Selected quad for the lemma: love_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
love_n	affection_n	desire_v	love_v	2,618	5	5.8704	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A66341	The advancement of Christs interests the governing end of a Christians life a second sermon preached before the Right Honourable Sir John Shorter, Knight, Lord Mayor of the city of London at Grocers-Hall, January the 9th, 1687/8 / by Daniel Williams.	Williams, Daniel, 1643?-1716.	1688 (1688)	Wing W2644; ESTC R13642	27,450	42

of Jesus was the Design of this plain Discourse and is the Prayer of Your Lordships most humble Servant Daniel Williams A SERMON Preached before the RIGHT HONOURABLE Sir JOHN SHORTER Kt. c. PHILIPPIANS Chap. I. ver 21. For to me to live is Christ. THE Apostle was in a happy Strait from his Fitness to live and Readiness to dye He knew not well how to fix his Choice because both Life and Death had a desireable Tendency There was Service to Christ by his Life and great Happiness to himself by Death Affection to Christ swayed his Inclinations both ways he loved Christ and therefore must desire death that he might fully enjoy him he loved Christ and so might incline to a longer life that he might more advance his Interest Rational self-Self-love would move to the Former yet Regard to Jesus and his Members overswayes him to the Latter He is content to expect the Crown rather than quit his Work And tho Heaven was the better State in it self and happier for him he prefers his stay on Earth as better for the Church which could not bear his Absence A wonderful Instance of a Publick Spirit how enlarged is this Soul that was assured of Glory in Heaven and of very sore Tryals on Earth and would yet tug longer at the Oar for Publick Good rather than be at Rest The great Purposes he resolved to live to are manifest from his Contentment with the Delays of Glory Had sensual Enjoyments and trivial Employs been the Advantage proposed by a longer Life how impatiently must he have endured a Moments Absence from Heaven He that knew Death could not lay his Soul asleep but that it immediately passed into a State of the highest Activity and Receptiveness yea and would be admitted to a near Converse with Christ and other glorious Objects which must fully employ these active Powers of the Soul and fill it with Good to the utmost of its Capacity to receive Could he I say desire an Abode on Earth to relish carnal or animal Delights which with him is a being dead while one liveth By no means But my Text represents to us the Design and Tendency of the Apostle Paul's Life To me to live is Christ. I know there are many things to be inferred from the Words besides what I think is their principal Scope As 1. Christ is a Believers Happiness while he liveth q. d. Life were worse than Death were not Christ known and enjoyed by me in this Life 2. A Christian's Life is a meer dependance on and a manifest discovery of the Power and Grace of Christ. Emanations of his Power supports it and his Grace is displayed in our Lives when useful to any valuable purposes or employed in any momentous Actions But I pass by these to the Chief Design of the Text which may be expressed under two Heads 1. An entire dedication of Paul's Life to Christ exclusively of any Carnal Designs of his own As if he should have said I devote my Life to the Glory of Christ I propose the Advancement of his Interests my Design is to be Instrumental in his Work and the propagation of his Concernments There is no base selfish Turn of my own intended nor shall my life waste in idle Uselesness I will be active and that for him to the last Moment and the utmost of my Abilities This my Judgment dictates as my Duty to this I am devoted and on this only I am intent II. A perswasion that Christ had been and still would be advanced by his Life and Labours This he expresseth in v. 20. As my expectation and hope that Christ shall be magnified in my Body whether by Life or by Death q. d. I have by his Grace promoted his Interest I fear not but the same Aids and Blessing will still concur to the like serviceableness and so the Issue of my living will be his Gain This is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in v. 22. It 's no secular Interest of my own is like to be advanced The building of my House or erecting Trophies to my Name I expect not Nay I am sure Poverty Contempt and Hardships in those respects will attend me but Christ in his Gospel-Interests will be contributed to and he will over-rule my Sufferings and Labours to his own Advancement The Text may also include an Hint at the Reason of this Confidence as to this decribed Success it being introduced under such a respect For to me to live is Christ. Sincere devotedness to Christ is ordinarily successful and upright Designs duly managed prove not Abortive When the best Endowments of a man indisposed to the service of Christ produce not equal Fruits to the lower Gifts of a Soul engaged for his concerns The first of these will be the Subject of my Discourse viz. The Dedication of the Life to Christ. This was no Duty peculiar to the Apostolical Office and tho it 's predicated of St. Paul in his own Person yet he affords us an Example which binds our Imitation Yea it is the fundamental Duty resulting from our Baptismal Vow included in all our Christian Profession and supposed in all acceptable Service So that the Obligation is universal it 's the Duty of all here even of such who least regard it yea live in greatest repugnancy to it By living to Christ must be meant living to the promoting and defence of the Interests of Christ in this World. This his designed Endeavour had a respect to and to this he devoteth his Life That is all the opportunities for acting which Life includes all the Abilities which Life imports and all the good things he possessed which are comprehended in the word Life as being less valuable than life is Even all these he designed to lay out for the Interests of the Blessed Jesus He valued living for no meaner uses and determined to live to no lower purpose When the advancement of Christ's Interests governeth our Time and Abilities then to live is Christ. For herein is our living to him within our reach by this it is expressed and the evidencing thereof in this instance is what he hath appointed and still expecteth from all his Members and Servants I need say no more to introduce the Doctrine I purpose to insist on which is this Doct. It is the duty of all Christians to dedicate and employ their lives to the advancement of the Interests of Christ in the World. It 's not sufficient to be religious in Contemplation or mental Acts our Lord expecteth and real Piety enclineth to a vigorous activity in our holy Profession He will be served by his Members as they expect to be saved by him They must imitate him in his Communicative Goodness and express their resentments of his Grace to them by these powerful acknowledgments They must not grudg his Service tho he redeem them freely they shall sacrifice all to him and while he is managing our Interest in Heaven as Intercessor he

