Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	father_n	holy_a	spirit_n	8,932	5	5.4539	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A27171	The reformed monastery, or, The love of Jesus a sure and short, pleasant and easie way to heaven : in meditations, directions, and resolutions to love and obey Jesus unto death : in two parts.	Beaulieu, Luke, 1644 or 5-1723.	1678 (1678)	Wing B1575; ESTC R35744	117,906	289

of th●● whom he serves and obligeth we ea●●ly suppose that they love us whom we lo●● and that they to whom we do good will 〈◊〉 kind to us therefore let us shew to God 〈◊〉 the love we can and by words and actio●● protest that we seek to please him and 〈◊〉 hearts will soon be possest with a blessed a●surance that we are dear to him and that 〈◊〉 will never be cruel and severe to us ' Ti● reported of a Religious Person whose so●● was grieved and wounded with doubts and fears and with sadness that while he 〈◊〉 one day weeping and praying thus O tha● I were sure that I shall persevere and neve● fall from God O that I were sure tha● God loves me and that I shall one day see his blessed Face how zealous then would I be in mortifying my sins and doing my duty how cheerfully would I serve God every day and take pleasure in suffering for him how would I despise the world and its vanities and fix my thoughts and affections on things above while he was thus expressing the sorrows of his troubled mind he heard the whispers of a secret voice which told him fac quod faceres do now what thou wouldst do if thou hadst all those assurances With this he found himself so affected and refreshed that he took it as an Oracle from heaven and in obeying of it found those comforts he begged Better counsel I cannot give thee fac quod faceres do what thou wouldst do if thy diffident timorousness and jealousies were confuted by a voice from heaven and they will soon be removed Let thy meek submission thy sincere obedience and thy free-will offerings speak thy love to God and thou shalt soon find thy self perswaded that God loves thee dearly and that thy condition is safe and happy Other assurance we are not to expect in this world and this is not to be obtained any other way should thy comfort proceed from any thing else but thy humble and devout love to God it would be fansie and presumption whereas so it is well grounded and never can deceive thee There is no fear in love saith Divine S. John 1 Ep. 4.18 but perfect love casteth out fear 't is never otherwise grace and nature join together to make the effect infallible that a Holy Love should ever produce a Holy Peace if we love indeed and in truth thereby not by new and secret revelations we shall know that we are of the truth and we shall assure our hearts before God 1 Joh. 3.18 Love may well work confidence and joy in our souls for it enjoys already what it loves it is affectuosa unitas unitiva affectio love is inseparable from its object and the essence thereof consists in their union and in some manner unity as our Blessed Saviour praid for his that they all may be one as thou Father art in me and I in thee that they also may be one in us Joh. 17.21 and that this is effected by love he adds ver 26. that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them and I in them Though God be exalted infinitely above all things in a sphere of Glory and Majesty so high that the Cherubims with their many wings cannot flie up to it Qui mente integro Deum desiderat profecto jam habet quem amat Greg. Mag. yet thither love soars up and takes God and holds him as his own so that every one that loves God is already possest of him and may say with the spouse I am my Beloveds and my Beloved is mine Cant. 6.3 We come to God by love amando non ambulando and to him we are united by by love amore Deo conjungimur Magna res est amor quo anima per semet̄ ipsam fiducialiter accedit ad Deum c. S. Aug. therefore love is a great thing saith that devout father it brings the soul to God with an holy confidence and makes it trust in him and cleave stedfastly to him and rejoyce in him and represent her needs and beg his mercies with fiducial and devout affections And this is so great a truth that death it self with its pains and sorrows alters nothing of it even then in the last agonies the love of God sweetens the bitter cup and still entertains the soul with joy and holy comforts It was the saying of S. Aug. that because the soul hath willingly forsaken God whom she should love infinitely she is forced therefore with grief and regret to forsake her body which she loves too much and that because she voluntarily departed from God who is her life she therefore departeth from the body whose life she is with sadness and much reluctancy Aug. de Trin. lib. 4. cap. 13. Now we may say Charitas libertatem donat timorem pellit c. S. Bern. that when the soul returns to God by love she is freed from this punishment and restored to her first liberty she is willing to die for to be with Christ and then comes a cheerful cupio dissolvi O when shall I come and appear before God Happy is he who living doth so manifest his love to God by Piety and Charity that dying