Selected quad for the lemma: love_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
love_n	heart_n	life_n	soul_n	9,367	5	4.6906	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26920	The duty of heavenly meditation reviewed by Richard Baxter at the invitation of Mr. Giles Firmin's exceptions in his book entituled, The real Christian.	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1671 (1671)	Wing B1255; ESTC R3049	15,342	36

place be regulated by the same General Laws Let all be done to Edifying and in order For my part intermixing thoughts do hinder the success with me But what they may do with stronger heads and better hearts I know not You say p. 320. But when I come to impose duties as Meditation c. upon Christians to be performed by them in such a manner and for such a time and their soundness or unsoundness seriousness or sleightness is determined according to their performance according to that manner which I set down surely I had need bring clear Scripture proof Answ. But if there be no word in my Writings that say any such things as determining of soundness or unsoundness by that manner of performance what do you think the Reader that tryeth it will think and say of you and of such passages as these I will not tell you lest I offend you But only I tell you This is not well done And you had need to have proved what you intimate by some clear words of mine if you would be believed But p. 319. you argue à fine effectu and say that Meditation is then rightly performed when the affections are wrought up unto a suitableness with the Object I am Meditating on Now let this Meditation be performed how it will let it be in what length or shortness of time what is that to the essence of the ●u●y Answ. 1. But do you regard nothing in duty but the Essence Nothing at all the Integrity Nothing the Degree Why these also are Duty He that bindeth us to Sacrifice forbiddeth us to offer the halt and the blind and requireth the best we have 2. How happy a heart have you that will so easily be got up to a suitableness to God and Heaven Is it not you now that forget the case of weak Christians Verily such hearts as mine will need more adoe It is not performing Meditation how it will in shortness that will serve the turn to bring my heart to such a suitableness And I doubt all the weak ones whose case you seem to plead are not much better 3. This savoureth much like the saying of a late Learned Physicion of ours that said What need all this adoe in Preaching and talking of Religion when all is dispatched in three words Think well and Speak well and Do well O but a great many words are necessary to bring us up to these three things And so are a great many thoughts to bring our hearts to a suitableness to God to Christ to Heaven Tell me if you can why the same arguing is not as strong against long Conference or long Preaching All that Sermons and Conference are to do is to bring up our hearts to a suitableness to the Object And if this will be done by one sentence what needs there a quarter of an houres Preaching or Catechising or Discourse And so away with this Preaching office But it is a false supposition that one sentence will do this so well as more 4. And when I think my heart is somewhat well affected there is much yet to be done to fix and settle and habituate and direct it which may be lost by hasty breaking off and slubbering over so great a business One work of Meditation is self-examination I may say as you If I can but know my spiritual state Let examination be performed how it will for length or shortness what 's that to the essence of the duty But it is not such performance that will acquaint me with my Condition If I have not Time to consider of Evidences and then of my heart and life c. yea and this with serious uninterrupted thoughts it will not do I could put off Religious exercises as cursorily as another if cursory brevity would attain the end and serve turn with such a heart as mine But by all this I conjecture that you will be a gentle censurer of Ministers that Preach short and seldome and of Parents that are short and seldome in family instructions and of all Christians that are so in their Religious Conferences unless your Censures bear no due proportion among themselves 7. But yet you have somewhat to say of the Object of Meditation The Joyes of Heaven p. 315. and say It must be supposed as they must have a title to Heaven so they must know and be assured of that Title to Heaven there must be no dark cloud c. Answ. Now I perceive we differ indeed Do you think that neither unconverted nor unassured doubting persons are called to Meditate much of Heaven I think that none have greater need and that nothing will be more powerful to do their work 1. That Meditation is most profitable to the unconverted which tendeth most to bring their hearts to the Love of God But the Meditation of the Infinite Goodness of God revealed in the Heavenly Glory and offered to all tendeth most to bring their hearts to