Every Convert by their ministry is their joy and their Crown How chearfully do they own Divine Goodness when their hearts are enlarged to any useful act and they enabled for it Who am I and what is my People that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort are the words of David when his People had joined with him in so liberal an offering for Temple-work It 's a Curse in a holy man's thoughts to have talents without a heart to use them for God and much more to be abused in spending them on his Lusts. How contemptible in their eyes be the Nimrods of the Earth whose greatness is meerly for oppression foolish grandeur and the Devils Service they would prefer the condition of a Beast to the greatest Monarchs thus brutishly satisfied and employed The Saints would not change their persecuted State for that of the greatest Princes unless they bring the honour glory and of their Nations to the new Jerusalem that is to the Church of Christ fully reformed and enlarged Herein you have an account of the Dedication of our lives to Christ thus do all they to whom to live is Christ. Perhaps you may say these are meer Contemplations but to do thus is not the Duty of all nor the Attainment of any whatever they pretend I shall therefore undertake next to prove that it is the Duty of all of you thus to dedicate your lives to the service of the Lord Jesus and his Interests I shall offer Reasons to convince you which refer to us as Men and Christians That supreme Love and Regard to God which is the Duty of all men must dispose them to this Dedication Can you doubt whether you ought to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind Must not God be loved above self by every rational Creature Is it not the appointment of God to every man Thus shalt fear the Lord thy God him shalt thou serve and to him shalt thou cleave These are Duties resulting from our relation to God as our Maker and due to him on the account of the transcendant excellency of his Being yea the very Order of the Universe directs to it the first cause of all should have the supreme Regard and Interest among all Beings Now know that it is impossible to love and regard God in this supreme manner if you dedicate not all to his Interest Can any man regard God above himself and yet serve himself above God Or can any man serve God above all and neglect the Interests of God These are the Occasions he gives men to express their regard to him by His Essence is above what our goodness can be extended to but his Saints his Honour his Truth his Image and Cause are his Concerns on Earth and as these are regarded or neglected he esteems himself valued or despised by us To each of these the saying of Christ is applicable Verily I say unto you In as much as ye did it not to one of the least of these ye did it not to me and in as much as ye did it to one of the least of these ye did it unto me The Relation God hath to and Concern he hath in these Interests transfer the respect of all to himself So that it is a Duty to dedicate all to his service and as far as he calls us to it to employ all to that end or it is no Duty to love and regard God above all yea it must then be a Duty to despise God and prefer Self Satan and other Rivals to the infinitely blessed God which a reasonable Soul must tremble at Gods absolute propriety in men and in all which they possess makes the sacrifice of all to his Interests a Duty by all the rules of Justice Notions of just and unjust are preserved by God in the Conscience above most others Principles of Justice are the strongest in that natural habit which we call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and these require that every one receive his own Now what hath any man which he hath not received at the hands of God Is it not he that made us by his Power endued us with gifts intellectual hath any man an Estate or Honour but he to whom God hath given them and is not all at his disposal God did not release his own right when he entrusted us with the use of any talents and as to him we are stewards not proprietors and therefore accountable for all God had a respect to his own glory and service in his creating of all things he made all things for himself Yea he hath dispenced all under this rule that they be employed for him This Law every brute creature and inanimate Being observe yea the glorious Angels do not deny or disdain this homage They are ministring spirits whose utmost abilities are consecrated to the execution of Gods will tho it be often us poor sinners in whose behalf they serve And must not the same Justice be observed by Men can any thing be denied God equally when all is his and he asketh service by nothing but what 's his own Paul is but righteous when his labours and sufferings for Christ were most abundant this he suggests as well as his privilege by it when he saith The Angel of God whose I am and whom I serve stood by me David in his large offerings acquits God from being a debtor and himself of being more than just All things come from thee and of thine own we have given thee God chargeth the man who improved not the one Talent not with unkindness but unjustice and so will he reprove all that deny him any thing which his Interest requires Thou oughtest therefore to have put my Money to the Exchanger and then I should have rereived my own with Vsury You may as well accuse God of Injury when by his Providence he brings you to Death Poverty or decay of Parts as deny him the utmost Service in his Concerns In the former he asserts his own Right without your leave in the other he yields you opportunity for Consent to your own Benefit He offers you an Occasion to trade for your selves with his Stock If the Testimony of God requires any thing to be laid out for it which is not his you have some Pretence to plead but that can never be unless when Men do wickedly for God which he abhors 3. The Lord Jesus hath an additional right to all of us and our utmost Services by purchase The Interests of God and his Claim as Creator are in the hands of Christ. But as Redeemer his Title is added too and our Service more strongly demanded For ye are bought with a Price therefore glorify God in your Body and in your Spirit which are his He may justly serve himself of us and by us as his redeemed Captives