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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	life_n	name_n	write_v	18,504	5	6.4426	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A88580	The combate between the flesh and spirit. As also the wofull with-drawing of the Spirit of God, with the causes thereof: and walking in, and after the Spirit, together with the blessednesse thereof. Being the summe and substance of XXVII. sermons: preached a little before his death, by that faithfull servant of Christ, Mr. Christopher Love, late minister of the Gospel at Lawrence Jury London. To which is added the Christians directory tending to direct him in the various conditions that God may cast him into. In XV. sermons.	Love, Christopher, 1618-1651.	1654 (1654)	Wing L3149; Wing L3145; Thomason E742_2; ESTC R202772	325,954	459

joy then any thing without thee can be a cause of excessive sorrow as Prov. 14.14 A good man shall be satisfied from himself a godly man hath matter of rejoycing in himself whatever befalls him in the world We read Luke 13.21 when the Disciples doted upon a temporall flourishing Kingdom Christ told them the Kingdom of God was within them if we have Christs grace c. though we have nothing else that 's greater cause of exceeding joy then any other wants can be ground of excessive sorrow what though they have nothing here below yet God is their portion and they have an inheritance with the Saints in light reserved for them What though they have not a peny of money in their purses yet have they true treasure which moth cannot corrupt nor thief break thorow and steal What though they have no bread in their Cubbords at home when every day they feed upon the bread of life the pretious body and blood of Christ What though you are reproached and defamed in your good name when notwithstanding your name is written in the Book of Life You have every way more cause of joy within you then you have cause of sorrow without you Gen. 33.11 I have enough said Esau I have enough said Jacob too but the word signifies I have all yet Jacob was poorer then Esau ille habet omia qui habet habentem omnia Consid 5 5. Consider that that comfort which thou doest so excessively mourn for the want of it may be would prove a greater crosse and trouble should God have continued it still to thee There is a remarkable instance for this in Gen. 30.5 you read there of Rachel an impatient woman overcome with passion and sorrow for want of Children she cryed to her Husband give me Children or else I die well this woman had her desire granted and she that before cryed give me Children or else I die when she had Children she dies in Child-birth Gen. 35.16,17,18 As they journeyed from Bethel Rachel travailed and she had hard labour and the Mid-wise said unto her fear not thou shalt have this Son also And it came to passe as her soul was in departing for she died that she called his name Ben-oni 2 Sam. 12.16 she died after her Son vvas born God can make those comforts that we desire to be crosses to us So to David had God given him the life of his Child it would have been a living monument of his shame that all that knew the Child would have said yonder goes Davids Bastard I have heard a godly Minister relate a story that once he went to visit a Neighbour of his whose Child lay a dying to comfort her she was very much grieved and dejected with sorrow and would by no means be comforted the Minister said unto her woman why do you grieve so much if your Child should live it may be God might make it a scourge and vexation to you by taking wicked and sinfull courses she answered she did not care if her Child did recover though he were hanged afterward this her Son did recover and was afterward executed for some villany that he had committed why now it had been a greater mercy and a thousand times better for her to have seen him buried before then that he should have come to such an unhappy end I only mention this to shew you that God can turn those comforts which we so much prize and dote upon into crosses to us and therefore this should allay excessiveness of sorrow for the losse of any worldly comfort Consid 6 6. Consider that all those crosses in the world for which you grieve though they be never so great yet they are very short and this is the Argument the Apostle useth here in the Text Omni● brevia tolerabilia●sse de bent etiamsi magna sint Cicero saies he Brethren the time is short it remaineth therefore that they that weep be as if they wept not though your afflictions be heavy yet they shall not continue long therefore be patient under them though they be never so great yet because they are short they are tolerable and this the Apostle presseth in 2 Cor. 4.17 Our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternall waight of glory And so saies God Esa 54.7 for a moment have I forsaken thee but in everlasting loving kindness will I have mercy on thee Our afflictions are alwayes computed by dayes and howers but our mercies by years to shew that the time is but short wherein we do