Selected quad for the lemma: love_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A64275
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The young man's guide in his journey to heaven, or, Travelling spiritualized
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S. T., 17th cent.
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1700
(1700)
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Wing T60; ESTC R24165
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54,625
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129
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Children with a Rod Fifthly Consider That Love to the Brethren is one of the clearest Marks and Characters of a Regenerate Person in the whole Bible and on the contrary want of Love to the Brethren is made an evident Sign of want of Love to God By this shall all Men know that you are my Disciples if you Love one Joh. 13. 35. another We know that we have passed from Death to Life because we love the 1 John 3. 14. Brethren And for the other see He that hates his Brother is in darkness If a 1 Joh. 2. 9. 1 John 4. 20. Man saith I Love God and hate his Brother he is a Liar for he that loveth not his Brother whom he hath seen how can he love God whom he hath not seen Methinks this should be enough to fright the Children of God from Variance and Disagreement for what is there that a Gracious Heart is more sollicitous and careful about than this to know whether he be in a state of Grace or no Sixthly Consider We have Enemies enough and therefore we need not be Enemies among our selves All the World hate us and therefore we should not hate one another If a Company of Christians should live among the Turks or among Cannibals would it not be their Wisdom and their Safety to unite and combine together would they not dread private Dissensions and Differences among themselves least it should betray them to the common Enemy Why so it is with all real Christians They live in the midst of Enemies nay of Cannibals who would eat them up like Bread and therefore it concerns them not to quarrel and fall out among themselves least it fare with them as with the Mouse and the Frog in the Fable Methinks Christians should learn Wisdom from their Enemies Fas est ab boste doceri How well do the wicked agree in their evil Practices and in persecuting the Righteous Herod and â—ilate were soon made Friends Sevis inter se convenit Vrsis The Bears as Savage as they be Yet do among themselves agree Now shall the Bears and Savage Beasts agree with those of their own Kind and shall those that are walking on in the Broad-way to Destruction agree together and shall those that are going in the way that leads to Heaven and Happiness disagree and fall out by the Way Tell it not in Gath publish it 2 Sam. 1. 20. not in the Streets of Askalon least the Daughters of the Philistines rejoyce least the Daughters of the uncircumcised Triumph Seventhly and Lastly Consider What an irrational and absurd thing it is that lesser Differences in Opinion which are between the Children of God when they agree in necessary and fundamental Truths should breed an Alienation and Estrangement in Affection Were it not Madness for me to quarrel with every one whose Shooe will not fit my Foot We may as well expect that all mens Faces should be distinguished from another as that their Conceptions and Opinions should be the same Methinks when we know that we cannot be of one Mind while we are in our Way but that that Happy State is reserved for us till we come to our Journeys end to Heaven Methinks I say this should cause us to bear with those that differ from us in lesser Matters and to forbear censuring of them much more to abstain from quarrelling and contending with them Alas we differ from our selves from what we were heretofore and therefore shall we quarrel with our selves O now that these and such like Considerations might make the Children of God to hearken to that sweet Counsel of the Apostle Put on therefore as Col. 3. 12 13 14. the Elect of God Bowels of Mercies Kindness Humbleness of Mind Meekness Long-suffering Forbearing one another and forgiving one another If any Man have a quarrel against any even as Christ forgave you so also do ye O let us who profess our selves to be Children of God and to be travelling to one Heaven think that we heard our Heavenly Father saying to us as Joseph said to his Brethren See that you fall not out by the Gen. 45. 24. Way or as Moses to the two striving Israelites Sirs You are Brethren Why do ye wrong one another And let us say Acts 7. 26. one to another As Abraham said to Lot Gen. 13. 8. Let there be no strife I pray thee between me and thee for we are Brethren Let us labour Eph. 4. 3. to keep the Vnity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace And let all the Strife and Contention between us be who shall be the most Holy Humble Heavenly-minded Self-denying and Charitable Christian who shall serve God best and love one another most and then shall we walk on â—hearfully and comfortably till we come to Heaven where all our Differences shall be at an end For there Luther and Calvin are agreed there the Blessed God and all his Saints and Angels are of one Mind Read the 133d Psalm and hearken to those Pathetical Exhortations of the Apostle Paul Now I beseech you 1 Cor. 1. 10. Brethren by the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ that ye all speak the same thing and that there be no Divisions among you but that ye be perfectly joyned together in the same Mind and in the same Judgment If there be therefore any Consolation in Christ if any Comfort of Love if any Fellowship Phil. 2. 1 2 3. of the Spirit if any Bowels and Mercies Let nothing be done through Strife or Vain Glory but in lowliness of Mind let each esteem other better than themselves CHAP. XVI A Traveller who carrieth Treasure with him and suspects that he may meet with Thieves will go well Armed THE Application of this Observation will consist of three Parts 1. To shew that the Heavenly Traveller carries precious Treasure with him 2. That he will be set upon in his Way by those that will endeavour to Rob him of it 3. That therefore he should be well Arm'd First A Christian in his Way to Heaven carries the Richest Treasure with him in all the World 1. He carries his God with him who is the Summum Bonum the chief Good in Comparison of whom all the World is not so much as the drop of the Bucket to the Ocean or the small Dust of the Ballance to the Universe So thought the Blessed Apostle Paul Who counted all things but loss Phil. 3. 8. and dung in Comparison of Christ So thought the Noble Marquess of Vico as appears by that Holy and Heavenly saying of his Cursed be he that thinks not one Hours Communion with God is not better then all the Money in the World No! every Saint of God may say what one of them once did Whether ever I go I Quocunque me confero Deum circumfero carry my God with me and is not this an Infinite and invaluable Treasure 〈◊〉 He hath another precious Treasure â—ar
