Selected quad for the lemma: friend_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
friend_n	affection_n	friendship_n	love_n	1,017	5	5.1675	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A33283	Two sermons preached at Cambridge the first at the Lent assizes, 1654, the other on the yearly commemoration of Dr. Andrew Pern, 1655 / by J. Clerk.	Clarke, Joshua.	1655 (1655)	Wing C4481; ESTC R29962	25,596	69

of never so dishonest or unable in their own persons you need not feare the losse of your adventure where the Lord himself is your securitie and will stand your friend in their stead to receive you into everlasting habitations This I conceive a true account of these expressions But what ever mistake these conjectures may be guilty of the main scope and purpose of our Saviour in them is cleare and out of question and that is this To declare this duty of making friends by a wise improvement of our earthly talents to be of an absolute necessity and certain tendencie to everlasting happinesse and that in actual performance where there is abilitie or however in willingnesse of mind which in want of abilitie is the same in Gods acceptance 2. Corinth 8.12 For though without Pharisaicall pride and arrogancie we cannot be said to merit salvation by our good works especially as the Papists abuse that phrase contrary to the harmlesse and well meaning use of it in some of the fathers Yet that salvation depends upon our good works taken in their due latitude and in conjunction with their true principles of faith and love and humilitie of spirit surely none that pretend to the knowledge and belief of the Scriptures can nossibly denie with any colour of reason For the Scriptures do with one voice proclaim that the exercises of these graces is first the way to salvation that good old way trodden by all that ever travelled heaven-ward And secondly that it is the measure of salvation according to which every man shall receive his reward And thirdly that it is the preparative for salvation fitting the faithfull servant to enter into his Master● joy For grace makes way for glory and happinesse is nothing else but the perfecting of that love which is begun here This I take it is true protestant doctrine And therefore it is not our religions fault but our own if the protestant name suffer under any deserved imputation of barrennesse and covetousnesse and if it be as some say it is almost as infamous for one kind of idolatry as the Romane is for another For our Religion most powerfully urges upon us all manner of religious pious and charitable works and teacheth their necessity and certain tendencie to everlasting happinesse as being the way to it the measure of it and preparation for it I have not time to shew how the Scriptures abound in the proof of all these or if I had they are so plain I need not I shall onely adde a few words of exhortation first to the Stewards of God and secondly to their friends made by their discharge of their office Neither are these alwayes distinct persons but sometimes divers respects of the same persons For one man under divers considerations and in severall respects may be both a Steward and a friend in the sense of the text 1. You that are the Stewards of God to whose charge the good things of this world are committed you see before you your way into your Masters joy That more excellent way the Apostle shews us 1. Cor. 12. Lastly more excellent then the best gifts then prophesie speaking with tongues understanding of mysteries faith of miracles yea more excellent then all other graces For now remain faith hope and love but the greatest of these is love If you are not yet arrived to that high and God-like degree of love to do good and communicate freely without any respect to the recompence of reward yet methinks that sincere though fainter degree of love to God and man that warms the breast of every true Christian being encouraged with a most infallible assurance of an infinite and eternall recompence of reward should be strong enough in you to provoke you to the exercise of all pious and charitable works according to your abilities and opportunities Neither let the Stewards of God flatter themselves that a negative faithfulnesse will serve the turn That they have made use of nothing but their own that they have not oppressed the poore nor defrauded the hireling nor devoured widows houses nor robbed the communitie nor injured any Such account as this though it be better then most men can make yet it will not passe at that great audit For it proceeds upon a false supposition that their possessions were their own and not their Masters that they were Lords and not Stewards The unfaithfull servant is condemned out of his own mouth not for imbezelling but for not improving his Lords money And there is a rich man in the next parable following the text that is tormented with intolerable flames not for oppression fraud and violence but for immoderate enjoying his good things and not commiserating the wants of a poore lame beggar for being clothed with purple and fine linen and faring deliciously every day and yet denying the crumbs-that fell from his table to distressed Lazarus And though he had dogges to eat up his crumbs dogges that licked the poore mans sores and had more compassion in them then their master yet this will not excuse his churlish deniall of a poore mans request The right of dogges ceaseth when a poore man becomes their competitour Let this example be a caution to all the Stewards of God that their backs and bellies their lusts and pleasures do not devoure all their good things when the necessities of the Church and the members of it call for a share with them That they be not like those sonnes of pleasure Amos 6.5.6 That lie upon beds of ivorie and stretch themselves upon their couches and eat the lambs out of the flock and the calves out of the midst of the stall that chant to the sound of the viol and invent to themselves instruments of musick that drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the chief ointment but they are not grieved for the afflictions of Joseph 2. You that by the bounty of others are engaged to be their friends though their reward depends not upon your personal love and friendship yet it becomes you to expresse your sense of your engagements and to shew your selves in heart and affection their true friends Neither doth the Lord in taking the debt upon himself disoblige you from your duty of respect and thankfulnesse to the instruments of his goodnesse But your friendship ought to shew forth it self at least in these foure particulars 1. In a carefull and conscionable observance of their precepts and and all the conditions of their pious and charitable works so farre as consistent with the laws of any higher power God establisheth the house of the Rechabites for observing the precepts of their father Jonadab Jer. 35. and yet those precepts were matters otherwise of an indifferent nature as abstaining from wine and the like 2. In a sober and moderate use of their gifts according to their pious intention Pride and wantonnesse as they are no where more odious so they are no where more conspicuous then in those that

