Selected quad for the lemma: love_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
love_n	father_n	holy_a	son_n	15,395	5	5.8830	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A68502	A sermon, called Gods new yeeres-guift sent vnto England. Conteined in these wordes. So God loued the worlde, that he hath giuen his onely begotten sonne, that whosoeuer beleeueth in him, should not perish but should haue life euerlasting. Ioh. 3. 16.	Nicholson, Samuel, fl. 1600-1602.	1602 (1602)	STC 18547; ESTC S114555	14,183	40

Conscience be thy Cater and the Word thy Warrant so shall the Transitorities of this lyfe be vnto thee a Handsell of Heauen and an earnest penny of that Blisse which the Worlde neuer dreames of CAPVT 2. Of GODS Loue. THus hauing brought thee to the Waters of Lyfe namely GOD the giuer I will shew thee the Well-spring of all Blessings his Loue to the World c. The perswading cause of this Guift it 's here layd to be Loue God so loued Quid est A●or sayth Aug. nisi quaedam vita Du● aliqua copulans vel copulare appetens Amantem et amatum What is Loue but as it were one life in two hartes one soule in two bodies the Fier which blesseth where it burneth the Soa●her which no art can sunder the Knot which no time can vntie the Hand which deskantes sweet musicke on the hart stringes the Cause which made God become Man and the Uertue which makes Man like vnto God I speake not of that hellish Fier which makes men slaues but of that heauenly Flame which makes them Saincts As Christ was annoynted with the oyle of gladnes aboue his fellowes so this Uertue is adorned with the crowne of Eternitie about all her fellowes for Paul sayth that Fayth bringes vs but to the Coffine and Hope watcheth the Coarse till the R●surrection These two Uertues are confined with our lyfe but our Loue is refined by our death and dwelles with vs after our glorification But this our Loue is but a shadow of Gods Loue an Arme of his Sea a Drop of his Fountaine a little Flame of his lyuing Fire neither in qualitie so pretious nor in quantitie so spacious by infinite degrees God loues without cause our loue is our duetie God loues vs his enemies we loue him our friend God loues without reward our loue inherites heauen God loues vs first our loue payes him backe his owne Gods loue is feruent our loue is luke-warme Gods loue is infinite our loue is little like our knowledge and low of stature like Zacheus Christ must dine in our house his loue must shine in our hartes before we can reflect our borrowed beames and loue him againe The excellencie of this Gods loue can neither be expressed by our tongue nor impressed in our hartes as it made the World of nothing so the World is nothing to it for it comprehendeth all is not comprehended of any Our Sauiour heere thought best to expresse this Loue with a sic dilexit to shew vs that his Father is euen sicke of loue his description is inde●●nit because his loue is infinite Eyther Gods loue is so deepe that Christ could not sound it or our reason so shallow that we cannot se● it As the Painter that drew A game●non sorrowing for the death of his daughter ●●ew not how to figure his griefe in his ●●●● and therefore drew a ●layl● ouer it thinking it impossible the gazers idle eye ●●●●ld beholde what the fathers grieued hart could not hold so Christ leaues that to our admiration which vnderstanding cannot attaine A holy Father would faine ●ym● at the dimensions of this Loue saying Dilexit tantus tantillos He a God of infinite maiestie loued vs men of infinite mis●ri● but this is obscurum per obscurius for we know neither quantus Deus the greatnes of his Maiestie nor yet quantu●i nos our greeuous miserie In a word as we cannot see the Sunne but by his owne light so we cannot learne this Loue but by Gods owne wordes The Starre alone must lead the Wise-men to Christ and Christ alone must lead vs to his Loue. Now whereas he expresseth it with a Sic. So God loued the World c. a Father sayth This Aduerbe Sic contaynes in it all Aduerbes of Loue as if Christ had sayd My Father loued the world so dearely so vehemently so fatherly so fer●ently c. And Ber. on the Cant. sayth Deus ex se miserandi sumit mater●em Gods owne nature is the motiue of his mercie Then he that can explaine Gods Nature may expresse his Loue whereof to affirme the one is impious and to performe the ot●●● impossible This is that Loue Christian Reader which in the zeale of God I commende i● thine endles admiration this is the riches of his Grace the chiefe of his