Selected quad for the lemma: love_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
love_n	john_n	richard_n	william_n	3,312	5	9.5642	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A87104	Thankfulness in grain: or a good life the best return. Delivered in another sermon on the same occasion in St. Dionis, Back-Church, Aug. 14. 1653. By Nath. Hardy, Master of Arts, and preacher to that parish.	Hardy, Nathaniel, 1618-1670.	1653 (1653)	Wing H749; Thomason E723_6; ESTC R12852; ESTC R207247	54,568	58

Thankfulness in Grain OR A GOOD LIFE THE BEST RETURN Delivered in another Sermon on the same occasion in St. Dionis Back-Church Aug. 14. 1653. By NATH. HARDY Master of Arts and Preacher to that Parish Deut. 10. 12 13. And now Israel what doth the Lord thy God require of thee but to fear the Lord thy God to walk in all his waies and to love him and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul To keep the Commandments of the Lord and his Statutes which I command thee this day for thy good Aug. Meditat. Oportet me Domine tantò magis tibi gratiosum devotum ad serviendum promptiorem existere quanto me de tantis beneficiis obligatiorem conspicio in reddendâ ratione Bern. Serm. cont. ingratitud Non verbo tantum vel linguâ sed opere veritate exhibeamus nos gratos ei qui dator gratiarum Dominus Deus noster qui est benedictus in secula LONDON Printed by T. W. for Nath. Webb and Will Grantham at the sign of the Black Bear in St. Paul's Church-yard near the little North-door 165● Sermons preached by Nathanael Hardy M. A. and Preacher to the Parish of St. Dionis Back-Church JVstice Triumphing or The Spoylers spoyled A Sermon preached on the 5th of November in the Cathedral Church of St. Pauls The Arraignment of licencious Liberty and oppressing Tyrannie In a Sermon at a Fast before the Lords in Parliament in the Abbey-Church at Westminster Faiths Victory over Nature A Sermon preached at the Funerals of Mr. John Rushout Junior The safest Convoy or The strongest Helper A Valedictory Sermon before the Right Honourable Sir Thomas Bendish Baronet his Majesties Embassadour to the Grand Seigniour at Constantinople A Divine Prospective representing the Just Man's peacefull End A Sermon at the Funeral of the Right VVorshipfull Sir John Gayr Knight Love and Fear the inseparable Twins of a blest Matrimony A Sermon occasioned by the Nuptials between Mr. William Christmas and Mrs Elizabeth Adams Divinity in Mortality or The Gospels excellency and the Preachers frailty A Sermon at the Funerals of Mr. Richard Goddard Minister of the Parish of St. Gregories by St. Pauls Two Mites or A gratefull acknowledgement of God's singular goodness In two Sermons occasioned by the Author's late unexpected Recovery from a desperate Sickness Printed and are to be sold by Nath. Web and Will Grantham at the black Bear in St. Paul's Church-yard near the little North-door To the Right Worthy and his much Honoured Lady the Lady Mary Saltingstall present prosperity and future felicity Good Madam I Have now fulfilled your desire in publishing these weak notions I hope you will pardon me that withall I fulfill my own desire which is by these lines to let the World know my singular obligations to your Ladyship Among those many graces which adorn your truly Christian life your cordial love to the Orthodox Dispensers of the Gospel is not the least and it is so much the more amiable because in this apostatizing age wherein the love of many waxeth cold towards and the rage of some groweth hot against them Indeed as for my own particular I have far less reason to complain than many others of my Brethren and those far more deserving than my self it having pleased Almighty God both to restrain my Enemies and multiply my Friends beyond expectation And truly next to the infinite goodness of my God which I desire for ever to celebrate and the no less faithfull than skilfull endeavours of my worthy Physicians which I shall alwaies acknowledge I must attribute my late almost miraculous recovery to the fervent intercessions of my affectionate Friends at the Throne of Grace on my behalf To them all I return my hearty thanks and promise my daily prayers for them and more especially for you my honoured Lady whom I have reason to esteem as none of the meanest among them That your health may be prolonged and your troubles ended your Children blessed and your comforts enlarged finally that you may sparkle as a Diamond here in grace and hereafter shine as a Star in glory shall be the uncessant prayer of Your Ladyships real Friend and Servant in the Lord NATH. HARDY Psal. 116. v. 9. I will walk before the Lord in the Land of the Living MAns present Condition is subject to frequent alterations our life like the sea ebbeth floweth as the Moon waxeth and waineth and with the air is now Cloudie and anon cleer Nulla sors longa est dolor ac volupt as Invicem cedunt saith the Tragedian truly we continue not long in one state the day hath the vicisitude of an evening and morning the year of Winter and Summer health and sickness adversity and prosperity interchangeably succeed each other in this our earthly pilgrimage And now what more fit then that as our condition is mutable so our disposition should be answerable and our spirituall frame be suitable to our temporal estate To hope in adversity and to fear in prosperity for health to be thankfull and under sickness to be patient finally in afflictions to seek God with tears and after deliverance to walk before him with joy is a truly Religious temper Thus was it with this holy man David whom we find in this Psalm expressing this behaviour under both conditions when he found trouble and sorrow he called upon the Name of the Lord and when his Soul is delivered from death he resolveth upon walking before the Lord in the words of the Text now read I will walk c. At the mentioning of this Scripture I doubt not but you conjecture the reason of my choosing it and I hope beloved you will pardon me that as yet I preach to my self I shall be the fitter to preach to you nay let me tell you as in teaching you I speak to my self so in admonishing my self I speak to you what lately was and now is my condition either formerly hath been or shortly may be any of yours besides the duty of the Text is such as concerneth not only me but all here present to put in practise as being that without the performance of which no man can order his conversation aright Finally if you look back on the former subject that calleth for this and this answereth to that that is as the foundation this as the superstructure both required to a perfect fabrick that as the doctrine this as the use both requisite to a compleat Sermon and therefore having from the former Scripture commemorated the mercy I conceived it very fit to mind both my self and you of the duty from these words I will walk c. Indeed with little adoe we may find both in this text According to a different reading of the first words I shall and I will the clause puts on a severall sense if we read I shall walk they are words of confident expectation if I will they are

