally have blessings in them yet they shall not give downe that milke for your comfort you shall not be satisfied with them you shall see a constant emptinesse in them they shall be to you as the shell without the kernell and so much more shall ye be miserable because ye shall finde the least comfort in them when you most expect it the Lord meetes thus with those that love him not in earthly blessings But last of all there is one branch of this curse which exceedes all the rest that is the eternall curse that shall be upon men for ever while yee live here in this life there is a certaine shew a certaine twilight of comfort that the Lord sometimes affords even to evill men but then there shall be a perfect midnight then the Sunne of comfort shall set upon you altogether and rise no more in that

children and loath to rise but you must knocke and knocke againe and as it was with the vniust Iudge importunity must doe it though your desire be strong yet for a time in his ordinary course he withholds and turnes a deafe eare to try if thou hast an eager desire for if it ceases quickly he should haue lost his labour in bestowing Christ on thee But if nothing will make thee giue ouer if thou wilt beseech him and giue him no rest I 'le assure thee GOD cannot deny thee and the longer he holdeth thee off the better answer thou shalt haue at the end And when thou hast CHRIST thou hast that that cannot be expressed for with him thou hast all things When you haue him you may goe to him for Justification and say LORD giue me remission of sinnes I haue CHRIST and thou hast promised that all that are in CHRIST shall haue pardon that they shall haue thy Spirit and be made new creatures now LORD fulfill these promises If say It is a condition beyond expression next to that we shall haue in heauen and farre aboue that which any Prince or Potentate in the World hath farre beyond that which any man that swims in pleasures and abundance of wealth hath which if it were knowne would by all the World be sought after Therefore when you heare of such a condition offered take heede of refusing it for if you doe your sinne is haynous and your condemnation will be iust The second Vse I will onely name Consider what it is to refuse yea what it is to deferre your acceptance of it GOD may take your deferring for a denyall you that thinke Well I will take it but not yet take heede lest you neuer haue such an opportunity againe I say be exhorted be moued be besought to take it This I speake to you that be humble to so many among you as haue broken hearts others may take him if they will but they will not they mind not this Doctrine they regard not things of this nature they will when they lye a dying but now they haue something else to doe But you that mourne in Sion you that haue broken hearts that know the bitternesse of sinne to such as you is this Word of Saluation sent The others haue nothing to doe with it and let them not thinke much to be excluded for CHRIST excludes them Come to me all ye that are heauy laden and ye shall finde rest Not but the others shall haue him if they will come but they will not take him on the precedent conditions named before It may be they would haue redemption and freedome and saluation by him but they will not take him for their King They that bee humble that haue their hearts wounded with the sense of sinne are willing to take him on his owne termes to keepe his Commandements and not thinke them grieuous to beare his burden and thinke it light to take his yoke and count it easie to giue all they haue for him and to thinke all too little to suffer persecution for his sake and to reioyce in it to bee content to be scoffed at and hated of men to doe to suffer any thing for his sake and when all this is done to regard it as nothing to reckon themselues vnprofitable seruants to account of all as not worthy of him Therefore be not thou shye in taking of him for you haue free liberty But before I dismisse you let me speake a word to you that be not yet humble let mee beseech you to consider 3. things to mooue you First the great danger that is in not taking of him If you could be well without him you might sit still as you are but you shall dye for want of him If a Wife can liue without a Husband she may stay vnmarried But when a mans case is this I see without CHRIST I must perish I must lose my life that is the penalty such is the danger if I refuse him me thinkes this should moue him Secondly as the danger of refusing him so consider the benefit of taking him if you will haue him you shall with him haue a Kingdome you shall change for the better for whatsoeuer you part withall you shall haue an hundred fold in this life if you forgoe any pleasure or lust you shall haue for it the ioy of the Holy Ghost farre exceeding them If you part with riches you shall be truely rich in another world yea you shall there haue a Treasure If you lose friends you shall haue GOD for your