endure afflictions here below they are soone over and like Clouds the Sun will quickly break through them When Athanasius was banisht he said it was but a little Cloud it would be over presently A Martyr said unto his fellow shut but your eyes and the next time they are opened 't will be in another world Consid 7 7. Consider that by immoderate sorrow you do not go the way to remove or lessen your afflictions but rather provoke God to continue and increase them This I hinted to you in the morning As a stubborn Child that fumes and frets and stamps and starres and blubbers or the like this cariage is not the way to make the Father forbear correcting him but rather to give him the more blowes so the more excessive we are in our sorrows the heavier afflictions God many times layes upon us What Christ said of taking cares Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit to his Stature may be said in this case which of you by excessive sorrow can any whit lessen your affliction the way to remove our afflictions is to accept of the punishment of our sins A Child that submits and beggs pardon for his offence and promiseth amendment saves many a blow by it Consid 8 8. Consider that any outward comfort here in this world the losse of which thou dost so exceedingly mourn for it is no better then what any wicked man may have and your selves may well be without Is it for want of wealth honour Children c Loe wicked men may have all these and therefore why shouldest thou be so much troubled for the losse of that which any Reprobate may enjoy Indeed were it for the losse of Christ of Heaven and everlasting happiness we could never sufficiently mourn for the losse of these but in the loseing of these outward mercies we lose no more then a damned wretch may enjoy the things that we mourn for are not of that worth and value that we estimate them I have read a story of two godly men that met named Anthony and Didymus Now Didymus was blind yet of excellent parts Anthony askt him if he were not troubled at it yes said Didymus but said Anthony will you be troubled for want of what flies and Dogs may have and not rather rejoyce that you have what Angels have Consid 9 9. To allay thy immoderate

Rachel that when she was a dying the Child being born she called its name Benoni the Son of my sorrow but now mark Ja●ob would not let it be called by that name the Mother called it by but he called it Benjamin the Sonne of my right hand And Divines give this Reason of it because if Jacob had suffered the Child to have been called by that name every time he had heard it it would have been a means to recall to mind the losse of his Wife who died while she was in labour with him and so have revived his grief and sorrow for it therefore we should not call to mind our afflictions so as to renew our sorrows 6. If you would keep your sorrows within bounds live much in the meditation and contemplation of divine things The reason why you mourn so much for things below is because you meditate no more on things above were your contemplations raised up to the speculation of divine and spirituall things the joy of these would swallow up your sorrow for the losse of any thing here below Adam in innocency did so converse with God that he did not see his own nakedness I have read of the Eagle that she is of a temper and condition contrary to all other Birds whereas all other Birds that fly when they are hurt or in want will cry and make a noyse as the Crane will chatter the Dove will mou●ne the Raven will croake all creatures will make a noyse when they are hart or in want but now the Eagle she will flye aloft towards the Sun and there recreate her selfe with its warme beames Oh now beloved that you would be Eagle like to soare up in your meditations heavenward to raise up your thoughts to spirituall and heavenly things and this would greatly allay your sorrowes for the losse of any outward comfort Rule 7 7. Labour to mourne for sin more and then you will mourne for outward afflictions lesse when once the conscience is touched with a penetentiall sorrow for sin it will then cease sorrowing for the losse of worldly comforts Oh Beloved the letting your sorrowes run out upon sin will divert them from any other object because when once the soul is in a veine of weeping for sin it sees and apprehends sin to be so great an evill that no evill in the world is so much a ground of sorrow as that and therefore if you would weep as if you wept not for outward troubles weep more for sin and the corruptions that are in your own hearts I may say of sorrow as it is said of feare in Esay 8.12,13 sayes the Text Feare not their feare neither be afraid but sanctifie the Lord of Hosts himselfe and let him be your feare and let him be your dread They that feare the Lord will not feare men they that have a religious feare will not have a worldly feare so if you have a godly sorrow for sin it will keep you from any immoderate worldly sorrow and therefore I could wish when you finde your sorrowes breaking out for the losse of worldly comforts