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A54342 Helps to the assurance of God's love whereby a true believer may with the help of Gods good spirit know that he had a being in the love of God before he had a being in the world : to which is added a spiritual touch-stone for the tryal of the sincerity of our love to God / by Samuel Pack. Pack, Samuel. 1673 (1673) Wing P150; ESTC R26175 21,542 70

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grounds ●y that God loves thee but it is not every Knowledge of God that will Characterize a person to be an object of Gods love for if we look into 1 Rom. 21. we may see that there were some that had a rational confused Knowledge of God in the book of the Creatures and yet we see in the latter end of the Chapter they did rush into the greatest Abominations imaginable A Knowledg of God in the book of the Creatures only will not keep the Creature from committing the greatest sins against God But thou that wouldst Know upon sure grounds that God loves thee see if thou doest know God in his power as to Fear him in his Mercy as to Love him and his faithfulness to believe him And if all the Attributes of God have such an influence upon thee then I dare tell thee for thy comfort that thou mayst assure thy self that God Loves thee For Christ who is Truth it self sayth John 10.14 That those sheep of his whom he knows with a Knowledge of Approbation they know him with a knowledge of Love and Obedience But if thou art one that doest not fear God for his Greatness nor love him for his Goodness nor believe him for his Faithfulness but in straits and troubles canst allow thy self in taking indirect courses with Saul and Ahaziah 1 Sam. 28.7 2 Kings 1.2 it is a sign thou hast at Present but little grounds to hope that thou art an object of Gods Love 2. Thou that wouldest know whether thou canst assure thy self of the Love of God examine thy self whether thou hast received from God those peculiar favours which he doth give only to those who are the objects of his Love Now there are special favours which God bestowes only on his own peculiar people Ezek. 11.19.20.36.25 26 27. Those special favours are A new Heart and a new Spirit an heart of Flesh a saveing knowledge of himself a self-loathing for Sin and an enlightned understanding the fear of God and Love to God and Sincerity before God and all the gifts and graces of the Spirit of God Now these are the special favours which God bestowes only on those that are the objects of his Love Oh my friends take heed you do not build your hopes of Interest in Gods love upon the sandy foundations of outward injoyments Many are ready to look upon their outward injoyments as Health Strength Peace and Safety and the blessing of God on their outward injoyments to be infallible signs of Gods love whereas indeed those outward things are many times instead of being signs of Gods Love being Unsanctified and Misimproved are signs of Gods Reprobateing anger But if God have bestowed those other favours upon thee before mentioned then thou mayst be sure that God Loves thee The Love of God doth in a providential way extend it self to all his Creatures But his everlasting Love and his choycest and endeared affections these amongst the sonnes and daughters of Adam are only partakers of to whom God hath given a new Heart and such a practical Knowledge of himself together with all the gifts and graces of his Spirit 3. If thou art one that canst upon good grounds assure thy self that thou art an object of Gods Love then this Love of God hath been of an attractive nature to draw thee to all thy Dutys both Relative and Religious as we have it in Jeremiah 31.3 I have loved thee with an Everlasting Love therefore with loving Kindness have I drawn thee My friends I beseech you try what influence the Love of God hath upon your Hearts in the drawing of you to ●hose duties which are the most contrary to corrupt nature and the most loathsome to the flesh After that Christ had manifested his love to Zacheus and told him that Salvation was come to his house then he could take shame to himself in the acknowledgement of his Extortion If thou canst assure thy self of the Love of God then the Glory of the God of Love will be thy ultimate End in all thy duties And when thou perceivest pride or self or vain-glory creeping into thy duties oh how is thy soul perplexed and disturbed But on the contrary if thou art one that doest that which is thy duty but art drawn thereto by wicked ends thou hast but little grounds to assure thy self that thou art in the Love of God If thou art conversant in religious duties towards God or charity towards men and art drawn thereto by Pharisaical vain-glorious ends It is then high time for thee to look about thee for that hopes thou hast of the Love of God is but 〈◊〉 delusion of the Devil therefore see if it be Love to God that makes thee give to the Poor and desire after communion with God that draws thee to hear the Word of God and to pray unto God If it be so with thee thou mayst go home with comfort for I dare warrant thee from the Word of God that God hath loved thee with an everlasting Love that thou hadst a being in the love of God before thou hadst a being in the world for though a wicked man may be contented to be found in the outside of duties for such self-ends as he proposes to himself yet there being enmity in his heart against God it is impossible he should propose Gods glory as his main and ultimate end Therefore if thou art brought to propose Gods glory as thy ultimate end it is an infallible sign that thou art an Object of Gods Love 4. Another sign of the Love of God manifested to the Creature is when we are fruitful in our places to draw others unto Jesus Christ as well as to bring forth the fruits of an holy conversation our selves After that the Spouse had been setting forth the excellency of the Love of Christ and had been begging a kisse of her beloved she was so taken with his love that presently shee crys out Can 1.2 4. Draw me we will run after thee draw me in the singular we in the Plural will run after thee A person that has tasted of the sweetness of the Love of God waites all opportunitys to say with David Come and see what God hath done for my soul oh saith the soul I was by nature an enemy to God and not only so but I had enmity in my heart against God And blessed be his name that was pleased to bring down that enmity by shedding abroad his love in my heart Thus the object of Gods Love will endeavour to bring others in Love with this lovely object the Lord Jesus Christ in Hosea 14. after that God had in the 4. verse manifested the freeness of his love to believers we may see in the 5. and 6. verses that God will be as the dew upon Israel and that he shall grow as the lilly and cast forth his roots as Lebanon by which is meant nothing else but the fruitfulness of it 5. That Soul