Selected quad for the lemma: love_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
love_n	apostle_n	faith_n	jesus_n	2,585	5	5.9640	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A81376	Certaine observations concerning the duty of love, and of the contrary evill, vncharitablenesse. VVritten by Thomas Devenish.	Devenish, Thomas.	1642 (1642)	Wing D1213; Thomason E142_21; ESTC R8292	21,289	34

large what God did more for man hee gave him all the creatures not onely for necessary use but also for delight and when amongst them all he found not a meet helpe for Adam hee made him one endued with reason like himselfe fit to converse withall and what more Made him the great Monarch to rule the whole earth Gen. 1.18 Psal 8.6 Hereby we may so farre take notice of that infinite love of the Creator to the creature that wee may be able in some measure to see the haynousnesse of the sin of our first parents and the punishment due for the same unto which we are all lyable by nature There be divers circumstances that may exceedingly aggravate this sin as the time when it is thought presently after God had bestowed these favours whilest they were fresh The place where even in the middest of them in the Garden The little need they had who wanted for nothing that their nature was capable of as the woman confest Gen. 3.2 They had the free use of all but that one tree which also shewes the unreasonablenesse of the sinne that would not suffer God to reserve one that had freely given them all Also it was a strange thing that our first parents should so readily hearken unto the Serpent of whom they never received good and ballance his suggestions with the unfallible truth of their Creator of whose goodnesse they had as much experience as possibly they could imagine should be manifested in so short time there are many other which wee may very easily find out but there is one thing above all that shewes the desperate nature of their sin that they would adventure upon the breach of that law of God and make themselves thereby the subjects of his heavie wrath when neither they nor any other creature in heaven or earth could know or conceive any way of redemption If any man can but meditate on this it will wound the heardest heart O what shall a poore soule thinke in such a case What have I done What have I lost Is there no helpe Shall I never see the face of my God againe Yea there is helpe and by that which is the greatest aggravation of our sinne which is we have sinned against that infinite Majesty and there is none but that Majesty can help us and that hath wrought our peace Here wee may take notice of Gods wonderfull goodnesse in redeeming our soules and the glorious working of all those attributes formerly mentioned in freeing us from that miserable condition As first Gods excellents wisedome in finding out the way which was it that the Angells desired to behold 1 Pet. 1.12 His infinite power in effecting it his wonderfull goodnesse towards his creature his free love in bestowing it his exact Justice in the sufferings of Christ more then can be exprest his unspeakable mercy to us in the greatest misery that any creature could his unfallible truth in keeping promise to all ages all this agreeing with the holinesse of his nature there is not any of these particulars but may fill a heart with meditations and afford matter enough for a bigger Volume then this but I onely mention them for the farther aggravation of our actuall sinne and to shew thereby how justly God may require all love obedience from us that hath denied us nothing that is fit for us Let us see then what it is that Christ requireth to be performed on our parts That is faith to believe lay hold on and apply all the promises of God unto us and this is not a dead faith but such as worketh by love as wee may see in the Scriptures Gal. 5.6 For in Christ Iesus neither circumcision availeth any thing neither uncircumcision but faith which worketh by love and in the 13. Ver the Apostle saith love is the fulfilling of the law Saint James calls it the Royall law Iames 2.8 Love then being the substance of all the duty that God requires as we may see Mat. 22.37.38 39. I shall say no more but goe on with what I intended concerning this duty of love and of the contrary evill uncharitablenesse in 1 Iohn 3.10 wee have this laid downe as a character of the child of the divell in the later part of the Verse namely He that loveth not his brother such a one is not of God Now wee must understand that in the Scripture such as love not are said to hate hence wee may see what uncharitable persons are they belong to Satan this wee may see plainly proved 1 John 4.16 and 1 Iohn 29. and Gal. 5.2 It is reckoned up amongst the works of the flesh and in Tit. 3.3 it is set downe as the note of a wicked man Now we must not understand every unkindnesse to be the hatred here meant for amongst good men many times this may fall out as Acts 15.39 Paul and Barnabas parted company upon a private difference but the uncharitablenesse here spoken of is a perverse disposition of the minde whereby we are made unfit to performe any office of love as the Lord requires but rather the contrary nay further uncharitable men are like the divell whole they are and to whom they doe belong for the divell may be said to have knowledge faith feare and such like Iames 2.19 but the divell hath no love he loves none but hates and as God makes himselfe knowne unto us by this so hee makes it the true signe whereby we shall know those that belong unto him Iohn 13.35 By this shall all men know that ye are my Disciples if that yee have love one to another by all this we may see what a hatefull sinne uncharitablenesse is and what cause it gives us to suspect our sincerity when wee feele in our selves the markes of this sinne which may be briefly these The first note of an uncharitable man is such as take things in the worst part or worse then they are meant As those wicked Princes of the Children of Ammon perswaded Hanun 1 Chron 19.3 or as they dealt with our Saviour Christ turning his words into other sense then he meant for he spake of his body they would needs have it the Temple Iohn 2.19 And to this purpose see how love is described 1 Cor. 13.4 amongst many other things it 's said love thinketh not evill also uncharitable men will put a bad end upon all is said or done as if all were done in hypocrisie and so put the worst construction that may be A second note is when men are so easily provoked fly out upon every slight occasion or shew of offence as if their uncharitable nature were as touch-powder kindle with the least spark wee see in that 1 Cor. 13. Love suffereth long it 's not of this touchie nature Thirdly when a man seeketh his owne For what is the saying of the world just as Kain am I my brothers keeper see to this purpose that forenamed 1 Cor. 13. Love seeketh not her owne but we know