friend and shall be a Fauourite in the Court of Heauen In a word you shall haue an hundred fold 3. You shall bee sure to haue it you shall not be deceiued for God hath put out his word he hath declared that to be his will and it stands now with his Iustice as well as with his mercie to giue Christ his Word is a corner stone and you may build on it Nay by 2. immutable things he hath confirm'd it his Word and his Oath and Heauen and Earth may passe but they shall not passe you may build on them to haue Christ and saluation by him When Paul had deliuered Gods minde if an Angell from Heauen should tell them the foundation is sandy nay if he himselfe should preach another doctrine they were not to beleeue him Therefore if you will take him and haue him trust perfectly in the grace that is reuealed by Iesus Christ doe it not by halues It may be I shall be saued it may be not thou maist build on it thou maist venture thy life on it All these things considered the greatnesse of the danger in refusing of the benefit in accepting and if it be thus sure if wee will take him then put it to venture why doe you stand off What can wee say more to perswade you If you will take him and this righteousnesse you may haue it GOD hath committed this to vs what we loose on Earth shall be loosed in Heauen He hath giuen vs the Keyes of Heauen and Hell and if we open the Gates of Heauen to any they shall stand open but now in the preaching of the Word the Gates of Heauen stand open to euery one of you Therefore come in while it is called to day before the Sunne set on you as you know not how soone it may Indeed if wee had not made the offer the danger had beene ours and wee should haue perished for your sakes but seeing we haue made manifest the whole Councell of GOD wee are now free from the blood of euery one of you for wee haue made knowne the will of GOD to the full you know what is offered to you and if you take him not your blood shall be on your owne heads Therefore consider whether you will take him or refuse him that is the question Will you take him or not take him You that now refuse and slight this

of God in Christ and when he could name no more he names in generall saith he neither men nor Deuils nor any thing shall doe it Againe it is not so bad I say but it may be best for thee it may doe thee good for our nature is so rebellious and so set vpon things of this world that except God should take this course to worke a wearinesse in the World to mortifie our lusts if GOD should not take such courses our nature would bee ready to rebell therefore GOD dealeth so with men Sometimes he afflicts thee with sicknesse sharpe sicknesse which is irksome to thee but know that if that disease were taken from thee thou knowest not what thy heart would doe Some men bee afflicted with enmity of others thou knowest not if thou wert friends with all men how thou shouldest be Thou art afflicted in the world in thy wife in thy children in thy neighbours in thy name in thy estate and though thou thinke with thy selfe If I were free from this I should be happy I should bee humble I should serue GOD the better I say vnto thee thou knowest not what thou shouldest be A mans minde doth not know what it would be in another estate onely he knows the present If thou haddest such and such circumstances if thou haddest wealth if thou haddest such crosses remoued if all things should goe well with thee Oh then thou wouldest be happy but thou knowest not what thou shouldest be You know what the Prophet said to Hazael saith he Doest thou know what thou shalt be when thou art King of Aram Thou knowest how thou art affected now but thou knowest not how thou shalt be then when thou art a King then thou wilt be answerable to thy state and condition So much for the second Objection Thirdly it will be objected It is true if GOD did heare my prayers or if he did vsually heare the Prayers that the Saints make that it were no more but seeke and haue we would trust in GOD in difficult cases But I finde by experience that I pray and he doth not answer me and it is not my experience onely but it is the experience of others likewise they pray and GOD doth not heare their prayers what should sustaine me therfore now To this I answer It is certaine that GOD alwayes heares thy prayers there is no doubt to be made of that he is a God hearing prayers and hath made a promise that when they come hee will heare them Be assured therefore that he heares But now to answer thee First there are many cases wherein GOD heares not as first it may bee thou askest amisse But thou wilt say My heart is right and therefore I hope I aske not amisse Yes though thy heart be right thou maiest aske amisse out of mistake out of want of iudgement thou must not thinke with thy selfe because thy affection is strong to such a thing therefore it is lawfull for thee and meete for thee to haue it There are many things which a little childe asketh which are