Selected quad for the lemma: love_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
love_n	john_n	love_v	true_a	4,911	5	5.7716	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A31997	The Godly mans ark, or, City of refuge, in the day of his distresse discovered in divers sermons, the first of which was preached at the funerall of Mistresse Elizabeth Moore : the other four were afterwards preached, and are all of them now made publick, for the supportation and consolation of the saints of God in the hour of tribulation : hereunto are annexed Mris. [sic] Moores evidences for heaven, composed and collected by her in the time of her health, for her comfort in the time of sickness / by Ed. Calamy ...	Calamy, Edmund, 1600-1666.	1658 (1658)	Wing C248; ESTC R22111	99,589	306

it In matters of weight delay is dangerous Abigail made haste to prevent Davids fury Rahab made haste to hang out her Scarlet threed The salvation of your souls is a matter of the greatest concernment and to delay providing for it is not onely a sin against the command of Christ but a sleighting of the Heaven of Christ. How justly may God deny to you who refuse when hee calls either space or grace to turn to him and say to you as it is reported hee said to a man who desired to repent in his old age ubi consumpsisti farinam ibi con-sume furfurem Where you have spent your flower there go spend your branne Therefore let my Counsel bee acceptable to you Make Christ your unum necessarium your one thing necessary and Heaven your primum quaerite Seek yee first the Kingdome of God and his Righteousness Say with David I made haste and delayed not to keep thy Commandements 3 Take heed of resting in the Ministry of man You must not despise the teachings of Orthodox Ministers lawfully called for hee that despiseth them despiseth Christ hee that is above their teachings is above the teachings of Christ for Christ teacheth by them They are his Embassadors and they preach not only in his Name but in his stead yet you must not rest satisfied with the teachings of men but pray That while the Minister speaks to your ears God would speak to your hearts That God would fulfil that blessed Promise Isa. 54. 13. And all thy Children shall bee taught of God That hee would give you an unction from the Holy One to teach you all things That you may see the goings of God in his Sanctuary you may behold the beauty of the Lord and see his power and glory in his holy Temple In a word That God would give you not onely the presence of Ordinances but his presence in them That you may experimentally know what it is to injoy communion with God in Gospel-Administrations 4 Take heed of formality customariness and carelesness in the performance of holy duties Hee that serves God carelesly brings a curse upon himself instead of a blessing For cursed is hee that doth the work of the Lord negligently Hee that serves God formally and customarily doth not serve him but mock him If the Israelites had brought the skin of a beast for sacrifice instead of a beast it would have been counted a mocking of God rather than a worshiping of him So do they who serve God negligently and formally 5 Bee not contented to have a name to bee godly and religious but labour to bee really such as you are supposed by others to bee Remember what Christ saith of the Church of Sardis That shee had a name to live but was dead What will it profit you to bee thought by men to bee godly if God knows that you are ungodly What will it advantage you to seem to go to Heaven and yet at last to miss of it O labour to bee Christians not only in word but in deed and in truth not onely by outward profession but by a holy conversation Rest not satisfied with a less degree of grace than that which will bring you to Heaven It will bee a double Hell to go within an inch of Heaven and yet at last to miscarry 6 Remember what Christ saith of Capernaum The Capernaites were not so bad as the Gadarens who desired Christ to depart from them much less as the Nazarites who thrust Christ out of their Coasts For they heard him preach every Sabbath-day and were astonished at his doctrine And yet because they did not sincerely practise what was taught them Christ pronounceth a heavy doom against them Matth. 11. 23 24. And thou Capernaum which art exalted unto Heaven shalt bee brought down to Hell for if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodome it would have remained unto this day But I say unto you that it shall bee more tolerable for the land of Sodome in the day of judgement than for thee It is not enough to praise the Sermons you hear to admire and stand astonished at the Doctrine delivered If you do not practise what is preached If you do not live Sermons as well as hear them it shall bee easier for Sodome and Gomorrha at the day of judgement than for you 7 Take heed that the love of the world doth not eat out the heart of Religion and at last Religion it self out of your hearts Remember what the Apostle Paul saith That the love of money is the root of all evill which while some have coveted after they have erred from the faith and pierced thēselves through with many sorrows And what the Apostle John saith Love not the world neither the things that are in the world If