of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withall and to that purpose in the last verse of this Chap●er the Apostle adviseth us to desire the best gifts having formerly mentioned divers but concludes in that verse that hee will shew them a more excellent way which he shewes in the next Chapter to be love and makes it plaine that without that all the other were or would prove unto them unprofitable it is most singularly set forth unto us in that 1 Cor. 13.1 2 3 4 5 6 7. and in conclusion he crowneth love with this above all the rest that it shall never fall away verse the 8. Love doth never fall away c. and therefore the Apostle adviseth us Col. 3.14 And above all things put on love which is the bond of perfectnesse this indeed ties all together and when this bond is broken we cannot performe our duty as we ought we see Nabal he could not helpe David he had no love The fourth motive is every man lookes that others should love him and supply his wants is it not most equall we should do the like to them See what Christ speaketh to this purpose Mat. 7.12 Therefore whatsoever yee would that men should doe unto you the same doe yee unto them c. want of love then is a most unreasonable sinne There are divers motives also to this duty in respect of our brethren first in regard of the neere relation we have to them they are of our own flesh Esa 58.7 we would not hurt our owne flesh but we know there should be a neerer relation of the same spirit Secondly there is not the worst but hath some thing in him to be beloved or whereby we may exercise our love that is delight or pity Thirdly the poorest and meanest may help the richest as we see David used the help of the poore Egyptian 1 Sam. 30.11 Also the poorest are or may be beloved of God Now to shew what this love is It is a fruit of the grace of Gods spirit no fruit of the flesh Gal. 5.22 and hence it is said 1 Iohn 4.7 love commeth of God and the Apostle Saint Paul saith that hee need not write unto them of this duty for this was taught them by God himselfe 1 Thes 4.9 But as touching brotherly love yee need not that I write unto you for yee are taught of God to love one another Thus we see then we have not love by nature Now there are divers conclusions may be drawne from this First that must needs be an error in such as maintaine that the first act of love is in man by nature wee may see this cleared by that the Apostle speakes Col. 3.14 And above all things put on love shewing that by nature men are without it so likewise see to that purpose Tit. 3.3 The second conclusion What may be in man by nature is not love as we see Iohn 3.6 The third conclusion That love which friend beares to friend parents to children c. is not this love 1 King 3.26 so the very Heathen may doe Mat. 5.46 The fourth conclusion if love be a fruit of Gods Spirit then wicked men can never love one another as we see betwixt the men of Shechem and Abimelech such friendship we shall finde in the Alehouse amongst drunkards the greatest shew of love when perhaps that was the first of their acquaintance and before they part one stab another it 's little better with all carnall men they cannot love never therefore keepe company with such neither trust a wicked man for at best he will be sure to leave thee in time of greatest need thus we see Ahab left Iehosaphat 1 King 22.30 and of this the Prophet David complains Psal 41.9 Yea my familiar friend whom I trusted which did eate of my bread c. See also an example in Judas Christ made him not onely an Apostle but also an especiall officer amongst the Apostles yet hee could not love him such mens friendship is like that of Iupiters Priests and the rest of the people mentioned Acts 14.13 that would have sacrificed to the Apostles and in the 19. verse were ready to stone them The fifth conclusion then may be this Labour all wee can to intrust our selves in the affections of Gods children for if there be any love it is amongst them this did the Prophet David Psal 16.3 To the Saints that are on earth and to the exellent all my delight is in them Let us now see the generall nature of love it is ready to doe good c. therefore the Lord is said to wait Esa 30.18 Thus it is also in men or at least should be See what the Apostle speakes Act. 21.13 What doe yee weeping and breaking my heart for I am ready not to be bound onely but also to die at Ierusalem for the name of the Lord Iesus thus also to the brethren Rom. 1.15 Therefore as much as in mee is I am ready c. So 2 Cor 12.14 See likewise what is said in commendation of the people 2 Cor. 9.12 For I know your readinesse of minde c. this also is commanded 1 Tim. 6.18 Now the readinesse is seene in these two things First when we doe good without intreatie as we see the Disciples did Act. 11.28 29 30. Whensoever they heard of the wants of the Saints sent them succour Secondly when we doe good at the first motion as Hyram 1 King 5.7 he rejoyced at the motion thus it 's said of that wisedome which is from above Iames 3.17 Easie to be intreated c. Some will performe an act of love with much intreatie as the unjust Judge Luke 18.36 this was not love for love will constraine us as we see Acts 16.15 of Lydia But when men are troubled and thinke much that any man should move them to this duty it 's an ill signe we ought to lay downe our lives as Saint Iohn speakes Iohn 10.11 and to doe good as the Prophet David speakes Psal 122.9 and so Heb. 13.16 To doe good and to distribute forget not c. Love is like the good woman spoken of Prov. 31.12 She will doe him good and not evill all the dayes of her life Hence ariseth three conclusions First love consisteth not in words and complements as Iames 2.16 This is no more love then the sonnes was obedience who said that hee would doe it but did it not see what Saint Iohn adviseth 1 Iohn 3.18 My little children let us not love in word neither in tongue onely but in deed and in truth The second conclusion is this If a man doe that which pleaseth a friend and is not good this is not love as wee see by the counsell given to Amnon 2 Sam. 13.4 5. And hence it is said Prov. 13.24 hee that spares the rod hates the childe because hee doth him no good The third conclusion such as say they hurt no body and yet doe no good have not love the