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	love_v	sin_n	9,337	5	4.8347	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A92145	A sermon preached before the Right Honorable House of Lords, in the Abbey Church at Westminster, Wednesday the 25. day of Iune, 1645. Being the day appointed for a solemne and publique humiliation. / By Samuel Rutherfurd Professor of Divinitie at St. Andrews.	Rutherford, Samuel, 1600?-1661.	1645 (1645)	Wing R2393; Thomason E289_11; ESTC R200125	61,133	73

houre and say I know that my Redeemer liveth and that I shall see him for my selfe and my eyes shall behold and not another though my reines bee consumed within mee But sense is not like the night horologe but like the Sun-diall that cannot point the houres in the night nay nor yet in day-light if the same bee under cloud sense must have daylight and a shining Sun and can doe nothing for Christ upon trust and this is a great unthankfulnesse in our sense for it is faith and not sense that layeth hold on relations and such a relation as is betweene husband and wife so the Lord speaketh Esa. 54. 4. Feare not that is beleeve upon what ground Upon the ground of marriage-faith Ver. 5. for thy maker is thy husband so is faith expressed by a marriage word Wee are freed from the Law Rom. 7. 4. {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} that yee should bee for another husband that yee should bee maried on another lover 4 Conclus Sometimes wee beleeve on Christ as morall agents and then wee may both know Christ and our own state if the light of the Spirit concurre to make the promises visible to our spirituall senses not onely as true but also as good and sweet for wee see colours and apprehend them both as colours and as pleasant and delectable so a man may see a great heape of Gold which belongeth to another man hee sees it as of such a colour and as it offereth it self to the eye but because it is not his owne nor hath hee any hope it can bee his owne hee seeth it possibly with griefe but if it were offered and given to him hee should then see it as good and acceptable now the grounds of a weak faith is a weake evidence of our interest in Christ small and weak evidence produceth weak acts of beleeving it is true there is sometime little evidence of knowledge where there is strong adherence and strong faith as many unlettered Martyrs of no great knowledge in the Scriptures have dyed with great adherence and strength of faith but there is a twofold evidence one literall another spirituall it is unpossible there can bee a strong faith but there must bee a strong spirituall evidence proportionable thereunto to convey it for faith walketh not without eyes and therefore the weakenesse of spirituall evidence of our interest in Christ as here the Apostles see not but Christ hath forgotten them and cares not that they perish must produce a weake faith Againe faith commeth not onely from discourse and the morall perswasion of the holy Ghost making use of sanctified reason but also sometime from a meere spirituall instinct as where there is no discourse especially when wee first beleeve and have nothing but a meere command and knowes not whether the promise and the Saviour belongeth to us or not even as the infant that can make no use of discourse relieth and trusteth to the mother or nurse for milke by meere instinct having neither promise nor experience for it and the young Chickens confide in the covering of the Hens wings and the Lambes for food from the damme meerly by naturall instinct so when wee are new borne againe the first act of fiduciall adherence seemeth to bee from the new nature and instinct of grace as the child in a suddaine danger without discourse or promise that his father will helpe him runnes to his father and the Conies in danger to their holes of the rock and so a weake instinct of grace may produce weake acts and by the way the promise may bee forgotten and out of mind and the assurance that Christ loved mee before the world was none at all and a beleever yet may rely and confide in Christ through instinct and know no ground as through some secret sympathy of nature one may love another and they know not the reason and proportionally may trust in another also for love produceth some confidence so some are kind and their heart warmed with Christ and they doe not well know Christ as the Disciples going to Emmaus have hearts burning with the love of God but they knew not it was Christ who was there the third man conferring with them 5. Conclus The chiefe cause as of all sinnes of infirmitie so of a weake and infirme faith is not so much from want of will as want of power and rather from want of grace and a larger measure of the spirit of faith then from malice and wickednesse I deny not but the corruption of a wicked nature hath influence in sinnes of infirmitie and in a weake faith as it hath in all sinnes as some of the mothers seed must alwayes bee in the child but I speake comparatively and in regard of that which is the nature of sinne therefore sinnes of infirmitie and a