Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	lord_n	love_n	love_v	2,989	5	6.7075	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10152	The righteous mans way Wherein are given certaine directions, how men may profitably meditate upon the Commandements of God: that so through such manner of meditation, the Lordes Commandements may finde place in mens hearts, to serve in them as guides unto all their actions and thoughts. Directions most needfull for these times, seeing most men laying the commandements of God aside, doe leade their lives in disobedience to Gods commandements; and this, not onely to the scandall of Christian religion, but also to the extreame hazard of their own salvation.	Proctor, Thomas, fl. 1621.	1621 (1621)	STC 20411; ESTC S110512	50,262	77

even this also is a very powerfull Attraction and worthie cause of our loue towards God To this we may adde the incessant causes which are given us of God why to loue him and this in our continuall enjoying the use of life in this so faire a creation of his as this world wherein we are For we beleeving in the Lord God of Israel that he indeed it was and he onely that made this world we are thenceforth bound to loue him for our very breathing for our food rayment and for being incompassed with so faire and pleasing Objects and Ornaments as are the spangled heavens the flowry earth and the faire liuing creatures which we see Certainly as it is our hearts griefe to be deprived of the use yea or sight onely of any of these things so everie portion of breath every morsell we eate every thing we weare and every faire thing we behold without eye ought to teach us the deere loue of him whose worke all these louely things are The world is in truth aright faire and glorious creature full also of such goodnesse of the Lord as that the wickedest that is cannot but joy in the use of it as for a Good which he accounteth good and without which he will not be if he can chuse Therfore sometimes put your sel● in mind hereof saving Now I breathe the breath of my life but loue I the Lord God of Israel that giues me this breath and power to breathe it Here I now eate this morsell of meate for the continuance of my life and lustinesse of this my bodie but loue I the Lord God of Israel who hath made and continues these things whereon I feed I now put on this my rayment according to my estate but loue I the Lord God of Israel who made and continues in the world the things whereof they are made Here I see these fierie glorious starres this faire heaven these flowres fruits this earth and these faire living creatures how would it grieue me to be deprived of the sight of them How loue I the verie sight of them and the benefit I haue by them But doe I loue the Lord God of Irael whose marvellous power made all these things for my comfort and use Thus put your selfe in minde of these Causes also which the Lord God of Isreal giues you why to loue him and this will be an incessant occasion moving you to the loue of God We are too negligent to stirre up our Affections to the glory of God we are not for the most part faithful i● heart of his creating these things therefore we are the bolder to be negligent in giving him our loue for these his good gifts even of this world True it is these we haue in common with the wicked with the unfaithfull and this cooles the affection of many But we must not do as they doe though they injoy with us what we enjoy for else how should we escape that damnation whereinto they partly for this verie wickednes of not loving God whose creatures they haue the use of are cast of God To conclude if you would attaine to the loue of God then doe not onely reade or heare what I haue written but doe what I hid you doe so shall you finde an inclining of your heart willingly and with delight to keep the commandements of God For loue ingenders a willingnesse in obedience yea a delight that a man hath occasion wherein to shew obedience And indeed joy of obeying is an inseparable companion of doing any thing at his commandement who hath wonne our hearts loue unto himselfe Therfore get loue and then out of all doubt the yoke and but then of the Commandements will be so easie and light as that easily and with delight you will beare it upon you in your life and in your conversation 6. CHAP. A Fifth Motiue or Inducement is The Promises made us by God Therefore David Ps. 119. 11. saith I haue hid thy promises in my heart that I might not sinne against thee And the Apostle Peter 2. Pet. 3. 13. saith But we look for new heavens and a new earth according to his Promise wherein dwelleth righteousnesse Wherefore beloved seeing that yee looke for such things be diligent that yee may be found of him in peace without spot and blamelesse We see in common experience that a Man looking for some great and desireable Gifts from a Prince he is thenceforth very carefull not to displease him by breaking any commandement received from him This being so among men how is it that the Promises of God made of him unto us make not us like minded towards him Are any Gifts promised by Princes comparable to the Gifts promised of God If no why then are their commandements more tendered more carefully fulfilled I thinke the faile be partly in our not trusting God partly in our not so much as minding the Promises of God partly in our not esteeming them though we know them partly for that we commonly think that all Gods Promises are for another not for this life But every of these are great errours of our minde therefore we must cleare our minde of these errours if ever we wil for the Promises sake keep the Lords Commandements A maine and chiefe remedy against our not trusting of God that such things as these promised of him shall ever at all be performed unto any may be our considering the great Acts and wonders of his power heretofore shown For the evidence of his Power in other things may make us trust him for things promised of him therefore be not negligent to informe your selfe of the great works of his power and then you will the more readily beleeue him in the great things promised for he that heretofore hath raised the dead well we may beleeue him that he will raise the dead as he hath promised And truely through mens negligence to lay to heart the great wonders which the Lord hath heretofore done their hearts know not reason to beleeue that ever at all such things shall bee done as God hath promised Wherefore I pray you informe your selfe one by one of the great wonders which the Lord and his Sonne haue done and then let the evidence of Gods power in them perswade your hearts concerning the things that are promised This I take to be a convenient remedy against the first errour suffer me to shew you a remedy also against the second Is it so that the cares of this life the couetousnesse of increase of this worlds riches the incessant imployments in the Common-wealth or the continuall pleasures of Court will not suffer you so much as to minde the Promises of God yet consider with your selfe that there is a God to whom accounts of this life must be given for as we made not our selues nor these things of this world so surely the Maker will haue an account of all Therefore though these things may somewhat yet let them not wholy

