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	love_v	son_n	2,692	5	5.4689	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A57960	Two discourses; viz. A discourse of truth. By the late Reverend Dr. Rust, Lord Bishop of Dromore in the Kingdom of Ireland. The way of happiness and salvation. By Joseph Glanvil, chaplain in ordinary to His Majesty	Rust, George, d. 1670.; Glanvill, Joseph, 1636-1680. Way of happiness and salvation rescued from vulgar errours.	1677 (1677)	Wing R2368; Wing Q836; ESTC R218562	58,324	199

things pleasant to them and put on sackcloth and sowre looks and mourned bitterly and hung down the head and sate in ashes so that one might have taken these for very holy penitent mortified people that had a great antipathy against their sins and abhorrence of themselves for them And yet God complains of these strict severe Fasters Zach. 7. 5. That they did not Fast unto him but fasted for strife and debate Isa. 58. 4. Their Fasts were not such as he had chosen to loose the bands of wickedness to undo the heavy burden and to let the oppressed free vers 6. But they continued notwithstanding their Fasts and God's admonitions by his Prophets to oppress the Widow and Fatherless and Poor Zach. 7. 10. Thus meer natural and evil men sometimes put on the garb of Mortification and exercise rigors upon their Bodies and external persons in exchange for the indulgences they allow their beloved appetites and while the strict Discipline reacheth no further though we keep days and Fast often yet this will not put us beyond the condition of the Pharisee who fasted twice in the week as himself boasted Luke 18. 12. And 3. An imperfect striver may be very much given to pious and religious discourses He may love to be talking of Divine things especially of the love of Christ to sinners which he may frequently speak of with much earnestness and affection and have that dear name always at his tongues end to begin and close all his sayings and to fill up the void places when he wants what to say next and yet this may be a bad man who never felt those Divine things he talks of and never loved Christ heartily as he ought 'T was observed before that there are some who have a sort of Devoutness and Religion in their particular Complexion and if such are talkative as many times they are they will easily run into such discourses as agree with their temper and take pleasure in them for that reason As also for this because they are apt to gain us reverence and the good opinion of those with whom we converse And such as are by nature disposed for this faculty may easily get it by imitation and remembrance of the devout forms they hear and read so that there may be nothing Divine in all this nothing but what may consist with unmortified lusts and affections And though such talk earnestly of the love of Christ and express a mighty love to his name yet this may be without any real conformity unto him in his Life and Laws The Jews spoke much of Moses in him they believed and in him they trusted John 5. 45. His name was a sweet sound to their ears and 't was very pleasant upon their Tongues and yet they hated the Spirit of Moses and had no love to those Laws of his which condemned their wicked actions And we may see how many of those love Christ that speak often and affectionately of him by observing how they keep his Commandments John 14. 15. especially those of Meekness Mercy and universal Love Thus imperfect Strivers may imploy themselves in the external offices of Religion I have instanced only in Three the lik may be said of the rest And to this I add IV. That they may not only exercise themselves in the outward matters of duty but may arrive to some things that are accounted greater heights and are really more spiritual and refined To instance I. They may have some love to God Goodness and good Men. The Soul naturally loves Beauty and Perfection and all mankind apprehend God to be of all Beings the most beautiful and perfect and therefore must needs have an intellectual love for him The reason that that love takes no hold of the passions in wicked men is partly because they are diverted from the thoughts of Him by the objects of Sense but chiefly because they consider him as their enemy and therefore can have no complacency or delight in him who they think hath nothing but thoughts of enmity and displeasure against them But if once they come to be perswaded as many times by such false marks as I have recited they are that God is their Father and peculiar Friend that they are his chosen and his darlings whom he loved from Eternity and to whom he hath given his Son and his Spirit and will give Himself in a way of the fullest enjoyment Then the Love that before was only an esteem in the understanding doth kindle in the affections by the help of the conceit of Gods loving them so dearly and the passion thus heated runs out even into seraphick and rapturous Devotions while yet all this is but meer animal love excited chiefly by the love of our selves not of the Divine Perfections And it commonly goes no further then to earnest expressions of extraordinary love to God in our Prayers and Discourses while it appears not in any singular obedience to his Laws or generous and universal love to mankind which are the ways whereby the true Divine Love is exprest for This is the love of God that we keep his Commandments saith the Apostle 1 John 5. 3. And as to the other thus If we love one another God dwelleth in us and his love is perfected in us 1 John 4. 12. And on the contrary If a man say I love God and hateth his brother he is a lyar John 4. 20. Charity then and universal obedience are the true arguments and expressions of our love to God and these suppose a victory over corrupt inclinations and self-will But the other love which ariseth from the conceit of our special dearness to God upon insufficient grounds that goes no further then to some suavities and pleasant fancies within our selves and some passionate complements of the Image we have set up in our imaginations This Love will consist with Hatred and contempt of all that are not like our selves yea and it will produce it those poysonous fruits and vile affections may be incouraged and cherish'd under it So that there may be some love to God in evil men But while self-love is the only motive and the more prevalent passion it signifieth nothing to their advantage And as the imperfect striver may have some love to God so he may to piety and vertue every man loves these in Idea The vilest sinner takes part in his affections with the vertuous and religious when he seeth them described in History or Romance and hath a detestation for those who are character'd as impious and immoral Vertue is a great Beauty and the mind is taken with it while 't is consider'd at a distance and our corrupt interests and sensual affections are not concern'd 'T is these that recommend sin to our love and choice while the mind ftands on the side of vertue with that we serve the Law of God but with the flesh the Law of Sin Rom 7. 25. So that most wicked men that are not degenerated

