Selected quad for the lemma: love_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
love_n	bear_v	death_n	life_n	2,645	5	4.1699	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A49244	Grace: the truth and growth and different degrees thereof. The summe and substance of XV. sermons. Preached by that faithful and painful servant of Jesus Christ, Mr. Christopher Love, late minister of Lawrence Jury, London. They being his last sermons. To which is added a funerall sermon, being the very last sermon he ever preached.	Love, Christopher, 1618-1651.; Cross, Thomas, fl. 1632-1682, engraver.	1652 (1652)	Wing L3156; ESTC R214001	127,409	242

Gods people have appealed unto God concerning the uprightnesse of their hearts meerly by their desires so saith the Church The d●sire of our soul is to thy name and the remembrance of thee and with my soul have I desired thee in the night 2. God hath made many gracious promises not only to the acting and exercising of grace but to the desires after grace Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after Righteousnesse for they shal be filled If any man thirst saith Christ let him come unto me and drink nay there is a general and universal invitation to every one that thirsteth to come to the waters and God hath promised to give to him that is at hirst of the fountain of the water of life freely The Lord hath promised to fulfil the desire of those that fear him and wil heare the desire of the humble So that by these promises it doth appear that hungring and thirsting desires after grace are graces in Gods account and acceptation Now lest men should rest in lazy and sluggish desires and thereby neglect the exercise of grace I shall give you an account in what sense the Scripture reckons upon desires after grace to be grace 1. They are supernatural desires 'T is true there are natural desires in the soul after that which is good it is the language of nature Who wil show us any good now these desires may and do arise from the motion of the natural and unsanctified will of man and these desires are after happinesse and not after holinesse such were the desires of Balaam who said Let me die the death of the righteous and let my last end be like his This was but a natural desire But true desires in the soul are after heaven for holinesse sake Bernard notably sets out these desires of natural men That they have a desire of the End and not of the Means 2. Desires after grace are joyned with holy indeavours and therefore the Apostle joyns desire and zeal together to intimate that true desires are alwayes joyned with zealous indeavours Thus the Apostle also joyneth a readinesse of will and performance together God will never accept the will for the deed unlesse there be an indeavour to performe what we say we are willing to do And therefore Solomon rightly describes how pernicious desires are without indeavours The desires of the flothfull saith he kil him because his hands refuse to labour Bernard describes the lazinesse to the life Carnal men love to obtain but love not to follow Christ they will not indeavour to seek him whom they desire so finde 3. Desires which are true and gratious are unsatisfiable thus David speaks of his desires My soul saith he breaketh for the longing it hath to thy judgments at all times yea he further describ es the ardency and unsatisfiablenesse of his desires by the Harts panting after the water-brooks The Hart is naturally the most thirsty of all creatures but this thirst is much increased when the poor beast is chased with dogs even so the true desires of the soul after grace are earnest ardent and vehement desires 4. You may know true desires after grace by their Object Desires they are not gracious if they be more after outward things then after God So David My soul thirsteth after God after the living God My soul thirsteth for thee my flesh longeth after thee in a dry and thirsty land where no water is Thus his soul longed and did break with longing after Gods judgements Now therefore wouldest thou know whether thou hast any begining of grace in thy soul examine what thy desires are perhaps thou canst not pray but thou desirest to pray perhaps thou canst not mourn for sin but dost thou mourn that thou canst not mourn Perhaps thou dost not believe as thou fearest but dost thou desire to believe Perhaps thou canst not repent but dost thou desire to repent and dost thou labour to repent Then thou mayest conclude that thou hast some beginnings of true grace in thy soul 5. We may know the truth of grace though it be little by the earnest desire after the Word and the means of grace Thus Peter sets forth our desires As new born babes desire the sincere milk of the Word that ye may grow thereby There is in a child a natural instinct as soon as ever it is born to desire after the mothers breast the Apostle makes it a resemblance of a spiritual man a man spiritually new born wil desire after the Word the means of grace that he may grow in grace 6. An indeared love to those that have grace By this you know you are past from death to life because you love the brethren Casuists upon this text say that love to Gods children is the first grace and first appears in young converts The natives in New England it is observed upon their conversion for God hath begun there to bring some of those poor creatures from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to himself the first appearance of grace in them is in their love and respect to those that are truly gracious Thus I have shewed you an answer to the question what are the least measures of grace without which or some of them a man cannot be said to have grace and wheresoever any of these are that mans condition is safe and these little measures of grace will bring a man to heaven I shall here lay down some cautions to prevent mis-application Though these small measures of grace are saving yet you must not content your selves with them Take heed lest what I have said for the support of the weaknesse of some Christians become not a pillow for the idleness of others But let us striue to go on unto perfection We must not sit down with any measure of grace And to perswade you hereunto 1. Consider that things meerly necessary and sufficient to maintain a natural life wil not content a man what man is content though he hath clothes enough to hide his nakedness and food enough to keep life and soul together But he desires not onely clothes for nakedness but ornament not only food for hunger and necessity but delight Now shall men be unbounden after their desires for outward things and shall they sit down and say they have enough for heavenly things 2. Consider if thou contentest thy self with a small measure of grace though thou shalt have the fruit of thy grace when thou diest yet thou wilt want the comfort of thy grace whilest thou livest It is strength of grace that gives assurance Weak grace will bring thy soule to heaven but it is the strength of grace will bring heaven into thy soul The work of Righteousness shall be Peace and the effect of Righteousness shall be quietness and assurance for ever A childe of

