Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heart_n	conscience_n	faith_n	unfeigned_a	2,594	5	11.1136	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A13993	The Christians looking glasse wherein hee may cleerely see, his loue to God liuely expressed, his fidelity truely discouered, and pride against God and man, anatomised. Whereby the hypocrisie of the times is notoriously manifested. By Thomas Tuke, minister of Gods word at Saint Giles in the Fields.	Tuke, Thomas, d. 1657.	1615 (1615)	STC 24304; ESTC S102478	58,392	160

set it on drawne from an act of GODS grace to some and of his iustice to others expressed in the words ensuing In the exhortation three things are to bee obserued first the duety required Loue secondly the obiect of it the LORD thirdly the persons of whom it is to be performed All his Saints Of loue first Amor est affectus vnionis Loue is an affection of vnion Quo cum re amatâ aut vnimur aut perpetuamus vnionem By the which wee are either vnited or doe continue the vnion with the thing beloued Or Loue is a certaine motion whereby the heart is moued towards that which either is Truely or Seemingly good desiring to draw the good vnto it selfe that it might enioy it For the obiect of loue is good And though a man sometimes loue an euil yet it is to him a seeming good And the Nature of loue is to vnite and Knit diuerse things together and of sundry things to make one And a regular and true-hearted loue is that which causeth vs to loue a thing because it is good in it selfe and not for any base or by-respect With this loue wee ought to loue GOD and our neighbor for GOD. The loue then wherewith we are exhorted to loue the LORD is an Holy affection Whereby wee loue GOD in CHRIST IESVS for himselfe Or it is a Gracious affection of the Heart arising out of Knowledge and Faith in GOD and kindled in the soule by the HOLY GHOST by which a man is ioyned Knit to GOD taking delight and content in him more then in any thing besides First I call it an affection of the heart because with it the heart is affected and inclined affections being certaine motions of the heart where they haue their seate and being Secondly I said it is a Gracious affection for to loue is a worke of Nature but to loue an obiect W●ll that 's truely Good as is the LORD is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a worke of Grace For wee are not sufficient of our selues to thinke any thing as of our selues Therfore our sufficiency strength to loue a right obiect rightly must needs bee from the Grace of GOD Who worketh in vs both the will and the deed of his owne good pleasure Thirdly I say this loue ariseth out of the Knowledge and Faith in GOD. For Quod latet ignotum est ignoti nulla cupido Things vnknowne are vnaffected and loue is according to a mans acquaintance A man cannot loue GOD before hee know that GOD is and that hee is good and therefore worthy loue sweete and amiable and according to that measure of knowledge that men haue of him and of his benefites and according as they ponder and remember them so they may be said to loue him And for because our knowledge of him is in this world nothing so perfect as it shall bee in the world to come therefore also our loue on earth is not so perfect as it shall bee in the heauens when besides the vision of Grace wee shall attaine vnto the vision of Glory When Wee shall see face to face and know as wee are knowne as the Apostle speaketh to the Corinthians Will yee see this in the glasse of humane practise A child not knowing the worth of siluer preferres a Counter to it Barbarous people not knowing the benefites of learning loue it not The couetous man knowing the vertue of gold hoords it loues it as his GOD A good soule knowing the vilenesse and dangers of sinne shunnes it loathes it and perceiuing the benefites of true Religion loues it followes it and experience shewes that many men places things are vnloued and vnregarded because their vertues properties excellencies are not knowne to them that do looke-ouer and neglect them Hee then that would loue GOD let him learne to know GOD If men knew him well they would not loue him so ill The reason why men commonly are so farre in loue with pleasures profits and preferments is because they know the sweetnesse of them though they proue often bitter to them in the latter end so as that they might iustly wish they had not knowne them or had knowne better how to haue vsed them So surely our knowledge of GOD would stirre vp our loue did wee know him and vnderstand his perfections well and truely hee would rauish our hearts but the loue of the world doth raise vp such a mist within vs as that our eyes are darkened the starres of our vnderstanding are clouded so that we see not wee thinke not of his louely Nature we cannot behold his Beauty But let vs dispearse these fogs and labor to know him that we may bee fit to loue him Loue like a thrid sowes our soules to GOD but the way is prepared by knowledge as by a needle And as concerning Faith certaine it is that faith in the loue of GOD makes a man returne his loue vnto GOD for till a man beleeue that GOD doth loue him and is reconciled to him hee comes not to him So long as hee apprehends nothing but wrath hee flies him as his enemy and being punished hee repines and murmurres as male-conted But when a man comes to bee perswaded of GODS fauour to him and begins to haue affiance in his mercy forth-with hee begins to draw neere by loue vnto him hee sets his heart vpon him and in loue preferres him to all the world And the more hee beleeues the more he loues his soule is ready to say with Dauid Thou art my LORD and the portion of my inheritance My soule praise thou the LORD and all that is within thee praise his holy Name which forgiueth all thine iniquity and healeth all thine infirmities which redeemeth thy life from the graue and crowneth thee with mercy and compassion The truth of which wee see confirmed by Saint Paul who saith that Loue is out of a pure heart and a good conscience and of faith vnfaigned Without the which faith also there is neither pure heart nor good conscience This wee may illustrate by the dealings of men who will not make a league of loue with them whom they trust not but rather abandon all society with them On the contrary whom they dare trust them they dare liue with in whom they haue confidence in them they do delight and of whose loue they are perswaded them they will loue and shew kindnesse too And wee see by experience that one flame licks another to it and one fire draweth another so one loue also begets and drawes another And if it happen that a man bee hated of him to whom hee beareth loue it is because hee that is loued takes no notice of nor feeles the loue which is borne vnto him Let vs therefore haue faith in GOD for as wee beleeue so shall wee loue Without doubt the brethren of Ioseph when they met

