Selected quad for the lemma: reason_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
reason_n	will_n	wit_n	work_v	3,308	5	10.7542	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A84659	Theion enōtikon, A discourse of holy love, by which the soul is united unto God Containing the various acts of love, the proper motives, and the exercise of it in order to duty and perfection. Written in Spanish by the learned Christopher de Fonseca, done into English with some variation and much addition, by Sr George Strode, Knight.; Tratado del amor de Dios. English	Fonseca, Cristóbal de, 1550?-1621.; Strode, George, Sir, 1583-1663.	1652 (1652)	Wing F1405B; Thomason E1382_1; ESTC R772	166,624	277

be Martyrs or suffer for any May I not say and say truly self-love was the mother of all If you ask me how it came to pass that Diotrephes so loved to have the preeminence among the Christians that he received not the Apostles that he esteemed or reverenced them not as they were indeed Bishops set over and above him Can I or you give any better reason for it then his self-love And if I yet be demanded What stirred up Absalom Jeroboam and Jehu to rebel against their lawful Kings and by treachery or force to usurp the royal power Can I give any other answer then that it was their self-love Now if you ask me how it should come to pass that self-love should so far blinde and besot men that by it they should fall into such horrid enormous sins the reason is at hand and plain we say oft-times that a man stands in his own light which makes him that he cannot see no not the Sun and if a man puts his hand upon his eyes no marvel if he cannot see either the object or his hand All this and more doth self-love to the eye of the souls reason for it presents nothing to reason but what it self desires and reason seeing nothing else it offers nothing else to be desired and sought by the will but that which self-love affecteth Self-conceit or an opinion of self-self-wit knowledge or excellency works in man many and several errors follies and enormities so that the wise-man truly said There is more hope of a fool then of such a man who is wise in his own conceit for he thinking himself wise enough of himself never desires or studies to know more but much more may be said of self-love then of self-conceit insomuch as the Will which is the Captain-General and Commander under Love is stronger then Opinion which is but a lackey to the Soul And from this poysoned spring of self-love we have our eyes so blinded vitiated or bewitched that what we should see as to judge our selves we cānnot will not or do not and what we should not see that is to judge and condemn others that we do So that love spred abroad which by the Apostles rule should cover a multitude of sins in our neighbour this love being locked up in our own breasts covers onely that which is within our selves The righteous man saith the wise-man is the accuser of himself but the man that loves himself is never so just and upright to himself as to accuse or condemn himself This judgement he keeps and executes wholly upon others Judah David and the Pharisees while the case was put in the third person of their neighbour they are for the law that woman that man that adulterer must suffer without mercy Such was Judah his judgement Gen. 38.24 such was Davids 2 Sam. 12. such the Pharisees who brought the woman taken in adultery in the act to Christ But when David was found to be the person and that the Prophet told him Thou art the man and when Judah by his ring and staff was discovered to be the sinner as was David I warrant you have not the like sentence given as 〈◊〉 fore but the case must be said to be altered 〈◊〉 the person and it cannot be deemed otherwise when the same person who commits the fact shall be Judge And as self-love is no upright Judge so it is ever querulous and complaining of other mens justice and good dealing to him The Judge never does him right enough but either he takes that from him which was his or gives him not so much as was due unto him True love and charity saith the Apostle envieth not 1 Cor. 13.4 5. seeketh not her own thinketh no evil but self-love clean contrary thinks no good of others envieth other mens good and seeketh not onely her own but all that is anothers thinking all too little for her self To sum up all I will conclude with that of the Apostle and judge ye how it concerns us in these our Times 2 Tim. 3.2 Know saith he in the last dayes perillous times shall come for men shall be lovers of their oven selves where before I proceed I pray mark that the Apostle in those perillous times wherein charity is grown cold as our Saviour speaks and sin aboundeth hath reckoned up twenty sins some against God such are blasphemers unholy lovers of pleasures more then of God hypocrites having a form of godliness yet denyers of the power thereof 2. Other sins against themselves such are proud without natural affection boasters incontinent heady high-minded lovers of pleasures 3. Sins against their neighbour disobedient unthankful truce-breakers