Selected quad for the lemma: end_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
end_n	faith_n	heart_n	unfeigned_a	1,237	5	10.9662	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A28643	Precepts and practical rules for a truly Christian life being a summary of excellent directions to follow the narrow way to bliss : in two parts / written originally in Latin by John Bona ; Englished by L.B.; Principia et documenta vitae Christianae. English	Bona, Giovanni, 1609-1674.; Beaulieu, Luke, 1644 or 5-1723.	1678 (1678)	Wing B3553; ESTC R17339	106,101	291

and well-being hath set these bounds to our affections that we should love him with all our heart and with all our Soul that we should consecrate to the service of that Love our understanding our life and all our powers and that if we love any thing else it be in reference and in subordination to him that deserves all our Love and should be the master and disposer of it The love of God must therefore lead the way to what else we should love it must always prevail and be the rule of all our affections and then we cannot love nor do amiss CHAP. XXXV Of the Necessity and Measures of Loving our Neighbour 1. WE cannot love God as we should without we love our Neighbour neither can we love our Neighbour except we love God If any man saith I love God and hateth his Brother he is a liar for he that loveth not his Brother whom he hath seen how can he love God whom he hath not seen and this commandment have we from him that he who loveth God loveth his Brother also 1 Joh. 4.20 The Commandment makes no exception though the man be poor though he be a stranger nay though he be vicious and thine enemy yet he is thy Neighbour and thy Brother and he must be lov'd The expressions of thy love may vary according to his needs and thine opportunities Yet they must be hearty real and effective for The End of the Commandment is Charity out of a pure heart and of a good Conscience and of Faith unfained 1 Tim. 1.5 And we must not love in word neither in tongue but in deed and in truth 1 Joh. 3.18 2. As Christ loved us and gave himself for us not that we deserv'd any love but because he lov'd God and us in God to whom he purchast us so must we love all men not for ours or their sakes but for God's sake having no further regard to what is good in them than only as it relates to God True Christians are so strictly united together by love that what one hath not in himself he with joy finds it in others and what one hath more than the rest he willingly imparts it to all As by our love to God we are united and in some manner become one spirit with him so by the mutual love of men of Christians especially they become one among themselves so that what one hath to himself is for the good of all and what one hath not in himself he hath and enjoys in others Thus love is the fulfilling of the Law and the fulfilling of all Righteousness According as is the mans Charity in the beginning progress or perfection so is his goodness and his righteousness and then most perfect in this life when even life it self is parted with for love 3. The modus or measure of love to our Neighbour is twofold positive and negative First To do to him as we would he should do to us Secondly And not to deal with him any otherwise than as we would he should deal with us Every one therefore in the sight of God to whom all things are known must consider seriously what he would others should do or not do to him and if he desires others should he patient towards him and bear with his faults and infirmities and speak well of him c. Then let him be careful to do so to others 'T is a sure indication of a perverse heart for a man in a private capacity to do that to another which he should be sorry to suffer himself A good Christian doth not inquire into the manners and faults of others but leaves them to his view and correction to whom all judgment is given He examines judgeth and punisheth himself and makes self-reformation his serious and constant business Whatever he sees or hears his mind is undisturb'd and abides in peace for if it be good he praiseth God if evil he turns it to good by turning his mind from it towards God in Prayers and Resignation 4. If his Office and Charity obligeth him to reprove and to correct others he doth it with a zeal sweet and benign and compassionate to his Brothers infirmity for roughness and ungovern'd passion cannot consist with Charity If the ill actions of others are capable of an excuse he excuseth them however he censures not knowing that nothing human is so perfect and holy but may be ill interpreted and at the best may be some way defectuous enough to be liable to reprehension if carping men let loose their censorious humors Whilst men are men they will have some imperfections and to be zealous against them is under pretence of preciseness to give way to peevish impatience or proud censoriousness He that is too busie to tax and judge others will never grow better himself CHAP. XXXVI True Friendship and the true Offices of it 1. FRiendship is the communion of good things and therefore it follows the nature of those things which friends have common Now there being nothing truly good but things supernatural and eternal true friendship must consist in the communication of these mutually Hence it is that carnal friendship is soon dissolved because things of sense cannot last nor always confine the spirit whereas spiritual friendship is never broken for though it may seem to be interrupted by little angers and contentions yet true piety and the love of God sweetens the harshness of them and keeps the knot indissoluble As for that friendship which too much sets our hearts upon any person and may be called Doting it should be stifled and avoided as being mischievous and it is to be known by these tokens when the party belov'd is always in our thoughts and we can never be well without him when we fear his displeasure above all things when in him we rest as in our center and we sacrifice to him all our actions and most important concerns And let none flatter themselves that this is pure innocent friendship without any self-interest for it is altogether sensual it depraves the heart and affections it is an enemy to all wisdom and true Religion and it begins and ends in the flesh and 't is to be observ'd that this kind of friendship is never betwixt persons truly good and vertuous 2. Men of real worth are always well composed grave and of a sweet deportment they are courteous to all but they are familiar to few and they flatter none in their conversation modesty discretion an exact justice and an unaffected severity is to be observed They seek not to make a shew outwardly their life is inward and secret they live to God and to their own conscience They fairly converse with men outwardly when it is fitting but their heart cleaves to God and they will not disturb themselves with the silly impertinencies or petty concerns of the world Their designs and affections differ much from the vulgar multitude and therefore their words and actions are guided with

