Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
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A49280
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Love the pretious oyntment, that flowes downe from the head Christ Jesus, to all his members, and makes them dwell together in unity
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1654
(1654)
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Wing L3222; ESTC R3849
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10,092
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16
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LOVE THE PRETIOVS OYNTMENT That flowes downe from the head CHRIST JESVS to all his Members and makes them dwell together in Unity Joh. 13. 34 35. A New Commandment I give unto you That ye Love one another as I have loved you that ye love one another By this shall all men know that ye are my Disciples if ye have love one to another Acts 4. 32. The multitude of them that beleeved were of one heart and of one soule 1 Cor. 13. 4 5. Charity suffereth long and is kind is not easily provoked thinketh none evill Eph. 4. 1 2 3. Walke worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called With all Lowliness and meekness with long suffering for bearing one another in Love Endeavoring to keepe the Unity of the Spirit in the bond of Peace LONDON Printed for John Wright at the Kings Head in the Old-bailey 1654. The Balme of Love to heale divisions and the wounds made by them and to make the Body of Christ whole and entire for its owne beauty strength and safety THe Spouse of Christ Jesus when she shines in Love she is amiable in Beauty precious in the eye of her Husband powerfull with God her Father prosperous in her owne spirituall health and vigour and prepared for her consummate marriage in celestiall glory Her husband is God and God is love and God cannot but love that love which is like himselfe And that he may love his Spouse for her love when she becomes one Spirit with him by this unity of Spirit he gives her an uniformity of love the oyntment of Christ Jesus the Head floweth downe into all his members and breatheth love into them and as farre as his life goes so farre goeth his love therefore no love no life in Christ Jesus Agreeably the beloved Disciple and an especiall Teacher of love having shewed that the New-birth brings love with life he fitly addeth He that loveth not abideth in death No wonder 1 Joh. 3. 14 Joh. 13. 34 then if the great Master and Lover of this Disciple make love the mark of his true Disciples seeing those are only Christs true Disciples which so learne Christ as they draw that spirit from him which teacheth them love and breatheth it into them And surely if a sonne of God by that spirituall eye which he receiveth from Christ Jesus with his Sonship doe clearly behold another sonne of the same father how can he chuse but love him as a brother he cannot chuse but love him for the unity that is betweene them for they are one spirit by being John 17. 21. 1 Cor. 12. 13. Eph. 5. begotten of one Spirit in Christ Jesus and as none hateth his owne flesh but cherisheth and loveth it so none should hate his owne spirit but cherish and love it Secondly he should love his brother for uniformity as well as for unity there is a spirituall likenesse and conformity between spirituall brethren and commonly likenesse breedeth love they are both created unto one image and how can a sonne of God but love his owne likenesse which he seeth in his brother As in a glasse face answereth to face so a Saints soule answereth to the soule of a Saint and when one sees his owne shape in the other from this likenesse and harmony there must needs arise spirituall love and amity Thirdly if a Saint consider the excellency of a Saint how can he chuse but love him for his excellency God is the chiefest and highest excellence and he that most resembleth God is therefore most excellent Now among visible creatures there is none that resembleth God more then a Saint for he is a sonne of God begotten to the true Col. 3. 10. 1 Joh. 5. 1. image of God his Father therefore he that loves God that begat loves also the Sons whom God hath begotten and the man according to Gods own heart because his goodnesse the fruit of love extends Ps 16.2 3. not unto God therefore he communicates it to the Saints and Sons of God that excell in vertue as if that were the next degree to doing good unto God himselfe to love cherish and doe good to his sons and Saints And indeed what is a fitter object of love next to the chiefe and soveraigne good then a Saint who by a derivative goodnesse most representeth him God is light and a Saint is light in the Eph. 5. 8 Lord God is goodnesse and righteousnesse and a Saint is created according to God in righteousnesse Eph. 4. 24 and true holmesse The heart of a Saint is according to Gods heart yea he is partaker of a Divine 1 Sam. 13. 14. 2 Pet. 1. 4 2 Cor. 3. 18. Gal. 5. 22. Eph. 5. 9 nature and groweth in it from glory to glory And as this Divine nature is glorious and lovely so are the fruits of it attractively amiable Love joy peace long-suffering goodnesse faith meeknesse temperance yea all goodnesse righteousnesse and truth The beauty of the body is by no meanes comparable with the beauty of the soule for the beauty of the soule is the Image of God and the glory of this Image having in it divine light vertue and goodnesse shines in the soule with a farre higher excellence then colour and complexion laid on the clay and earth of a fading and corruptible body and according to this excellence the beauty of the soule is preserved to immortality when the beauty of the body is suffered either to vanish before the body or to lye with it in the dust and there to dye a kinde of second death neither shall it ever recover life again but by a conjunction with the beauty of the soule If corporall beauty have been joyned with spirituall beauty then shall it rise in a farre more excellent beauty but if it had not with it spirituall beauty purity and goodnesse and fairenesse of soule it shall not arise in glory and beauty it shall not see the face of God but it shall be sent away with ugly spirits being it selfe transformed into the deformed character of a countenance weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth If then a Saint be so lovely and the love of a Saint is so just and reasonable and God doth love this Love and doth give his Saints the Spirit of love of purpose to love one another and so this love is the marke of a Saint a Sonne and a Christian let every Saint make himselfe sure of this love and not onely of the shew and word of it but of the essence and life of it Let him love a Saint whom God loves and love him because God loves this love of a Saint Let him love a Saint as he loves his own safety which is annexed to the love of the Saints Let him love a Saint because a Saint loves God Let him love a Saint because he is like himself and because the Saint loves him Dilige Deum tuum dilige in Deo tuo charum Claud.