the Love of God Ergo That which representeth God most amiable tendeth most to bring the soul to Love him But the explication of the Heavenly Glory where he is enjoyed in the fullest Love representeth God most amiable Ergo 2. That Meditation is most profitable to the unconverted which tendeth most to destroy all carnal concupiscence and worldly Love by drawing their hearts to better things But such is the Meditation of Everlasting Glory Ergo 3. That Meditation is most profitable to a sinners Conversion which draweth him most effectually to consent to the Covenant of Grace For that consent is Conversion But such is the Meditation of the Heavenly felicity Ergo 4. That Meditation is most profitable which tendeth most to make men Repent of sin and be fully willing of a holy life But such is the Meditation of Heaven when they see what sin depriveth men of and what they are like to get by Holiness 5. That Meditation is most profitable to conversion which fullyest sheweth men the excellency of Christ and of all his Grace But such is the Meditation of Heaven as being the highest benefit of Christ and Grace Ergo 6. That Meditation is most profitable to the wicked which tendeth most to save them from Temptations But such is the Meditation of Heaven as setting that in the ballance which alone can weigh down all that can be offered by the tempter 7. That is the most profitable Meditation which is exercised on God in his fullest Revelation But c. 8. That is the most profitable and powerful Meditation which is about the ultimate End Because that it is the End that is Loved for it self and all means but for the End And the End guideth us in the choise the estimation and the use of means and is the very life of them all But c Ergo. John Preached the Kingdom of Heaven more expresly than the Person of the Messiah And Christ sent his Disciples to Preach the Kingdom of God when he forbad them to tell men that

he was the Christ because the Miracles Resurrection and other Proofs of it must first be made and then be Preached to win belief Luke 9.2 21. And by the Kingdom of God he meant that of Grace as related to Glory vers 27 28. It is the want of thinking more seriously what Heaven is and the certainty of it to all believers that causeth men to follow the flesh and world and to lose it by contempt or gross neglect Ungodliness consisteth much in a neglect of Heaven for want of convincing quickning Meditations of it And when you bring a sinner to be but soberly thoughtful of Heaven you have done much towards his true Conversion So that in this you and I do vastly differ if you think as you write I will crave your pardon for my over-passing all the rest of your opposition supposing that I have spoken to the main and shall shut up all with these three professions and admonitions to the Reader I. Since I find that this judicious worthy man hath made these exceptions I have considered again whether there be not cause And I find what long agoe I found that I was too blame that I observed no more the weakness and danger of melancholy persons when I first wrote it and that I was not more large in disswading them from taking that to be their work which they cannot do For I believe I have spoken with farr more than ever this Reverend Brother hath done though he be a Physicion who have been disabled by Melancholy and other weakness of brain from this work which made me so oft since give them such warning And I do here again desire most Women and all Melancholy persons to take up more with shorter and occasional Meditations and with such holy thoughts as good Books and Conference do more easily bring into their minds and not to over-stretch their brains by striving to do more than they are able and so disable themselves yet more II. The review of these things doth convince me that Learned men and all men of Opportunity and Ability to bear Meditation should use this duty much more than they do And that much of our ignorance unbelief ungodliness and uncomfortableness is for want of making a set and serious business of it And I think that few men that Labour in their Shops or ever walk or travel abroad can truly say that they are wholly destitute of leisure And I think that poverty and crosses in the world should make the thoughts of Heaven the more welcome to them And that it should be so farr from being taken for an ungrateful burden that it should be the sweetest pleasure in this World and farr more delightful than to think of Lands or dearest Friends And I admonish all that have Ability and Opportunity to take heed lest short and seldome and slight thoughts of Heaven do harden them in that unacquaintedness above which will be the unho●iness of their lives and their terrour at death III. Though I said it not before I will now say that even Methodical Heavenly Meditation is a Duty to all that have the free use of Reason But not a Duty which they are presently fit and able to performe And therefore it is as the Sacrament to the unprepared a mediate duty