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	love_n	love_v	2,519	5	6.3625	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A41501	A quære concerning the church-covenant practised in the separate congregations sent with a letter thereunto annexed, from J.G. to T.G., wherein is proved that there is much evill and manifold inconveniences in the exacting and urging such a covenant.	Goodwin, John, 1594?-1665.; T. G.	1643 (1643)	Wing G1195; ESTC R1173	11,880	16

which as farre as I am able to judge worketh effectually in them and subjecteth them to all the said bands and obligations nor can I thinke that he whose strength to doe evill will serve to trample under feet the blood of the Lord Christ to cast the Commandements of the glorious God behind his backe to betray the hope of his owne peace and glory will ever be kept in a Christian compasse towards me by any promise band or covenant of his owne I know not how to thinke it a sinne in me not to desire or exact a greater securitie for my portion in the Saints then God himselfe hath given me and established me in I heare your answer bee that your covenant respecteth as well every mans faithfulnesse towards God as discharge of dutie towards one another and therefore in this regard at least there may be a necessitie of it To this I make answer in few words First why is not then the unnecessary part at least of your Covenant which I conceive is the greatest viz. that which concernes the Covenanters dutie towards his fellow struck off Secondly if such a Covenant as this with or towards God bee so necessary a dutie why is the place of it no where to be found amongst all the Commandements of God doubtlesse God requires it not at our hands to be either more provident or zealous for his glory then he is himselfe Thirdly and lastly it is neither lawfull before baptisme nor necessary after therefore the necessitie of it falls to the ground and is not defensible that it is not lawfull before baptisme is evident because it is not lawfull for a Church to receive the unbaptized into fellowship with them as members of that body neither is there example or appearance of warrant in Scripture for such a thing As evident it is that after baptisme it is altogether unnecessary because baptisme doth immediately qualifie for Church fellowship as hath beene sayd your owne principles not gainesaying and the Church it selfe by admitting any to her baptisme ipso facto admits into her fellowship and communion Therefore I adde 4. That the requiring and exacting of such a Covenant of men and the imparting of Church fellowship upon it I conceive it to be an unchristian usurpation upon the consciences of men and a tempting of God by laying such a burden upon his people which he must give strength more then otherwayes were necessary to beare or otherwise they must suffer at least if not fall under it and I beleeve I know some worthy every wayes of the honour according to the line of men who desirous of entrance into some of your Churches were turned back by dislike of that new doore of your Covenant 5. And lastly We conceive the exacting and giving of such a Covenant is not onely a thing unnecessary {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} as something above any thing that is written but of worse inconvenience also at least as many of those that are ingaged in it are wont to interpret and draw the importance hereof for many looke upon a Covenant they have made with a particular Church as a partition wall wholly to separate them in care affection dependance and from all other Churches and the Saints of God throughout the world and take it for an authenticall discharge and release from heaven from troubling themselves any wayes with the affaires of other Churches as ministring unto their necessities at any times It was not much short of this which a great defender of you faith professed plainely unto me not long since and that before some witnesses Calvin well observes upon Rom. 16. 16. that Pauls study and desire was by his carefull remembrance and sending the mutuall salutations and greeting of one Church to another quantum in se est mutuo amoris nexu devincire inter se omnia Christi membra As far as it lay in his power to bind all members of Christ whatsoever in one and the same mutuall band of affection together Now if Paul herein did the will and Commandement of God which I cannot thinke you will deny then as your Saviour charged the Scribes and Pharisees that they had made the Commandement of God of none effect they had taken a course to doe it they had done that which directly tended thereunto by their traditions so we conceive we may justly challenge your Covenant for an ill looke or maligne aspect upon that part of the will of God wherein he desires that all beleevers the world over should desire to maintaine a free intercourse of the dearest love and tenderest affections one towards another A LETTER SENT From I. G. to T. G. My deare Friend WHom I love and honour if not enough yet certaine I am very exceeding much in the Lord I am sorry there being differences betweene us otherwise that in this wee should so perfectly and so long agree neither to send so much as a small peece of his minde to other for a love-token upon which of us the Law of love and Christian acquaintance rather imposed it to have first appeared in breaking this agreement the same Law prohibites to dispute Whether it will ease the burthen on my part or no I leave to your ingenuitie to consider and determine but this I may truely say unto you that I have had many thoughts from time to time since your departure from us that have deerely longed after your bosome and would hardly have beene kept from their longing till now but by a strong hand of some indispensable occasions and imployments otherwise And if my respects unto you did not command me to intreat you more gently in this behalfe I might truely charge upon your selfe in part the occasion of my silence hitherto your authority grace learning parts judgement example have made the stone of separation among us so massie and heavy that we are constrained to be at double paines and labour in removing and rolling it from the consciences of men A great part of our imployment is to stanch the issue of that fountaine of blood which you I presume in simplicity of heart for your part have opened in the wombe of our Churches here wee hoping againe your re-union with us and returne unto us through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ who is is able to give you light to comprehend your darkenesse in those things lying yet under dispute betweene us are willing to save you what sorrow we can against the time of your returne and for this purpose endeavour our selves to make your mistakes as innocent as may be and to keepe as many as we can from falling thereby Deare brother that there were a heart in us to lay our heads together to finde out if possible some course that the Sword may not alwayes thus devoured doubtlesse there are waters to be found that will much asswage the heate if not wholly quench the flames of these contentions and divisions How greatly is it