he can say with Theodosius Dilexi love hath been the business and delight of my life I have daily endeavoured by my actions to declare the sincerity of my love to God he is doubtless of the number of those that love the appearing of JESUS and so he goes out to meet him with joy and confidence expecting a kind reception from him whom having not seen yet he loved Nemo se amari diffidat qui jam amat libenter Dei amor nostrum quem praevenit subsequitur c. Bern. and worshipped and served affectionately Let no man that loves God doubt of Gods Love to him for he that loved us when we were his enemies so as to die for us will much more love us when we have for him the hearty affections of friends It is the joy of heaven the joy of the Holy JESUS when his loving kindness hath won and conquered our hearts and 't is our greatest joy 't is for us a heaven upon earth when we love him faithfully and fervently with all our souls and affections The love of God brings that peace to the soul which the world can neither give nor take away O sweet JESU O look thou upon me and be merciful unto me as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name Psal 119.132 CHAP. XXV The Conclusion NOW who can refuse to love God when 't is a thing so just and reasonable so pleasant and easie so safe and advantageous something of necessity we must love every mans heart is full of that passion and every mans life is governed by it 't is but considering who hath done most for us and whom we are most obliged to love who is most lovely and who will best reward our love and we

Scripture supposeth it in all that have embraced Christianity and is earnest and pressing in its exhortations to it We beseech you Brethren and exhort you by the Lord JESUS that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God so ye would abound more and more for ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord JESUS for this is the will of God even your sanctification 1 Thess 4.1 2. Again but ye have not so learned Christ as to follow the greediness and lusts of the Gentiles If so be that ye have heard of him and have been taught by him as the truth is in JESUS that ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts and be renewed in the spirit of your mind and that ye put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness Eph. 4.20 21. c. And in another place this change being absolutely necessary is absolutely supposed to be wrought in us by our imbracing the Christian Faith If ye are risen with Christ seek those things which are above for you are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God Mortifie therefore your members which are upon the earth fornication uncleanness inordinate affection evil concupiscence and covetousness which is idolatry in the which ye walked sometime when ye lived in them but now you also put off these anger wrath malice blasphemy evil communication out of your mouth lie not one to another seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds and have put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him Col. 3.1 2 c. In these and many more places to the same purpose it is plainly implyed that true Christians are mindful and careful to fulfil their baptismal promises to renounce the devil and all his works c. It is not love alone that binds this duty upon us our profession absolutely requires it of all that have given their name to Christ and expect Salvation from him Love may inforce the obligation and assist us to discharge it but it is the design and the tenor of Christianity it self to reclaim us from sin to sanctifie our affections that our lives and actions may be holy as becomes the Gospel The grace of God which bringeth salvation teacheth us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live in this present world soberly righteously and godly Tit. 2.11.12 This is the sum of our duty that we should be temperate in our bodies and minds just and charitable in our intercourse with other men and pious in our minds devout in acts of Religion and worship to God the learning and practising this lesson is that whereby the offered salvation is obtained and laid hold on that whereby we must make it appear that we indeed own Christ for our Lord and Saviour and that we do truly love him with all our hearts and souls Now therefore I must remember that I am not mine own I am his that made and redeemed me I am his to whom I have given my self when I undertook manfully to fight under his banner against sin the world and the devil To me is addrest that exhortation Thou O man of God flee these things strifes disputes and covetousness before mentioned and follow after righteousness godliness faith love patience meekness fight the good fight of faith lay hold on eternal life 1 Tim. 6.11 12. I am become a Souldier of JESUS to me S. Paul speaks as well as to Timothy Thou therefore endure hardness as a good Souldier of Jesus Christ No man that warreth intangles himself with the affairs of this life that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a Souldier 2 Tim. 2 3 4. If I were in the Militia of any other Prince I might endure hardness enough