Selected quad for the lemma: love_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A42084
|
Charity and integrity of life the pure essentials of Christian religion: or meditations on James I. 27. By T.G. M.A
|
Gregory, Thomas, 1668 or 9-1706.
|
1696
(1696)
|
Wing G1931; ESTC R215986
|
12,284
|
31
|
in it to stain and defile the Soul We are allowed a free genuine Converse to Love as Brethren nay to love the World but always with this proviso that we do not equal that with our Love of God We are then to use our utmost endeavours to bring the Body under the command of the Spirit by keeping our selves free from Worldly Pollutions that is the Lust of the Eye the Lust of the Flesh and the Pride of Life This being well considered we cannot despair of attaining a perfect Conquest over the World for whatever ought to be the Object of our just and reasonable Desires is allowed us in it But with what Armour shall we fight By what means shall we lay hold upon the Crown St. John will tell you that it is by Faith in the Son of God Who is he that overcometh the World It is He that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God The Israelites as long as they thought upon the Gyants and Anakims were not convinced of the possibility of Conquering the Land of Canaan So may it fare with us if we insist only upon the difficulties of our Christian Warfare that there are strivings without and strivings within our Spirits may flag But if we muster up the Auxiliaries of our most Holy Faith when we compare our Assistants with the difficulties that as their is a Devil without to tempt us so their is a Spirit within to help our Infirmities and a God above to intercede for us we have just reason to be of good Cheer to deny our selves and to go on to perfection knowing that we shall reap in due time if we faint not It was an excellent Advice of the Son of Sirach My Son if thou come to serve the Lord prepare thy Soul for Temptation Eccles 2.1 He that desires to arrive at a good degree of Holiness must call in all the Forces of his Soul for so noble atchievements prepare himself to go to Battel against his Enemies To subdue our Passions to break off old Habits and Customs is not a work so easie as that may be effected in a moment all which is included in this in keeping our selves unspotted from the World We cannot do all this in a Hurry but must be exercised in this great work Day and Night It must be confest that our Saviour's own Disciples were not so mortified to the world but they did contend among themselves who should be greatest being bred in the Jewish Religion which was attended with temporal Promises but having fully understood the design of their Master's Coming how holily and humbly how meekly and inoffensively did they walk through this treacherous world The Heathens called the Christians a company of Ideots for abandoning the Pleasures of this World for some future Contingencies as they term'd those of the World to come This may be tollerable in Pagans but their are no motives that a Christian should be in love with this Life For he that believes that eternal damnation is due to any Sin cannot consider this and gratifie a Lust He that stedfastly believes that the Wrath of God shall be executed upon those that obey not the Gospel will not if he might be Master of the whole World lose his own Soul such a Man is above Temptation will resist all the charms of Sensuallity as Religious Joseph did the Importunities of Potiphar's Wife with a How shall I do this wickedness and Sin against God So remarkable and Heroick was the Mortification of the Primitive Christians so little regard had they to the concerns of this Life that as soon as they were convinced that there was another immediately upon this Joyful News as many as had Lands and Estates sold them and brought the Money and laid it at the Apostles Feet Acts 4.34 And if believe the same blessed Resurrection why are we so concerned for our Lands and Possessions why do we tremble every moment least the Darlings of ours be snatched away from us is it not because our Affections are not yet on things above but on things on Earth And now having done with the Text and seen that the Religion which must fit us for the Kingdom of Heaven is holy and undefiled What remains on our parts but that we seriously engage our selves in the actual practice of it which will bring us in many and mighty advantages 1 st Besides the particular influence it will have upon our selves by establishing a firm Peace within a Good Conscience of having done our Duty which is the most sure Refuge in time of need It will also have a mighty force upon Strangers to the Commonwealth of Israel If we delight our selves in doing good Those Men that will not come to our Churches to hear us what we speak may in our Streets by seeing what we do in a manner convinced of the truth of our Doctrine when they see that our Eyes are lent to the Blind to direct them when they see that our Feet are lent to the Lame to support them when they see that we part with a Coat to him that hath none they will say God is in this People of a Truth surely the Fear of God is in this Place So that what our Doctrines can neither convince nor convert our Actions may do both our Lives serving instead of Arguments to convince Unbelievers that we are of the Houshold of Faith 2 dly If we cannot arrive to this to gain Proselites to the Faith by our Exemplary Piety yet this at least will be the blessed effect of it we shall thereby infallibly stop the Mouths of Gainsayers and defeat the Hopes of our Adversaries if so be Charity spreads it self like the thriving Mustard-seed in the Parable in our Cities and in our Families How happily how safely should we lodge in the fruitful Branches thereof If we strive like the Angels of God to love each other if we sincerely practice this pure Religion our Adversaries shall never prevail against us This little Island shall continue as it is this day the mark of Envy to all the Nations round about us The Abominations of Desolation shall never stand in the Holy Place If we do our Duty God will not fail to manifest his Care for Sin he will shew that he loveth the Gates of Sion more than all the Dwellings of Jacob. 3 dly and lastly the Practice of this most Holy Religion will not only secure us from danger but also procure us everlasting happiness hereafter Charity and Purity of Life are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 things that accompany Salvation as the Apostle speaks without these and the benefits of his Death we cannot be saved and with these we cannot be damned These will seal Happiness to our Dust and make us immortal in the Grave By the tenour of these Graces we are in actual Communion with the Church militant here on Earth and without which we must never hope to be made Members of the Triumphant in Heaven FINIS