and things goe crossse with you here below that you would consider that you have greater evils to mourne for and a great deale more cause to let your sorrowes run in sins Channell then for any outward crosse or affliction 8. If you would allay excesse in wordly sorrow ballance your outward wants with your inward and spirituall injoyments and your outward crosses with your inward comforts and see whether the scale of your spirituall comforts doth not exceedingly weigh downe the other and if God make your spirituall mercies to outvy your outward afflictions you have more cause to rejoyce then to mourne This course David tooke in 2 Sam. 25.5 sayes he Although my house be not so with God yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant ordered in all things and sure for this is all my salvation and all my desire although he make it not to grow as if he should have said although I have not an affluence and confluence of all worldly happinesse yet I care not seeing God hath made with mean everlasting covenant ordered in all things and sure though things goe amisse without yet all is well within God hath made with me a covenant and that is all my desire and all my salvation so that now if you would with David ballance your outward crosses with your inward comforts Pro. 14.14 you would there see more cause of joy then outwardly of sorrow A good man saith Solomon shall be satisfied from himselfe he hath that within him which will afford him comfort whatsoever his outward condition be You that are dejected with worldly sorrow reason thus with your selves what though my condition be said and I want necessaries for this life and have not a house to put my head in or if I have it is but a poore smoky Cottage yet why should I be troubled seeing I have a house not made with hands eternall in the heavens though I have no habitation here 2 Cor. 5.1 yet Christ is gone before me into heaven to prepare a place for me there What though I am a man of a meane estate and can scarce with all my labour and paines bring the yeare about Joh. 14.2 yet God is my portion and I have an inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in Christ what though I am in debt and in continuall danger when I goe abroad to be arrested and imprisoned yet my great debt is paid Christ hath satisfied divine justifice for me and I shall never goe to the Prison of hell to all eternity what though I have no money in my purse to buy bread yet I have a treasure in heaven that shall never be exhausted what though I have scarce cloaths to cover my nakednesse yet I have the long Robe of Christs righteousnesse to cover my sinfull nakednesse and though I have scarce meat and drinke to put in my belly yet I doe feed upon the bread of life the Lord Jesus Christ what though I am reproached and scandalized and defamed in my good name yet my name is written in the booke of life and though I have never a foot of Land here to enjoy yet I am an heire to a Kingdom A Prince in disguize in a forraign Country meets with ill usage but it troubles him not much why because he is heire to a Crowne and knows that when he is in his owne Kingdome he shall have respect enough Beloved let these inward and spirituall enjoyments allay all worldly sorrow considering that if thou doest ballance thy spirituall enjoyments with thy outward wants and thy inward comforts with thy outward losses the former will infinitely preponderate and outweigh the latter 9. Would you keep your sorrowes within bounds then make the most of the mercies you receive and the least of the afflictions you endure it is the property of a sorrowfull spirit to make the

a humane law will restraine his practice if it were not so how many murthers would there be were it not more for venturing their neck● then their souls It is a mercy to have good lawes in a Nation because they restraine men from the practice of evil when the law of God hath not a sway upon mens consciences You finde in Scripture how men have been restrained meerly upon this account the favourites of Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon informing against Shadrach Meshech and Abednego Dan. 3.29 touching their God there was an order made that the three children should be cast into the fiery furnace and that it should be seven times more hotter then formerly well they were cast in and the story tells you that they walked in the fire as in a pleasant roome Now this did so convince the King and his Nobles that the King made this law and sent out this Edict that every People Nation and language which spake any thing amisse against the God of Shadrach Meshech and Abednego they shall be cut in pieces and their houses be made a dunghill here was a humane law and this did so quell and awe the people that though they did raile against the God of Shadrach Meshech and Abednego before yet now they were silent I only mention this to shew what force and power a humane law hath to restraine the sin of wicked men 6. Men may be kept from sin meerly by the presence and example of good men among whom they