things by which God drew other men to fall in loue of him Doe but therefore present unto your selfe these powerfull Attractions Motiues or Inducements of Loue whereby others were drawn to the loue of God and hardly then it can be but that your selfe also will of them be drawn to the loue of God Now the speciall Motiues or Inducements which we finde in holy Scriptures I reckon to be these Fi●st The Apparitions secondly Th● heavenly Glorie which hath been shown to the Church thirdly The mighty power in Signes and wonders done fourthly the evidence of vertue and goodnesse in God towards others fi●tly the rich aud glorious worship of the ancient Church Lastly The benefits which you your selfe beleeving in God receiue in this life and by promise are to receiue in the life to come Euery of these is a very powerfull Motiue or Inducement of the loue of man towards God therefore these things ought you to set before your soule in Meditation that of them you with others may be drawn to fall in loue of God These things for that it were too much to write of them here at large I thinke fit to write of in severall Treatises by themselues hoping that Gods people will be desirous of these Treatises also for their further instruction what to doe therein In the meane time I will heere indeavour to moue you unto this Loue by some of these things aboue mentioned briefly here touched at in this Treatise And indeed most men come short of that loue which they ought to beare to God by reason of the neglect they haue to set before themselues in Meditation some of those speciall things wherby God draweth the loue of man unto himself Eueryman saith who should not loue God yea they will be bold to say who is there among Christians that loues not God But as I haue said before concerning Feare so I say here concerning Loue Many say that we must loue God when yet their own heart never felt the Affection it selfe of loue unto God Let thē but consider what the Affection of Loue is unto anything which they feele thēselues to loue whether it be wife or child riches orreputatiō honor Princes favours imployments of Power Cōmands Glory or the like then let them consider with themselues whether the like Affection bee in them towards God yea or no. But that men may attain to haue like affection towards God also it is needful that they make use of such soul-objects as G●d hath provided for the winning of the soules loue unto himself Among the which I wish you to make afrequent and special use of the Apparitions heavenly Glories shown of God to his Church For as the soule of Man being delighted with faire objects yeilds readily to fal also in loue of such so the presenting it with the apparitions of God with the beauteous heavenly shining Glories shown of God to the Church is the ready way to win it to fall also in loue of God Accustome your selfe therfore to reade or heare read unto you now one thē another of the Apparitions made of God whether visibly to the eye or onely in vision for both are true Apparitions though divers in kind and then use your selfe to say thus or to like effect This was or seemes to me to be as if here I should see before me this or this as the story reportes unto you that others saw Which having for the help of your Discerning done then use your self to say further also thus or to like effect My heart what a sight was this What a kinde of Glory was this Is not this wonderfull Thus God shewed himselfe to others And now my soule here is a glimpse of the Glory of God consider now therfore this being once truely seen whom should not this moue unto loue of him who i● so marvellous in his Apparition so glorious Certainly the heavenly Glories shown by God to his Church upon earth are not idle but operatiue obj●cts and therefore there lacketh but mens presenting their soules with them For did each Man by himselfe thus present or set before his foule the merv●llous Apparations shining Glories which God hath showne to his Church then this of the Power in thē which they receiue frō the wise cōposition of God would overcome the foule both to confesse that this was mervailous glorious indeed also to loue God who so gloriously made show of himself Do went see in cōmon experience how Mē soon rejoyce to be favoured of them who most partake of this worlds glory And if there be any hope given of a gracious acceptance how easily then inclines the heart to loue all such Whilst therefore God hath been pleased to manifest his gracious acceptance of their loue to him who beleeue there lacketh but our setting before our soules and hearts in private meditation the faire glories and shining which God for the honour of himselfe and comfort of the Church hath caused to appeare Be not therefore disswaded by any as if your selfe informing and selfe-questioning about the Apparitions of God and about the faire and shining Glories which the Church of God hath in former times seene and to this day beleeveth were to little purpose to winne the loue of your heart to the Lord but rather be frequent in the exercise hereof Spare not to speake thus unto your own selfe in Meditation that so you may find the precious fruit which certainely your so doing will produce I know that the benefits which we receiue by the exceeding vertue and goodnesse of God toward us in Christ are also verie powerfull Inducements unto Loue but let us not therefore neglect the other depriving our selues of the precious fruit which certainly will come of them also Nay suffer me to tell yo●● further that true Loue is never for the Good onely which we receiue but rather for the true Desert of that in its selfe to be Beloved which requires our loue therefore also that mans loue is truest soundest who loveth God even for the evidence made of himselfe unto others by which hee hath declared himselfe to be worthy to be beloved And certainly there were never more worthy causes of Loue given to man then the Lord God of Israel his Sonne and Spirit haue given Never such Apparitions seene but in the Churh never such true and shining Glories never such workes of Power never such vertue and Goodnesse never so rich and glorious a worship never such Gifts given as in the Church Let there be faith that those reported in ●●ripture were indeed done Let there be a considering al●● of the speciallest of them advisedly Let the Church of God still to this day continuing be considered in its rich Gifts and then let comparison be made betwixt the Lord our God and the gods of any other Nations whatsoever and whensoever But if upon comparison there be a manifest evidence of excellency in the Lord then