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	world_n	13,220	5	5.1546	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A01719	Eight sermons, vpon the first foure chapters, and part of the fift, of Ecclesiastes Preached at Mauldon, by G. Giffard.	Gifford, George, d. 1620.	1589 (1589)	STC 11853; ESTC S114031	104,274	286

heart so that he sinned and fell grieuously He was reproued of God for it as we read 1. Kings 11. He made this booke to remayne as a publike record of his returne and therfore he is Koheleth a person or a soule reconciled to God and to his Church In this sence we may call him Ecclesiastes I know it will be replied by some that the word of God doth not any where testifie that Solomon euer repented after his great fall but leaueth it in doubt and to proue his repentance by this one title by which hee doeth name himselfe is but a weake reason For let the signification of the name be certaine yet is it vncertaine whether he wrote this booke after his fall To this I answere that he did write it after the long triall and experience which he had made in all things vnder the sunne and no doubt after his fall For touching his repentance although it be not said any where in these expresse words Solomon repented yet may it bée proued by necessarie consequence out of the scriptures that he did vnfaynedly repent I reason thus He was one of Gods elect therefore he returned to his God by true repentance séeing it is vnpossible that the elect should perish Math. 24. To proue that he was Gods elect I first alledge that which was said to Dauid at his birth 2. Sam. 12. which Nehemiah doeth speake of him Chap. 13. Nathan the Prophet was sent to Dauid from the Lord willing him to call his name Iedediah tendring this cause that God loued him Nehemiah speaking of the fall of Solomon saith yet he was beloued of his God grounding vpon those wordes of Nathan What a spéech were this to say hée was beloued of his God if he were not gods elect Doeth the Scripture euer speake so of any reprobate God saith by the prophet Malachie Chap. 1. Iacob haue I loued and Esau haue I hated Saint Paul hereupon doeth argue Rom. 9. and proue that God hath chosen Iacob And why may we not reason thus vpon these words the Lorde loueth him hée was beloued of his God therfore he was Gods elect Then the Scripture leaueth not his repentance in doubt I will not stand vpon this that hée was a figure of Christ Psal 45. That hee was an excellent Prophet opening high misteries of Christ and his Church but I will come to that which is written of him 1. Chro. 17. where God saith to Dauid I will be his father and he shall be my sonne and I will not take away my mercie from him as I did from him that was before thée Some wil say this is spokē of Christ for the title is too high for any Angell Heb. 1. I answere that God said of Dauid thou art my sonne but yet as he was the Figure of Christ Psal 2. and so her● of Solomon For this cānot be denied that the Lord speaketh it of that sonne of Dauid which should build the materiall Temple which Dauid had in purpose for to build and God said of this man I will be his father and he shall be my sonne and I will not take my mercie from him If God did not take his mercie from him then he repented When heir Solomon was dead his way is ioyned with the way of Dauid his father For Rehoboā his sonne did wel thrée yeres and those thrée yeres he is saide to haue walked in the way of Dauid and Solomon 2. Chron. 11. Solomons beginning was good and so was his ende or els hee shoulde not be coupled with Dauid And thus we sée he was Gods elect and therefore repented and became Koheleth So that we hold for certaintie that this name which he geueth himself and this booke are for publike note and record of his repentance and reconciliation to God and his Church Thus much of the Anthor of this booke and for what cause he calleth himselfe by this vnusuall name Now we must obserue to what end he made it or what was his chiefe purpose and intent in writing which in few wordes I may say was this euen to instruct men how to come vnto the true blessednesse A worthy worke and most profitable vnto al that thirst and long for saluation The whole worke consisteth of two partes For he draweth men first frō the wrong way Those that set their hearts vpon the riches the honors the pleasures and the wisdome vnder the sunne to séeke any felicitie or good in them are in a wrong way From this he persuadeth then he setteth forth the right way vnto blessednesse which is in the true worship and feare of God Hereunto he mooueth very carefully We must note that he beginneth with the vanitie and miserie of all thinges vnder the Sunne because no man can worship God a right or feare him in truth vntil he haue learned to renounce the world Marke well what our Lord saith No man can serue two Masters ye can not serue God and Mammon Math. 6. No man can loue God which loueth the world For thus it is plainely said Loue not the world● neither the things of the worlde if any man loue the world the loue of the Father is not in him For whatsoeuer is in the world as the lust of the flesh the lust of the eies and the pride of life is not of the father but is of the world 1. Ioh. 2. The loue of the world is enmitie against God so that he which will be a fréend of the world maketh himselfe the enemie of God Iam. 4. In the same place also wee learne that such as loue the worlde committe who redome against God for he calleth them adulterers and adulteresses It is because mans heart and soule ought to be maried to God and to be kept chast and pure vnto him for the lone now when it doth giue away y e loue vnto the world and doth imbrace it as a sweete Ladie in which it doth delight it committeth spirituall whoredome For the same cause the holy Ghost calleth the couetous man an Idolater Ephes 5. His harte should be set vpon God and it is set vpon the world he should trust in the liuing God and he doth trust in riches What is this but to set vp an Idoll The cares also of this world and the deceitfulnesse of riches are thornes which choake the good séede of life Math. 13. Plow vp your fallow and so we not among the thornes saith God vnto his people Ierem. 4. By all these places we may sée how necessarie it is that before Solomon do come to teach men where they shall séeke true blessednes he emptieth their harts of the loue and care of earthly things and this is that I said ●he draweth men first from the wrong way How well he doth performe this we shall vnderstande if the Lord do giue vs eares to heare Vanitie of vanities saith Ecclesiastes vanitie of vanities