live who do take notice of and observe their wayes I remember that it is reported as a proverb among the Romanes they will say Take heed Cato beholds you Cato who was esteemed a good man and being so esteemed when any man was doing evil this was their Proverb Take heed Cato sees you And thus you finde in Scripture concerning Herod that he feared John knowing that he was a just man and an holy and observed him Jo● 6.20 We have a story in the book of Martyrs in the beginning of the first vollume concerning John the Evangelist who wrote the Revelation as he was riding upon the high way a company of thieves met with him and it so happened that the Captain of these thieves was a youth which lived under John's Ministery and though John hardly knew him yet he knew Iohn and it is said when he saw the old man he ran away the guilt of his conscience did so recoile upon him and the presence of Iohn that he ranne away not daring to act his accustomed wickednesse To this purpose is that of the Apostle Paul It is good to be zealously affected alwayes in a good thing and not only when I am present with you Gai. 4.18 Phil. 1.27 Phil. 2.12 It intimates that whilest Paul was present they walked marvellous well but when he was absent they then grew idle the presence and example of good men is an occasion many times to keep others from sinne 7. Men may be kept from sinne from an heroicknesse of Spirit and from the ingenuousnesse of a mans natural temper And thus Luther before conversion whilst he was a Monk in the Church of Rome yet he professes that then he was never tainted with covetousnesse he was of so ingenuous a spirit that such a sordid sinne did not cleave to him And so Paul he tells you of a natural gift which he had which was continency Thus it is reported of Plutarch that he should say Malo nullumsuisse Plutarchum c. Rom. 2.14 I had rather you should say there is no such man in the world then to say that Ps●tarch is either vaine unjust or unconstant the natural temper of the man did incline him to equity and justice Paul speaking of the Gentiles sayes that though they had not the Law yet they did by nature the things contained in the Law that is by a refined nature What is the reason that some men are passionate and others not the reason is not from renuing grace but it is because there is in some a more ingenuousnesse of spirit then in others and hereby many evils as to the act of them are restrained though men be destitute of renuing grace 8. Wicked men they may be kept from doing evil for feare of punishment either temporal or eternal sometimes fear of outward judgements and thus it was with the Egyptians Formidine poenae potiùs quàm detest●tione moli Exod 12.33 they cry Let the Israelites go or we are all dead men depart they must but not because God would have them go nor yet out of love to the Isralites but out of love to themselves we are all dead men if they be not free men So we read the High Priests and Pharisees Mat. 26.5 they would not kill Christ upon a feast-day lest there should be an uproar among the people it was not love to Christ but love to themselves So many Polititians they would do many injurious acts were it not that they feared the people 9. The fear of hell and Gods wrath that may lie hard on the soul of a sinner and may keep him from doing wickednesse fear of everlasting burnings To this purpose you have a notable passage of the Prophet Isaiah The sinners in Sion saies he are afraid fearfulnesse hath surprized the hypocrites Isa 3.3.14 what what 's the matter This is the reason Who among us can dwell with devouring fire who can dwell with everlasting barnings The feare of Gods wrath made them afraid of sinne 10. Hope of temporal and eternal reward may be another cause why men may forbear sinne Mark 10.17 And this was the conceit of that young man What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life Christ answers him Thou knowest the Commandments Do not kill Do not commit adultery Do not steale and he answers All these have I kept from my youth he had more regard to the reward then to the rule in his obedience of the Commmandments And thus Balaam his hope in a happy end did curb him that he did not commit an unrighteous act Upon all these forementioned occasions wicked men may refraine from sinne such who are wholly without any truth of grace Vse The Use I shall make of this point shall be to wicked men Pu●c●rum est in secundis t●rti●sque consister● c. Cicero even to those who upon any of the forementioned grounds have been kept from sin 1. Hereby you have lesse sinne then others have or then your selves would have had if you had been without restraining grace though restraining grace in checking sinne do not make you good yet it makes you lesse evil though not holy and spiritual men yet good moral men 2. Your punishment will be lesse then otherwise it would have been in that God hath given you restraining grace to keep under sinne A Heathen shall be punished lesse that hath restraining grace then a Christian which wants it A sober Heathen shall