Workes the summe of his Word the shadow of Himselfe the perfection of his Glory This teacheth our Fayth to stand and our Hope to climbe and our loue to burne This cheereth our labours beareth our losses and teacheth our sorrow to smile In a word to this exceeding Loue alone we owe our saluation Therefore damnable is the Doctrine of the Church of Roome that teacheth vs to erre both in the manner and matter of our Fayth First in the manner they teach vs to doubt of our saluation O iniurie intollerable to doubt of the Promise where such a Loue is our warrant what more free then guift or who more faythfull then God the giuer shall his Loue giue Christ vnto me and my vnbeliefe thrust him from me Is the Trueth like vnto man that he should lie or is his Arme shortened that he can not saue God forbid This Guift is sealed with the blood of his Sonne registred in the sight of heauen witnessed by the holy Angels passed with an oath to the World O Incredulitie the wit of fooles how many Blessinges dost thou barre vs from Christ could not worke his Myracles God can not shew his mercy where this monster ●urketh Againe in the matter of our fayth they foyst in most dangerously a ●●●pe of their owne Leauen for God requires a Wedding garme●t to couer sinne they bring in a Menstruous cloth he will haue vs builde on his Loue they would haue vs iustified by our owne Labour he will haue vs trust to his Mercie they would haue ●s trust in our Merites Pauls whole Epistle to the Romans shootes onely at this marke to beate downe the pride of Man who would faine be his owne sauiour to depresse Nature and extoll Grace therefore in the end he addes this vpshot So then we are saued not of Workes but by Grace And Augustine sayth Gratia est nullo modo quae non est gratuita omni modo Grace is all Grace or no Grace at all Againe he sayth Quisqui● tibi emunerat M●n●t● sua quid tibi emunerat nisi Munera tua Againe Uis excidere gratia ●acta merotatia Our very Fayth as it 's a grace in vs is beholding to Grace it s●ues a● it 's a hand ●o lay hold on Christ not as it 's a vertue and a worke For all workes must humbly be cast at Christes feet● with Marie and there meditate on his mercie they must not be busie with Martha in the matter of our Iustification As God sayd to Paul My Grace is sufficient for thee so I say to all Gods Loue is sufficient for you this Loue made you when you were nothing and this Loue must

seeing ●● sonne forsake●●●● in my lyfe I will ●●●●tak●●●● in my death for nothing but So●●●● shall bring my gray-head to the ●rau● T●●s a good Father mourned for a gracio●s Sonne But will you heare a louing Parents mo●ne for a leawd Child In the 2 Sam. 18. when God purposed to chastise Dauid he made the Sonne to whippe the father for Abshalom that by name should haue bin his fathers ioy by nature proo●d a pa●ricide and sought to depose his owne syre but God hauing sufficiently humbled Dauid his child threw the rodde in the fire and brought a iudgment vpon Abshalom which cost him his life Notwithstanding Dauid being mooued with the good affection of a father more then the bad condition of his sonne was so farre from reioycing in Abshalom● death that it almost cost him his owne life O Abshalom my sonne quoth he would God I had dyed for thee o Abshalom my sonne my sonne But God heere is neither like Iacob lam●nting a good sonne nor Dauid beway●ing a wicked child he resembles good Abraham who willingly sacrificed his sonne ●●aake This was much to giue a Sonne yet as if this were not enough to expresse God loue the holy Ghost addeth his onely begotten Sonne he gaue not an adopted Sonne as Abraham offred a Ramme in stead of Isaac But his owne Sonne And herein appeares his perfect Iustice a blessed president to al Iusticiaries In all Gods actions this vertue swayes though his mercy be about all his workes yet Mercy and Iustice must kisse togither The dearest droppe of Christes blood must be shed before Gods Iustice be left vnsatisfied Nay this was not enough to satisfie Gods Mercie his Loue mountes a degree higher and further it cannot ascende He gaue his onely begotten Sonne When the world could not yeelde the price of our Redemption he searched his owne boosome for a Sauiour and gaue vs his onely Sonne If God had many Sonnes his mercy had been meaner and his Loue had seemed lesse but he gaue vs not one Sonne of manie but one and all his onely Sonne for whose sake he spared not his Angels his delight his boosome friend the Image of himselfe for the ransome of the world O