any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him There is no sin so contrary to true Saint-ship as worldly-mindedness A Saint is one who hath much of Heaven in him and is much in Heaven A Saint is one whose original is from Heaven hee is born from above his name is written in Heaven his meditations affections and conversation is in Heaven Hee is one who is elected to things above and called to partake of Heaven and eternal happiness And for such a man to minde things earthly is a sin of the first magnitude Therefore the Apostle would not have covetousness so much as named amongst Christians There is no sin more defiles the soul. It will besmear you and make you spiritual Blackamores and Chimny-sweepers in Gods sight There is no sin doth more dead and dull the heart in the doing of good duties It hinders a man both from and in Ordinances The Farmer and Merchant made light of the call of Christ and one went to his Farm the other to his Merchandize There is no sin will more eclipse the light of Gods countenance from shining upon you The Moon is never in the Eclipse but when the earth comes between us and the Sun A child of God is seldome without the light of Gods countenance unless it bee through the over-much love of the world No sin will more hinder your flight up to Heaven The Ostrich cannot flye high because of the shortness of her wings Jacob was forced in his travelling towards Canaan to go slowly and softly because of his multitude of children of flocks and herds And therefore let mee again beseech you to take heed of worldly-mindedness this will quickly betray you into Apostacy from Christ and from the truths of Christ. A man who loves the world will Judas-like betray Christ for thirty peeces Hee will part with his Religion rather than with his estate This sin is the root of all evil it exposeth a man to all temptations to hurtful lusts to all errors and all kinde of sorrows It will drown your souls in

are some men that can delight in any thing but in God and his Word and his Ordinances They can delight in the creatures of God but cannot delight in the Ordinances of God They can delight in the gifts of God in riches and health and honours But they cannot delight in the God of these gifts They can delight in books of Philosophy and Humanity but they cannot delight in the word of God Mark the sad condition that these are in It is a certain sign that there is a vail over their eyes and hearts that they are not yet anointed with Christs eye-salve that the God of the world hath blinded their eyes that they cannot see the glorious excellencies of the Law of God It is certain that they are not born anew for if they were new born babes they would desire the sincere milk of the word It is certain that the Law of God is not yet written in their hearts and that the Spirit of God doth not dwell in them It is certain that they have no part nor portion in the word of God that they never tasted the sweetness that is in it and that they have no true love to God nor to his word It is a true saying Qui regem amat legem amat hee that loves a King will love his Law And I may say Qui Deum amat legem Dei amat Hee that loves God will love the Law of God which is nothing else but his Image and his Picture his last Will and Testament his blessed Love-token And therefore if you delight not in the Law of God it is evident you do not delight in the God of this Law And if you delight not in God hee will not delight in you unless it bee to laugh at your destruction as it is Prov. 1. 26. Q. But how shall I know whether I do delight in the Word of God or no Answ. You shall know it by these notes 1 Hee that delights in Gods Law will bee very frequent in meditating and reading of it and very often in speaking of it Thus saith David Psal. 1. 2. His delight is in the Law of the Lord and therein hee will meditate day and night And Psalm 119. 97. Oh how do I love thy Law it is my meditation all the day So also vers 15 16. 23. Hee that takes pleasure in the Law hee will bee often thinking of it as Christ saith Matth. 6. 21. Where the treasure is there the heart will bee also If the word of God bee thy treasure thou wilt meditate on it Cogitatione crebrâ longâ profundâ Thou wilt frequently think of it and when thou beginnest to think of it thou wilt dwell upon the thought of it as a Bee dwells as it were upon the flower to suck out the sweetness that is in it and thou wilt think of it with deep and serious meditations and contemplations thou wilt dive into the unsearchable riches and treasures that are in the Word And as thou wilt meditate on it so thou wilt bee often and unwearisome in reading and perusing of it and discoursing about it A man that delights in hunting is never weary of talking of hunting and hee that delights in the world of speaking about the world and if you did delight in Gods word you would bee very frequent and indefatigable in discoursing of it 2 If you delight in the Word of God you would delight in the Ministers and Ambassadors of the Word lawfully commissionated by Christ For the great work of the Ministry is to expound and apply the Word and therefore if you dis-respect the godly learned lawful Ministry of the Word you take no delight in the Word 3 They that delight in the Word will