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	true_a	2,515	5	5.1740	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26807	A short description of the blessed place and state of the saints above in a discourse upon the words of Our Blessed Saviour, John XIV, 2, in my father's house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you / by William Bates.	Bates, William, 1625-1699.	1687 (1687)	Wing B1125; ESTC R25866	33,196	119

Unbelievers in the Christian Church and such are all those who implicitly despise and reject Heaven for the present World This will aggravate the Sin and Sentence of the Carnal and Worldly that they despise such glorious Realities for empty Vanities Desperate Gamesters that venture a Kingdom at every Throw What blindness of Mind or rather perversness of Heart is it that Men pursue with their best strength and desires the fading and false World and slight Heaven an inestimable and everlasting Treasure Certainly when Death shall open their Eyes they will have chang'd thoughts of Things 'T is related by a wise Historian That a Citizen pleaded his own Cause of great moment before Philip King of Macedon who slept during the Plea and a little after pass'd an unrighteous Judgment against him the injur'd Person reply'd I appeal from your Sentence A word that seem'd so presumptuous to an Independent Soveraign that with indignation the King asked him To whom he appeal'd He answered From the King sleeping to the King waking Thus Men who are led by Sense are asleep whilst the Cause of infinite Concernment eternal Salvation is faithfully pleaded by the Advocates of their Souls and they determine for the Interest of the Flesh against the Spirit but their waking Thoughts will discover the unrighteousness of their carnal Judgment In the next State how will they with restless Anguish remember their foolish Bargain to exchange an everlasting Treasure for fading Toys We may a little conjecture the Torments of the Damn'd by the Terrors of the Dying then the enlightned guilty Conscience makes them cry out O that we had been wise so to use the World that we might enjoy God! O that we had been so careful to have obtain'd an Interest in Heaven as we have been to gain the Earth Then the stinging Remorse begins that shall never end 3. Let us make it our fixed Aim our zealous constant Endeavour to secure our Title to this heavenly Inheritance Let Eternity be our Counseller and guide our Choice Let us not build our Felicity on the Sand but on the Rock that cannot be shaken Such is the excellent Goodness of God reveal'd in the Gospel that every Person that sincerely and regularly seeks Heaven shall obtain it and no Person shall be depriv'd of it but for his wilful neglect Now our Blessed Saviour who open'd the Eternal Kingdom has declar'd to us upon what terms it may be obtain'd in his conference with Nicodemus Verily verily I say unto thee Except a Man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God Natural Birth and Accomplishments tho never so high and noble are of no advantage there The degeneracy of Man from his Primitive Holiness makes him both unworthy and uncapable of having a right or possession of Heaven without a Divine Change a Spiritual Regeneration The supernatural Inheritance is annext to the being born of God that is the receiving a Principle of Life and Actions suitable to the Life of God in universal Holiness and Righteousness 'T is not a ground of Title to Heaven that we have a natural alliance to God as the Father of Spirits in the first Creation but we must be his Off-spring by a new and more excellent Creation according to our Saviour's words That which is born of the Spirit is Spirit We must be renewed in the Spirit of our Minds spiritualiz'd in our Affections before we can obtain an interest in his Love which was forfeited by our Rebellion and consequently in his Kingdom Adoption into God's Family and the Line of Heaven is always in conjunction with the renovation of the Divine Nature and Image in us The Holy Spirit witnesses with our Spirits that we are the Children of God but his witnessing is always consequent to his working in us those Graces that constitute us to be the Children of God an humble Fear to offend him a Care to please him a Zeal for his Glory delight in Communion with him resignation to his Will and Wisdom trust on his Fatherly Love and a desire to be in his Blessed Presence By the discovery of these filial Affections our Divine Relation is made sure The Apostle infers If Sons then Heirs Holiness is the infallible Evidence of Election for the Vessels of Mercy are prepar'd by Holiness for Glory the Seal of Adoption whereby God's Children are distinguish'd from the World and the Earnest of their Inheritance for Heaven is a blissful State of Purity and the Graces with the Comforts of the Spirit are the beginnings of it here 'T is further to be observ'd that our right in the Heavenly Inheritance depends upon our union with Christ. He instates his Members in the same Relation with himself to God Thus he declares to his Disciples I ascend to my Father and your Father to my God and your God Christ's Relation hath precedency in Point of Dignity and Causality and he derives a Right to us in his Father's House We are Coheirs with Christ. Now 't is universally and necessarily true what the Apostle saith Whoever is in Christ is a new Creature For our vital Union with him is by the Sanctifying Spirit on Christ's part and by Faith and Love on our part Briefly Without Holiness no Man shall see God The Exclusion is absolute and universal of all unsanctified Persons 'T is impossible God should admit them into Heaven for the Rights of Justice are inviolable we must come to Christ's Tribunal before we come to his Throne We must come to God the Judg of all before we are admitted into the number of Just Men made perfect According to our Works the Reward will be and Men are uncapable of enjoying Heaven without Holiness The Wisdom of God appears in that the various sorts of Creatures live in the Elements from which they were produc'd and have Natures suitable to the Places of their Residence The Beasts that were form'd from the Earth walk and rest there the Birds and Fishes that were produc'd out of the Waters the one sort flies in the Air that is rarefied Water the other swim in Water that is the thickest Air and that Wisdom more evidently appears in suiting the everlasting States of Men to their moral Dispositions Thus we must be born from above if we would joyfully live above The Apostle tells us That Flesh and Blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of Heaven The natural Body must be spiritualiz'd and invested with Celestial Qualities before it can enter into that Glorious Place and the Reason is more strong that earthly sensual Souls can never enter into Heaven there being an absolute Contrariety and Opposition between the habitual constitution of such and that place and state they must be Holy and Heavenly to be prepar'd for the Divine Presence and to converse with the purified Assembly Above 'till they are wrought for that blessed End cleansed and purified and endued with Holy Qualities till they are made meet they cannot possess the