Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A05406
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Ignis cœlestis: or An interchange of diuine love betweene God and his saints. By Iohn Lewis, minister of Gods word at St. Peters in the tovvne of St. Albons
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Lewis, John, b. 1595 or 6.
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1620
(1620)
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STC 15558; ESTC S103072
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37,144
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136
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Ignis Coelestis OR An interchange of Diuine LOVE betweene GOD and his SAINTS BY IOHN LEWIS Minister of God words at St. PETERS in the towne of St. Albons LONDON Printed by T. S. for N. N. 1620. To the worshipfull Mr. ROBERT SHVTE ESQVIER SIr so often as I consider the breuity and frailty of this mortall life that betweene the wombe and the tombe the cradle and the graue there is but a spans breadth and so often as I remember That it is appointed for man once to dye and then he must come to iudgement I cannot but with griefe admire the wilfull madnesse of this age wherein men set their wits vpon the tenter-hookes of inuention and policie and set their braines a worke to finde strange plots One with Ahab to get Naboths vineyard another with the rich Churle to enlarge his barnes by magnitude and his bags by multitude a third with proud Haman onely aimes at greatnesse his aspiring minde is alwayes climbing his desires cannot finde a Non vltra for his preferment hath no period a fourth with the rich Man how he may bathe himselfe in pleasure and Sardanapalus-like become effeminate by giuing himselfe to all voluptuousnesse But that which is vnum necessarium especially necessary for our sound comfort here and eternall happinesse hereafter is not remembred not regarded Things which are obtained with much labour retained with much care and lost with much vexation we hunt after with great eagernesse but God who hath giuen vs not onely our esse but our bene esse the fruition of whom is mans beatitude is neither affected nor desired With the Gadarens we preferre a few swine before Christ our Redeemer with prophane Esau we sell our birth right yea and the blessing with it for a messe of pottage whereas if we could but be aduised by the Heathen Ab Ioue principium Let our loue begin at God with him we should possesse peace patience comfort content helpe happinesse yea whatsoeuer were expeâ—ient for life temporall and eternall If wee did but seeke God and his righteousnesse all things necessary shall be added vnto vs There is no cause why we should be so loue-sicke for the world it is variable soone got soone lost deceiueable being but a shadow of felicity no substance treacherous â— while it flattereth the body it stayes the soule perfidious it complementeth with her louers as Dalilah with Sampson but beâ—raies them vnâ—o Sathan their morâ—all enemy If wee could but looke on the world with the eye of faith and sound iudgement and be so wise as to behold it in its proper complexion we would not dote on so meane a creature we would not make our seruant to be our Lord when the Lord sues for the loue of vs his seruants He that is vnchangeable he that is amiable he that is infinitely holy infinitely compassionate hath a long time stood at the doore knocking desiring to come in and â—up with vs intending to bring his prouision with him to furnish our hearts and at length to bring saluation to our soules and our soules vnto blessednesse yet like men carelesse of his kindenesse fearelesse of his displeasure we suffer him to knocke and will not open we are in bed with our darlings and will not rise Oh that in this our day we did but know the things which belong vnto our peace The motiue that induceth me to commit this small worke vnto the Presse is rather the worthines of the subiect then any excellency of the Authors wit it being worthy of the most aduised meditations of the best men of our best time wherein we shall clearely behold what God hath beene to vs and what we ought to be toward him the loue of the one and the duty of the other The great and meere voluntary kindenesse which I haue receiued from your Worship without any desert on my part is a sufficient argument to perswade me to dedicate it vnto your worthy selfe beseeching you to accept it as a tesâ—imony expressing his thankefulnesse who shall perpetually acknowledge himselfe obliged vnto you The Widdowes Mite a token of a willing minde was kindely accepted Although this worke be composed rudi ac crassa Minerua yet herein the Authors desire may no lesse be conceiued then in that which is more exquisite I indeauour not indeede so much to please the eare as to comfort the conscience labouring rather for soundnesse of matter then plausiblenes of phrase and ayming more at a generall then at a particular benefit What once Peter said vnto the Creeple that lay at the gate of the Temple the same will I say vnto your worship Siluer and Gold haue I none but such as I haue giue I thee And seeing I cannot expresse my thankfulnesse as I would let me be bold to doe it as I may and what I cannot in action I shal in praying God to giue you increase of grace and honour in this lifeâ— and the eternall fruition of soule-contenting blessednesse in the life to come Yours in all Christian dutie IOHN LEVVIS Ignis Coelestis OR An interchange of diuine loue betweene GOD and his SAINTS 1. IOHN Chap. 4. Verse 19. Wee loue him because hee loued vs first I May say of these words as Simonides did of God that when he had required but one day to resolue what GOD was when the day was expired he was more vnable to answere then at the first The more I thinke of the admirable greatnesse of Gods loue toward vs the more I may meditate of it but the lesse able am I to expresse it for mee thinkes I am enclosed in such a labyrinth that I can neither by art nor nature extricate my selfe like the sunne which keepes his continuall motion and yet neuer comes to an end And indeede no meruaile seeing that diuine loue which is in God differs nothing from himselfe for Quicquid in Deo est est ipse Deus Whatsoeuer is in God is God himselfe It is therefore as impossible for me fully to declare and for you exactly to conceiue what this loue of God is in it selfe as to declare and conceiue what God himselfe is seeing as the one is infinite so is the other God is infinite in his essence therefore not finite in his properties therefore vnconceiueable by any finite creature But as God himselfe cannot be expressed as he is in his diuine essence but as he hath reuealed himselfe in his word and workes so his loue seeing it is de escentia diuina essentiall vnto him that is incomprehensible can onely be conceiued per nebulam somewhat infirmely of vs euen as he hath reuealed it in his word and workes toward his creatures This verse mee thinkes may not vnfitly be compared vnto the two Cherubims which were on the mercy seate the one looking toward the other for God out of his meere fauour manifesting his loue toward vs
