Selected quad for the lemma: love_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
love_n	faith_n	great_a	love_v	5,611	5	6.4486	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B06566	The experiences of God's gracious dealing with Mrs. Elizabeth White, late wife of Mr. Thomas White of Coldecot in the county of Bucks. / As they were written under her own hand, and found in her closet after her decease, she dying in child-bed, Decemb. 5. 1669.	White, Elizabeth, d. 1669.	1698 (1698)	Wing W1763; ESTC R186485	11,805	24

Ordinan●● of the Lords Supper Prov. 8.34 Blessed ar● they that watch daily at my gates waiting a● the posts of my door Mat. 20.15 Is it no● lawfull for me to do what I will with my ow●● This cheeked me and made me willing to wa● at that time But this is my comfort God 〈◊〉 unchangeable who I trust wil carry me throug● all the difficulties I shall met with here below● and I trust will ere long bring me to the e●joyment of himself where I shall be past si●ning and sorrowing And as a further test●mony of my interest in Christ by the effects 〈◊〉 my Faith I have these Evidences First My love to God which is greater th● to any thing in the world besides and my G● hath left it upon record that he loves them th● love him Prov. 8.17 I know my love is n● so great as it should be but I am sure n● greatest grief is that I can love him no bette● and in this case God will accept the will 〈◊〉 the deed Secondly I know my love is sincere by th● because I love the Children of God for as is 1 Iohn 5.1 Every one that loveth hi● that begot loveth him also that is begotten 〈◊〉 him and by this I know that I love th● children of God because I love God so tha● this is another evidence that I am passed fro● death to life even because I love the brethren 1 Iohn 3.14 Thirdly I can appeal to the Lord who is the searcher of hearts that the breathings of my soul are chiefly after holiness that I might be more like unto the Lord Iesus my desire is to serve God in all things and to have a real and hearty respect unto all Gods commandments I desire if it were possible that I might never sin more but rather that I might behave my self in all holy conversation as one that hath indeed and in truth experienced how good and gracious the Lord is I bless God I can truly say that my hottest conflicts are against those sins which are obvious only to the eye of God even my sinful thoughts though they come not into action O many a sad heart have I had when I have considered the vileness of my thoughts and yet have been unblameable in my conversation and this is still my daily sorrow and therefore I trust they shall never be my ruine but that the Lord will shortly re●oyce the heart of his poor servant in giving me the victory over these and all my other inbred corruptions which have so often made a separation between my dear Lord and my poor soul Fourthly I find a great change in any heart as touching the Word of God for where heretofore like a wretch as I was I esteemed a playbook before it now blessed the Lord I prize it before all other and good reason have I for it for by it hath the Lord quickned m● and therefore as long as I live I will give u● my self to walk according to the rule of it begin● the spirit of God to open the mystery of it to m● that so I might not only have the Letter b● the very mind of Christ Fifthly I see nothing in my self that mak● me more worthy of salvation than another know that I have deserved to lye in flames 〈◊〉 well as any that are now in the place of tormen● and that nothing but mercy hath stept betwe● my soul and everlasting burnings and ther●fore I heartily wish that I might always admiring of this free grace of God in chus●● me before the foundation of the world was la● so unworthy a creature as I am to set his l● upon me and let go so many thousands t● were more capable to bring Glory to his na● than ● am O the height and depth a● breadth and length of this love of God in Ch● Iesus which hath abounded to me a poor a● unworthy creature ● it is indeed such a love passeth knowledge and therefore I can no● sufficiently admire it whilst I am here in body which makes me long to be dissolv● that so I might know it more clearly and swallowed up in the eternal admiration of Amen And these are my principles which I tr● I shall hold fast even to my death 1. I believe that the Scriptures contained in the Old and New Testament are the word of God written by the Prophets and holy men as they were inspired by God to be the rule of Faith and life to his people I believe all that God in his word wills me to believe being perswaded by the spirit of God concerning the truth of it I believe that there is one only eternal God who hath his Being from himself and hath given a Being to all his Creatures both in heaven and earth and under the earth and from eternity to eternity doth whatsoever he will I believe that this eternal God-head is distinguished into three Persons the Father begetting the Son begotten and the holy Ghost proceeding from them both I believe that God created man in his own image in righteousness and holiness giving him dominion over all the Creatures and likewise gave him liberty to continue in this happy condition if he would but he having liberty to stand or to fall in his own hands quickly lost that happiness which God had instated him in by yeilding to the inticements of Satan so that breaking the commands of God he brought a curse upon himself and all his posterity so that all mankind by nature are now in a miserable condition children of wrath heirs of Hell c. And I do believe that God from all eternity knew what man would do when he had created him so that Adam's fall did but usher in as it were a greater blessedness for I do believe there hath been an eternal Covenant between the Father and the Son in the electing some to life even before the foundation of the earth was said so that no sooner had man fallen but God promised a Saviour even the Lord Iesus Christ who in his divine nature is in all things equal with God the Father and that such was his exceeding love and pity to poor lost creatures that had broken his commands and said themselves liable to the Curse that rather then they should perish he hath laid aside the Robes of his glory and took upon him the nature of man but without sin and that he was conceived by the holy Ghost born of a Virgin and while he was on earth was loaded with reproaches and scorns and did at last suffer upon the cross for the sins of his Elect where he bore the weight of Gods wrath in his Soul by his heaviness in his Agony and satisfied the Iustice of God in his body which was crucified till he dyed and I believe that he was buried and that the third day he rose again from the dead having conquered sin death and hell for believers and that he was seen of his Disciples and others