false accusers fierce despisers of others traytors Of these nineteen sins my question is Whether there be any one root or cause and what that cause or root should be and I cannot uprightly say that there is any other sin so properly and naturally the cause of all the ninetine sins me●tioned as that Self-love which is set as it w●●● on purpose in the first place which justly she may challenge as being the mother or originall of all the nineteen in this Chapter to Timothy and of all the seventeen fruits of the flesh Gal. 5.19 reckoned up by S. Paul to the Galatians or of all the sins that have been or ever shall be committed from the beginning to the end of the world CHAP. XXIX Temporall goods cannot content and therefore deserve not mans love THe temporall things wherewith man is delighted as being good are many almost infinite out as all sublunary compounded bodies are made of the four elements so all the goods we speak of may be reduced to these four heads 1 life under which we understand health strength and beauty of body c. 2 honour under which may be comprised titles offices priviledges pompe and retinue 3 Wealth where lands monies revenues have place 4 Pleasure which is as various as there be objects of our senses pleasing to our eye tast touch hearing and smell Now though all these in their kinds ordinately desired and moderately used may be both usefull and lawfull yet in that they are not able 〈◊〉 content and satisfie the soul longer then a ●●nd or lightning which vanisheth with the appearance man should not indeed truly he cannot set his love upon them What wanted Salomon of all the desirable things under heaven He had 700 wives and 300 concubines he built himself stately palaces orchards gardens he had attendants answerable to his wealth and glory which exceeded any King in those parts yet when he weighed all instead of proclaiming himself happy in these he concludes which are the words of the Preacher and the wisest man on the earth that all is but vanitie of vanities Eccl. 1.2 vanitie of vanities all is vanitie Will you examine King David the man after Gods heart and ask him now thou hast strength to kill the Beare the Lion and the Giant art thou satisfied

Texts may be understood these or such Angels as God had especially appointed as helps for them and yet not that thence it should necessarily and generally follow that every man hath and is to have his particular Angel But in this I will not be peremptory but submit my opinion to the judgment of the better learned and so from the love of God and Angels I will follow mine Author to speak of the love of man to man CHAP. XXI Of the love which man oweth to his neighbour WHen the Pharisee demanded of our Saviour Christ which was the great commandement in the law Jesus said unto him Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart Mat. 22.36 c. This is the first and great commandement and the second is like unto it Thou s halt love thy neighbour as thy self on these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets whence it appeareth that the love of our Neighbour is next unto and a declaration of that former of our love to God And that it is so farre necessary that when the Pharisee only asked which was the great commandement Christ not only answered him directly to that but thought it requisite to adde what the hypocriticall Pharisee least cared for to know or practise namely what God had commanded touching his neighbour yea and S. Chrysostome addes that in some respects preachers have more cause to inforce this doctrine of love to our neighbour then that of our love to God for that all things which we see feel have and enjoy prompt and move us to this whereas there are many and severall occasions daily offered through our words bargains transactions and private interest to divert or lessen our love to our neighbour and therefore I shall set you down some reasons moving to and confirming the necessity of this duty And the first shall be that our Saviour Christ gave us this commandement which indeed is in the nature of an inestimable legacy even then when he was to depart this life and to leave the world and we usually say and hold it true that the charge or gift of a dying friend sticks and works most in the heart of the friend living and therefore Christ at the last point as it were before his passion speaks unto his disciples and in them unto us saying My time is short and I finde death approaching Joh. 13.34 before which I have one especiall remembrance to give you that you love one another and that in no ordinary way or according to the course of this world but so to love one another even as I have loved you who conversed with you kindly communicated all to you friendly and have truly laid down my life for you Therefore my last Will and Legacy to you is that as I have loved you that even so yee love one another And to strengthen yea to sweeten this gift of command Christ in the words following gives a good reason for saith he by this kind of love among you as by a cognizance or badge all men shall know that yee