first hath begotten in vs a holy loue toward him againe And as the Species or image that issueth from the countenance into the glasse is reflâ—cted backe into the eye of the beholder so the loue of God toward vs begeâ—teth in vs a loue toward him which is reflectâ—d backe to him which is the Author of all loue yea Loue it selfe like the riuers whose beginning is from the sea and whose recourse is into the seâ— againe The Apostle Saint Iohn in this Epistle doth exhort vnto three graces especially Faith Loue and Obedience and these duties he doth interchangeably mixe one with another but Loue is the grace hee doth chiefly insist vpon and oftnest exhort vnto And this loue he sheweth hath two obiects The one more principall which is God The other lesse principall which is man God we must loue simply for him selfe Man for God God because he is God Man because hee is Gods Thus as the obiects of our Loue are diuers so are their conditions yet not so diuers as that they are contrary but onely subordinate as the inferiour to the superiour The words of my Text do diuide themselues into these two branches First an affirmation of an effect wrought Secondly a declaration of the cause working The effect wrought in these words We loue him wherin obserue three things 1. The subiect Wee 2. The action of this subiect Loue. 3. The obiect of this action Him In the cause obserue foure things 1. The efficient God 2. His affection Loue. 3. The obiect Vs. 4. The extent First The Metaphrase of the words is this True indeede it is that all those which know God truely and are begotten againe by the immortall seede of his diuine Word and are indewed with the heauenly graces of his blessed spirit doe intirely and with ardent affection loue God their father who hath begot them But whence proceeds this loue is it from themselues or haue they it radically or naturally growing in them No questionlesse God is as a fountaine of loue who louing them first hath so conueyed his loue into their hearts by the powerfull operation of his holy Spirit that the streame returnes vnto himselfe againe and as the Sunne by his power with the motion of the heauens is the cause of all naturall heate in these sublunary creatures So is God by the motion of his owne diuine loue the efficient cause that worketh the heate of loue in all that feare him We loue him indeed but not of our selues but we loue him because he loued vs first Thus much for the meaning of the words Seeing by order of nature the cause is before the effect I suppose it is not so conuenient to handle the words as they lie in the Text for it seemes somewhat preposterous but I will rather begin with those words which are last in place but first in nature and so shall I shew first the loue of God to his children being the cause then our loue backe againe to God being the effect Touching the loue of God I lay downe this Doctrine That God before the foundation of the world hath doth and will loue those that are his elect For so must wee vnderstand the text the word vs implying the obiect of Gods loue is not generall to all men but particularly to be restrayned vnto those who doe rightly know God and in knowing him doe truely and faithfully serue him For as touching the wicked I may say of them as Peter said of Simon Magus They haue no part nor fellowship in this matter that is in the inheritance of Gods loue and till such time as they are regenerated and effectually conuerted they are in the gall of bitternesse and the bond of iniquity For the proofe of the Doctrine it is confirmed First by Scripture Secondly by Instances By scripture see Mal. 1.2 I haue loued yee saith the Lord yet ye say wherein hast thou loued vs Was not Esau Iacobs brother saith the Lord yet I loued Iacob And I hated Esau and laid his mountaines and heritage wast for the dragons of the wildernes The Israelites contest with God hee affirmeth he hath loued them but they being as they alwaies were an vngrateful and an vnthankefull nation with bolde and impudent faces doe not sticke to deny that euer God did testifie any loue to them yea they will not take Gods bare word but will put him to proue it Wherein hast thou loued vs O miserable hardnes of heart that hath continuall experience and yet will not take notice of Gods loue yet God shewes them plainly in particular wherin he testified his loâ—e toward them euen in Iacob whom of his free and meer mercy he chose to be heire of the promise froÌ„ whose loines they sprang through whom they were made the children of the couenant So againe Behold what loue the father hath shewed vs that we should be called the sons of God Where the Apostle doth prefixe the word Behold as a marke of attention and obseruation teaching all those that are the seruants of the most high and children of the immortall GOD that they should by no means be ignorant of the great loue that God had shewed vnto them And a most remarkable place is that of Ieremie I haue loued thee with an euerlasting loue therefore with mercies haue I drawn thee Where the Lord declares the greatnesse of his loue by the word euerlasting which shewes that it is eternall both a parte ante et a parte post as the Schooles speake that is both before the world was made and after the world shall be dissolued now whatsoeuer was before the world was eternall and whatsoeuer shall be after the world shall be eternall Many other testimonies might be alledged for the confirmation of this point but let vs a little see what this loue of God is Loue is nothing else but a strong affection and inclination to the thing beloued with a contenting of the minde in the thing obtained And so the Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth signifie Non solum aliquid velle verum etiam in eo iam comparato acquiescere not onely to loue desire but also to rest contented in the fruition of the thing desired So the Greeke word in the text 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to loue signifies as much as to be content for so Cicero turnes it Phauorinus deriues it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 seipsum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 altogether and with his whole minde to affect and giue himselfe to the thing beloued But others and that I thinke more fitly deriue it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quod est valde perfecteque in re amata acquiescere greatly and perfectly to rest contented in the inioyment of the thing beloued So God himselfe pronounced from heauen touching Christ Hic est filius meus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This is my welbeloued Sonne and immediately