Selected quad for the lemma: act_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
act_n	faith_n	heart_n	purify_v	2,568	5	11.6551	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93404	Moses his prayer. Or, An exposition of the nintieth Psalme. In which is set forth, the frailty and misery of mankind; most needfull for these times. Wherein [brace] 1. The sum and scope. 2. The doctrines. 3. The reasons. 4. The uses of most texts are observed. / By Samuel Smith, minister of the Gospel, author of Davids repentance and the Great assize, and yet living.	Smith, Samuel, 1588-1665.	1656 (1656)	Wing S4189A; Thomason E1624_1; ESTC R208959	212,879	567

soul will be humbled for It is not enough for men to sorrow and repent for open notorious and scandalous sins such as are Murther Whoredome Drunkennesse c. But our repentance must reach to lesser sins that is such sins as we have committed in secret that never came to the view of the world To clear this Take we notice first of all of Davids Example and Practice herein When Nathan by his parable had convinced him of his sins of Adultery and Murther and that his heart smote him for the same these sins he acknowledgeth 2 Sam. 12.13 I have sinned saith he against the Lord. And how heavy the guilt of those sins lay upon his soul Ps 51. we may see in that penitential Psalme of his by his manner of begging pardon Wash me cleanse me blot out restore me to the joy of my salvation c. Yet as though all this were not enough he accuseth himself of that which Nathan did not by acknowledging the very root and spawn of all those evils ver 5. saying Behold I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me David will no longer flatter himself in his sinful courses and secret sins but confesseth all and begs pardon of all Ps 19.12 Cleanse thou me from my secret faults O how ready are these wretched hearts of ours to deceive us in this particular If our hearts smite us and our consciences accuse us for some grosse sin or other that we have committed and the world cries shame of and we confesse the same to God and beg pardon for it we think all is well In the mean time there is a world of wickednesse that lies hid in the soul we see not Gen. 6. the very thoughts and imaginations of our hearts being evil continually and all our righteousness even our best duties themselves are as a menstruous cloth and When we have done all that we can we are unprofitable servants and have cause to pray with good Nehemiah Neh. 13.21 O my God pardon me according to the greatness of thy mercy And without this sense of the universal depravity of our Natures and of those secret sins that cleave to us in our best duties our pronenesse to all evil our indisposition to any thing that is good the blindnesse of our Understanding the rebellion of our Wills the disorder of our Affections and that indeed we carry about us a very Body of sin and can be humbled for these and repent of these as well as for our grosse sins we are strangers to godly sorrow and true repentance And the first Reason may be taken from the nature of true Grace Reas 1 and godly sorrow for sin If this be true sincere and unfained it will set it self against every sin and will work an universal change in the whole man at least in an unfained desire and endevour in the heart though by and by it cannot subdue and bring under every sin yet it will set it self against it and will be humbled for it The nature of true Grace is to make the inside cleane as the outside it worketh faith in the soul and it is the nature of faith to purifie the heart Acts 15.9 and the heart being clean and pure the thoughts the words and actions of the life will in some good measure be sutable May be taken from the nature of God Reas 2 who is Omniscient and is privy to all our sins even to the most secret windings and turnings in the heart of man as it is in this Text Thou hast set our secret sins in the light c. There is nothing that ever we did but the Lord is privy to it Ps 119.168 Ps 139.4 All my wayes saith David are before thee there is not a word in my tongue but thou O Lord knowest it altogether and Job acknowledgeth Iob 42.4 There is no thought hid from thee And as the Lord sees and observes our wayes so he will not fail to judge every man according to his works 2 Cor. 5.10 Eccl. 12.14 And will bring every work to judgement with every secret thing whether it be good or evil So then whether we consider the nature of true Grace that albeit it cannot subdue every corruption by and by yet will it set it self against all and is humbled for all or that God sees and beholds our most secret sins and will not fail to punish them This shews the Doctrine to be clear That godly sorrow and true repentance doth reach to the most secret sins This serves to discover unto us in what a miserable estate and condition many in the world are in at this day Use 1 and how far they are from true repentance that flatter themselves that so long as they are not notorious sinners Drunkards Swearers openly prophane c. and are not guilty of such sins as all the world cries shame of they thinke they shall doe well enough O how far are such from the grace of true Repentance whose property is to set it self against our most secret corruptions since our most secret sins are such as the Lord will most severely reckon for Moses sin for the which the Lord would not suffer him to come into the land of Canaan was a secret sin in his heart yet how severely did the Lord punish this sin in his servant And Peter with Simon Magus to pray Acts 8. If perhaps the thought of his heart might be forgiven him So that there is no true repentance when men are not humbled for their most secret sins And Gods children that have the truth of grace in their hearts are as much humbled for their secret sins for their privy and close sins their sinful thoughts and lusts of their hearts hypocrisie neglect of duties coldnesse in prayer c. they be oft brought upon their knees for these And this shews the folly and madnesse of those likewise that if they can but commit their sins in the night when none can see them as to steale commit Adultery c. think all is well whereas though thou mayest hide thy sins from men yet even thy most close and secret sins are open and naked in the sight of God his All-seeing eyes were then upon thee he took thee in the manner Rev. 1.17 His eyes are like a flame of fire and his feet like fine brasse He sees in the darkest night and into the most secret corner and he will not fail to punish the sinner Seeing it is so sure a note of godly sorrow and true Repentance Use 2 to be humbled for lesser sins as greater for secret sins as those that are openly committed This may serve to justifie the wayes and courses of the godly against all those scoffs and taunts of wicked and gracelesse ones daily cast upon them for piety sake that they are so strict and so precise in every thing even in matters of the smallest moment that they love