in a low Condition Yet we are all plac'd within the reach of God's Power he that may humble the most proud and lofty It may be one Day or other our own Case to be in want and therefore it is an Act of Common Prudence and Policy to Relieve a Brother And this is not a thing spoken at a venture but upon sound deliberation and from the Nature and Circumstances of our state here below Heb. 13.3 Remember them that suffer Adversity as being your selves also in that Body This is so reasonable a duty as to neglect it is to sink below Nature and to be inconsistent with our selves as we are Men. And if so then it will be unnecessary to heap up Scriptures to prove it our Duty as we are Christians for from the beginning it was not so though the Gospel hath much enlarg'd and improved it Abraham Lot Job these were very eminent Examples of this Duty under the Law in entertaining the Fatherless into their Houses and inviting the Poor to their own Tables But if any pretend that this is of Jewish concernment and not so much relating to the time of the Gospel which is not a Law of Works Our Saviour will reply That he came not to destroy the Law and the Prophets but to fulfil not to banish Charity out of the World but to improve it to enlarge its Empire among the Sons of Men. So that to exercise Charity is to follow the very Steps of our Saviour and to obey the dictates of our Supream Master Of so great worth and truth was this Fundamental Truth in his account that he seems to assign Men's Portion in the next Life according to their Charitable Acts in this Matth. 25.35 For I was an hungred c. The Pharisees those devout Hypocrites were seemingly exact dividing the Hair in Religion but our Saviour was pleas'd to give them a more Compendious as well as a more safe way to be Religious Luke 11.41 Give Alms of such things as you have and behold all things are clean to you They are efficacious to press and exhort us as it is possible for Words to be or Men to conceive How comes it to pass then that considering the frequent Inculcations of the Gospel to this in every page Men are generally so Uncharitable Chiefly from these two Reasons First Because Men entertain a false notion of Charity placing of it purely in bare Wishes and Compassionate Affections Secondly Because Men are pleas'd to pass by Charity as no part of Religion Both are absurd and very prejudicial to the growth of Piety amongst us Some Men are apt to stile themselves Charitable when they do no harm by a meer abstinence from Evil but let no Man deceive himself When we are commanded to love our Brother 't is not only forbidden us to hate him but we are commanded to omit no opportunity of expressing our Love by our Actions to love in Deed and in Truth Certainly you would judge that Man Unchristian who seeing his Neighbours House on Fire would not assist and contribute his Endeavours to the quenching of it It is preposterous for us to hug our selves with the thoughts of being Righteous when really we are not not to relief the Poor is to oppress him not to heal his Sores in a Scripture dialect is in effect the same as to wound and lash him You know the Parable Luke 10.30 He that went down from Jericho and fell among Thieves stript of his Garments and half dead the Priest went that way saw him and passed by on the other side the Levite also came and looked on and that was all These men the Priest and Levite added nothing to his Miseries they left the Poor Man as they found him And were they Charitable They were so far from being Charitable that to my apprehension they were little better then the Thieves that robb'd him This I mentioned on purpose to let you see that Religion does not consist in pure Negatives 'T is not enough to shake our Heads at the Calamities of our Neighbour and to please our selves that we were not accessary to his Ruine we are to behold the good Samaritan that took Compassion on him that bound up his Wounds brought him to his Inn and took care of him We are commanded by the great Exemplar of Charity To go and do likewise Some are pleas'd to pass by that Duty counting it an undervaluing of the Blood of Christ and a beggarly way of going to Heaven But I think it is very sad if we can find in our Hearts to part with nothing for his sake that parted with his Life for ours Prayers alone cannot attone his Displeasure though we are not to look upon them as fruitless and unnecessary however I speak this to stir up your minds by way of Remembrance that we are not to expect the favour of a holy and wise God by the meer importunity of our Devotion without Conscience of Obeying his Commands These two have a Reciprocal influence upon each other The Worship of God without Obedience is vain So Obedience without Worship is impossible Tho' we break our Hearts in Prayer all our most zealous passionate Addresses without Charity and Purity of Desires will infallibly perish in the Air So true is that of the Psalmist If I regard Iniquity in my Heart God will not hear me To do good therefore and communicate forget not for with such Sacrifices God is well pleased And so I am come to the Second Essential Part of Religion To keep himself Vnspotted from the World which consists in Purity of Life This is a precept which seems at first sight to stagger the best Christian for considering all the inviting allurements of this world the Pleasures and the Profits of it Who among the Sons of Men can believe himself able to renounce all Is it possible for Flesh and Blood to forego Houses and Estates is it seen to attempt it This seems to cut off the Sinews of our Endeavours and to lay asleep the Powers of the Mind With Men this is impossible but if we look up with God all things are possible To prevent misapplications therefore two things are necessary to be considered First That there is no absolute state on this side Heaven no 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Religion I mean a Hitherto thou shalt go in Holiness and no further The Apostle saith Grow in Grace But how long not a word of that we are to be still doing till we come to Heaven whose happiness consists in Vision We are not to pretend to Apostles purity as the Blessed Angels are called Pure While we are in the Body corruption will be found in us It was the peculiar of Christ who was God as well as Man to say The Prince of this World hath nothing in me John 14.30 2 dly We need not employ our Care to keep our selves from all the things of this World for 't is not the property of every thing