weake faith though they bee not veniall sinnes as Papists vainely teach yet they bee sinnes of a lower size for there bee lesse activenesse and more passivenesse in these sinnes and so lesse will and more renitency and reluctancy then in raigning sinnes and all sinnes of infirmitie have but the halfe of the will sometime nothing but a virtuall consent as in the first motions of concupiscence and some sinfull errors and bad opinions contrary to the truth which the children of God have and the renewed part doth protest on the contrary against the flesh and side with Christ and if the will joyne in sinnes of infirmitie it is but the one halfe of the will trayling the other halfe after it like the motion of a worme in which the former part having more life and vigor draweth after it the hinder part But I come to prove the nature of a weak● or little faith and of other sinnes of infirmitie Paul Rom. 7. 14. saith of him selfe I am carnall sold under sinne hee useth the passive Verbe {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} that which is put to the market to bee made away for money were it man or woman is a patient But Ahab had another marke Elias said to him 1 King 20. ●0 {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} thou hast sold thy selfe to worke wickednesse in the sight of the Lord hee that is sold is not sui juris not his owne man the flesh in that act prevaileth over him the renewed will saying the contrary The acting of ●…d unbeleefe in a Saint is like a businesse in a court hardly 〈◊〉 hotly debated and the matter is carried by one voyce onely or as in weighing of things in a ballance one scruple may cast the seale and where there is but one graine of saving grace the worke may bee swayed by it if the flesh act by prevalency it goes wrong but in the wicked where there is no prevalency of saving grace nor any such principle the sinne is not a sinne of infirmitie Christ hath not one voyce in the court if reason speake against some crying sinnes that is

blessings and prayers of the good husbandman Christs Father came on the flower Psal. 133. 3. The dew of God lieth all the night upon the leaves of the flower it is alwayes greene The Church is a house that is builded up in love that raiseth the wall up to heaven Ephes. 4. 16. Secondly Christ our redeemer whose wee are being bought with a price is a masse of love hee hath a heart very hospitall to lodge all our infirmities when hee saw his people as touching the condition of their soule like sheepe without a shepheard {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} hee was bowelled with compassion toward them Esay 40. when the Prophet speaketh of his power and his ruling arme hee also prophecyeth of his meeknesse and bowels of compassion to weake ones there bee three sorts of persons in the Church that hee shall handle tenderly 1. The simple but gratious and for these Vers 11. hee shall feede his fl●cke like a shepheard hee hath the heart of a shepheard who tendereth and careth for the flocke 2. There bee young ones babes in Christ and of these it is said hee shall gather the Lambes with his arme and carry them in his bosome two excellent sweet expressions hee shall not throw his club at the Lambs nor bee froward and cruell to them but in lieu of a club hee shall gather them with his arme 3. And as for the young and weake that have not legges he shall carry these in his bosome the bosome of Christ is a seat of love and tendernesse of bowels 4. There bee some in the Church that want not their infirmities and sinnes and have legges and a little strength yet the tendernesse of the bowels of compassion must yeeld them some Christian condescension and accommodation and they must not bee forced and driven roughly Christs Spirit is a spirit of accommodation Sir I le make you in despight of your teeth is not for these and therefore it is said hee shall gently lead those that are with young so Esay 42. 2. Jesus Christ shall not cry nor lift up nor cause his voyce to bee heard in the streets Christ hath not the art of rayling shouting and thundering against the meeke of the flock Yea Christ rideth and triumpheth in meeknesse Zach. 9. 9. his horse hee rideth on is meeknesse Psal. 45. 4. it is spoken to him Ride prosperously upon truth and meeknesse and Psal. 147. 6. This Lord lifeth up the meeke and Psal. 76. 9. bee will save all the meeke of the earth Christs heart is King Solomons Chariot the pillars of it is Cant. 3. 