whereof is to accept of sincerity in stead of perfection desires for deeds purposes for performances pence for pounds and mites for millions and therefore God will accept and reward the least measure of grace that is in truth and sincerity God requires of Abraham when he renewed with him the Covenant of grace Be thou perfect i.e. upright and walk so before me and I will be thy exceeding great reward To make some Application of this truth We may from hence deduce these inferences following If God doth cherish and will reward the smallest measures of grace Then it will follow That God takes notice of the smallest sins to punish them He that graciously eyes the very buddings of grace will also justly eye the buddings of corruption in his own people That he was ready to have slaine Moses for his neglecting of circumcising his son and thus the Lord made a breach upon Vzzah when he put forth his hand and stayed the shaking of the Ark You have I known saith God of his people only of all the Families of the earth therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities It is true it is said The Lord beholds not iniquity in Jacob neither sees perversnesse in Israel but this is not as the Antinomians glosse upon it as if God did not see sin in his people and is never displeased with their sins But the meaning is that God sees not sin in his people so as eternally to punish it And moreover the most proper sense of that place is this That whereas Balak hired Balaam to eurse the People of Israel and that false Prophet for the wages of unrighteousnesse was ready enough to have taken all occasions of cursing them yet he could not fasten any curse upon them at that time because there was no provoking sin amongst them and therefore he gave Balak counsel to tempt them to sin and so by the stumbling-block of the Midianitish women he drew Israel to idolatry and adultery and so made them fall But God doth see sin in his own people yea the least sin yea he eyes their failings though not to damne them for them yet to chastise them for them God sees the purposes of sin as well as the purposes of grace It is said of Balak that he arose and warred against Israel Now we doe not read that ever Baalak did actually wage warre against Israel onely he did intend and purpose it and for that end sent and called Balaam the son of Be or to curse them and yet the Holy Ghost reckons upon his wicked purpose as if he had accomplish't it Learn from hence That the same minde should be in Christians of greater growth to the weak as was in Christ Jesus who though he be higher then the highest yet he looks upon the poor and lowly without disdain and so should we The heaven is the throne and the earth is the footstoole of the Lord and yet this great God will not despise the weakest Saint but will look even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit and trembleth at his word He will look on the poor weak trembling soule and shall we look off from such with pride and disdain and set such at our footstoole shall Christ give the Lambe i● his Scutchion and wilt thou give the Lion shall he like a Lambe be meek and gentle and thou like the Lion be stout haughty and stately that contemns all the beasts of the Forrest Oh be not you supercilious and contemptuous towards weak Christians who are injured and discouraged by strong Christians 1. When they are put upon such austerities of Religion as are far beyond their strength and growth When these poor torn tottered and rent bottles are put upon to hold new wine alas poor souls they are discouraged wherefore Christ proportions his doctrine to their capacities and will not say that to them which they cannot at present hear and so proportions out their duties to their abilities and will not out match their strength with his commands Fasting and suffering was a hard duty and therfore he will excuse them till they have had more time and more experience in the wayes of God till the Holy Ghost come down upon them and they have more grace which is a good rule for us not to discourage young beginners in the schoole of Christ not to put them to read such Authors as are above their capacities 2. When strong Christians are too sharp and rigorous in bitter reproofs for the failings and infirmities of weak Christians Young converts like young twigges must be gently handled else you will break them you must excuse their failings hide their wants commend their performances cherish their forwardnesse resolve their doubts bear their burdens and by this gentlenesse bring them into a love of Religion that they may not distaste it as soon as they know it 3. By setting light by their gifts Alas how soon is the smoaking flax quenched by the too much superciliousnesse of those that think themselves bright torches how easily is the poor spark of grace trod out by the foat of pride 4. By puzling them with doubtful disputes contrary to that of the Apostle Him that is weake in the faith receive but not unto doubtfull disput ations 5. By giving them ill example Weak Christians are more apt to be led by example then by Precept When Peter who was a Pillar in the Church and a strong Christian for fear of Persecution for sook the Gentiles and separated and withdrew himselfe then others of the Jewes which in all likelihood were weak Christians dissembled also Thus Paul argues to abstain from giving ill example about the eating the Idolothyta If any man see thee which hast knowledge i.e. who art a strong Christian sit at meas in the Idols Temple shall not the conscience of him that is weak he imboldened to eat those things that are offered to idols And therefore let Christians learn from God to cherish the weak beginnings of grace in the people of God Look not on me saith the Church because I am black because the Sun hath looked upon me i.e. look not on me with a lofty and disdainful look and with a coy countenance and then the Church addes My mothers children were angry with me that is other Congregations and People did disesteem and disdain me for my infirmity But this should not be amongst Christians but the strong should cherish the weak Angels despise not the poorest Christians but do minister unto them Learn from hence how God doth by leasure and degrees carry on in the hearts of his people the work of grace unto further perfection Mushromes and such like worthlesse things like Jonas his gourd may spring up in one night but things of most moment are of longest growth before they come to perfection The Elephant amongst the Beasts and the Oake amongst the Trees