Selected quad for the lemma: love_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
love_n	child_n	good_a	love_v	6,316	5	6.3785	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85329	Londons gate to the Lords Table. Where the eldership doth sit doing their office aright, in discovering and shutting out the ignorant, prophane, and meere civill honest man : in suspending the suspected formall, legall, and antinomisticall professor, and in drawing in the weakest humble beleeving soule. In a dialogue betweene a minister of the Gospell. Alexander an ignorant prophane man. Simon a proud professor. And Matthias an humble penitent. Imprimatur Edmund Calamy.	Fisher, Edward, fl. 1627-1655.	1646 (1646)	Wing F995; Thomason E1213_1; ESTC R210120	58,722	302

Well Sir I doe perceive by that which you said to me the other day and by your words to me now that you are somewhat jealous of me though I hope there is no cause but Sir may not both you and the Elders be deceived in a man though you doe examine him either in thinking a man hath faith in Christ when he hath not or in thinking he hath no faith when he hath Min. Yea indeed I thinke it is possible that we may be deceived both wayes for we have none of us the spirit of infalibility Sim. Why then Sir me thinkes it should be in vaine for a man to come before you to be examined Min. No not so neither for though it be possible that we may be deceived yet considering the course that we take in our way of examining I hope we are seldome deceived if at all Sim. Why Sir I pray tell me what course you take Min. Why when any one commeth before us to be examined we first of all desire him either to make some briefe Confession of his faith or else to answer us some Questions which we shall propound unto him and if a man give us satisfaction concerning his knowledge of Christ of himselfe and of the Sacrament then we aske him what evidences he can shew of his Conversion or New Birth and so consequently of his true faith in Christ and if he also give us satisfaction therein then if we know not his life and conversation we make inquiry of it and when we have satisfaction touching that also we doe admit him to the Sacrament Sim. Surely Sir I doe like this very well and therefore because you seeme to question whether I have true faith in Christ or no I am contented now I am here to give you leave to examine me if you thinke good to take the paines Min. Yea indeed I am very willing to doe it for your good and therefore I pray you in the first place tell me Who made the world and all things therein Sim. God Min. And what is God Sim. God is a most holy Spirit infinite and eternall Min. And how many Gods be there Sim. There is but only one true God distinguished into three Persons Father Sonne and Holy Ghost Min. And in what an estate did God create man at the first Sim. He created him holy and righteous Min. And did man continue in that holy righteous estate Sim. O no he fell from it by breaking of Gods expresse Commandment in eating of the forbidden fruit Min. And was the first man onely guilty of that sinne Sim. O no all Mankinde did also become guilty in that they were all of them then in his Loynes yea they are not onely become guilty by having his sinne imputed unto them but they are also become filthy by having his corruption infused into them Min. And what punishment are all Mankind made liable and subject unto by reason of their guiltinesse and filthinesse Sim. Even to eternall death and damnation in Hell fire Min. And shall all Mankinde then partake of that punishment Sim. O no for God hath from all Eternity elected and chosen some to eternall life and glory and all those shall certainely be saved Sim. And by what meanes shall they be saved Sim. Onely by Jesus Christ Min. And what is Jesus Christ Sim. He is the eternall Son of God who in time became Man for his Elect. Min. And what hath Christ done for their Salvation Sim. He hath fulfilled the Law and suffered death for them Min. And by what meanes are the elect made partakers thereof Sim. Onely by meanes of faith Min. And what is faith Sim. It is a speciall gift and grace of God bestowed onely upon Gods elect and wrought in their hearts by the power of his Spirit whereby they doe receive and apply Christ unto themselves particularly Min. And what is the Sacrament of the Lords Supper Sim. It is a signe or a seale wherein by the Ministers blessing and delivering of Bread and Wine according to the institution of Christ is signified exhibited and sealed to the faithfull Receiver the nourishment of the soule to eternall life by the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ crucified and so his further confirmation in the covenant of grace Min. And doe you intend to come before me and the Elders when we are together and so to be admitted to the Sacrament the next time it shall be administred Sim. I doe desire to partake of the Sacrament but I am not yet very willing to be examined any more Min. And why doe you desire to partake of the Sacrament Sim. Because I doe conceive it is a duty which God requireth at my hands and which tends much to the comfort and benefit of my soule Min. Well neighbour Simon I like all these answers well except it be the last how ever such answers as these though 't is true they are all fundamentalls yet if as they come from you they be rather Catechisticall then experimentall if they come onely from your head and not also from your heart it matters not greatly whether they had been better or worse for in a Catechisticall manner a man may answer better and yet want faith in Christ and he may not answer so well and yet have faith in Christ and therefore for a more sure Testimony of your faith in Christ I would pray you to let me heare what heart knowledge you have let me heare what Evidences you can shew for your Regeneration or new Birth Sim. Why truly Sir whilst I was a young man and unmarried I was very wilde and given to much vanity and many sinfull courses but when I came to be a married man I left them all and betooke my selfe to a very civill course of life dealing uprightly and justly with all men not doing the least wrong to any being very diligent in my Calling endeavouring thereby to get where withall to maintaine my selfe and my Family and to bring up my children in learning and good manners and to keepe my selfe out of debt and danger and to live in credit and fashion amongst my neighbours and though I say it my selfe I did so and had the love of all that knew me especially of the poorer sort for the truth is I was good to them and I was also very carefull to goe to the Church every Sabbath day and to see that my wife children and servants did the like and when we came home I did usually read a Chapter either before or after supper commanding my children and servants to doe the like and afterwards we used to sing a Psalm together and then I commonly went to Prayer with them though I must confesse I then did it upon a Booke and this course of life I led for the space of full seven yeeres together and now Sir before I goe any further I would intreat you to tell me what state and condition you thinke I was in at this time