not meete for him a wise Father will not second his child in all that he affects and desires thou must thinke that God will not doe it in these cases And therefore learne in such a case when thou comest to GOD for outward things or for the measure of grace or for the present vse of grace as you shall heare hereafter it may be hee answers thee not yet thou must acknowledge GOD to bee onely wise If we could remember that in 1 Tim. 1.19 To the King onely wise be glory and immortality we thinke our selues wise too wee thinke that we haue some part of wisdome but if we did beleeue that he were only wise that is if thou diddest beleeue that none were wise but he thou wouldest be content toresigne thy selfe vnto him let him doe with thee what he will although thou see no reason yet thou wouldest be content Therefore when thou commest to aske at Gods hands thou shouldest be ready to say thus LORD I see no reason why this should not be good and yet I may be deceiued I may be mistaken Therefore I will not aske it absolutely It may be the want of it is better for me then the enioying of it it may be to be crossed in it is better for me then to haue successe in it thou art onely wise I am not able to iudge and therefore when wee come to aske any thing of GOD thus wee should doe Paul when he comes to aske the mortification of his fleshly lusts 2 Cor. 12. one would thinke he might haue asked that absolutely we cannot see how GOD should not heare that prayer and yet in that case Paul was mistaken GOD saw it was best to suffer that lust to continue vpon him and to contend with him thou shalt not be free from this strong temptation for saith he by this I will humble thee thou shalt haue a better grace then thou shouldest haue if that lust were taken away when Paul saw that the continuance of that vpon him it humbled him more that it brought more glory to God that it shewed Gods power in his weaknesse he was content hee saw that he was deceiued before I say in such a case a man may be deceiued much more in outward things You know the Disciples when they came to aske fire to come downe from Heauen they thought it was a zealous request but CHRIST tels them that they were deceiued they knew not from what Spirit that request did come If it had come from GODS Spirit hee would haue heard it but they were deceiued So if thou wouldest haue GOD heare thy prayer know whether they come from Gods Spirit whether thy prayers be the voyce of thine owne spirit or of Gods Spirit if it be the voyce of GODS Spirit he heares it alwaies because it askes according to his will our spirits may aske that which is good but not that which is fit at this time Secondly he will heare thee but it may be thou art not yet fit for the mercie not because he doth not heare thy prayer and tender thee in that case thou art in but thou ar● not yet fit herein GOD deales with vs as the Physician deales with his Patient The Patient earnestly desires such and such things The Physician wants not will to giue them him but he resolues to giue them as soone as he is fit and therefore he makes him stay till hee haue purged him and made him fit for it till hee be fit for such a Cordiall for such a Medicine that it may not hurt him it may be GOD staies thee So the men of Beniamin they were fitted when they had fasted and prayed three times when they had fasted once and twice they aduentured and preuailed not till the third time So GOD defers long What if thou fast and pray and GOD doe not heare

Christ to live with him for ever to be in his presence continually although there may be some reluctancie by reason of the flesh that is there Take a man that hath sore eyes you ynow to the eye the light is exceeding pleasant but look how much sorenesse and defect there is in the eye so much the light is burdensome to it but so farre as the eye is right so farre as it is perfect so farre is the light pleasing and delightfull to it so it is with the heart of the regenerate man looke how much faith looke how much spirit there is so much desire there is of the presence of Christ and it is most pleasing and acceptable to him as the light of the Sunne is to the eye but looke how much sorenesse that is looke how much flesh there is in him so much reluctancie so much unwillingnes there is in him and that hee must strive against But still the rule holdeth good that wheresoever the heart is right there is alwayes an earnest desire and longing to be with Christ. And indeede this is only found in the Saints for evil mē if they knew what heaven were they would never desire it for they desire heaven in another notion they would be well they would be freed from misery and discontent which they mette with in the world they would have whatsoever the flesh desireth and that is it they looke after but to desire heaven as it is that is to desire an excellency in grace to be alway praising God to be continually in his presence to be freed from the practise of