know also that this is affliction of spirite What can be more plaine There is a shew of good to be attained by humane wisdome men are wonderfullie allured and drawen in hope thereof but when it commeth to the proofe they haue lost all their labour there is naught but a méere illusion the good is vanished What doe they find in stéed thereof Looke what he fonnd euen affliction of spirite shall they find any better It may séeme very strange absurd that this wisdome which hath alwaies beene so extolled magnified and honored of all nations in the world so loued and imbraced of kings so set forth and bewtified with all the iewels and ornaments that might be by the skilfull and learned of all sortes should thus be abased as to be made but an illusion and a vaine deceipt which in stéed of good so sought and hoped for doth bring nothing but afflictiō of the spirit The wise men of this world haue in all ages thought their labours aboundantly recompensed by wisdome Solomon which had more then they all pronounceth that it hath nothing but affliction of spirite How commeth such contrarietie of iudgement Doubtlesse from their blindnesse they saw not that which he saw Their eyes were daseled with present glory and commodities he beheld that it could not further a man vnto true blessednesse in the kingdome of God He did behold the weakenesse and imperfection which is in it being vnable to make that straight which is crooked especially in the depraued heart of man So then let all her fréends set her out to the vttermost of their skill paint forth her prayses in the freshest colours that they can yet shall the sentence of this one man preuaile against them He did know her more perfectly then all they he giueth the right sentence they are deceiued They say there is great good he saith I know that this also is affliction of spirit And he rendreth a reason thus for in the aboundance of wisdome there is aboundance of indignation and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow He that would be in felicitie must not séeke it in sorrowes and griefes of minde and bodie but in things that are swéete and pleasant Happinesse is in ioy consolation bitternesse and anguish are contrarie thereunto Then must it néeds follow that all those are deceiued vtterly which séeke felicitie in humane wisdome Because the more wisdome aboundeth the more doth indignation abound as he did féele and he that increaseth his skill it is with sore trauaile and it is full of sorowes There may be many causes of trouble and disturbance of the mind with indignatiō where wisdome doth abound For he shall sée that there is no end but an infinite trouble question vpon question will arise the wants the auknesse of matters will torment Againe with what infinite trauaile and care of mind and bodie is knowledge come by how haue men studied and wearied themselues all the daies of their life to get knowledge who is able to expresse the paines which the Philosophers did take and yet none of them able to excell in all but in some péeces as their affections chiefly drew them He that will be a perfect Logician to haue the full vse of naturall reason in perfect rules it is not the worke of a few daies nor yet of a few yeares It must be with long trauaile euen all his life yet he shal come short Cosmographers in describing all partes of this world the heauens the earth and the things that be in them haue no small worke in hande Come to these which search to knowe the nature properties of all creatures where shall they euer come to sée towarde an ende of their trauaile They be in a bottomlesse sea with out shoare How must those studie how many histories volumes bookes must they turne ouer which will come to bée sound Politikes to be furnished for the gouernment of Cities and Common-weales and for the warres Looke vnto all others which trauaile in any science and the paines of such as will excell in déede are wonderfull Here is trauaile here is care here is indignation here is wearines and gréefe vpon gréefe here is no ende here is no perfection attayned here is no setling or quieting of y e minde all doeth vanish as smoke there remayneth no good at all Thus we sée the sentence of the wise man himselfe concerning all the skil and knowledge vnder the sunne I knowe flesh and bloud will here rise vp Wisdome will not suffer this disgrace but will pleade for her selfe First it will be obiected that this is a weak reason there is no wisdome attayned vnto but with sorrowes therefore wisdome is vanitie and vexation of spirite Men may goe through infinite labours and gréefes willingly to enioy so precious a iewell Their laboures are wel spent they be fully recompenced To haue the estimation and honor of a wise man is no small benefite Knowledge filleth the minde with delight so that it forgetteth the sorowes sustayned in trauayling I answere that there are no labours nor sorrowes sustained for true felicity which can any thing impaire the same the ioy of that will surmount them all it is most happie labour that is so spent But in these things there is no true ioy but a shadow It is the loue of vainglory that hath caried mē forward to take such paines and so sore to vexe and torment themselues All their ioy and comfort resteth in this that they may haue fame glorie in this worlde If this glory bee ●aine and transitorie how doth it recom●ence their labours and gréefes If there ●emaine no good is not all vanitie vexation of spirite Let vs examine it in some particu●ars Cicero and Demosthenes were eloquent Orators how wise and how swéet was their spéech They could delight the ●are and perswade the minde But can their eloquence now perswade to haue their torments mitigated or to be let out of the prison of hell Alas what can their smoothe tongues benefite them now their fame doeth them no good Solon and Lycurgus could make wise lawes and make men partakers of great fréedomes but they can purchase no infranchisemēt to themselues from the miserable bondage of eternall destruction Aristotle could dispute subtillie let him now shew his cunning to acquitte himselfe Iulius Caesar Scipio and Hanniball were expert and valiant warriors but what can their sharpe swordes helpe them nowe They coulde ouercome men but not deuils We may sée that all the paynes an● vexations to attaine worldly skil are n● way recompensed but vtterly lost Th● parties haue but deceiued themselue● with vaine glory and pride they haue made great account of that which is nothing worth For it is not any good tha● they haue found which made the Philosophers and great wise men so to labour but an opinion that their glory should neuer be darkened that this glory was the chiefe thing to