Cephas these were excellent Preachers and as 1 Cor. 1. the Apostle saith in the end of the third Chapter they were all theirs and therefore they ought to have improved their several Gifts for their spiritual Benefit and Advantage and to have had them all in singular Love for their Works sake and not by preferring of one to forsake all the rest You may observe that they who admire and are addicted to one Teacher or one Party with undervaluing and slighting all others are seldom the most profiting or the most profitable but never the most peaceful Christians Fourthly I might add another ground of this Evil and that is the Itch of Disputing or that which the Apostle calls Vain Jangling of which as one â—aith 1 Tim. 1. 6. well Disputandi pruritus Ecclesiae Scabies The Itch of Disputing is the Churches Scab and I dare add that it is the bane of Holy Conference and the Spawn of Dissension The Apostle saith expresly that from this doting about Questions and 1 Tim. 6. 4. strife of Words cometh Envy Strife Railing Evil-surmisings But I shall say no more of this because I conceive those hot and eager Disputes which tend to Divisions arise either from Pride or Passion which I have spoken of before but modest sober and humble debating of Things neither ingender Strife nor break the Peace And now having discovered the Grounds and Causes of this Distemper what a Happiness would it be if we could prescribe a Remedy In order to this I shall adventure to give Christians one Direction and some few Considerations which may by the Blessing of God be helpful to this purpose The Direction is this That Christians would carefully shun and avoid those things before spoken of which are the chief Causes of Quarrels and Divisions among the People of God for sublata causa tollitur effectus Take away the Cause and you take away the Effect Take heed therefore of Pride and of an over-weaning Opinion of thine Abilities Take heed of a Passionate and of a froward Spirit Take heed of having Mens Persons in Admiration or of Idolizing a Party Take heed that thou delight not in wrangling and disputing if these things were carefully avoided there would be more Peace and sweet Agreement between true Christians But further to promote the cure of this Distemper I shall desire Christians in the fear of God seriously lay to Heart these following Considerations First Consider how highly it is displeasing to the Blessed God First To God the Father It is displeasing to an earthly Father to see his Children always brabbling and fighting each with other and it must needs be more displeasing to our Heavenly Father who is the Father of Mercies to see his Children unmerciful who is the God of Love and Peace to see his Children hating and quarrelling one with 2 Cor. 13. 11. another Secondly It must needs be displeasing to the Lord Jesus Christ to see those for whom he hath shed his Precious Blood to be ready to shed one anothers Blood to see the Members of his Body to rend and tear one another Thirdly It must needs grieve the Holy Spirit of God to see those whom he Eph. 4. 30. hath sanctified those whom he hath sealed for Heaven to be so like graceless Persons to fall out and quarrel by the Way Secondly Consider it is a great dishonour to our Holy Profession How did it Credit Religion and adorn the Gospel When the Multitude of them that Acts 4. 32. believed were of one Heart and of one Soul And when the Heathen could say Ecce quomodo Christiani mutuò se diligunt Behold how the Christians love one another On the other side what a dishonour and reproach is it to Religion when the Professors of it are quarrelling and contending one with the other What Sport doth this make for Prophane and Atheistical Men And how doth it cause the Enemy to blaspheme the Holy Ways of God Thirdly Consider How contrary this is to our Rule and to our Pattern A Christian should take Christ's Word for his Rule and Christ's Example for his Pattern Now First How contrary is this quarrelling Frame of Spirit to our Rule It is Christs new and great Command in the Gospel that his Disciples should John 13. 34. Chap. 15. 12. love one another And this is commanded over and over I know not how often times in the New Testament Be kindly affectioned one to another with Brotherly Rom. 12. 10. 1 Pet. 2. 17. 1 Pet. 1. 22. Heb. 13. 1. Gal. 5. 13. 1 Thes 4. 9. Mark 9. 50. Rom. 14. 19. Love in Honour preferring one to another Love the Brotherhood Love one another with a pure Heart fervently Let Brotherly Love continue By Love serve one another You are taught of God to Love one another And as our Rule injoyns us Love so Peace and Quietness Have Peace one with another Let us follow after those things which make for Peace and things wherewith one may Edifie one another The Apostle beseecheth them that they study to be quiet The Apostle Peter tells 1 Thes 4. 11. them That the Ornament of a meck and quiet Spirit is in the sight of God of great 1 Pet. 3. 4. Price So you see clearly how contrary it is to the Rules of the Gospel that Christians should be of a froward unquiet and contentious Spirit The Apostle saith If it be possible as much as in Rom. 12. 18. you lies live peaceably with all Men. And certainly then much more should we live peaceably with those of the Household of Faith Secondly How unlike doth a froward quarrelling Spirit make Christians to Christ Learn of me saith he for I am Mat. 11. 29. meek and lowly Christ was the greatest Pattern of Love and Meekness that ever was in the World he was mild and pitiful to his Enemies And shall we be harsh and severe to our Brethren He loved his Sheep so that he laid down his Life for them and shall his Sheep as if they were turned Dogs bait and bite one another Such a Member of such a Head make Rents and Divisions in his Body which is the Church of God should those who are the Subjects of the Prince of Peace make Wars and Feuds among themselves Pudet haec opprobria nobis Et dici potuisse non potuisse refelli What Shame is it that such disgrace should be imputed to us and that it cannot be refuted Fourthly Consider the danger of this unnatural quarrel If ye bite and devour Gal. 5. 15. one another take heed that ye be not consumed of one another Are not the Dissensions of those that profess Religion the ready way to betray both themselves and the Cause of God into the Hands of those who wait for their Destruction How justly may God give us up into the Hands of those that hate us if we hate one another Doth not a Father part his fighting