likewise Abraham out of his deuotion vnto GOD is ready at GODS commandement to sacrifice to slay his onely Sonne his Hope and Honour Indeed this is the nature of a mans sincere and regular loue to GOD to loue GOD for himselfe to obey him without scruple and to neglect ones selfe for the respect of GOD. And though wee ought to loue GOD for those good blessings which hee communicates vnto vs as a friend his friend for courtesies receiued yet wee must not rest there if wee will proue our loue to bee vpright and sound but wee must go further and learne to loue him for that louely and peerelesse Excellency and that immense and profound Sea of Goodnesse which is in him esteeming those his benefites conferred on vs as certaine streames flowing from the same and prizing of them not so much in their owne worth as for being effects and tokens of his fauour to vs. Euen as a man should not so much value the good turnes of his friend according as they are worth in their owne nature as because they are fruits and arguments of his vertu-full and bounteous disposition And this is the purer degree or kind of loue such as was in Iob who though GOD seemed to bee his Enemy For hee saith that the arrowes of the Almighty were in him the venome whereof drunke vp his Spirit and that the terrours of GOD fought against him that hee feared him with dreames and astonished him with visions yet did hee continue to loue GOD and profest that though GOD should slay him yet his confidence should be reposed in him Thirdly whosoeuer shall loue GOD cheerefully and in conscience of GODS commandement euen because GOD bids him loue him hee doth euidently declare the truth of his loue vnto him For hee that doth a thing simply because hee is bidden doth shew a louing and reuerent respect vnto the bidder Fourthly hee demonstrates a sound heart and entire loue vnto GOD that suffers nothing to dominere within him but his GOD Not Mammon not Bacchus not Venus not the loue of any Man not of Himsefe nor of any other thing whatsoeuer but deturbs and cast out all that GOD alone may haue possession of him and reigne within him as hee may bee said to bee a chaste and louing husband who suffers no other to steale away his loue from his lawfull wife to whom hee hath vowed his loue and plighted his Troth Non bene cum socijs Regna Venusque manent Nec Regna socium ferre nec tede sciunt Lordship and loue will broke no fellowship Aut Casar aut nullus GOD will be either alone or gone He wil admit no copes-mate Hee will not part stakes with any He will allow thee to entertaine some thing that shal be subordinate vnder him but none that shall stand in opposition vnto him or which shall draw against him If therfore thou permit nothing to draw thine affection from him it argues thy loue is firme and fast vnto him Fiftly as a worldly-minded man doth shew his loue of riches by his vnsatiable desire of hauing more and more For the more hee hath the more hee would like those two daughters which cry Giue giue or like the earth That as Agur saith cannot bee satisfied with water So may wee proue our loue of GOD if whilst wee liue on earth wee couet to haue more and more interest in ●im and neuer rest contented whiles any thing liueth in vs besides himselfe And as Ahab was tormented in minde for Naboaths vineyard and as Ammon was so sore vexed that hee fell sicke for his sister Tamar And as the Spouse in the Canticles exclameth Stay mee with flagons for I am sicke of loue Euen so hee that doth truely loue GOD is not quiet till hee do enioy him And because there is no full fruition of Him till wee come in heauen therefore if wee truely loue him wee shall not meete with full contentment till wee come in heauen but shall as that Spouse our Mother bee Sicke of loue and wounded with longing after him till wee doe enioy him to the full Indeed the sickenesse of minde is not loue for loue it selfe is most sweete and pleasing but it is the fruite of Desire which waiteth vpon loue till loue do perfectly enioy the thing it doth loue And if delay be made that it cannot enioy the thing which it would as it would and so soone as it would then this delay by reason of the desire doth engender a certaine griefe and sickenesse in the minde which sickenesse and the desire which doth produce it shall both end when that which is desired is perfectly obtained and enioyed But then loue hath that it would and then ends not as the desire but is at her highest pitch in all her iollity and in her proper element there where shee would bee and would neuer but bee Now whosoeuer hath in him this longing after GOD this sickenesse and griefe to torment and vexe him seeing that heere on earth a man sometimes looseth his feeling of GODS loue vnto him and neuer enioyes him full● hee may assure himselfe that hee truely loueth GOD. And this g●iefe of heart should be so farre from causing diffidence doubting or desperation that a man should rather gather strength and comfort by it For where this is there is the loue of GOD as there is a loue of drinke where there is a thirst and earnest desire after it and a certaine trouble and griefe of soule because it cannot bee had or is long a comming As Dauid saith My soule thirsteth for thee my flesh longeth greatly after thee which argues the desire and languishment of his spirit so he likewise saith My soule cleaueth vnto thee which declares his loue Now he that loueth GOD may bee bold to thinke that GOD loues him And the proper and principall ground of our consolation and saluation is in this that GOD loues vs not in this that Wee loue GOD in this that GGD is gracious vnto vs and not in this That the graces of GOD are in vs. Of which loue and grace of GOD vnto vs this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 free-grace of Loue wherewith our hearts are enflamed towards GOD is an vndoubted token and effect as breath is of life or ice of cold appropriated to GODS Elect and faithfull Children Sixtly as the mindes of adulterers runne vpon their harlots as the thoughts of worldlings are on their wealth as the heads of the ambitious are occupied about their honours as the hearts of Epicures are with their pleasures as the braines of Schollers are beate about their bookes as the minde of Souldiers is on the victory and as hee that loues the Law hath his meditations in the Law O how I loue thy Law saith Dauid It is my meditation continually so hee that loues