are my disciples and I this will prove if not in the eyes and estimation of the world yet I am sure in the hearts of all good men in the esteem of Saints and Angels and in the eyes of my heavenly Father a peece of great honour unto you to be know through your mutuall love to be my disciples The brethren of Joseph fearing that he might call to minde and revenge the injuries done unto him by his brethren Gen. 50.16 they sent a messenger unto Joseph who said unto him Thy Father did command before he dyed forgive I pray thee now the trespasse of thy brethren and their sinne which words of his dying Father when Joseph heard he wept faith the text and spake kindly unto them and not only exprest his love by words and tears but he comfortted and nourished them and their little ones and the like love with Joseph if we have any bowels toward so dear a friend our Lord and Master as Christ was we will shew for his sake who dying commanded us so to love one another as he loved us who gave his life for us And yet lest as Christ foresaw and foretold that in the last days as iniquity should increase so charity would wax cold and thereby both our love to such a dead friend and for his sake to our neighbour would grow faint and dye he therefore gives us a second reason to love our neighbours which with man may happily work more then the former because it contains in it the unspeakable benefit and reward acquired by this love to our neighbour and this benefit is no lesse then the kingdome of heaven with the full fruition of all the unutterable and unconceivable joyes with Christ for ever All which are evidently and expresly promised and annexed to this love for when God in the Law and our Saviour in the Gospel have pronounced life and the kingdome of heaven to those that keep and fulfill the law and their commands the Apostle as the Embassadour of God hath plainly pronounced and proclaimed that love is the fulfilling of all this law Rom. 13.10 indeed our Saviour himself spake no lesse and from it this our Apostle might take his Commission when he said Mat. 22.40 on love depends all the Law and the Prophets Neither doeth the reward of our love to our neighbour terminate and end in this great blessing declared but it works before it comes to that and produceth singular and infinite blessings therefore our Saviour before he commends the keeping of this commandement of love to his disciples Joh. 14.14 he prefaceth what ever yee shall aske of God in my name that will I doe then in the next words he subjoyneth as the means to obtain this wonderfull grant and blessing saying v. 15. this is to be performed if yee love me and keep my commandements that is to love one another And yet as though this were not the halfe of that blessed reward which Christ annexeth to this love he goes on saying it you love v. 16. I will give you the Comforter who may abide with you forever even the spirit of truth intimating hereby and that plainly that as by love we receive the comfort of the holy Spirit and truth so without it neither truth nor comfort will or can dwell or abide with us And which is a third reason to incite and stirre us to this love nature it selfe infuseth this love into the heart of man which in this sympathiseth with the sensitive creatures that all so love and agree together according to their severall kindes that they not only fall not out among themselves to hurt each other but feed nourish flock and herd together helping and defending each other against the assaults and hurts of other enemies to their kind And this reason of love drawn from common reason is and

Greek they say may here as elswhere among sacred and profane Writers signifie a separation or setting apart the person of man and beast to suffer death or the like as a sacrifice thereby to expiate the offence of others and if this sense may be admitted then much more cannot be inferred then that S. Paul preferred his Countrey-mens spirituall and eternall estates before his own temporall or before his life which shewes that which we allege for to prove the transcendency of his love Others conceive the words anathema or accursed from Christ to mean Excommunication and this to be like that casting out of Cain Gen. 4.14 where it is said and from thy face shall I be hid Gods face noting typically the Church or visible congregation of Gods servants and this wish or desire in the Apostle though it goe farre yet because it includes not an everlasting separation but such as by Gods mercy and the Apostles repentance may be relaxed it is not so scrupulous and dangerous as The third sense of the words viz that S. Paul hereby should wish his eternall disherisance from heaven for his brethren and Countrey-men which curse separation or disherisance if it be the sense of the words then some answer that the word is I could have wished it So that S. Paul doth not expresly and plainly say I do wish this but I could or my love is such that rather then my Countreymen to whom the Promise and the Covenant is made should perish and they lose the benefit thereof I could finde