Selected quad for the lemma: love_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A41840
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Great precious promises, or, Some sermons concerning the promises and the right application thereof whereunto are added some other concerning the usefulnesse of faith in advancing sanctification, as also, three more concerning the faith of assurance / by Mr. Andrew Gray ... ; all being revised since his death by some friends, the last impression carefully corrected and amended.
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Gray, Andrew, 1633-1656.
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1669
(1669)
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Wing G1609; ESTC R39446
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117,294
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219
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The voice of â—ourning is now sweetly gone away and â—he voice of Hallelujah and of eternal praisâ—ng of him that sitteth upon the Throne is â—ow heard in the place of it O such a day â—hat shall never admit of a following night â—ow to him that is upon his way that will â—ome and shall come and shall not tarry â—e desire to give praise SERMON V. 2 Pet. 1.4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious Promises that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust THere are three cardinal and excellent Graces that are exercised and taken up with the precious promises there is the excellent grace of Faith thâ—â— believeth the truth and the goodnesse of thâ— promise there is the precious grace oâ— Hope that with patience waiteth for thâ— accomplishment of the promise and doâ—â— stay untill the vision speak and that noblâ— grace of Lovâ— that loveth the thing that 〈◊〉 promised and taketh exceeding much deâ—light in the Promiser If we may be alloweâ— to speak so we think these strange revoluâ—â—â—ons and times we live in are another Ecclâ—â—siastes which doth fully preach forth thâ— vanity and emptinesse of all things that arâ— below God And wee do indeed conceivâ—â— that it is the great design of God in the darâ—â—ning of our pleasant things and in makinâ— every gourd to wither under the shaddow 〈◊〉 which we use to repose our self and in fâ—â—mishing all the gods of the earth to bring hâ—â— own to delight themselves in this visibâ—â— Treasure the promises of the everlasting Covenant and in him who is the substance of them and that since all things else 〈◊〉 declared to be vanity we might choise these as our own portion for ever At the last occasion that wee spake upon these words we were speaking unto the properties of the promises and wee told you that there were â—our of them holden forth 1. The freedome of the promises 2. The unchangeablenesse of the promises of which two wee have spoken unto you and now there remains other two to be spoken to to wit that the promises are exceeding great and that they are exceeding precious a sweet and excellent though a rare conjunction greatnesse and goodnesse here kissing one another preciousnâ—sse and highnesse linked â—ogether by the bond of Union And we shall speak unto these two properties togeâ—her and shall clear a little this thing in what respects the promises of the Covenant may be called exceeding great and precious And we conceive in short they may be calâ—ed so in these eight respects First They â—re exceeding great in respect of the great price that was laid down to purchase them â—here not being a promise of the everlasting Covenant above the head of which this may not be engraven in great letters Here is the price and purchase of bloud And no doubt â—his ought highly to commend the promises â—hat they are bought at so infinite a rate Must they not be great and precious things â—hat so wise a Merchant did lay down so infinit a treasure for the purchasing of them 2. They may be called exceeding great anâ— precious in respect of those great and preâ—cious things that are promised in them 〈◊〉 not godlinesse a great thing and this is withâ—in the bosome of a promise Is not heaveâ— an eternal enjoyment of God a great anâ— precious thing and yet this lyeth withiâ— the bosome of a promise Is not the knowâ—ing of God as he is our perfect conformitâ— with God our victory over Idols great anâ— excellent things and yet all these are treaâ—sured up in the promises 3. They maybe called exceeding great and precious in reâ—spect of the great advantage that redound to a Christian through the enjoyment oâ— them the promises of the everlasting Coâ—venant if so we may speak are the Pensiâ— that draws the draughts and lineaments oâ— the Image of Christ upon the soul it is thâ— promises of the everlasting Covenant bâ— which we are changed from glory to glory 〈◊〉 it were by the Spirit of the Lord and as Peteâ— doth here speak the promises are such thingâ— whereby we are made partakers of the divinâ— nature 4. They may be called exceediâ—â— precious in respect of that neer relation thâ—â— they have unto Jesus Christ What are 〈◊〉 the promises of the Covenant of Grace Are they not streams and rivolets that floâ— from Jesus Christ Christ is the fountaiâ— out of which all these promises do spring and can this fountain that is sweet in it seâ— send forth any bitter waters must they 〈◊〉 be precious things that have such a nobâ—â— â—escent as to be streams of love flowing â—ut from the Father to the Son and from â—im unto us as the pouring out of the â—yntment upon the beard of Aaron which ran â—own the head unto the skirts of his garâ—ents 5. They may be called exceeding â—recious promises in respect they or raâ—her Christ in them are the object of precious â—ith What is the meat upon which faith â—oth feed is it not upon the promises of â—he Covenant and Christ the kernel of them What are these things that faith taketh so â—uch delight in and is suported by Is â—t not the promises of the Covenant â— They may be called exceeding precious 〈◊〉 that they are the things that guideth and â—â—adeth us to precious Christ. There is not 〈◊〉 promise within the Book of the Covenant â—ut as it were it cryeth forth with a loud â—oice O come to Christ The promises are â—ndeed the Star that leadeth us unto the â—ouse where Christ dothly and there is no â—â—ccesse unto Jesus Christ but by a promise Christ is to be found there for he dwells within the bounds of the everlasting Coveâ—ant and there he will tryst with his people â—nd be found of them And 7. They may â—e called exceeding precious in respect that â—he Saints have found such sweetnesse and â—uch unspeakable delight in these promises Did not David find a great sweetnesse in the â—romises when he cryed forth The words of â—hy mouth are better unto me then thousands of â—old and silver Did he not find much sweetâ—esse in the promises when he was constrained to cry out Thy Law is sweeter unto me then the honey and the honey comb David in a manner was put to a nonplus to find out any suitable similitude and significant resemblance to point out the sweetnesse of the promises though we may see the Christians of this time in a spiritual fever they have lost their spiritual taste so that they may say if wee may allude unto that word 2 Sam. 19.25 I am this day fourscore years old and cannot discern between good and evil can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink They know not what it is to bee overcome with the sweetnesse that is to bee found in these excellent streams of divine consolation Lastly The promises may be called exceeding