Saviour expresseth when he calleth upon his Disciples and in them all Christians to let their light shine before men to wit the light of grace within shine in the actions of their lives without that men seeing their good works might glorify their Father which is in heaven a good heart delighteth God but it a good life honoureth him It is the fruitfulnes of the vineyard which credits the husbandman when we bring forth much fruit then is our Father glorified 2. It is our walking that edifyeth others It is not fire in the embers but fire that flameth forth which warmeth it is not grace in the heart but in the life that profiteth if the believing husband would gain the unbelieving wife or wife the husband S. Pauls advise is so let him walk if we would be exemplary to others it must be in walking before others it is not our inward disposition but our outward conversation which hath an influence on them with whom we converse 3. It is our walking that in some sense justifieth our selves Nothing so truly speaketh a man as his conversation a man is not alwayes what he seemeth or saith but he is what he doth 1. This justifieth the reality of our inward disposition to man God indeed judgeth the actions by the affections but men judge of our affections by our actions Show me thy faith saith Saint James by thy works so say men show us your faith your love by your works Every tree is known by its fruits saith our blessed Saviour by what we do men know what we are 2. Yea this justifieth the truth of our good affections in themselves Indeed an heart enlarged will not onely walk but run the way of Gods Commandements and therefore saith S. Gregory where love is present there will be a proportionable acting and if there be a refusing to act it argueth love to be absent The truth is love is neither idle nor weary it is willing to walk and the walk seemeth easy so much S. John expresseth when he saith this is the love of God that we keep his Commandements and his Commandements are not grievous 3. Nay yet once more this justifieth the sincerity of our intentions in the sight of God They are Christs express words If any man love me he will keep my commandements onely the obedient is an acceptable lover in Christs account yea his Judiciall proceeding at the last day will not be according to what is within but what is without nor will God onely or so much enquire at that day what thy thoughts or thy desires have been as what thy actions have been Let none therefore flatter themselves in their good meanings devout affections pious intentions whilest yet their lives are barren and fruitless as men do not gather grapes of thornes nor figs of thistles so neither can thorns be gathered from grapes nor thistles from figs and as we cannot expect a clean thing from an unclean so neither an unclean thing from a clean It is a meere delusion to think that an holy heart can consist with a prophane life nay to allude to Saint Johns expression if any may say he love God and walketh not before him he is a lyar Since his practise giveth the lye to his pros●ssion and the dissonancie of his life proclaimeth a no to what he saith with his lips And therefore let us all think we heare Christ speaking to us as he did to his Spouse Let me see thy countenance to wit in good works so the Chaldoes Paraphrase as well as heare thy voyce and again Set me as a seal upon thy heart as a signet upon thy arm not onely upon thy heart by a pious affection but on thy arm by a religious conversation this is that which David here purposed when he saith I will walk 2. The Conjugation is no less Observable than the verb as giving to it the signification of a frequentative hence the same word is rendred elswhere a going on and here by Vatablus continenter ambulabo I will continually walk so that we have hereby some thing further expressed concerning the matter of Davids resolve namely a progressive constancy in a religious conversation That you may discern what plain footing this truth hath in this Scripture be pleased to trace it in these three steps 1. The Metaphor it self of walking intimateth so much To walk is not to take a step or two in a path but to continue going till we come to our journeys end nor is it only a continued but a progressive motion every step a man taketh he gaineth more ground and is so much neerer the term of his motion 2. The conjugation carieth in it an addition to the verbe walking implieth a repetition of steps and this a frequency of walking indeed the most proper signification of it is reciprocall but sometimes it is frequentative and in this verbe it is most suitably so to be construed assiduè continuò ambulare to walk on daily and constantly 3. The meaning of those words in the land of the living may be understood in the same sense with those at the second verse as long as I live and so they confirm this truth Davids purpose is to serve God not only for a day or a year but always during the whole time of his abode in this world This then is the pattern here set before us as not to be good onely within but without so not onely to be good but better yea to hold fast our goodnes to the end Indeed as the moralist saith una actio non denominat it is not one action that denominateth a man either vertuous or vitious no man so evill but may do some good nor so good but may do some evill on the one hand we find Cain sacrificing Saul Prophecying Jezabel fasting Ahab humbling and the Pharisees praying on the other hand we may observe a Noah overtaken with wine a Lot committing Incest a David falling into adultery and a Peter guilty of perjury It is not then particular acts but the generall course of the life by which we must judge either our selves or others Apposite to this purpose is Saint Basils note on these words of the Psalmist he that walketh uprightly It is not he that hath walked but he that doth walk for one action doth not speak a man good but his frequent practice Indeed this is that which differenceth a godly from a wicked man the wicked man like the thief may sometimes cross the Kings high way but still his walk is in by-paths the godly man may sometimes be drawn aside into a by-path but still Religion is his road and therefore if thou wouldst passe a right censure observe these two things the constant bent of thy heart and course of thy life ask thy self what is my love whither tends my walk and accordingly judge righteous judgment And as this must be the rule of thy censure so