Selected quad for the lemma: love_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A78568
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A further vindication of the Church of England, with advice to all emperours and kings of the Romish faith Also some arguments used to prove the Church of Rome no true church, but antichristian and bloody. By William Chandler.
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Chandler, William.
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1682
(1682)
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Wing C1935A; ESTC R229536
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12,548
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33
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the greatest of these is charity FAith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen Faith is the groundwork of our Salvation by Faith we believe that Christ came into the World laid down his life freely for us Sinners was born of a pure Virgin preached the Gospel of our Salvation that he was crucified dead and buried that he rose again the third day and ascended into Heaven and there sitteth at the right hand of God making Intercession for us Sinners By Hope is to be understood that Hope which is annext to Faith that we obtain the Fruits of our Faith the salvation of all our Souls Again having a sound Faith made up with Good Works we hope we shall obtain the salvation of all our Souls which Christ hath merited by his death and passion and by his Free Grace and Mercy we hope to obtain the Kingdom of Heaven which by hope and patience we have long waited for Charity is so great a Grace that Saint Paul commends it above all other Graces from the beginning to the end of this Chapter for he saith though he had the Gift of Prophesie and understood all Mysteries and all Knowledge and though he had all Faith so that he could remove Mountains and had not Charity he was nothing So that my Beloved though we have all these great Gifts and Graces yet if we have not Charity we are as if we had nothing though we bestow all our Goods to feed the Poor though we give our Bodies to be burned and have not Charity it profiteth us nothing You have heard out of this Scripture that if you had all the Gifts and Graces the Scripture doth afford yet if you have not Love you have nothing In the First Epistle of St. John Chap. 3. Ver. 7. it is said For this is the Message ye have heard from the beginning that we should love one another And again in the same Epistle Chap. 2. Verse 10. He that loveth his Brother abideth in the light and there is no occasion of stumbling in him And again in the same Epistle Chap. 3. Verse 23. And this is his Commandment that we should believe on the Name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another as he gave us Commandment Again in the same Epistle Chap. 4. Ver. 7 8. Beloved let us love one another for love is of God and every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God he that loveth not knoweth not God for God is love And in the same Chapter Ver. 16. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us God is love and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him Herein is our love made perfect that we may have boldness in the day of Judgment because as he is so are we in this world And Ver. 18. There is no fear in love but perfect love casteth out fear because fear hath torment he that feareth is not made perfect in love And so to the end of the Chapter If any man say I love God and hateth his Brother he is a Lyar for he that loveth not his Brother whom he both seen how can be love God whom he hath not seen And this Commandment have we from him that he that loveth God love his Brother also In the second Epistle Verse the 5th Now I beseech thee Lady not as though I wrote a new Commandment unto thee but that we had from the beginning that we love one another and this is love that we walk after his Commandment Having spoken something of Faith and Hope we come now to Charity which S. Paul commends above other Graces Charity extends it self into two Branches viz. 1. Love 2. Good Works which are the Fruits of Love S. Paul speaking in the commendation of Charity saith Though I have Faith so that I could remove Mountains and have not Charity it is but as sounding Brass or a tinkling Cimbal And a Father saith Magna fructus Spiritus sancto Charity is the great Fruit of the Holy Ghost Love is of so kind a Nature that it envieth not it is not self-willed nor easily provoked thinketh no evil doth no evil and is of so kind an affection that from it springs all other good Graces This was the Advice of that good old Preacher Saint John the Divine Little Children saith he love one another It was the advice of our Saviour Christ to them that asked him the way to Heaven or which was the Great Commandment saith he Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy mind and with all thy strength and thy Neighbour as thy self on these two hang the Law and the Prophets As much as to say on these hang the great matters of our Salvation the Law and the Gospel Love is of so peaceable a Nature that it maketh our Enemies to be at peace with us As for Example when there was a Malefactor hired to kill his King the King gave him such loving words and smiled on him that he could not execute his malicious Design You see then that Love is of so winning a temper that it makes our Enemies to be at peace with us that they cannot execute their malicious Designs It is of such a winning moderation that many times it makes our Enemies to be our Friends as saith a Father Omnia vincit amor Love overcomes all things O my beloved Brethren let us take care that a true and hearty love be in every one of us both towards God and towards our Neighbour and then we may be sure that the love of God dwelleth in us and we in him for God himself is love and in him is no hatred O my beloved Brethren let us see that we esteem and prize this great Grace of Love as a great Jewel proceeding from the Holy Ghost What a great benefit and joy is it to us and to our souls to have the great God of Heaven and Earth to dwell in us and we in him And having this Treasure we have all the Joys of Heaven and Earth I shall now speak something by way of Reproof First To the Common Enemy the Popish Faction Secondly To the Dissenters And first to the Church of Rome who will have no Charity with us but instead of Charity they Plot mischief against us they contrive to destroy our Bodies as well as our Souls Although we are out of their Church and they have nothing to do with us in their Church Discipline yet they will uncharitably and maliciously Excommunicate us both Gods Vicegerent the King and all his Subjects and put us into the state of Damnation as they think though we know it worketh more for our good than for our hurt so that they prove themselves to be no good Christians to be out of Charity with us who never meant any hurt The next sort that are to be reproved are the Dissenters from the Presbyterian to