Sanctification and therefore being not able to distinguish betwixt them they doe confound them together And a third reason is because man naturally sees no other way to be justified and saved but onely by his own workes and performances for as Luther saith It is the generall opinion of the whole world that righteousnesse is gotten by the workes of the Law and thus have I also shewed you the second sort of them that confound this two-fold righteousnesse and how they doe it Sim. But Sir as I doe conceive he that doth confound this two-fold righteousnesse this latter way doth not so ill nor is not in so bad a condition as he that doth it by the former way Min. Yea indeed for ought I see he doth even every whit as ill and is every whit in as bad a condition as the other for as he that confounds the righteousnesse of Sanctification with the righteousnesse of Justification doth thereby destroy them both to himselfe and so indeed hath neither of them so he that confounds the righteousnesse of Justification with the righteousnesse of Sanctification doth thereby destroy them both to himselfe and so indeed hath neither of them Sim. Indeed Sir it is evident to me that he who hath not the righteousnesse of sanctification hath not the righteousnesse of Justification and so indeed hath neither of them but Sir me thinkes he who hath the righteousnesse of Sanctification should also have the righteousnesse of Justification and so indeed have both of them Min. No you are deceived it is not so for as he that thinkes he beleeves and so hath the Righteousnesse of Christ imputed unto him for his Justification deceives himselfe except the righteousnesse of the Spirit of Christ be afterwards infused into him for his sanctification even so he that thinkes he leades a godly and righteous course of life and so hath the righteousnesse of the Spirit of Christ infused into him for his sanctification deceives himselfe except the Righteousnesse of Christ hath been before imputed unto him for his justification Sim. Sir I grant it that a man may thinke he doth beleeve when he doth not and therein deceive himselfe because that he cannot see his faith but me thinkes a man should not thinke he lives a godly and righteous course of life when he doth not because that is to be seene Min. O but let me tell you as there is a forme of faith without the power of faith which caused the Apostle to pray for the Thessalonians that God 2 Thess 1. 11. would grant unto them the worke of faith with power even so is there a forme of godlinesse without the power of godlinesse as you may see 2 Tim. 3. 5. And as this forme of faith is nothing else but a faith of a mans owne hammering or of his owne acquiring and so is but an acquired faith and not an infused faith even so this forme of godlinesse is nothing else but a godlinesse of a mans owne hammering or of his owne acquiring gotten by the improvement of his Naturall and Morall abilities and so indeed is but a godlinesse acquired and not a godlinesse infused Sim. Then Sir it seems that a man cannot by having the one be assured that he hath also the other Min. No indeed if he have them not both he hath neither of them for as there is no imputed righteousnesse going before where infused righteousnesse followeth not after so is there no infused righteousnesse following after where imputed righteousnesse hath not gone before so that if either of them be wanting and beare not witnesse to the other and that in its due place according to Gods owne order and as his owne distinct actions they are neither of them true Sim. Then Sir I pray you tell me how a man may know that he hath them both and that they doe beare witnesse either to other and that in their due place according to Gods owne order and as his owne distinct actions Min. Why if a man have truly seene and considered that in regard the Lord did in Adam Create all men righteous and able to yeeld perfect obedience to his Law they having all of them in him transgressed his Law it is a righteous thing with God to require a full satisfaction to be made to his Justice by a perfect obedience to his Law both actively and passively before he doe forgive any mans iniquity or cover any mans sinne and so pronounce him just And that in regard of the infinite exactnesse the glorious purity and absolute perfection of the Law of God he see an utter impossibility in himselfe to yeeld a perfect active obedience unto it and that in regard of that infinite Majesty that is offended there is an infinite suffering required which must either be an eternall punishment or that which is equivolent to eternall And that man being a finit Creature can doe it no way but by an eternall punishment and that therefore he sees no way for himselfe but Hell and Damnation and if then it hath been revealed unto him that Jesus Christ the Sonne of God and of the Virgin Mary was both God and Man in one Person and that therefore his Divine nature did so sanctifie his humane nature and did adde such dignity worth and excellency to it that he was thereby made a person of infinite value and so by his holy and righteous course of life in the dayes of his flesh he fulfilled the Law perfectly and by his Death and Blood-shed made an infinite satisfaction to divine Justice and all this as a Surety and in the place and stead of all those that truly beleeve on his name and if he have thereupon truly beleeved that all this was as truly done and suffered for him as if he himselfe had done and suffered it in his owne Person and that he is thereby justified in the sight of God then may he be sure that the righteousnesse that is inherent in Christ hath been imputed unto him and apprehended by faith and so hath gone before as an Antecedent And if he have thereupon seene considered and felt the great and free love and Rom. 5. 5. favour of God in Christ shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost then given unto him so as that his heart hath been thereby moved yea and constrained to love God 1 John 4. 19. because he hath loved him first and out of love to desire and endeavour to keepe his Commandments so that whereas before this time he either lived a prophane and sinfull course of life or a meere civill honest course of life aiming onely or chiefly at his owne credit and profit in this world or a religious honest course of life onely or chiefly for his owne eternall welfare in the life to come If this grace of God or this free love and favour of Tit. 2. 11 12. God in Christ hath so appeared unto him as that it hath taught him to deny ungodlinesse and worldly