A09950:920
The Breastplate of Faith and Love
The breast-plate of faith and love. A treatise, wherein the ground and exercise of faith and love, as they are set upon Christ their object, and as they are expressed in good works, is explained. / Delivered in 18 sermons upon three several texts, by the late faithful and worthy minister of Jesus Christ, John Preston, Dr. in Divinity, chaplain in ordinary to his Majesty, Master of Emmanuel College in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolns Inn.The breast-plate of faith and love. A treatise, wherein the ground and exercise of faith and love, as they are set upon Christ their object, and as they are expressed in good workes, is explained. / Delivered in 18 sermons upon three severall texts, by the late faithfull and worthy minister of Iesus Christ, Iohn Preston, Dr. in Divinity, chaplaine in ordinary to his Maiesty, Master of Emmanuel Colledge in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolnes Inne.
London: printed by W. Jones for Nicolas Bourne, 1630London: printed by W. Iones for Nicolas Bourne, 1630
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
1In the second place, as you may try your love by your taking care not to offend God, so likewise you may try it by your sorrow and grief after you have offended him: For you must know this, that love, as it hath the greatest joy of any thing else, when it obtains that which it would have, so it is attended with the most exquisite grief, when it is disappointed. As when one loveth another earnestly, if any breach fall out that shall make a separation between them, if any strangeness grow between them, if they love, they will never be at rest, it will trouble and disquiet them; but as the Scripture speaks, they are sick of love, that is, they cannot be quiet while there is such a condition, while there is any alienation, while there are breaches and offences between them. for you know that nothing is so sweet as love; as you have it in Cant. 1.2 Love is better than wine: and as David expresseth it, Psal. 63.3. Thy loving kindness is better than life. So sweet (I say) is love, as sweet as wine, and better than life. Now, by the rule of contraries, then, to have a breach made, to have a bar, and an interruption in this loving kindness of the Lord towards us, or in our love towards him, it is bitter as wormwood, and sharp ⟨p. 117⟩as death. Therefore you may examine your selves by the offences you offer to God, when they are past; if you love him, it is certain they will trouble you exceedingly; for so much sorrow for sin, so much love. And you may take it for a sure rule, in what measure any man desires to please the Lord, in that measure he will be grieved that he hath displeased him. Therefore examine thy self, Hast thou sinned against him many times, and doest thou look back upon those sins in a careless manner, be sure that thou lovest him not. Examine this by that which passeth between man and man: When a father or a husband hath any thing committed against them by a child or a wife, if they shall withdraw themselves, and profess themselves displeased, and yet the child or the wife, in the mean time, be never troubled at this, but be at rest, well enough content it should be so, and are not disquieted for it; will not the parent or husband take this exceeding ill at their hands, when he seeth his displeasure slighted? For this is much greater than the offence it self.