They sin in not doing it because they sin in being unprepared for it But yet it is not Immediately to be done till shorter and easier Meditations have first prepared them But Gods Law ceaseth not to be perfect because we are imperfect nor to oblige us to duty because we are mo●ally undisposed I will not say The highest ●orme in the School must not Learn Greek because the lowest are unfit for it nor that ●he lowest are not Mediately to be brought up to it It is every weak Christians sin ●hat he Prayeth not Methodically because his disability is sinful though it be a sin that God forgiveth to all that are sincere But as I will not be one that shall rob the sincere of the comfort of that forgiveness so neither will ● be one that shall perswade them to impeni●ence by saying It is no sin nor accuse Gods Law of imperfection Understand and Practise these two Texts and I desire no more of you as to this meditation Matth. 6.21 Where your treasure is there will your hearts be also Phil. 3.20 Our Conversation is in Heaven The Lord forgive my neglect of this duty and yet help me to perform it with more Heavenly Life and Light and Love till I shall be above the Life of Faith IV. Not medling now with the reason● of other men against either Method or length of Prayer Preaching or heavenly Meditation my own sad experience commandet● me to give this caution to all Christians wit● a special earnestness Take heed of a slothful omission or cursory performance o● such holy duties lest when you have los● the Life and Sweetness of them you los● next the sense and belief of their excellenc● and necessity When you cannot perswad● your self to them you will be much mor● unapt to perswade others to them And whe● you have suffered your hearts to grow i● different to them you will too easily b● drawn to take them for things that are 〈◊〉 indifferent Practice helpeth us to an experience and taste of the goodness of Duty which will do more to draw us to it th●● bare reasoning alone will do And wh●● Practice is neglected Love willingness an● pleasure first abateth and next the Understanding it self is in danger of judging it no better or more necessary than we feel it For my own part when my Conscience commandeth me to omit Meditation because of some greater and more urgent duty forbidding it at that time I usually find that it is my affliction to fall under any such diversions that both may not be done And I find that whatever else I think of of Christ of Scripture of Promises of Threatnings of sin of Grace c. if I leave out Heaven and make it not the chief part of my Meditation I leave out the sence and Life of all Thence must I fetch my Light or I must be in Darkness Thence must I fetch my Life or I must be Dead and my Motives or I must be Dull or not sincere and my daily Comforts or I must be uncomfortable or worse My Hearing and Reading and Studies grow to Common things if Heaven be not the principal part My life groweth towards a common and a carnal Life when I begin to leave out Heaven Death groweth terrible to my thoughts and Eternity strange and dreadful to me if I live not in such frequent and serious thoughts of the Heavenly Glory as may render it familiar and grateful to my soul. Yea I cannot think with any due Knowledge Love or Pleasure of the ever-blessed God himself if I think of him only as he is revealed to us in this World and not as we shall see him in the World of Light I find my self but a common man if Heavenliness make me not to differ And I find my self unfit to Live or to Die and that my soul is void of the true Consolation that is needful both in Life and at Death when I grow a stranger to Heavenly Thoughts and consequently to Heavenly Affections And that as nothing will serve turn instead of Heaven to be my Happiness so nothing will serve turn instead of Heaven to make up the end of my Religion and forme my Heart and Life to Holiness And therefore by experience I counsel all Christians that are able to perform it especially Ministers and Learned men to be much in the serious fore-thoughts of Heaven and to Comfort themselves and others with these words that We shall for ever be with the Lord 1 Thes. 4.17 18. And I adjure the Reader not to conceive of the worthy person to whom I write this as any Adversary to a Heavenly Life For he is a Sober Godly faithful Minister though silenced who hath been in New England and brought back with him a great deal of Judgement and Moderation in Church-matters as having seen the experience of the evil of extreams as his former Writings witness And as he opposeth not Mr. Rogers Hooker Shephard out of any ill-will to their Persons but lest those whom he best loved should wrong the Church so I have reason to believe that he doth with the same Candour deal with me And if we do differ at all which I am not sure of it is so little as is not like to cause the least disaffection I would all our differences made no wider a distance than is betwixt this faithful Brother and Me. Octob. 1. 1670. FINIS