in my heart to wish that I might be separated But say they he doth not explicitely and in the indicative mood say I do wish But if this answer be not admitted as satisfactory but that S. Paul seems to wish as a dear friend and tender father to be kept from eternall joyes rather then want the company of his children and Countrymen whom he calls by a neer relation brethren the question then will be as it is generally made how far forth this desire may be held justifiable or be accounted sinfull as to himself to wish the privation of his own eternall blisse Which question or difficulty some thus assoile 1. That for the greater promotion and exaltation of Gods glory this may be desired being that this is the first main principall end of mans being made or redeemed to advance the glory of God and that Gods glory should the more appeare by the restoring and saving of the Jews cannot be denied or doubted by any 2. Or as before the Text speaks not that I do wish but that I could so wish and that I could wish may imply that this wish in the Apostle is not so absolute as simply to desire his own damnation for his Countrymens salvation but that it may well comprehend under it at least a tacite condition as Lord I wish it if so it agree with thy will decree and good pleasure for whatever is agreeable to this must be and is justifiable and no waies sinfull 3. S. Paul may be construed thus to meane if for any cause under Gods glory I may desire mine own exclusion from Heaven then I could wish it for my Countrymens benefit and salvation such was the heighth and depth of the love of this blessed Apostle which desires at least to translate all its own good to his beloved CHAP. X. The Causes and Motives of Love I Shall not yet here touch upon the prime and principall cause of Love which is God but of that which is neerest unto God goodnesse which is the true proportionate object of the will and so of our love Insomuch that if the will at any time makes choice of the contrary which is evill this comes to passe by the wills being deceived by a false object and counterfeit colour in appearance of some seeming good For the will in its pure constitution doth not cannot affect or desire that which in it self simply is and so appears to be evill A man blinded in his reason and deceived by the pleasancy of wine or the beauty of women may will the unlawfull company of the one and the inordinate use of the other yet in neither doth he will or desire fornication or drunkennesse as they are evils but as he is ashamed to be termed a fornicator or a drunkard so though he become or be both yet he desires not drunkennesse or fornication but onely the base delight and pleasure in them which hath deceived and cousened his desire under a shew of that which seemed then unto him good For God which made all by weight and measure hath given to our understanding and will certain naturall inclinations which as laws cause them to affect their proper objects which are truth to the understanding and goodnesse to the will So that who is perverted or willingly perverteth the truth this is done by the false colour and shadow of truth and so it comes to passe in the matter of our will which ever desires that which is good and if deceived it is by that which appears at that time so to be Aristotle hath ranged Love into three kinds according to the three severall objects alluring the will and desire The one is love of pleasure and delight which too commonly follows and is entertained by youth Another is the love of wealth and is the servant mostly of old age A third is the love of that which is comely and honest which I fear hath the least part or predominancy in mans will where private interest bears the sway We have read that in ages before us vertue honour and beauty had the mastery in the will but those objects are laid aside and are past away with those times Some ancient Fathers give a reason why our Saviour openly proclaimed his gift of paradise to the Thiefe on the Crosse rather than to the Patriarchs and Prophets and it was say they because he at that time when Christ was publickly disesteemed and contemptuously used by all that he then proclaimed him to be the Messias and the Saviour of the world This singular bounty therefore of our Saviour accompanied that rare piece of faith and love in the Thief to whom at that time when the Thief profest him Christ had shewed no miracle nor done him savour Whereas now adaies few serve or worship Christ unless he honour or serve their turns so that were it not for the benefits he daily bestows on us he might for us live as retired in the contemplation of his own infinite goodnesse with little or no love of the world Next to goodnesse not onely Philosophers but the holy Scriptures have assigned knowledge to be an especiall worker of love Our Saviour saith This is life eternall Joh. 17. ● to know the Father and the Son for from this knowledge ariseth our love and by them both we attain to life everlasting Unbelief ignorance or the forgetfulnesse of this principle as to say with the foole there is