Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	good_a	love_n	love_v	4,903	5	6.7044	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A76517	Remarks, and animadversions, on Mr. Keith's two sermons, being his first after ordiantion, [sic] preached at the parish church of St. George's Butolphs-Lane, London, May the 12th. 1700. on St. Luke i. 6 Now impartially compared with his former writings, setting George against Keith, and endeavouring to reconcile them, by shewing what he should have said upon the subjest. By W.B. a communicant of the Church of England.	W. B.	1700 (1700)	Wing B224; ESTC R230841	17,705	18

he takes notice of was that mentioned by St. Matthew 5.43 where he saith It hath been said thou shalt love thy Neighbour and hate thine Enemy And vers 44. But I say unto you love your Enemies Which as St. John 13.34 tells us our blessed Lord calls a New Commandment which same Evangelist tells us in his 1 Epist John 3.7 was a Message even from the beginning as old as either the Law of Nature or Moses's but as most of the Ancients conceive this Commandment of our Saviour's was termed New being an Hebraism it therefore must as one of the Fathers saith be accounted most excellent of all or a rare choise and special one unum praeque omnibus unum i. e. One above all others and as Mr. Calvin Paraphrasing upon it saith Christ would have us perpetually mindful of that as if it were a Law newly enacted For we saith he know that Laws at the first making of them are carefully looked into and diligently observed but by degrees wear out of Mens Memory and in the end grows into disuse And for that end Christ recommended this as a New Commandment and being also propounded in a new Form For in the Law it run thus Love thy Neighbour as thy self but in the Gospel Love one another as I have loved you that is in some case more than your selves Now a Law may be said to be New out of a double consideration first either in respect of the thing commanded if it be such a thing as before never fell under any Law which caused the Proverb Novus Rex nova lex New Lords New Laws because or for the most part new Governours or Rulers bring in New Customs proclaim New Edicts and settle New Orders in Church or State Or secondly in respect of the New Act of Commanding So an Old Statute when it s revived an Old Book reprinted an Old Fashion laid aside for a long time and again taken up may be called a New One. So that in both these respects the Command may be said to be New So to love our Enemies is first to wish and desire and 2dly to do well to them for to think well of and towards another to wish and desire their welfare is the Soul and to do them that Good which is wished them is all the Body of real and true Love which must and will express it self variously according to the different conditions of its object and the divers degres of its own power for if the thing loved be very good then Love is to put on the Garment of Gladness and is delighted in it if it be in very bad estate and destitute of good then Love is to turn into Pity to commisserate If it be unable to help then it stays in Desires and good Wishes but if it has any power it exerts it and goes into Action to be Blameless Now its manifest that the Pharisees or they Pharasaically inclined wholly adheared to the Traditions of the Elders and the Opinions of their Doctors and Rabbies for their Carriage was such as shewed they thought themselves not only permitted but commanded to desire and do Evil to their Enemies and all were such in their esteem who were not Jews or Proselites therefore they denyed them common Offices of Civility yea would not so much as direct a Stranger in his Way if he were out of their Religion and besides called them by most uncivil Names such as Dogs c. in paying them by Fraud or Violence I could heartily wish that none of the Spawn were to be found now amongst us but to my Shame be it spoken such was I formerly but now thanks be to God I am washed and cleansed from such Pollutions and for the future will endeavour to observe and keep this New Commandment to be Blameless c. The Substance then of that New Command as I humbly conceive is in my thoughts to love our Enemies not that we should love any thing that is Evil to us and tends to our Ruin as such nor that we should not endeavour and take the best and likeliest Ways to free our selves from a bad estate nor that we should not do and desire some Evil to Men who may be our Enemies provided that it be in order to a greater Good than its Depravation of to themselves or others and not inconsistent with their Happiness but that we desire and do as much as we can of good to them who designs and does the worst Evils to us For first consider that tho' they are our Enemies yet by their evil design we may often be the better for them tho' they may intend no less than our ruin as some did mine formerly yet it often proves our Advancement yea the very Blow by which they would kill often cures so that the Sword becomes a Lancet and the Enemy which designs to make Wounds proves a Chirurgion and heals them True this being besides their Intention we perhaps may think they do not merit our Love or Thanks the more but since they prove Instruments of Good to us we should and must love the Cause as Joseph did Why should not we then as well love those that do us good against their Wills as those that do it without any Will at all tho' they have many evil Designs and mischievous Devices against us yet these do but make us more cautious and circumspect more exact in what we say and do than otherwise we would be which is a Spur to make us do our best c. Friends are often so blinded with Passion that they can see nothing that is amiss in us nay if some had fewer Friends and more Enemies they had been much better then they are Therefore we must love Enemies as we do Poysons that are mixt by a learned and careful Physitian being made soveraign Medicines to cure our Diseases 2dly Tho' they are our Enemies and do evil to us yet there is some good in them let us love them then for the sake of it and imitate our Maker it s but just that we prosecute and destroy the Wickedness of any but let us spare and save the Creature for its God's Image Physitians do never cut off any part of the Body which is so corrupted until there is no hopes of a Cure And in the Body Politick its certain that the relatives of an Offender are not involved in his Sufferings where the offence is not very great nor then unless it can be supposed that they were Partners with him or it be necessary for the Publick and greater Good both to demonstrate a greater Severity against such Crimes as thereby to terrify Men and also to engage all Relations to concern themselves in one anothers well doing like to this should our carriage be to those that hate us Pray are there no hopes that the Evils may be removed from the Lives and Minds of the Person without their ruine Try if there are Nay 't is hard to say that