bee at any cost to bring the Word to their Congregations they will part with thousands of gold and silver rather than with the word He that esteems the Word above thousands will bee willing to part with hundreds for the Words sake Hee will account a famine of the Word more bitter than a famine of bread by how much the soul is better than the body by so much will hee bee more troubled for a soul-famine than a bodily 4 Hee that delights truely in the Law will sincerely labour to obey it and bee m●ch grieved when it is disobeyed 1 Hee will sincerely labour to obey it hee will make the Word of God the man of his counsel vers ●4 Thy testimonies are my delight but how doth hee prove that in the following words and my counsellors Hee will make the Word a Lamp to his feet and a light to his paths vers 105. In all his undertakings hee will inquire what God would have him to do and hee will make Gods Word his Compass to sail by and pray with David vers 35. Make mee to go in the path of thy Commandements for therein do I delight 2 Hee will bee much grieved when others transgress the Law of God Thus David vers 53. Horror hath taken hold upon mee because of the wicked that forsake thy Law and vers 136. Rivers of waters run down mine eyes because they keep not thy Law And therefore you that delight in sin you cannot bee said to delight in the Word and you that are not pained and grieved when others sin you are not amongst the number of those that take pleasure in Gods Law or in whom God takes pleasure Use 2. Let us make it appear that wee are Saints in deed and in truth not only Saints in Mans but in Gods Calender by following the example of holy David set down in the Text. Let us make the Law of God our joyes and our delights Let mee speak to you in the words of the Apostle Col. 3. 16. Let the Word of God dwell richly in you c. not onely with you but in you And in the Words of Christ Ioh. 5. 39. Search the Scriptures for therein you hope to finde eternal life The Greek word signifieth to search as men do under ground for treasures or to search as men who dive under water for something that is at the bottome Let us with Iob 23. 12. Esteem the ward of God above our necessary food Let us love it above gold yea above fine gold Let it bee dearer to us than thousands of gold and silver sweeter than the hony and the honey-comb You that are Gentlemen remember what Hierom reports of Nepotianus a young Gentleman of Rome Qui longa assidua meditatione scripturarum pectus suum fecerat bibliothecam Christi who by often and assiduous meditation of the Scriptures made his breast the Library of Christ. Remember what is said of King Alphonsus that he read over the Bible fourteen times together with such Commentaries as those times afforded You that are Schollars remember Cranmer and Ridley the former learnt the New Testament by heart in his journey to Rome the latter in Pembrook-hall Walks in Cambridge Remember what is said of Thomas a Kempis

a right and portion in all the Promises This is that which God saith Exod. 19. 5. If you will obey my voyce indeed then yee shall bee a peculiar treasure c. If yee will obey my voyce indeed not only in word and in shew but in deed and in truth Thus Ierem. 7. 5 7. If yee thorowly amend your wayes if yee thorowly execute judgement c. then will I cause you to dwell in this place c. If yee thorowly amend c. not only in some things but in all things not only outwardly but inwardly also This Rule is expresly delivered by the Apostle 1 Tim. 4. 8. Godlinesse hath the promise of the life that now is and that which is to come If thou beest a godly man in a Gospel-sense that is one who truly and sincerely indeavoureth to bee godly If thou makest Gods Will thy Rule to live by and not thine own Gods glory thy end and not thy own carnal interest Gods love thy Principle If thy Rules Aimes and Principles bee godly all the Promises of this Life and of the Life to come belong to thee It is worth observing that all the Promises of Life and Salvation are conditional Happiness is entailed upon Holiness Glory upon Grace You shall read in Scripture of the blessings of the Covenant and of the bond of the Covenant of the blessings of the Promises and of the condition of the Promises If ever you would assure your selves of your interest in the blessings of the Covenant you must try your selves by your sincere performance of the condition Thus Christ is promised to none but such as beleeve pardon of sin to none but such as repent and Heaven to none but such as persevere in well doing Tell mee then Canst thou say as in Gods presence that thou hast respect to all Gods Commandements though thou failest in all yet thou hast respect to all that thou obeyest God in deed and in truth and that thou sincerely labourest to bee godly This is a certaine signe that all the Promises are thy portion but you that are ungodly and doe not thorowly amend your wayes you that sleight undervalue and despise the commanding Word you have no part no portion in the promising word But it may bee a distressed Christian though without just cause will say that hee is afraid that hee doth not sincerely obey the commanding word and therefore dares not apply to himself the promising word wherefore I adde Rule 2. 