Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	heart_n	lord_n	see_v	3,172	5	3.4596	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A54857	The signal diagnostick whereby we are to judge of our own affections : and as well of our present, as future state, or, The love of Christ planted upon the very same turf, on which it once had been supplanted by the extreme love of sin : being the substance of several sermons, deliver'd at several times and places, and now at last met together to make up the treatise which ensues / by Tho. Pierce.	Pierce, Thomas, 1622-1691.	1670 (1670)	Wing P2199; ESTC R12333	120,589	186

his Friends besought him not to go to that City Paul rebuked his friends for their love to Him as seeming to derogate from his to Christ. What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart I am ready not to be bound only but to dy at Ierusalem for the name of the Lord Iesus Nothing wounded him so deeply as that what was his glory should be the cause of their grief So when our Lord put the Question unto some of his Disciples upon the Cowardize and Falsehood he saw in others will ye also go away they presently gave him such an Answer as imply'd their being wounded in the tenderest part of their Soul Lord to whom should we go thou hast the words of Eternal life Why dost thou kill us with such a Question as seems to scruple at our Loyalty and to derogate from our Love where is he in all the World whom we are able to leave thee for or what is that that we can Covet in exchange for Eternal life Can we be so besotted as to part with our Iewel in hopes of Dirt why then dost thou intimate that it is possible for us to leave thee or possible for us not to love thee or possible for us to love thy absence so again when he ask't no less than three times together Simon Peter lovest thou me Peter was grieved saith the Text because he had said to him the third time lovest thou me and therefore gave him such an Answer three times together as I cannot better express then by this short Paraphrase Lord when thou knowest that I love thee why dost thou ask if I love thee though all should forsake thee yet will not I. My love is stronger than Death it self Why dost thou grieve me with such a Question as wounds the honour of the love that I bear unto thee Sect. 2. Just so when our Saviour does say to us If ye love me keep my Commandments it ought to go somewhat neer us that we should give him any occasion of putting it to us with an If. Were we piously inamour'd with him who is fairer than the children of men did our Souls love Him who is the Lover of Souls in as passionate a manner as he deserves and were we as jealous of the honour of our Fidelity as we ought we would be ready to expostulate in such a case Blessed Lord dost thou by saying If ye love me imply it possible that we do otherwise behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed on us that we should be called the sons of God When we were Bondmen ready to perish not in Aegypt like the Poor Syrian but that other land of darkness even Hell it self it cost him himself to buy our Freedom And is it possible not to love him whilst we believe it to be true that he hath thus loved us and that he loved us first too Can we possibly be able not to love him at the Rebound Observe the force of those words in the best beloved of his Disciples We love him because he loved us first or let us love him because he loved us first For the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 does equally signifie them both It affirms and it exhorts It is at once of the Indicative and of the Subjunctive mood 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we do love him and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 let us love him and if for no better reason at least for this because he lov'd us when we were Enemies and because he then lov'd us when we deserv'd nothing but hatred Sect. 3. But what a sad thing is this if we shall love him only for that for which the worst sort of men are wont to love one another For if we love them that love us what thank have we saith our Saviour do not even the Publicans the same nay do not the Devils do somewhat like it by being still at agreement amongst themselves never was Satan divided yet against Satan for then his kingdom had not continued It was a witless and foolish calumny rais'd by the Pharisees of our Saviour that he did cast out Devils by Beelzebub the Prince of Devils For the Devils have more wit than to invade each others Rights And is not that a kind of Love by which as by a Bond they are kept together in Peace and Unity for mutual interest and preservation And then what great matter is it if we love Christ for this that he loved us first It is no more than we are tyed to by the law of good nature to return at least a little for the great deal we have receiv'd yet He desires no more of us than that we will pledge him when he begins to us that we afford him what he has bought and deerly paid for and at least that we will love him because he loved us first Now if we have no love to give him or spare him freely we should at least have some to sell him or some to retribute and restore him love for love obedience for obedience patience for patience and blood for blood Seeing the Publicans themselves do love their lovers how much worse must we be if we are no lovers of Him who lov'd us better than his Life Solomon thought it a great expression to say that Love is as strong as Death thereby meaning nothing more than the love of the Bride But the love of the Bridegroom was very much stronger as being that that overcame the sharpness of Death And shall we so much disparage either Him or our selves as to let a Peradventure or an if be made of it whether or no we have attain'd to such a secondary love as may suffice at least to prove us one degree better than Devils Shall we think it is sufficient to serve the turn to make us Competent Christians and good enough that we approve of Christs Innocence and own his Power have no aversion to his goodness and are glad if we can serve him with ease and Pleasure to the Flesh As when we Pray in his Name and make Profession of his word and sing Hosannas to his glory and never deny him but in our works nor ever forsake him but in his sufferings Sect. 4. Nay to shame ourselves yet farther out of the coldness we labour under shall an if be made of our love to Him the love of whom does most conduce to our greatest Interest and Advantage All the Promises in the Context are no more sequels of our obedience than our obedience is the Fruit and effect of Love From whence it follows that on our Love to the Lord Jesus Christ all his great and pretious Promises must needs depend for their performance For if we love him not enough how then can we delight in him And if we cannot delight in Him how much less in his Commandments and if not so how then can we obey him and if not that how then can we hope he