sinne this is a thing that if men aske their owne hearts they doe not desire in this manner for they desire it not here upon earth when they are in the communion of Saints When they are in places where there are holy speeches and holy exercises it is burthensome to them they are out of their element they are as men that are not upon their proper center these men desire to be in heaven but they desire another kinde of happinesse than there is in heaven the felicity there is presented unto them under another Idea they desire no more than the flesh desires but to desire heaven indeed as it is heaven to desire God there in his purenesse and holinesse to desire it so as thereby to be sequestred from all worldly carnall and sensuall delights this a carnall man desires not Therefore this is a distinguishing note and signe that he that loves the Lord will love his appearance Fourthly you shall finde this to be the property of love hee that loveth is very readie to speake of the party loved love is full of loquacitie it is readie to fall into the praises of the party beloved and to keepe no measure in it to abound in it that is the disposition of every man that loveth So is it in this love to the Lord Iesus You may see it in David as he abounded in love to the Lord so hee could never satisfie himselfe in praising the Lord in Psal. 105. which is repeated 2 Chron. 15. you shall finde that hee hath never done with it but is alwayes singing praises to the Lord Sing praise to the Lord and be alway talking of his wondrous workes And againe Remember his marva●lous workes that hee hath done of olde and all the wonders c. As if he should say if you love the Lord shew it in praising of him Doe you professe to love the Lord and yet never delight to speake of him nor delight to heare others speake of him My Beloved this backwardnesse that is amongst us to holie and gracious speech to speeches that tend to the setting forth of the Lords praise shewes that love to the Lord Iesus is wanting among us You know it is naturall for every man to abound in the speeches of the things they love of what nature soever they be Mariners are delighted to talke of their voyages and souldiers of their battells and huntsmen of their games If you delight in the Lord certainly your tongues will be much in speaking of him you will be ready to doe it upon all occasions Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh and if love to the Lord doe abound in your hearts this love will be expressed in your tongues upon all occasions and therefore at the least you may judge of the measure of your love by this Hee that speakes much of loving God and yet hath his speeches empty vaine and unprofitable surely we may guesse that he loves him not at all and this is a marke that will not deceive us And now what will you say for your selves that you speake no more upon those severall occasions that you meete withall in the world is it because you are ashamed because you are bashfull and fearefull to expresse your selves and to make an open profession of that holinesse that is in your hearts Certainly it is a signe that you love not the Lord Iesus for hee that loveth is never ashamed because whom a man loveth he magnifieth hee prizeth much hee hath a high esteeme of and therefore that bashfulnesse and fearfulnesse that you object will not keepe you backe if you did love the Lord in truth and sincerity Or else why is it that you speake of him no more is it because you cannot speake is it because your understandings are weake and dull because you are not able to doe it as well as others and therefore you are loath to expresse your selves You know when you love any that love will teach you to speake it will quicken the dullest wit and invention love sharpeneth and maketh the rudest tongue eloquent It is the nature of love to set the heart on worke and when the heart is set on worke the tongue will be as the pen of a ready writer You know how the Apostle setts it forth Our heart is enlarged to you love openeth the heart wide and the heart openeth the tongue wide therefore if you love the Lord much you will bee much in speaking of him Consider therefore what your speeches are concerning God whether you your selues are ready to speak much and to delight to heare others speake also whether you be glad of any occasion as those that love are glad to heare those that they love to be spoken of Fifthly love will doe much and suffer much for the party loved Paul as he was abundant in love so he was abundant in labour likewise whosoever aboundeth in love will abound in workes also Therefore see what you doe for the Lord Iesus see what you suffer for his sake When Christ came to Peter and asked him that question Peter l●vest thou me hee puts him upon the try●ll by this fruit of his love Feede my Lambes As if he should say Peter if thou wilt shew that thou lovest me expresse it in doing something for my sake Feede my Lambes herein thy love