before I could obtain his favour or indeed be taken notice of heat and cold hunger thirst and weariness sleepless nights and perpetual dangers all this and much more I might endure many years and not be looked on here my General hath prevented me with his kindness he first fought against mine enemies he first loved me and endured hardship for me and he notes every thing I suffer for him sets it down and assigns a reward to it Under another Commander I might do brave actions behave my self valiantly and yet not be seen here my General hath always his eyes upon me he incourageth me and rejoiceth to see my fortitude he is alway ready to help me and is most delighted when he sees me zealous and diligent I might fight long enough for an earthly King I could only get a poor subsistence or an empty fame but never so much as one province of his dominions here fighting for my heavenly King I shall get unvaluable treasures immortal glory and a Kingdom which shall have no end To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne Rev. 3.21 I will therefore never again fight against the captain of my salvation and I will never forsake him I will often renew my vows often swear allegiance to him upon that sacred blood which he shed for me and which he gives me to comfort and strengthen my heart I will daily think on those things that may increase my zeal and diligence and help me to resist temptations and I will suffer any thing use all means possible to perform these resolutions and approve my self unto death a lover of JESUS If any man loves not the Lord JESUS let him be Anathema Maranatha FINIS THE Reformed Monastery OR The LOVE Of JESUS The Second Part. LONDON Printed for Henry Brome at the Gun in S. Paul's Church-yard the West-End MDCLXXVIII THE PREFACE I Have now gone through the greater half of my task the negative part of our Baptismal Vow and of our Duty The greater half I call it because our Nature stands not in aequilibrio in an indifference betwixt good and evil but is depraved and ill inclined and the way to vertue will be smooth and pleasant when once by grace and love we have renounced our sins and our vicious propensities are both subdued and rectified If therefore thou hast entred and liked this Cloister so far thou maiest safely advance further and go through what remains if thou hast approved and observed its Rules hitherto the rest cannot but be acceptable and easie to thee As a Traveller in a strange Enemy-Country meets with many hardships and dangers but at home amongst friends delights in journeying So the Love of JESVS among the works of the devil the sinful lusts and vanities of this world might meet with difficulties and a rugged way but now conversing with faith and good works the holy will of God and his glorious rewards it will proceed with joy and a pleasant speedy progress I have called the Love of JESVS The Reformed Monastery

shall soon understand that God is to be loved above all things infinitely without measure and if we love our selves as we should we shall easily remove our affections from the world to set them upon God and Eternity upon JESUS and his Kingdom Love as we have seen will make it easie and delightful to do our duty will make the yoke of Christ light and enable us with strength and courage to bear our cross cheerfully like Christians it will lead us the shortest and the safest way to heaven and make our journey pleasant it will make us dear to God and to his Saints and blessed Angels and fill our hearts with peace and comforts it will abide with us when we are forsaken by the world and all our friends can do us no good it will accompany us when we go from hence and open heavens gate and enter in with us there to perfect our happiness which it here began to be there our reward as it was here our work and our duty I may now upon too too just an account use the words of S. Bernard Non quod ego ista faciam dico sed quod facere vellem c. Ber. Med. what I have written is not what I do but what I should do what I grieve that I do not what I endeavour to do and what I wish all others might do But withall I shall plead for my self the advice of a Greek Father not to judge too severely of those who teach excellent lessons 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Joh. Clim grad 26. § 18. great and profitable truths which they themselves learn and practise but very imperfectly because the usefulness of their instructions may make some amends for the defects of their performance Ephes 6.24 Grace be with all them that love our LORD JESUS CHRIST in sincerity Amen FINIS THE CONTENTS OF THE FIRST PART THe Introduction Pag. 1. CHAP. I. Of the general Benefits of God to mankind and first of Creation Pag. 2 CHAP. II. How much we are obliged to God for our Preservation Pag. 5 CHAP. III. Of the positive Blessings of this life Pag. 8 CHAP. IV. What returns we should make for temporal Blessings Pag. 10 CHAP. V. Of the mercies of Redemption and first a consideration of the infinite miseries we were redeemed from Pag. 12 CHAP. VI. How graciously and wonderfully we were redeemed Pag. 19 CHAP. VII A consideration of the Cross in its four