Selected quad for the lemma: love_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
love_n	commandment_n	good_a	keep_v	2,571	5	5.4432	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A12181	Divine meditations and holy contemplations. By that reverende divine R. Sibbes D.D. Master of Catherine Hall in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Grayes Inne in London	Sibbes, Richard, 1577-1635.; Culverwell, Ezekiel, 1553 or 4-1631.	1638 (1638)	STC 22490; ESTC S112642	60,923	350

God in all things whereas a carnall man sees reason onely in all that hee doth but a Christian sees God in crosses to humble him and every thing hee makes spirituall yet because there is a double principle in him there will be some stirring of the flesh in his actions and sometimes the worser part will appeare most but here is the excellencie of a Christians estate that the Spirit will worke it out at the last it will never let his heart and conscience alone till it be wrought out by little and little The Spirit of God may be knowne to be in weake Christians as the soule is knowne to be in the body by the pulses even so the Spirit discovers it selfe in them by pulses by groaning sighing complaining that it is so with them and that they are no better so that they are out of love with themselves this is a good signe that the Spirit is there in some measure Where the Spirit dwells largely in any man there is boldnesse in Gods cause a contempt of the world Hee can doe all things through Christ that strengthens him his minde is content and setled he can beare with the infirmities of others and not be offended for it is the weake in the Spirit that are offended he is ready in his desires to say Come Lord Iesus come quickly but where corruption beares sway there is O stay a little that I may recover my strength that is stay awhile that I may repent For the soule is not fit to appeare before God but where the Spirit dwells in Grace and comfort When wee are young carnall delights lead us and when wee are old covetousnesse drownes us so that if our knowledge be not spirituall wee shall never hold out the reason why at the houre of death so many despaire is because they had knowledge without the Spirit God gives comforts in the exercise and practise of Grace wee must not therefore snatch comforts before we be fit for them when wee performe precepts then God performes comforts If wee will make it good indeed that wee love God wee must keepe his Commandements wee must not keepe one but all it must be universall obedience fetched from the heart roote and that out of love It is a true rule in Divinitie that God never takes away any blessing from his people but he gives them a better when Eliah was taken from Elisha into heaven God doubled his Spirit upon Elisha if God take away wife or children hee gives better things for them the Disciples parted with Christ bodily presence but hee sent them the Holy Ghost God will be knowne of us in those things wherein it is our comfort to know him In all our devotions the whole counsells of heaven comforts us joyntly the second Person prayes to the Father and he sends the third and as they have severall titles so they all agree in their love and care to comfort In trouble we are prone to forget all that we have heard and read that makes for our comfort Now what is the reason that a man comes to thinke of that which otherwise hee should never have called to minde the holy Ghost brings it to his remembrance he is a Comforter bringing to minde usefull things at such times when we have most need of the. Those that care not for the Word of God reject their comfort all comfort must be drawne out of the Scriptures which are the breasts of consolation many are bred up by education that they know the truth and are able to discourse of it but they want the Spirit of Truth that is the reason why all their knowledge vanisheth away in time of triall and temptation No man is a true Divine but the child of God hee onely knowes holy things by a holy light and life other men though they speake of these things yet they know them not Take the mysticallest points in religion as Iustification Adoption peace of Conscience Ioy in the holy Ghost the sweet benefit of Communion of Saints the excellent estate of a Christian in extremity to know what is to be done upon all occasions inward sight and sorrow for sinne they know not what those things meane for howsoever they may discourse of them yet the things themselves are Mysteries Repentance is a Mystery Ioy in the holy Ghost is a Mystery no naturall man though hee be never so great a Scholler knowes these things experimentally but he knowes them as Physitians know Physicke by their Bookes but not as a sicke man by experience It is a great scandall to Religion that men of great learning and parts are wicked men hereupon the world comes to thinke that Religion is nothing but an emptie name so that without this inward anointing they never see spirituall things experimentally but though they know these things in the braine yet secretly intheir hearts they make a scorn e of conversion mortification and though for his calling hee may speake of these things excellently and with admiration yet in particular he hath no power of thē in his heart It is good and comfortable to compare our condition with the condition of the men of the world for howsoever they may excell in riches and learning yet we have cause to blesse God as Christ saith in the 11. of Saint Matthew 25. I thanke thee O Father Lord of heaven and earth because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them unto babes It is good in all outward discouragements when things goe not well with us thus to reason with our selves wilt thou change thy estate with the men of the world God hath advanced thee to a higher Order Let them have their greatnesse alas they are miserable creatures notwithstanding all that they doe enjoy If wee desire to have the Spirit wee must waite in doing good as the Apostles waited many dayes before the Comforter came we must also emptie our soules of selfe-love and the love of the things of the world and willingly entertaine those crosses that bring our soules out of love with them The children of Israel in the Wildernesse had no Manna till they had spent their Onyons and Garlicke so this world must be out of request with us before we can be spirituall let us therefore labour to see the excellency of spirituall things and how cheape and poore all the glory of the world is to those these things thought and considered on will make us more and more spirituall The holy Ghost would not come till Christ by his Death had reconciled his Father and after that as an argument of full satisfaction had risen againe because the holy Ghost is the best gift of God and whatsoever grace or comfort was received before was by vertue of this so that the sending of the holy Ghost is the best fruit of Gods reconciliation Let a particular judgement come upon any man presently his conscience recalls backe what sinnes have beene