THE EXPERIENCES OF God's Gracious Dealing WITH Mrs. Elizabeth White Late Wife of Mr. Thomas White of Coldecot in the County of Bucks As they were written under her own hand and found in her Closet after her decease she dying in Child-bed Decemb. 5. 1669. PSAL. 66.16 Come and hear all ye that fear God and I will declare what he hath done for my Soul GLASGOW Printed by Robert Sanders One of His Majesties Printers Anno Dom. 1698. The Experiences of Gods Gracious dealing with Mrs. Elizabeth White FRom my Child-hood the Lord hath inclined my heart to seek after the best things and my Fathers chiefest care was to bring me up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord my nature being somewhat more mild than the rest of my Sisters I was ready to think my self some body and with the proud Pharisee to thank God that I was not as others not considering that I was but like a Wolf chained up which keeps its nature still as I by the goodness of God have seen since the Lord was pleased to lay his eye-salve upon me I was a great lover of Histories and other foolish Books and did often spend my sleeping-time in reading of them and sometimes I should think I did not do well in so doing but I was so bewitched by them that I could not forbear hearing of a friend of mine which was esteemed a very holy woman that did delight in Histories I then concluded it was no sin and gave my self wholly then to this kind of folly when I had any spare time for two or three years I had sometimes slight thoughts of Repentance but was loth to set about it and so I should put the Lord off from time to time with delays thinking still I should find a fitter time then the present I remember about a month before I was married my Father would have me receive the Sacrament of th● Lords Supper and I was very willing to it until I considered what was requsite to be in those which did partake thereof and then I began to doubt that I had not those things whic● were requisite wrought in me as Knowledge Faith Love Repentance c. and then this Scripture came into my mind He that doubteth is damned if he eat for whatsoever is not of faith is sin when I had considered those things I was filled with sorrow and could not tell what to do I was loth to disobey my Father and more loth to eat and drink my own damnation in this perplexity I set my self to seek the Lord for his grace being at that time somewhat sensible of the want of it when I had thus done I began to be comforted verily thinking that now I had repented and could believe in Christ Iesus and having some notional knowledge of things I was indiffe●ently well satisfied thinking that when I wa● married I should have more leisure to serv● God and then going to the Minister of th● Par●sh to be examined before I was admitted and finding my self able to answer him ● thought all was well with me then and so unworthy I went to the Lords Table not quest●oning but that I was in as good a condition a● any of the rest which did receive But blesse● for ever be the Lord which broke my false confidence and swept away my refuge of Lyes which I then trusted in and shewed me my sad condition I was in by nature and practise more clearly than ever before and this was about a quarter of a year after I was married in the year 1657. the Minister being upon this subject Prov. 1.23 Turn ye at my reproof c. being upon the use of trial whether indeed we had turned to God or no he bid us examine our selves by some marks which he then gave and it was at this time that God did begin to manifest his love to me as I trust in my effectual vocation here the Lord was pleased to open my heart as he did the heart of Lydia so that I attended to the things that were spoken so that I perceived my heart was not right in the sight of God and that my hope was but like that of the Hypocrite which perisheth when I came home I besought the Lord to turn me if I were not yet turned to him but yet I had not that thorow sense of sin as I had afterwards About three weeks after the Minister coming to our house my Husband and I was speaking that we would desire him to pray with us in our Chamber but that time he could not stay the next day he came and asked for me telling me that my Husband told him that I would speak with him O how was I surprized I could not tell what to say upon the sudden I was so hurried in my thoughts O how loth was I to acquaint him with my sad state ● I was ashamed to tell him that I was yet a stranger to God and all goodness till it was forced from me which when he heard he did not go about to comfort me but he asked me if ever I was convicted before and I told him yes and he repeated the first vers of the 29. Chap. of the Proverbs He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck shal suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy when I heard this I was wonderfully troubled then there came many sins to my remembrance which I had taken no notice of before counting them small sins now the time which was spent in reading Histories I remembred with bitter grief and I thought that there was no mercy for me but he perswaded me there was hope of mercy for such as I and that the Lord waited to be gracious to poore sinners and then I was a little satisfied for the present but then I was troubled with blasphemous thoughts which were very grievous to me I thought I had a heart worse than the Devil and wondered that I was not consumed in some strange manner when I have seen a Spider which of all things is most loathsome to me I have been ready to wish my self such a one esteeming of it to be in a far happier condition than I was I was afraid to be in the dark lest I should met the devil I doubted whether I was elected I had read that I was not of him that willeth nor him that runneth but of God that sheweth mercy Then I thought if I were not elected it was to no purpose to strive for what God hath decreed must be but yet I was unwilling to perish I could not be so satisfied although I had but little hope to obtain mercy yet I could not but ask it I was also very frequent in hearing the Word preached and read not daring to let slip an opportunity but not without many tears lest it should increase my condemnation in this condition I remained a great while but not without some secret supports from the Lord sometimes by a word cast in upon