2 The more thou art afraid lest thou shouldest have no right to the Promises the more right thou hast in all probability to them This I speak only to the distressed Christian not that I commend his fear But this I say This fear which thou art possessed withall is a probable signe that thou hast an interest in the Promises For a presumptuous Sinner never doubts of his right to them but takes it as a Maxime not to bee denied that they belong to him It is a comfortable saying of Mr. Greenhams When thou hearest the Promises and art in a cold sweat and hast a fear and trembling seizing upon thee lest they should not belong to thee doubt not but that they doe belong to thee For Christ hath said Come unto mee all yee that are weary and heavie laden and I will give you rest And the Prophet Isaiah calls upon those who are of a fearful heart to bee strong and fear not and tells us for our comfort that God will look with an eye of favour upon him that is poor and of a contrite spirit and trembleth at his word Rule 3. 3 The more sensible thou art of thine own unworthiness to lay hold upon the Promises the more thou art fitted and qualified to lay hold upon them For the promises are as I have shewed the fruit of Free-grace Nothing moved God to enter into a Covenant with his people and thereby to become their Debtor but his free love Free grace brought Christ down from Heaven and it is Free Grace must carry us up to Heaven Christ himself is called the gift of God John 4. 10. Moses tells the Israelites Deut. 7. 7 8. The Lord did not set his love upon you nor chuse you because you were more in number than any people c. but because the Lord loved you and because hee would keep the Oath which hee had sworn unto your Fathers hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you c. God doth not love us because wee are worthy of his love but because hee loves us therefore hee makes us worthy Wee must not bring worthinesse to Christ but fetch worthinesse from Christ. And therefore if thou beest sensible of thine owne nothingnesse emptinesse and unworthinesse lay hold upon that excellent Promise Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdome of Heaven Blessed are those who are sensible of their spiritual wants for to them belongs the Kingdome of Heaven as certainly as if they were already in it Rule 4. 4 Study thy interest in the main and fundamental Promise and that will help thee to make out thy interest in all the other The main and fundamental Promise is the Promise of Christ. For all Promises whither Spiritual o● Temporal are made to us in and thorough him God hath promised never to leave us nor forsake us and that all things shall work together for our good that is if wee be in Christ God hath said all things are ours whether Paul or Apollos whether life or death whether things present or things to come but it is with this Promise if wee bee Christs Whosoever takes any comfort from any Temporal promise and is not in Christ doth but delude and cheat himself This then is thy work O Christian study thy interest in Christ make out that and make out all If no interest in Christ no interest in the Promises If an interest in Christ an interest in the Promises let this then be thy daily business to make it out to thy soul that Christ is thine Quest. How shall I bee able to doe this Answ. For this purpose you must diligently study three things 1 The Universality of the Promise of Christ. 2 The Freenesse of it 3 The condition upon which hee is tendred 1 The Universality of the promise of Christ. Christ Jesus with all his benefits is promised to every one who is willing to lay hold on him as hee is tendred in the Gospel The Apostles are commanded to go into all the world and to preach the Gospel to every creature hee that beleeveth and is baptized shall bee saved c. If thou hast a heart to beleeve bee thy sins never so great it is for the honour of Iesus Christ to pardon them As the Sea covers great Rocks as well as small so the Mercy of God in Christ will pardon great sins as well as little It will

and not before the greatness of their sin in selling their Brother Gen 42. 21. They open the ear to Discipline In prosperity wee turn a deaf ear to the voyce of the charmer though he charm never so wisely But adversity openeth the ear and causeth us to attend When God spake upon Mount Sinah in a terrible manner then the people said unto Moses Speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee and wee will hear it and do it Deut. 5. 27. Memorable is that Text Jer. 2. 24. A wilde Ass used to the Wilderness that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure in her occasion who can turn her away all they that seek her will not weary themselves in her month they shall finde her in her month that is when she is great with young and near her time A wicked man in the day of his prosperity is like a wilde Ass used to the wilderness hee snuffeth at any that shall reprove him hee is of an uncircumcised ear and a rebellious heart but in his month that is when hee is bigge with Afflictions then hee will be easily found this will open his ear to Discipline 3 They will open the mouth to confess sin Judg. 10. 15. 