Selected quad for the lemma: love_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
love_n	heart_n	lord_n	love_v	20,974	5	6.4258	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26338	A sermon preached before the Honourable House of Commons, at St. Margarets Westminster, November the fifth, 1696 by J. Adams ...	Adams, John, 1662-1720.	1696 (1696)	Wing A486; ESTC R17135	11,466	30

these Jews Refusal to worship Nebuchadnezzar's Image by the Miracle he wrought in their Deliverance So I doubt not but he has shew'd so many Wonders in Delivering this Nation so often for its Constancy in the same Refusal tho in all other respects most unworthy of the least of His Mercies II. I come to Examine the Pretences of Religious Cruelty not only as to these Extreams but as to any Violence offer'd to our fellow Christians upon the account of Christianity and to show that this is proportionably unjust and unreasonable The Pretences of all Religious Cruelty may be reduc'd to these two either to Promote Gods Glory or our Neighbours Good but this is not proper for either of these purposes 1. Not proper to promote God's Glory by this I take to be meant one of these two things The improving that Notion of God which Men may have by the Light of Nature or The making his Reveal'd Will to be more readily embrac'd by them As to the first of these If we consider Mankind in the State of Nature without any Improvement of his Reason or Advantage of Revelation We may suppose That while they wandred about in a Wild and Savage Manner they were not very solicitous about the Worship of God But when Self-Preservation began to be Alarm'd by some Evil which they suffer'd it forc'd 'em to acknowledge some Superiour Being As Fear was the chief Cause of this so their Worship was Cruel and their Manners which are always influenc'd by the Nature of Religion Barbarous But when they began to Settle into Societies and to Converse with one another When in the leisure of Peace and Plenty they reflected upon the First Cause of the Benefits which they enjoy'd and from the Contemplation of God's Goodness in his Works rose gently to the Discovery of his Goodness in his Essence then Love grew the Principle of their Glad Obedience And accordingly their Worship was Bloodless and Chearful and their Manners Innocent and Indearing So that the Improvement of Humane Nature consists in the Notions of Goodness in the Divine and Gods Glory was manifested to the World Not only by such worthy Conceptions of Him but also by the mild Influence which these Conceptions had upon mens Minds and Actions But if when Men had got thus far by the Light of Nature any one should have started up and pretended to have offer'd Violence to his Neighbour to have afflicted tormented nay murther'd him by a particular Commission from God himself and in order to his Glory then Love must have given place to Fear immediately and Humane Nature turn'd Wild and Savage again And either have Renounc'd all Belief of a God or imagin'd Him to have been so Dreadful a Being and Worshipt Him in so Barbarous a manner as would have been far worse For as Plutarch says Would it not be more for the Honour of the Gods Plut. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For the Scythians and Carthaginians who offer'd Men upon their Altars to have deny'd their Being altogether than to Teach That they delighted in such Sacrifices Had the Titans prevail'd against Heaven and Vsurp'd the Government of the World What other Victims but these would they have requir'd of us Such are the Sacrifices which every Rash Enthusiast offers and so much more do some Zealots detract from Gods Glory than Atheism it self But if in the next place Violence is intended to promote the Gospel How Contradictory and Absurd is this This is to Recommend Love by Hatred Mercy by Cruelty and Forgiveness by Destruction That which distinguishes the Gospel so gloriously is its being so admirably dispos'd to beget Love and Peace Justice and Charity among all Men. Here Forgiveness is improv'd into Beneficence and Humanity exalted into Charity Here Injuries are return'd with Pravers and Curses with Blessings Here all our Duty is summ'd up under those two sweet Commands Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart with all thy Soul and with all thy Strength and thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self Love alone is the fulfilling of this Law And this is made by our Blessed Saviour the Particular Distinction of his Followers By this shall all Men know that ye are MY Disciples if ye love one another The Pharisees taught That it was lawful to hate Enemies and preferr'd the observation of the smallest Duties before the works of Justice and Mercy The Cynicks renoune'd all Humanity the Stoicks reckon'd Compassion an Infirmity and if they Reveng'd not Injuries it was out of Pride not Humility because they lookt upon it below their Affected Grandeur to be disorder'd by them not because they forgave them All other Sects were deficient in this particular But Christianity improv'd Humane Nature into the likeness of the Divine And therefore our Blessed Lords Disciples were to be distinguished from the whole World by their loving one another And what Examples of this did our Great Master leave us How did he go about doing Good Healing the Sick graciously Instructing the Ignorant gently and Reproving the Wicked calmly And after innumerable Injuries of Contempt and Violence with what Meekness and Patience did he Die for the Sins of the whole World And after all this shall men dare to impoverish imprison murther their Brethren in the Name of this JESUS Shall they in this Saving Name which was us'd of Old only to Heal Diseases and Cast out Devils Form so many Conspiracies Execute so many Massacres Spill the Blood of so many Thousands as they have done in Piedmont Hungary Germany Ireland England All the World over Alas When I consider those Arts of Cruelty those elaborate Tortures and study'd Deaths those Ruines of Cities Subversions of Kingdoms and Murthers of Princes which have been done in this Blessed Name and all this pretended officiously for his Service and the promoting of his Glory I cannot but represent to my self the Lamb of God the Prince of Peace turning away from such Spectacles of Horrour saying Who hath required these things at your Hands Ye know not what Spirit ye are of the Son of Man did not come to destroy mens lives but to save them This was the design of our Saviours Coming the Spirit of Peace and Love is that which we ought to be of and which is so sweetly diffus'd thro all the Gospel and was so effectual in promoting it against the Wit of Athens the Power of Rome and the General Prejudice of the whole World But if men instead of this will be guilty of such Cruelties upon the account of Christianity this must be so far from recommending it that it is enough to make the Name of Christ blasphem'd among the Gentiles and to cause every one that suffers under it or that beholds such Sufferings to persist in their Errours more stubbornly as will further appear if we consider 2. The other Pretence of Religious Cruelty which is to promote the Good of our Neighbour But not only these