unlesse therefore the holy Ghost apply what Christ hath done the conscience will not be satisfied The best men in the estate of Grace would be in darkenesse and call their state into question if the holy Ghost did not convince them and answer all cavills for them and therefore we must not onely be convinced at the first by the Spirit but in our continued course of Christianity This therefore should make us to come to Gods Ordinances with a holy devotion Oh Lord vouch safe the Spirit of Revelation and take the scales from mine eyes that as these are truths so they may be truths to me doe thou sway my soule that I may cast my selfe upon thy mercy in Christ. Spirituall convincing is not totall in this life but alwayes leaves in the heart some dregges of doubting though the soule be safe for the maine as a shippe that rides at anchor is tossed and troubled but the anchor holds it so it is with the soule that is convinced weakely it is sure of the maine yet it is tossed with many doubts and feares but the anchor is in heaven The Spirit of God doth so farre convince every Christian of the Righteousnesse of Christ as preserves in him such a power of Grace as to cast himselfe upon the mercy of God God will send his Spirit so farre into the heart as it shall not betray it selfe to despaire he will let such a beame into the soule as all the powers of hell shall not quench When we neglect prayer and set upon duties in our owne strength and in confidence of our owne parts if we belong to God we shall be sure to miscarrie though another man perhappes may prosper and therefore wee should be continually dependant upon God for his direction and for his blessing in whatsoever wee goe about As many women because they will not endure the paine of childbirth doe kill their children in the wombe so many men who will not be troubled with holy actions doe stifle holy motions therefore let us take hee de of murdering the motions of the holy Spirit but let us entertaine them that when they are kindled they may turne to resolution and resolution into practise This is a common Rule that wee cannot converse with company that are not spirituall but if they vexe us not they will taint us unlesse we be put upon them in our callings wee should therefore make speciall choise of our company and walke in a continuall watchfulnesse It is rebellion against God for a man to make away himselfe the very Heathens could say that we must not goe out of our station till wee be called It is the voyce of Satan Cast thy self down but what saith S. Paul to the Iaylor Do thy self no harme for we are all here Wee should so carry our selves that wee may be content to stay here till God hath done that worke he hath to doe in us and by us and then he will call us hence in the best time He is a valiant man that can command himselfe to be miserable and hee that cannot command himselfe to endure some bondage and disgrace in the world it argues weakenesse Christ could have come downe from the Crosse but he shewed his strength and power by enduring their reproaches and torments The reason why many Christians stagger and are so full of doubts is because they are idle and labour not to grow in grace therefore we should labour to grow in knowledge and mortification for in that way wee come to assurance Whatsoever good is in a naturall man is depraved by a selfe-end self-selfe-love rules all his actions hee keepes within himselfe and makes for himselfe he is a god to himselfe God is but his Idoll This is true of all naturall men in the world they make themselves their last end and where the end is depraved the whole course is corrupted The sense of assured hope cannot be maintained without a great deale of paines diligence and watchfulnesse 2 Pet. 1. 10. Give all diligence to make your calling election sure Insinuating that it will not be had without it it is the diligent and watchfull Christian that hath this assurance otherwise the holy Ghost will suffer us to be in a dampe and under a cloud if wee stirre not up the Graces of the Spirit It is grace in the Exercise and love in the Exercise that 's an earnest and so Faith and Hope in the Exercise is an earnest I● Grace be asleepe you may have Grace and not know it therefore wee should labour to put our graces into exercise Those that have assurance of their salvation have oftentimes troublesome distractions because they doe not alwayes stand upon their guard sometimes they are lifted up to heaven and sometimes cast downe even to hell yet alwayes in the worst condition there is something left in the soule that suggests to it that it is not utterly cast off He to whom this pilgrimage is over-sweete loves not his country yet the pleasures of this life are so sutable to our nature that we should sit by them but that God followes us with severall crosses therefore let us take in good part any crosse because it is out of heavenly love that we are exercised least we should surfet upon things here below In melancholy distempers especially when there goes guilt of Spirit with it we can see nothing but darkenesse in wife children friends estate c. Here is a pittifull darkenesse when body and soule and conscience and all are distempered now let a Christian see God in his Nature and Promises and though he cannot live by sight in such a distemper yet let him then live by Faith Though God doe personate an enemy yet faith sees a Fatherly nature in him it apprehends some beames of comfort Though there be no sense and feeling yet the Spirit workes a power in the heart whereby the soule is able to claspe with God and to alledge his Word and Nature against himselfe The reason why the world seeth not the happy condition of Gods children is because their bodies are subject to the same infirmities with the worst of men nor are they exempted from troubles they are also subject to fall into grosse sinnes and therefore worldly men thinke Are these the men that are happier than wee They see their crosses but not their crownes they see their infirmities but not their graces they see their miseries but not their inward joy and peace of conscience To walke by Faith is to be active in our walking not to doe as wee list but it is a stirring by rule Since the fall we have lost our hold of God and wee must be brought againe to God by the same way wee fell from him wee fell by infidelity and we must be brought againe by Faith and lead our lives upon such grounds as Faith affords We must walke by Faith looking upon Gods Promise and Gods Call and Gods Commandements and not live by