Luke 11.41 But rather give alms of all that you have and all things are clean unto you That to sincere repenting souls exercising works of Christian charitie which by a Synecdoche there are put for all the fruits worthy of repentance as praying elsewhere to such souls all things are clean their very temporal enjoyments are refined into spiritual blessings But the way of improving this unrighteous mammon will appear more fully in the second part of the text which falls next under consideration II. Particular The duty of Christian Stewards Make friends that is Engage others by a prudent and faithfull dispensation of the Mammon committed to your charge For we are to consider our selves under a double capacitie private and publick As particular persons and as members of the whole world of the universall Church and of that particular Church wherein our lot is fallen Now though our great Lord Master allows our charity to begin at home and to appropriate to our private use such a proportion of his blessings as may enable us to the cheerfull discharge of our duties yet he expects our charitie should not end where it begins but freely flow forth in hearty desires to the whole world and in reall expressions to such a part of it as the measure of our talents is able to reach Those that have had no other rule of judgement then the law of nature and that in broken tables too their own imperfect and depraved understandings have yet condemned a selfish narrow spirit as unworthy a creature especially of so high a rank as man is They could take notice that their great Creatour though of a perfect selfsufficiency and independance yet out of a free desire of communicating his goodnesse gave a being to the whole creation and continues a constant stream of Goodnesse unto all his creatures that can never make him any real return They could observe that the world it self was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the image and onely begotten of God expressions pardonable in them that knew none other of that name and that it bears a resemblance as of his other perfections so especially of his free and diffusive goodnesse That the Sun with unwearied bounty poures out his light heat and influence upon all he can reach with tenderest care cherisheth them in his warm bosome with admirable discretion performs his yearly circuit from tropick to tropick that all the parts of the earth may have their share of his liberalitie That the springs and fountains freely offer refreshment to all that passe by That all the elements and their severall mixtures by a naturall self-deniall resist their own inclinations and run the hazard of their private ruine for the safety of the universe That heavy bodies mount up to heaven and light bodies stoop to the lowest room rather then Nature should receive the least wound yea or disfiguring scarre These and the like considerations made them confesse Non nobis nati sumus c. That Man is not made onely for his own service but must cast forth his virtue round about him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that he is born to do good to others That there is no monster in nature so great as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A Schismatick from mankind a man that is separated from other men This noble principle though perhaps too much stain'd with superstition and affectation of glory hath prevail'd with many of them to spend their fortunes and lives for the safety of their countrey The Grecian and Romane nations yield us many renowned examples hereof And other nations have been inferiour to them rather in their records then examples of the like kind But we Christians besides a clearer discovery of these natural arguments then the light of nature can afford have incomparably more obligations upon us to enlargement of heart then the heathens had and therefore have the more to answer for if we lesse regard them We know of a second birth of the love of God greater to us then that of the creation in sending his onely begotten Sonne into the world that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life We see as it were before our eyes the Lord Jesus Christ denying emptying empoverishing himself 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pouring out his warmest bloud with unspeakable pain and shame and all to make himself friends Friends to receive grace and kindnesse from him but not to make him the least requitall We have received the most pure and refined precepts of love which not onely the Philosophers but even the Jews themselves and the greatest Rabbies amongst them were generally strangers to To denie our selves To love our enemies To return good for evil To blesse them that curse us and pray for them that persecute us and despitefully use us To esteem strangers our neighbours We have or at least pretend unto the spirit of the Gospel that free spirit that spirit of love meeknesse and compassion That spirit of communion and fellowship Under all these engagements shall we contract our hearts and harden our bowels Shall we confine our love meerly to our selves Let 's not be deceived God will not be mocked Whatsoever we sow that shall we also reap God is the true owner of all we possesse and whatsoever we assume to our private use beyond the rules of sobriety and moderation will be judged embezelled and without repentance exacted of us to the utmost farthing To lay down the severall rules and fit circumstances of Christian bounty would be a work of time and truly of no great necessitie I think it was scarce ever known that persons of enlarged hearts and sincere purposes to do good were yet at a stand for want of prudence to direct them in the manner of performance I shall onely point out the severall chanels wherein the bounty of Christians useth to run the severall occasions they have laid hold of in all times to discharge their charitie 1. For the honour and service of Religion Where ever Religion hath had a throne she hath alwayes commanded an honourable maintenance for her houshold and retinue Though indeed rather autoritate suadentis then potestate jubentis Tacit. as was said of the ancient Germane Princes rather by a winning perswasive then a rigid compulsive power And this is one reason amongst many why Religion is so much discountenanced by sensuall worldly men They esteem not spirituall things worth exchanging for a part of their carnall things with the Gadarens they had rather part with Christ then their swine They are content to lose their religion to save charges If religion will put them to no cost nor pains perhaps they can endure it but if it require either they are as indifferent as that King of Denmark Waldemar who lying under the Popes Interdict sends him this blunt message We received Our religion from thy Predecessours which if thou wilt not suffer us to enjoy quietly We send it thee back again by these presents