Mam. de statu animae Lib. 1. tuum Imaginem Dei tui Ille te perinde diligendo Deum in Deo diligat Love thy God and in God love thy brother the image of God and let thy brother in requitall by loving God love thee also in God True Christian love will not be solitary and fruitlesse but it must bring forth peace and be attended by it Love is it selfe the fruit of the spirit and peace is the fruit of this love yea love which delights Col. 3. 14. 15. to be fruitfull loves this peace because by her shee communicates her other fruitfulnesse It is best sowing in a calme and if we will beleeve St James Jam. 3. 18. the fruit of righteousnesse is best sowne in peace So Peace the eldest daughter of Love is a midwife to her mother and delivers her of the rest of her children and without her help the mother doth nothing bâ—t make abortions Therefore as thou wâ—uldest have thy love to be fruitfull and by her fruits profitable to the Saints so be thou sure to have her attended by peace that through peace with the Saints thy love may profitably extend it selfe to the Saints The unity of the spirit must be kept in the bond of peace and indeed with whom wilt thou keepe peace if thou wilt not keepe it with those who are one spirit with thee By one spirit are we all Cor. 12. 12 13. baptized into one body and we be members one of another by our unity in this one body How comely yea how necessary is it to the preservation and prosperity of the body that the members of one body be at peace and unity and how monstrous and destructive is it when one member fights with another That fatall sentence cannot be avoyded If Gal. 5. 15. yee bite one another yee shall be consumed one of another But contrarily the Kingdome of God which is peace flourisheth by the peace of the subjects of that Kingdome and therefore St. Paul having taught the former Rom. 14. 17 18. to the Romans adjoyneth the latter and that with a vehemencie for he injoynes them not barely to follow but as it were to persecute even with a swift and eager prosecution to run after the things of peace yea he adjures the Philippians by all conlation Phil. 2. in Christ and by the fellowship of the Spirit and by the bowels of mercy that they be of one accord Finally the Sonne of God our Saviour of whom Melchisedech was a type is the King of peace Heb. 7.2 as well as the King of righteousnesse and his subjects who will partake of his righteousnesse must also partake of his peace Christ hath made peace betweene God and us even peace between Heaven and Earth not that men being at peace above with God should have discord below among themselves but the peace which is begun in Heaven must come downe and dwell among his members on Earth we must be one as he and his Father are Joh 17.21 one the peace which we receive from God by Christ we must impart each to other yea it must Col 3.15 rule in our hearts being called to it in one body Accordingly as we expect peace from God through Christ so let us heare and obey Christ commanding peace amongst our selves Have peace one with another and then let us not doubt but if the Peace of God Mar. 9. 50. be among us the God of peace is also with us Deus semper in pace est Where spirituall and true peace is Chrysol Ser. 54. there ever God is The two excellent and powerfull Graces Love and Peace may not be bounded by us but by God himselfe the Author and Commander of it Him must we follow in the inlarging or straitning of it and not goe from his leading to the right hand or to the left where God commands love and peace we may Act 10. 15 not forbid them neither whom God by sanctifying hath made fit for our peace must we accompt common or uncleane and fit for separation Now Colos 1 4. Eph. 4. 3. 15. the extent and bound which God appoints for our love and peace is no lesse then all the Saints even the whole Body of Christ the bond of peace is not one 1 Joh. 5. 1. 2 Tim. 2.22 jot shorter then the unity of the spirit If then God have not disdained to bestow on any man his sanctifying Spirit let not man scorne on such a one to bestow his love and peace for he that denyeth his love and peace to that man in whom is the Spirit he denyeth his love and peace to the spirit which is in that man Therefore if God have gone before with his saving grace and sanctifying spirit let us not doubt to follow God with our love and Docere voluit quod haec tria sibi invicem connexa sint cohaerent Deus Christus Ecclesia seu universitas credentium adeo ut qui unum ex his vel diligat vel odiat omnia diligat aut odiat Ferus 1 Joh. 5. peace Now we know that God according to his promise to Abraham hath an holy seed out of all Nations which is the Catholicke and Universall Church if then the Church be Catholicke and Universall let our love and peace be also Catholick and Universall And to this end our affections must be enlarged and made capable of the whole world for he that will love a Catholicke Church with a Catholicke love must not have a narrow love contracted and confined to the measure of one City Kingdome or nation but extended and enlarged to the measure of all Cities Kingdomes and Nations even of the whole world If that which is to be loved be universall the affection which loveth must not be partiall For if the love be but to a part when it should be to the whole this is not that Catholick love which belongs to the Catholicke Church and whatsoever title such men may take to themselves they are not true but counterfeit Catholicks for they have not that Catholick spirit of love which is in the true Catholick Church and by which the Catholick Church doth love it selfe with a Catholicke love But such men by likelihood have a private spirit by which they love a private part and faction and are short of that universall spirit which loveth the universall Church with an universall love for there is a private spirit of love as well as of faith and it is that kinde of spirit which Saint James mentioneth Jam. 4. 5. 3. 14 15 a spirit that lusteth after envie after Sects and divisions But let us never rest untill we get that Catholicke spirit by which we may embrace the Catholick Church with a Catholick love and then we may be assured we are not titular but true and reall Catholicks Hereby we know that we are of the truth saith Saint John and we shall assure our