10. Silver the bottome thereof Gold the covering of it of purple the midst thereof beeing paved with love for the daughters of Jerusalem And Christ chooseth to dwell in a heart paved with love and meeknesse Thirdly the Spirit of the Lord is a Dove the spirit of grace is a gaul-lesse and gentle spirit Grace grace is the innocentest thing of the world there is no wild fire of sinfull wrath in grace Bitternesse rayling jeering persecution with the tongue outcries against Assemblies Presbyteries are not the tooles of the spirit of grace yea calumnies salt writings on either side are not from that spirit of Christ which hath a hand to wipe teares off the faces of the mourners in Zion To all raylings all bitter mockings against Presbyteries and Assemblies wee say wee are desirous not to bee driven off the roade way to heaven but to goe on Through honour and dishonour by evill report and good report as deceivers and yet true One inch of a good conscience is rather to bee chosen then a thousand yards of windie credit Meeke Jesus Christ and his Apostles used not such a stile of language nor is such Grammar from heaven nor smelleth it of the holy Ghosts pen Fourthly if wee bee the children of one father it might breed strange thoughts in our minds when the sonnes of one father Independents and Presbyterians spare mee necessitie not love of factions forceth mee to these tearmes shall sing one song up before the throne to him that liveth and reigneth for ever that wee cannot gather heate and warmnesse of love in one arke and in one Church here in the earth pens and tongues salted and steeped in the gall of bitternesse are not the fruits of the Spirit Shall wee kill and devoure one another all the day and lodge together in one heaven at night and can wee say one to another in heaven hast thou sound me O mine enemy shall there bee any factions any sides either religious of Presbyterian and independent in heaven or nationall of England and Scotland which yet differ not essentially I am sure but onely in the poore accidents of North and South and yet on earth wee must bee at daggers at rentings divisions are there two Christs because two nations Fiftly truth is never victorious by persecution now the Scripture speaketh of a persecution with the tongue Jer. 18. 18. Come say they let us smite Jeremiah with the tongue Job thus complayneth of his friends who never put violent hands in him Chap. 19. 22. Why doe you persecute me as God and are not satisfied with my flesh then tongue persecution is an eating of the flesh Sixtly the Gospel which wee professe is a Gospel of peace wee preach warre betweene the flesh and the spirit and warre betweene the womans Seed and the Serpent But oh should wee preach warre betweene the Saints wee have choyser golden chaines to tie us together Ephes. 4. 4. There is one body and one spirit even as yee are called in one hope of your calling 5. One Lord one faith one Baptisme 6. One God and Father of all Have wee need of Prelats and a high Commission Court and pursevants sent out to hunt us for praying together that they may reconcile us and unite us together as wee were all one within these few yeares Seventhly the more grace and mercy wee have from God our Father and from our Lord Iesus the more peace amongst our selves and the more grace the more compassion toward the weaknesse of Brethren Christ is an uniting and a congregating Saviour his blood and his spirit soweth and needleth together the hearts of the lambe and the Leopard of the Calfe and of the young Lion Esay 11. 6. Eighthly the Saints of the most High are stiled the meeke of the earth Esay 11. 4. there bee no meeke creatures on earth but the regenerate Buls and Lions fight together Lions and Woolves pursue Lambes But wee have not heard of warre betweene Lambes and Lambes Why should wee strive for wee are brethren how unseemly that one redeemed one should hate persecute and chase another redeemed one even into the gates of heaven Ninthly are wee not debtors one to another and the sum wee owe is love O what a spirit of accommodation was in that chosen vessel Paul who said 1 Cor. 9. 22. I am made all things to all men that I

might by all means save same This is Pauls charge Gal. 6. 1 2. who will have love to put in joynt an overtaken sinner in the spirit of meeknesse and so it is love doth not onely beare it selfe but also the burdens of our brethren and so fulfilleth the Law of Christ love planted by Christ is the Law of Christ and why doe wee by ruptures and divisions labour to frustrate the end of Christs prayer which is John 17. 2. I pray saith Christ that they may all bee one as thou Father art in mee and I in thee if wee bee one in uno tertio in the heart of Christ and of Christs Father why but wee should bee one amongst our selves yea love is burnt in tender feeling and compassion with the very smoake of a brothers house that is on fire 1 Cor. 13. 15. Love is not easily provoked it is a pardoning grace and hath strong shoulders to beare the madnesse and infirmities of a fellow heire of heaven Love thinketh not evill love must abound in love and charitable thoughts towards others as every element aboundeth in its owne spheare it thinketh not that the Saints doe hunt for a dominion over Saints 6. Love rejoyceth not in iniquitie Cursed bee that love that exulteth when malignants prevaile and rejoyceth not when the cause of the Lord and his people are victorious Love rejoyceth in the truth then love is wounded and sicke when heresies and sects prevaile and sigheth to see Altars multiplied and that many false Christs and false teachers arise Wee cannot deny but God hath put his seale to the ministery of the