Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	kindness_n	lord_n	love_a	1,686	5	9.5041	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A49258	A treatise of effectual calling and election In XVI. sermons, on 2 Peter 1.10. Wherein a Christian may discern, whether yet he be effectually called and elected. And what course he ought to take that he may attain the assurance thereof. Preached by that faithfull servant of Christ, Mr. Christopher Love, late minister of Laurence Jury, London.	Love, Christopher, 1618-1651.; Calamy, Edmund, 1600-1666.	1655 (1655)	Wing L3179; ESTC R217684	182,116	237

eyes Gal. 2.20 There you have this character I live saith Paul by the faith of the Son of God and Christ hath loved me and given himselfe for me Here is his assurance what then Doth this lift up Paul No it makes him more vile I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me Paul recollects himselfe I live no it is not I that live but Christ that liveth in me See how Paul was beaten off from a supercilious pride and exaltation of spirit in himselfe It is not I that live The thoughts of his comforts made him recollect himselfe and seem vile in his own eyes Whereas alas false perswasions puffe up the soul with pride and makes a man supercilious and high conceited crying out as Jehu did Jonadab is thy heart like mine Come see my zeale for the Lord they make him proud like Jehu in his false perswasions Sixthly sound comforts and real assurance do engage the soule to walk before God in a course of holinesse Psal 26.3 Thy loving kindnesse is before mine eyes that is I am assured if I saw the thing with mine eye that Gods loving kindnesse is towards me What then and I will walk in thy truth I will walk before thee with a holy and sincere heart and I wil not haunt with vain persons ver 4 And I will wash my hands in innocency ver 6 c. So that you see David would walk in a course of holinesse because he had an evidence and assurance of Gods love to him So 1 John 3.3 He that hath this hope in him purifieth himselfe even as Christ is pure that is a man that doth nourish hopes and perswasions of heaven his hopes will make him a Christian endeavouring to purifie his owne heart and to be holy as Christ is holy This is the nature of true assurance But now for false assurance the man that hath it doth not look after holinesse at all he thinks himself well enough that he hath attained that which every wise man should rest in without medling any furth●r nay he is so far laying bonds upon himselfe to walk in a course of holinesse that he will rather take encouragement from thence to walk in a way of loosenesse and profanenesse Because grace abounds he will abound in sin this is the ill use that false comfort makes of Gods grace And therefore Beloved look over your hearts Do the comforts you pretend to have and the assurance you pretend to enjoy make you more to pursue holinesse that you can say as David did I see thy loving kindnesse is before me and therefore I will love thy wayes and hate sinfulnesse or can you say you have comforts therefore yo● will run into sin and wallow in wickedness this is an argument thy comforts are not true Seventhly True assurance it is got and kept with a great deal of diligence and industry Your best things are hardest to get and hardest to keep Stones are to be had in every place but gold you must dig deep and take paines to dive into the bowels of the earth before you can get that Weeds grow easily but your fine garden-flowers they must be often watered and carefully looked unto or else they will not grow Beloved this weed of false perswasion and assurance it is a weed that will grow under every hedge and thrive in every garden without looking after whereas alas the flower of true comforts and saving assurance it is hard to make it grow and when it is grown it is hard to keep it from withering and blasting Assurance it costs a man the waiting many a yeare the shedding many a teare the making of many a prayer before he can get or keep it whereas alas false assurance it is easily gotten and easily kept A man may get presumption without any paines at all the Devil will egge you on both to get and keep it Therefore you that easily get your comforts without prayers and keep your comforts without pains you may be sure your comforts are but false Eighthly True assurance it is gotten by the Word and grounded upon the Word It is got by the Word Isa 57.19 I create the fruit of the lip peace peace to them that are nigh and to them that are afar off The fruit of the lips that is the fruit of the Ministers preaching the word which falls from the lips of a godly Minister God hath ordained and created that to be the way to work and create peace peace that is a sound peace in the hearts of his people And it is not onely got but it is bottomed upon the Word also It is the Word and somewhat in the Word that beares up the hearts of the people of God Psal 119.49 Good is the Word of the Lord wherein thou hast caused thy servant to hope So ver 50 51. It is the Word of God that bottoms the comforts of the people of God whereas look now upon wicked men and they neither got their comforts by the Word nor do they ground upon the Word but first they have had strong hopes in God ever since they could remember and secondly they keep and ground them either upon their good meaning that they mean well towards God or else thirdly they ground them upon this that they are not so bad as other men are A poor weak ground The Pharisee could say so I am no extortioner no drunkard no adulterer and the like yet never came to heaven for all this Or else fourthly they ground their comforts on this because they receive from God abundance of outward mercies And this you finde was their ground of presumption Hos 12.8 Ephraim said I am become rich and I have found me out substance in all my labour they shall finde no iniquity in me that is sin Ephraim would say I am become rich and have gotten me an estate and now I am an honest man and they shall finde no sin in me yet this was a meer presumption because God tels us Eccl. 9.1 No man knows either love or hatred by the things that are before him And sometimes saith Solomon God gives m●n riches to their hurt And therefore this can be no evidence of a grounded assurance Ninthly That man that hath a good assurance he is willing to be tried either by God or man touching the truth of his assurance This you finde Psal 26.2 3. Try me O Lord examine me prove me and try my ●ei●es and my heart for thy loving kindnesse is before me As if he should say Lord I make a profession that I have thy loving kindnesse in mine eye that I am assured thou lovest me Lord I put my soule upon the trial Doe thou try me if my heart be not right in my assurance And not by God onely but they are willing to be tried by man also And therefore you have that phrase of the Apostle 1 Pet. 3.15 that when men ask you an account of the hope that is in you you