Selected quad for the lemma: faith_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
faith_n	church_n	doctrine_n	err_v	4,912	5	9.7791	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A68502	A sermon, called Gods new yeeres-guift sent vnto England. Conteined in these wordes. So God loued the worlde, that he hath giuen his onely begotten sonne, that whosoeuer beleeueth in him, should not perish but should haue life euerlasting. Ioh. 3. 16.	Nicholson, Samuel, fl. 1600-1602.	1602 (1602)	STC 18547; ESTC S114555	14,183	40

Conscience be thy Cater and the Word thy Warrant so shall the Transitorities of this lyfe be vnto thee a Handsell of Heauen and an earnest penny of that Blisse which the Worlde neuer dreames of CAPVT 2. Of GODS Loue. THus hauing brought thee to the Waters of Lyfe namely GOD the giuer I will shew thee the Well-spring of all Blessings his Loue to the World c. The perswading cause of this Guift it 's here layd to be Loue God so loued Quid est A●or sayth Aug. nisi quaedam vita Du● aliqua copulans vel copulare appetens Amantem et amatum What is Loue but as it were one life in two hartes one soule in two bodies the Fier which blesseth where it burneth the Soa●her which no art can sunder the Knot which no time can vntie the Hand which deskantes sweet musicke on the hart stringes the Cause which made God become Man and the Uertue which makes Man like vnto God I speake not of that hellish Fier which makes men slaues but of that heauenly Flame which makes them Saincts As Christ was annoynted with the oyle of gladnes aboue his fellowes so this Uertue is adorned with the crowne of Eternitie about all her fellowes for Paul sayth that Fayth bringes vs but to the Coffine and Hope watcheth the Coarse till the R●surrection These two Uertues are confined with our lyfe but our Loue is refined by our death and dwelles with vs after our glorification But this our Loue is but a shadow of Gods Loue an Arme of his Sea a Drop of his Fountaine a little Flame of his lyuing Fire neither in qualitie so pretious nor in quantitie so spacious by infinite degrees God loues without cause our loue is our duetie God loues vs his enemies we loue him our friend God loues without reward our loue inherites heauen God loues vs first our loue payes him backe his owne Gods loue is feruent our loue is luke-warme Gods loue is infinite our loue is little like our knowledge and low of stature like Zacheus Christ must dine in our house his loue must shine in our hartes before we can reflect our borrowed beames and loue him againe The excellencie of this Gods loue can neither be expressed by our tongue nor impressed in our hartes as it made the World of nothing so the World is nothing to it for it comprehendeth all is not comprehended of any Our Sauiour heere thought best to expresse this Loue with a sic dilexit to shew vs that his Father is euen sicke of loue his description is inde●●nit because his loue is infinite Eyther Gods loue is so deepe that Christ could not sound it or our reason so shallow that we cannot se● it As the Painter that drew A game●non sorrowing for the death of his daughter ●●ew not how to figure his griefe in his ●●●● and therefore drew a ●layl● ouer it thinking it impossible the gazers idle eye ●●●●ld beholde what the fathers grieued hart could not hold so Christ leaues that to our admiration which vnderstanding cannot attaine A holy Father would faine ●ym● at the dimensions of this Loue saying Dilexit tantus tantillos He a God of infinite maiestie loued vs men of infinite mis●ri● but this is obscurum per obscurius for we know neither quantus Deus the greatnes of his Maiestie nor yet quantu●i nos our greeuous miserie In a word as we cannot see the Sunne but by his owne light so we cannot learne this Loue but by Gods owne wordes The Starre alone must lead the Wise-men to Christ and Christ alone must lead vs to his Loue. Now whereas he expresseth it with a Sic. So God loued the World c. a Father sayth This Aduerbe Sic contaynes in it all Aduerbes of Loue as if Christ had sayd My Father loued the world so dearely so vehemently so fatherly so fer●ently c. And Ber. on the Cant. sayth Deus ex se miserandi sumit mater●em Gods owne nature is the motiue of his mercie Then he that can explaine Gods Nature may expresse his Loue whereof to affirme the one is impious and to performe the ot●●● impossible This is that Loue Christian Reader which in the zeale of God I commende i● thine endles admiration this is the riches of his Grace the chiefe of his Workes the summe of his Word the shadow of Himselfe the perfection of his Glory This teacheth our Fayth to stand and our Hope to climbe and our loue to burne This cheereth our labours beareth our losses and teacheth our sorrow to smile In a word to this exceeding Loue alone we owe our saluation Therefore damnable is the Doctrine of the Church of Roome that teacheth vs to erre both in the manner and matter of our Fayth First in the manner they teach vs to doubt of our saluation O iniurie intollerable to doubt of the Promise where such a Loue is our warrant what more free then guift or who more faythfull then God the giuer shall his Loue giue Christ vnto me and my vnbeliefe thrust him from me Is the Trueth like vnto man that he should lie or is his Arme shortened that he can not saue God forbid This Guift is sealed with the blood of his Sonne registred in the sight of heauen witnessed by the holy Angels passed with an oath to the World O Incredulitie the wit of fooles how many Blessinges dost thou barre vs from Christ could not worke his Myracles God can not shew his mercy where this monster ●urketh Againe in the matter of our fayth they foyst in most dangerously a ●●●pe of their owne Leauen for God requires a Wedding garme●t to couer sinne they bring in a Menstruous cloth he will haue vs builde on his Loue they would haue vs iustified by our owne Labour he will haue vs trust to his Mercie they would haue ●s trust in our Merites Pauls whole Epistle to the Romans shootes onely at this marke to beate downe the pride of Man who would faine be his owne sauiour to depresse Nature and extoll Grace therefore in the end he addes this vpshot So then we are saued not of Workes but by Grace And Augustine sayth Gratia est nullo modo quae non est gratuita omni modo Grace is all Grace or no Grace at all Againe he sayth Quisqui● tibi emunerat M●n●t● sua quid tibi emunerat nisi Munera tua Againe Uis excidere gratia ●acta merotatia Our very Fayth as it 's a grace in vs is beholding to Grace it s●ues a● it 's a hand ●o lay hold on Christ not as it 's a vertue and a worke For all workes must humbly be cast at Christes feet● with Marie and there meditate on his mercie they must not be busie with Martha in the matter of our Iustification As God sayd to Paul My Grace is sufficient for thee so I say to all Gods Loue is sufficient for you this Loue made you when you were nothing and this Loue must