in us Our labour is but short but our promised reward is infinite and eternal CHAP. VIII Of the folly of them that neglect their last end and how necessary it is to consider it seriously 1. IT is not to be thought nor exprest how ignorant and careless many Christians remain about their great and last end if there were no Eternity and if nothing after this life were to be fear'd or hoped for they could not live more loosely than they do Few they are that seriously consider that their great interest and their chiefest business which should take place of all other is to attain their proper end that end which is desired for it self and beyond which we shall wish for nothing of which S. Philip saith Joh. 14.8 Lord shew us the Father and it sufficeth us For this end which is God the beatifical vision of him will be al-sufficient because that it will have no end all other things are meer trifles vanities and vexation of spirit 2. The very shape of our bodies doth admonish us of the end for which we were born for God made us with our face upwards that looking up to heaven we might know that thence is our origine and that there is our rest and countrey And yet for all this many like brutes look down and grovel upon the ground and can relish nothing nor desire nothing but what is earthly nay more like men in a deep lethargy they can hardly be waked by the loudest clamours and the fear of a rageing approaching fire and what is worst of all if they somewhat lift up their head and speak imperfectly two or three words of sense they soon fall again into their slumber and no longer will hear or mind what concerns their life and safety 3. It is the counsel of our Blessed Saviour Mat. 6.33 Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness and all other things shall be added unto you but we slighting and neglecting that blessed Kingdom seek for mony pleasures and preferments and mind nothing else Christ tells us that one thing is necessary Luke 10.42 but we cumber our selves about many things which for the most part are only hindrances to our salvation He commands us Mat. 7.12 To do that to others which we would they should do unto us But we generally do those things to them which we would think most grievous to suffer our selves He forbids us to judge Mat. 7.1 But we love to censure others and to condemn them very severely we take notice of motes in their eyes and perceive not beams in our own and to sum up all in this he requires we would love him above all things with all our heart and soul Mat. 22.37 But we dote on pelf and riches we are lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God to him we prefer any thing that gratifies our lusts and our sinful affections Thus in as much as in us lies we make the preaching of the Cross to be of none effect the Incarnation of the Son of God to be to no purpose and sacraments to be vain and insignificant because we will live as if we had no knowledge of God no thoughts of heaven nor hell no remembrance of our latter end The life of every creature consisteth in acting sutable to its own nature now that which we are to do as men wherein properly consists our duty and our dignity is to know God and to love him therefore to be imployed in this is our proper work our life and happiness to do any thing else is vain and useless and to do any thing contrary is infinitely pernicious CHAP. IX The reasons why all men are not happy being they all desire it 1. IT is the constant sense and design of all men that can use their reason to aspire after happiness but what that is there are and have been many opinions and disputes and Philosophers have spent much time and industry to find out the way to Blessedness the desire whereof is natural and common to all of what parts or persuasions soever Yet Christians alone know it they being taught by the doctrine of Faith that God is the fountain of all felicity the fulfilling of all rational desires that Summum Bonum or last end which is to be prefer'd and lov'd and sought before all other things as that wherein alone we can find perfect rest and satisfaction Notwithstanding 't is to be confest and sadly bewailed that multitudes of Christians are so wilfully blind and perverse that though they passionately wish for happiness yet they do nothing whereby to obtain it They are so grosly cheated by a false appearance of Bliss the deceit and illusions of things present that they aspire to nothing above sense and therefore they would and yet cannot be happy because they aim not at the right end their actions and pursuits have a tendency to misery and thither necessarily lead them though it be much against their will 2. As in a circle though never so ample there is but one center which being alone in the middle seems to have dominion over all the lines that can be drawn from the circumference and to be their proper place of rest thus is God the one onely center and rest of our souls and if they turn from him they may wander eternally other objects being finite and altogether unsatisfying Therefore God requires only that we should seek after him because that alone is absolutely required to our well-being Whatever else is wanting we may be well without it life it self is not necessary and if not life much less lesser enjoyments And so he that lives as he should aiming at his right end must live to God alone to serve and to glorifie him For this is the nature of man and a law appointed to him which cannot be changed that he that desires and pursues after that supreme eternal uncreated good thereby becomes happy whereas he that any ways turns from it becomes necessarily miserable CHAP. X. That with an upright intention we must use all things and refer all our actions to God 1. IN that we are pilgrims and travellers going to our countrey it is altogether necessary we should always advance thitherward and seriously inquire whether we follow the right way whither we are going what end we propound to our selves in all our labours and what it is we now aim at by our present studies and endeavours for man undertakes nothing but to a certain end and purpose which the better it is the better also is the undertaking it is a good intention that makes a good work and that good intention is that which is directed by the rule of faith It is the voice of the wicked Wisd 2.6 Come on therefore let us enjoy the good things that are present Whereas the best of creatures are only for use and God alone for enjoyment The Creatures are as so many steps or rounds of a ladder whereby we might ascend