the other hand we think our selves well and do not always attempt forwards our state is bad and our sins will be imputed Be our pretences what they will our Faith is not sincere and will not stead us When we get to a certain pitch in Religion and make that our state 't is an argument that our Religion was meerly Animal and but a mode of complexion self-love and natural fear When we overcome some sins and are willing to spare and cherish others 't is a sign that we are not sincere in our attempts upon any and that what we have done was not performed upon good and divine motives Sincerty is discovered by growth and this is the surest mark that I know of Tryal So that we have no reason to presume though as we think we have gone a great way if we go not on Nor on the other side have we any to dispair though our present attainments are but small if we are proceeding The buds and tenderest blossoms of Divine Grace are acceptable to God when the fairest leaves of the meer Animal Religion are nothing in his esteem This is a great advantage we have from the Gospel that imperfection will be accepted where there is sincerity whereas according to the measures of exact and rigorous Justice no man could be made happy in the high degree of glory but he that was perfect and whose victories were absolute VII It may be collected from our Discourse Wherein the Power of Godliness consists viz. In a progress towards perfection and an intire victory over all the evils of our Natures The Forms of Godliness are not only in the ceremonies of Worship and external actions of feigned Piety But all the fine things of the Animal Religion are of this kind and they are the worst sort By the grosser Forms men hardly deceive others by these they effectually gull themselves So that many that vehemently oppose Forms are the greatest Formalists Forms of Worship may well agree with the Power of Godliness whenas zeal against Forms may be a Form it self whatever makes shew of Religion and doth not make us better that 's a Form at least to us There are Spiritual Forms as well as those of the other sort and these are most deadly Poyson is worst in Aqua Vitae He that speaks his Prayers ex tempore with vehemence and lowdness if he strive not against his ill nature and self-will is as much a Formalist as he that tells his Prayers by his Beads and understands not one word he saith And those that run away from Forms in Churches meet more dangerous ones in Barns and private corners Orthodox Opinions devout Phrases set Looks melting Tones affected Sighs and vehement Raptures are often meer Forms of Godliness that proceed from the Animal Religion which it self is a Form likewise O that the observers of so many motes in their Brethrens eyes would learn to throw out the Beames of their own The Form of Godliness that pretends it self to be no more is not so hurtful But the Formes that call themselves the Power are deadly 'T is the Formality and Superstition of Separatists that keeps on the Separation They contend for phancies and arbitrary trifles We for order and obedience The people are abused by names and being frighted by the shadows of Superstition and Formality they run into the worst Formality and silliest Superstition in the World The Kingdom of Heaven consists not in meats and drinks Rom. 14. 17. neither in Circumcision nor Vncircumcision 1 Cor. 7. 19. not in zeal for little things nor in zeal against them both the one and the other are equally formal The power of Religion lies in using Divine aids heartily and constantly in order to the overcoming the Difficulties of our way This Godliness is not exercised so much in reforming others as our selves The chief design is to govern within and not to make Laws for the World without us This is that Wisdom that is from above which is pure and peaceable Jam. 3. 17. It makes no noise and bluster abroad but quietly minds its own business at home So that certainly the best men have not always had the greatest fame for Godliness as the wisest have very seldom been the most popular They are the effects of the Animal Religion that make the biggest fhew The voice of true Religion is heard in quiet it sounds not in the corners of the street The power of Godliness is seen in Justice Meekness Humility and Charity things that look not so splendidly as the Spiritual Forms And thus of the Inferences and Corollaries that may be drawn from my Discourse which though they cannot all be inferred from any of its minute and seperated parts yet they lie in the design and contexture of the whole I Come now to the Advice for Practice The way of Happiness is difficult but the difficulties may be overcome by striving A little will not do many seekers are shut out what remains then but that we perswade our selves to strive and that diligently with constant resolution and endeavour We were made for Happiness and Happiness all the World seeks Who will shew us any good Psal. 4. 6. is the voice of all the Creatures We have sought it long in emptiness and shadows and that search hath still ended in shame and disappointment Where true substantial Felicity is we know and the Way we know Joh. 14. 4. It is not hid from us in Clouds and thick Darkness or if it were 't were worth our pains to search after it It is not at so great a distance but it may be seen yea it may be brought so neer as to be felt Though the way is streight yet 't is certain or if it were otherwise who would not venture his pains upon the possibility of such an issue Many Difficulties are in it but our Encouragements and Assistances are infinite The love of God and the gift of his son the blood of Christ and his intercession the aids of the Spirit and the directions of the Gospel the Invitations and Promises the rare Precepts and incomparable Examples of those holy men that have gone before us These are mighty helpes and great motives to assist us in striving and to quicken us to it Let us then arise in the strength of Faith and in the encouragement of those aids and attempt with courage upon the Difficulties of our way Let us ingage our deepest Resolutions and most diligent endeavours Here is no need to deliberate the things are necessary the benefits unspeakable and the event will be glorious It is no Question I hope whether God or the Creature is to be first chosen whether Heaven or Hell be better and therefore there is no cause that we should stay and consider we cannot be rash here we cannot hurt our selves by a too sudden ingagement we have delayed too long already and every moment we sit still is one lost to our Duty and our Happiness Let us resolve