4 They will command us to depart from iniquity Job 36. ● 9 10. Afflictions are Gods Furnaces to purge out the dross of our sins Gods files to pare off our spiritual rust Gods Fannes to winnow out our chaffe In prosperity wee gather much soil but adversity purgeth and purifieth us This is its proper work to work out unrighteousness Dan. 11. 35. Dan. 12. 10. 3 Gods end is not only to keep us from sin but to make us holy and righteous therefore it is said Isa. 26. 9. When they judgements are in the earth the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness And Heb. 12. 10. Hee for our profit that wee may bee partakers of his holiness As the waters that drowned the old world did not hurt the Ark of Noah but bare it up above the earth and as they increased so the Ark was lifted up nearer and nearer to Heaven So Afflictions when sanctified do not prejudice the Saints of God but lift them up nearer unto God in holiness and heavenly-mindedness 4 Gods design in afflicting his children is to make the world bitter unto them and Christ sweet 1 To imbitter the world There are two lame leggs upon which all worldly things stand uncertainty and insufficiency All earthly things are like the earth founded upon nothing They are like heaps made of wax that quickly melt away Riches and honours wise and children have wings and flye away they are like unto Absoloms Mule they will fail us when wee have most need of them They may puffe up the soul but they cannot satisfie it inflare possunt satiare animam non possunt They are all vanity and vexation of spirit so saith the Preacher but most people in time of health will not beleeve these things but when some great sickness betides them this is as a real Sermon to make out the truth of them then they see that a Velvet slipper cannot cure the Gout nor a golden cap the head ache Prov. 〈◊〉 4. That riches avail not in the day of wrath and this imbitters the world 2 To make Christ sweet and precious When Christ and his Disciples were in a ship together Mat. 8. 25. it is said That Christ was asleep and as long as the Sea was calm his Disciples suffered him to sleep but when they were ready to bee drowned then they awoke Christ and said Master save us wee perish Even the best of Saints when fatted with outward plenty and abundance are prone to suffer Christ 〈◊〉 lye asleep within them and so neglect the lively actings of Faith upon Christ but when the storms of affliction and outward calamity begin to arise and they are ready to bee overwhelmed with distresses then None but Christ none but Christ. 5 Gods design in afflicting his children is to prove and improve their graces 1 To prove their graces Rev. 2. 10. Deut. 8. 2. to prove the truth and the strength of them 1 The truth and sincerity of their graces For this cause he loaded Iob with afflictions to try whether hee served God for his Camels and Oxen or for love to God As Solomons sword tried the true Mother from the false So the sword of affliction discovers the sincere Christian from the hypocrite Distresses are divine touchstones to try whether we be true or counterfeit Saints That grace is true which upon tryal is found true 2 To try the strength of our graces For it requires a strong faith to indure great afflictions That Faith which will suffice for a little affliction will not suffice for a great one Peter had faith enough to come to Christ upon the Sea but assoon as the storm began to arise his Faith began to fail and Christ said Why art thou afraid O thou of little Faith Mat. 14. 30 31. It must bee a strong Faith that must keep us from sinking in the day of great Distress 2 To improve our graces It is reported of the Lionesse that she leaves her young ones till they have almost killed themselves with roaring and howling and then at last gasp shee relieves relieves them and by this means they become more couragious So God brings his children into the deeps and suffers Ionah to bee three daies and three nights in the belly of the Whale and David to cry till his throat was dry Psal. 69. 3. and suffers his Apostles to bee all the night in a great storm till the fourth watch and then hee comes and rebukes the winds and by this means hee mightily increaseth their patience and dependence upon God and their Faith in Christ. As the Palm-tree the more it is depressed the higher stronger and fruitfuller it grows So doth the graces of Gods people Lastly Gods aim in afflicting his people is to put an edge upon their prayers and all their other holy services 1 Upon Prayer What a famous Prayer did Manasseh make when hee was under his iron fetters It is thrice mentioned 2 Chron. 33. 13 18 19. When Paul was struck off his horse and struck with blindness then hee prayed to purpose Therefore it is said Act. 9. 11. Behold hee prayeth In prosperity wee pray heavily and drowsily but adversity adds wings to our prayers Isa. 26. 16. The very heathen Marriners cryed aloud to God in a storm It is an ordinary saying Qui nescit orare discat navigare There are no Saylors so wicked but they will pray when in a great storm 2 Upon Preaching Prosperity glutteth the spiritual appetite adversity whetreth it 3 Upon a Sacrament How sweet is a Sacrament to a true Saint after a long and great sickness 1 It makes God and the word of God precious If God sets our Corn-fields on fire as Absalom did Ioabs then hee shall