servants of Christ that went from this to New England and in the wisdome of God they saw and doe see that libertie of conscience is no remedie but physick worse then the disease against false religions It is now off my way to dispute But I know certainly a negative argument from the practise of Christ and the Apostles because they stirred not up heathen Magistrates and Wolves not fathers to punish false teachers is not good divinitie to infer libertie of conscience for in their practise they stirred not up the sword of the Magistrate against extortions and rapines in publicans nor against the persecuting and killing of the Lord of Glory nor against sedition incests tyranny over the Apostles and Christians bribing and unjustice used against Paul by Felix and others who were subject to higher Magistrates and many other scandalous sinnes against the second table any might inferre libertie of conversation in matters of the second table no lesse then libertie of conscience in matters of the first table if this argument hold good But the doctrine of Christ and his Apostles giveth to the Magistrate the Sword against evill doers Rom. 13. 4. but teachers of false doctrine though in the matter of ceremonies are evill doers Phil. 3. 2. and they pervert soules Act. 15. and kill soules and subvert whole houses and make their followers twofold more the Children of hell then they themselves Matth. 23. 15. nor did wee ever dreame that the bloody sword was a mean of conversion of soules the Gospel is so the onely power of God to salvation but that hindereth not but the Magistrate is to restraine by a coercive power the man that teacheth that Jesus Christ is not true God consubstantiall with the Father because the Sword ought to curbe the spreading of false doctrine it followeth not that it is a meane of propagating true doctrine But of this more possibly in another place Nor doe I intend the bloody sword should bee drawne against every different opinion holden by the truely godly though in the government of the Church all see not with the same light Luke 8. 24. Master master wee perish Marke 3. 38. Master carest thou not that wee perish It is too ordinary for us because of the greatnesse of the stroake and no present deliverance to put unkindnesse upon Christ as here they complaine that Christ is carelesse of them because hee sleepeth and they perish few of the Saints have ever beene in extremitie of heavie afflictions but they have uttered hard thoughts of Christ Psal. 77. as the Prophet in name of the Church when hee was troubled and his sore ran in the night Vers 7. saith will the Lord cast off for ever will hee bee favourable no more 8. Is his mercy cleane gone is his word or oracle rotten 9. Hath hee forgotten to be gratious hath hee in anger shut up his tender mercies It is a strange word Vers 7. will hee bee favorable no more will hee never put forth in action one act of good will againe for the word {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} is {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} it were a prodigious thing as the Prophet calleth it his infirmitie Vers 10. that all acts of reconciliation toward the elect should dry up Jeremiah when hee cryed out in his great trouble Chap. 15. Vers 10. Woe is me my mother that thou hast borne mee a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth complayneth Vers 18. Wilt thou bee altogether to me as a lier as waters that are unfaithfull that is I hoped thou shouldest have helped mee as the thirsty traveller trusteth in a dry pit seeing it afarre off and beleeving it to bee a refreshing fountaine but thou hast beguiled mee and my hope to this you may adde the cursing of the day that hee was borne in Chap. 20. David Psal. 31. when Vers 12. hee was forgotten as a dead man and laid aside by all the world as an uselesse and a broken vessell complaineth Vers 22. For I said in mine hast I am cut off from before thine eyes and wee know the sufferings of Job who beside his other agues uttereth these words Chap. 13. Vers 14. Wherefore hidest thou thy face and holdest mee for thine enemy The Reasons are First extreame afflictions as Physicke stirre up both the good and the bad humours they make legible both the good and the ill in the man and which of them is the predominant when the fire boileth extremely if there bee a scum in the liquor it is that which is first seene yea and it is not onely the vertue and strength of the fire but also of the gold that the drosse goeth to its owne place if it were all gold there should bee no separation at all the Disciples here put a false Character upon Christ that hee hath neither love to them nor care of them they double the word Master master and that is a check being added to the other carest thou not for us it saith 1. that hee is worse then other masters better serve any master then Christ a master will care for his servants so hee can helpe them no earthly master will sleepe when hee knoweth his servants are drowning 2. They object his sluggishnesse carest thou not for us hee bath neither