dimensions Pag. 23 CHAP. VIII The breadth of the Cross or the manifold Sufferings of Christ for our Redemption Pag. 25 CHAP. IX The length of the Cross Pag. 29 CHAP. X. The depth of the Cross Pag. 31 CHAP. XI The height of the Cross Pag. 33 CHAP. XII What an infinite love is exprest by the Cross Pag. 35 CHAP. XIII Of the eternal happiness merited for us by the Cross of Christ and measured by it Pag. 37 CHAP. XIV That the mercies of our Redemption challenge our love and hearty obedience Pag. 42 CHAP. XV. An invitation to enter the Cloister of Love Pag. 44 CHAP. XVI The Vow to be taken at the entrance of Loves Monastery Pag. 47 CHAP. XVII Considerations of the nature of Love and first of Self-love Pag. 50 CHAP. XVIII That the Love of JESVS requires we should mortifie self-love Pag. 55 CHAP. XIX How great a vertue is Divine Charity or the Love of God Pag. 58 CHAP. XX. That love always pursues what it thinks good and is never satisfied till it hath obtained it Pag. 62 CHAP. XXI That Love is strong and effective and sweetens all labours Pag. 66 CHAP. XXII A farewel to all sinful desires Pag. 70 CHAP. XXIII That the love of JESVS and the love of Sin can never consist together Pag. 76 CHAP. XXIV Of outward helps and instruments of love and obedience Pag. 78 CHAP. XXV A passionate Meditation on the Passion of our Blessed Saviour Pag. 83 CHAP. XXVI Of a sincere amendment which must be wrought by proper means Pag. 88 CHAP. XXVII Love the best instrument of Self-Reformation and true penitence with an act of hearty contrition Pag. 92 CHAP. XXVIII That Love will sweeten as well as produce the truest penitence and that true wisdom not melancholy is the guide of sincere penitents Pag. 98 CHAP. XXIX That severities and mortifications well regulated are subservient to Repentance and the Love of JESVS Pag. 103 CHAP. XXX A short Meditation for penitential days Pag. 105 CHAP. XXXI That repentance must look forward to the securing of our duty for the time to come With instances and resolutions to that effect Pag. 108 CHAP. XXXII A singular example of humane Love with a short reflection upon it Pag. 113 CHAP. XXXIII Some Scriptures to shew the necessity of departing from Sin according to our Baptismal Vow With some protestations to conclude this first Part. Pag. 116 THE CONTENTS OF THE SECOND PART CHAP. I. THat Love obligeth us also to fulfil the positive part of our Baptismal Vow with a protestation of obedience to it Pag. 1 CHAP. II. How great a happiness in Eternity follows our love and obedience Pag. 5 CHAP. III. That to win our hearts and duty God propounds great rewards to us Pag. 8 CHAP. IV. That Love hath a secret pleasure and reward in it self with a meditation to that purpose Pag. 11 CHAP. V. Reflections on the vanity of temporal things with some holy resolves and ejaculations Pag. 14 CHAP. VI. That Christ having bought us hath now a just title to our love and service Pag. 18 CHAP. VII How much we are ingaged to serve our Blessed Lord with renewed promises to do it faithfully Pag. 20 CHAP. VIII Meditation to excite us to a sincere and fervent love Pag. 23 CHAP. IX Christianity absolutely requires our love and strictest obedience Pag. 28 CHAP. X. Considerations to encourage us in the discharge of our Christian duty with a caution to the Reader Pag. 32 CHAP. XI That Love will prompt us to free-will offerings and thinks it never doth enough Pag. 36 CHAP. XII That our obedience to the Church is an excellent expression of our love to Christ Pag. 43 CHAP. XIII Of several voluntary Oblations Pag. 46 CHAP. XIV The true notion of Free-will Offerings vindicated with an Exhortation to abound in the work of the Lord. Pag. 50 CHAP. XV. Meditation on the Exaltation of the Blessed JESVS Pag. 57 CHAP. XVI Two general directions about the manifesting of our love to God Pag. 62 CHAP. XVII The two former Rules explained and enlarged Pag. 68 CHAP. XVIII Some more particular directions how to order our lives by the love of JESVS Pag. 74 CHAP. XIX That upon all accounts God should be loved above all things Pag. 78 CHAP. XX. That as it is most just so it is most easie to love God Pag. 84 CHAP. XXI An Objection answered which might be raised against this Book and its Subject Pag. 88 CHAP. XXII The second Objection concerning the love of JESVS answered Pag. 91 CHAP. XXIII That it is most pleasant and safe to love God Pag. 97 CHAP. XXIV That love brings the most lasting joy and satisfaction to the soul Pag. 105 CHAP. XXV The Conclusion Pag. 113 Books printed for Henry Brome Bishop Wilkins Natural Religion Dr. Comber on the Common Prayer in 4 Vol. Guide to Eternity Precepts and Practices for Christian Life Christianity no Enthusiasm or the several kinds of Inspirations and Revelations pretended to by the Quakers tried and found destructive to Holy Scripture and true Religion In Answer to Thomas Elwood's defence thereof in his Tract miscalled Truth prevailing c. Dr. Glanvill of Preaching Help to Prayer c. An Historical Account of the Reforma here in England Everlasting Fire no Fancy Dr. Ford in Gods Judgments Mr. Camfield's Discourse of Angels Dr. Woodford's Paraphrase on the Psalms his Divine Poems