loue beyond all loue how much thou art A holy Father in admiration of this Loue cryes out Quàm Diues ●s in mis●r●cordia quàm magnificus in iusticia quàm munificus in gratia Domine Deus noster Againe Passiotua Domine Iesu vltimum est refugium singulare remedium deficiente sapientia Iustitia non sufficiente sanct●tatis succumbentibus meruis illa succu●r●● cum enim defecerit Virtus mea non Conturbor scio quid faciam Poculum salutaris accipiam c. The instruction that we must learne from the consideration of this vnspeakable Guift Christ is two folde First we are taught to returne our Loue againe as Aug. sayes Sinon amare saltem redamare debemus As God hath giuen vs his onely Sonne so we must shew our reciprocall Loue to God and for his Sonne giue him our selues as he hath giuen vs wealth we must bestow our wealth on him againe as he hath giuen vs libertie honour children long life knowledge wisedome courage c. these must all waight on him and doe him honour and seruice Thus we must giue him Loue for Loue againe Second vse of Gods vnspeakabe Bountie is to teach vs to loue our Brethren Christ teacheth vs this lesson for his Loue saying I haue giuen you an example how to loue one an other Brethren must be vnited in the bonde of mutuall Loue like S●●us the 〈◊〉 Fagot for the vnitie of Brothers is ●●ce qua● 〈◊〉 exceeding ioy to all the Saints But alas let vs see what Louers and what Giuer our wicked age doth afford When I studie vpon this Dueue I finde foure sortes of Giuers the first and the worst sort haue the Hand to giue but not the Hart to graunt of whom I may say as Christ sayd better this Hand were cut off and they were as poore as Irus then with their rusting Riches to be cast into Hell These are the Mammonistes of our age whose Soule lyes creasured with their rusting Peuce who are more vnuiercitull then the Deuill for he would haue Christ turne Stones into Bread but these men ●urde Bread into Stones ●●en the Bread of the poore into Stone-walles or els spend it on their accursed Lustes forgetting Mercie therfore damnation attendes them The second sort haue the Hart but not the Hand whose Myte God acceptes aboue all the Mynes of the Wealthie and takes their Loue for their larges The third sort are such as haue neither Hart nor Hand in this duetie and these are poore men euery way for he that can bring foorth neither good Worke nor good Will is a dead member in Christes body and shall be cut off The fourth sort haue both Hand and Hart and these are they that walke in ●●oth●●ly Loue these walke worthy of th●s 〈…〉 Christ and shall haue their deeds of mercy 〈…〉 that sweete ●●●uest So●● 〈…〉 for I was hungry and you gaue me meate c. FINIS

saue you now you are worse then nothing Let the Papistes cloath themselues in the rags of their owne Righteousnes and the lewes trust to the●● Templum Domini and the Heathen dragge of their painted Uertues which Augustine calles splendida peccata but let vs onely triumph in this Loue of God and esteeme it the strength of our saluation Thus hauing discouered the rech treasure of Gods Loue let vs know our duty that we may be accounted worthy to winne and to weare it S. Aug. Lib. de Anima et Spiritu seemes to studie for this dutie saying Miser ego quantum deberem diligere Deum meum qui me fecit cúm non er●m redemit cum per●eram c. O sinfull wretch how shall I requite the rare loue of God who created me of nothing and redeemed me being worse then nothing c. And after hauing found this duetie out he teacheth it to the World Si non impendere at rependere deb●mus If we will bestow no Loue vpon God yet let vs repay his Loue which he hath shewed first The World cryes shame vpon an vngratfull person If thou shouldest trauayle into a strange Countrey and there fall into the handes of the ●heeues and in meere compassion of thy miserie the King of that Countrey should set th●e free againe giuing thee life and libertie what would the World thinke yea what then wouldst thou esteeme of thy selfe if thou shouldst prooue vnthankfull to so good a Prince We are all Strangers in the world and Passengers from earth to heauen now in our Iourney we meete with the Worlde and the Diuell and these robbe vs of all grace these wound vs leaue vs for dead now God of his exceeding mercie findes vs out and sendes his Sonne that good Sama●itane to powre the oyle of Grace into our Woundes and to mount vs on the backe of his Merit and so carry vs to the Inne of our rest the ioyes of Heauen O Loue beyonde all loue how much thou art O blessed God teach vs the depth of thy Loue that we may know the debt of our thankfulnesse Thine endlesse Blessing hath made vs bankruptes for we are not able to repay the interest of thy Loue. If we proffer our goodes alas we receiued them of thee if we offer our lyues they are redeemed by thee Surely this shal be our thankes the Remembraunce of thy Mercie And since thy blessed Sonne hath taught vs That the louing of thee is the keeping of thy Commandements we will labour to be all keepers as we haue spent our time in the seruice of the Worlde the Flesh and the Diuell so will we spende the remnaunt of our dayes in the rebuke of sinne and the recording of thy Loue. And since the Loue of so worthy a creature as man is too costly a climent to ioyne earth to earth we abandon all earthly desires and freely giue the● our hartes and be●roth our Loue to thine Deare GOD by the fire of thy spirit draw vp our affections to thee diuorce vs from the lyking of the World and marry vs to the loue of thy Sonne Let vs light our Candle at thy Loue and learne by thy endlesse mercy neuer to ende our thankfulnesse till death translate vs from this ●ale of teares to mount-Sion where our loue shall ioyne vs to thee eternally CAPVT 3. Of the Guift CHRIST NOw are we come to the Guift it selfe the greatest that euer was whether we respect the bountie of God or the blessing of Man for what could God giue greater then himsefe or what could Man receiue better then his saluation He ●●●● giuen his onely begotten Sonne This blesse● Guift is it that made Abraham reioyce and the Angels sing and Iohn Baptist daunce in his mothers bellie this is able to make the World waxe young againe if Grace would open her eyes and Wisedome teach her to see her owne nakednes and the riches of this Garment sent vnto her As the Saincts in heauen follow the Lambe where so euer he goeth so all the Blessings of the Earth follow Christ th●● Guift where so euer he goeth for Habenti dabitur He that hath this guift shall haue all other guiftes yea he shall haue the giu●r to for Christ sayth He that receiueth mee receiueth him that sent mee And Ambrose saith Omnia habemu● in Christo sia volu●r●●urari desider as Medicu● est si f●bribus aestuas sons est si grauaris Iniquita●e Iustitia est si indiges a●xilio virtus est si mortem times vita est si tenebra● sugis lux est si Caelum desideras via est si Cibum quaeris alimentum est c. He hath giuen God did not lende his Sonne nor sell him but he gaue him to vs Herein appeares the riches of his Mercie and the greatnes of our pouertie he did not sell him we were not able to buy him but he gaue him which shewes vs to be Beggers Bankrupts and that God must for pittie giue vs a Sauiour franke and free when we had neither meanes to deserue him nor grace to desire him His onely begotten Sonne He gaue vs not an Angel nor a Seruant nor a Creature but his Sonne The name of a Sonne is musicke in the eare of a Father and the life of a Child is more precious in y t Parents eye then their owne safetie Many Parents to saue their Sonnes life haue willingly spilt their owne examples hereof we haue in prophane sacred Scriptures we will take a handful from a heape In Gene. 37. whē good father Iacob heard of the supposed death of his sonne his wicked childrē giuing a false fire to his feare he was smitten with sorrow riuers of teares gushed out and his hart bled at his eyes for the supposed slaughter of Ioseph his affection to his sonne was too hot to admit the cold comfort of his other children he that had wrestled with an Angell could not wrestle with this affection and therefore in the griefe of a father he sets downe this resolution Ioseph my sonne is surely to●●e in pe●●es and in my sonne my selfe was torne the claw of that Beast hath r●ut my bleeding hart and his crueltie hath killed two in one O my sonne my lyfe was shut in thy lookes which now is shaken in thy losse I made thee a Ceate of many coloures to shew that thou wast y ● Rainebow pledge of my peace but loe the beautie of my Rainebow is rent and in stead thereof this bloody Meteor appeares shewing the death of my ioy the deuowring of my sonne The earth is made to coue● the roote not to containe the branch I am the wither●d roote my Sonne and thou the branch whom vntimely death ●ath ●ropt Why should the ●r●ue b● d●●k● with gr●●ne boughes that was made for gray hayres Yf Children prede●case their Parentes we are their ●f●pring and t●●r none of ou●s Well since Comfort ●ill not be my guest ●ri●f● shall ●●● C●●p●nion and