Selected quad for the lemma: act_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
act_n	know_v	zeal_n	zealous_a	14	3	8.7797	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A67764	Preparation to conversion, or, Faith's harbinger in a rare epistle, writ by a person of quality before his death, to his surviving friends, shewing, that Satan prevails most by deception of our reason, that the beauty of holiness and true wisdom is unseen to the world, that ingrateful persons are as witless as wicked, why most men hear the Gospel year after year, and are never the better, with wholsom instruction, to prevent destruction : all richly fraught with choise and pithy sentences, similitudes, examples, metaphors, rhetorical and pointed expressions, which being thought by many worth the transcribing at no small charge, is now committed to the press / by R. Young ...	Younge, Richard.	1658 (1658)	Wing Y176; ESTC R39195	18,400	18

and brain-sick Bedlam-Positions are these Could rational men ever argue in this manner had not the God of this world blinded their eys that the light of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ should not shine unto them 2 Cor. 4.3 4. 2 Thes. 2.9 10. Did not their deceitfull hearts damnably delude them as in that case of Leah Gen. 30.18 and of Saul 1 Sam. 23.7.21 and of Micah Judg. 17.13 Turn to the places for they are rare to this purpose If this be Reason it is Reason frighted out of its wits Yet this is every wilfull sinners case yea of every unregenerate man in some measure As I 'll but give you one instance more to clear it You shall have them maintain with incredible impudence accompanied with invincible ignorance That if a man make scruple of small matters or of those sins or sinfull customs which they allow of and will not do as they do That he is over-precise Though they may as soon finde Paradise in Hell as any Text in the Bible that makes for loosness or against circumspect walking Yea who would dream that so gross blockishness should find harbor in any reasonable soul as to think that God should like a man the worse for his being the better or for having a tender conscience or look for less fear reverence and obedience from his servants then we do from our servants And yet the same men will grant that a servant can never be too punctual in his obedience to his masters lawfull commands But you see the reason Natural men are blinde to spiritual objects as the Apostle speaks 1 Cor. 1.18.20 2.14 and so no more fit to judge of them then blinde men are fit to judge of colours And hence it is that they have the basest thoughts of the best men making ill constructions of whatsoever they speak or do as the Scribes and Pharisees dealt by our Saviour Until we are born again we are like Nicodemus who knew not what it was to be born again John 3.4 Until we become zealous our selves we are like Festus who thought zeal madness Acts 26.24 Until we be humble our selves we are like Michal who mocked David for his humility and thought him a fool for dancing before the Ark 2 Sam. 6.16 For to carnal-minded men all Religion seems foolishness 1 Cor. 1.18 It faring between the Sensual and Spiritual as it does between Youth and Age For as Young men think Old men to be fools but Old men know the Young to be fools so Worldlings think the Religious fools but the Religious know them to be fools because they have had the experience of both conditions as the old have been young but the other are utterly unacquainted with what they see and know Besides the one make the Word their rule in every thing for they live and believe and hear and invocate and hope and fear and love and worship God in such manner as his Word prescribes The other do all as the flesh leads them and according to the customs and rudiments of the world 12 Now lay all together and you will think it no whit strange that notwithstanding their condition is so miserable they should yet be so jocund confident and secure that they should neither be sensible of their present condition nor afraid of future Judgment Security makes worldlings merry and therefore are they secure and merry because they are ignorant A Dunce we know seldom makes doubts yea a Fool says Solomon boasteth and is confident Pro. 14.16 Ignorance is a veil or curtain to hide away their sins Our knowledge saith one of the Learned doth but shew us our ignorance And Wisdom says another is but one of mans greatest miseries unless it be as well able to conquer as to discern The next thing from being free from miseries is not to be sensible of them Erasmus could spie out a great priviledge in a blockish condition Fools saith he being free from ambition envy shame and fear are neither troubled in conscience nor macerated with cares And Beasts we see are not ashamed of their deeds Where is no reason at all there is no sin where no use of reason no apprehension of sin and where no apprehension of sin there can be no shame Blinde men never blush neither are Worldlings ashamed or afraid of any thing because for want of bringing their lives to the rule of Gods word they perceive not when they do well when ill The Timber not brought to the Rule may easily appear straight when yet it is not Whereas every small sin to a holy and regenerate man that weigheth his sin by the ballance of the Sanctuary is very grievous and disturbeth his conscience exceedingly Besides the Regenerate know that the very end for which they were created and redeemed was that they might honour love and serve their Creator Redeemer They remember also that they bound themselves by vow and promise in their baptism so to do Whereas these brainless and bruitish men never once consider what they came into the world for nor what will become of them when they depart hence Only their care is that they may eat drink play sleep and be merry Whereupon they spend their days in mirth and suddenly they go down into hell as Job speaks Job 21.13 For like men sleeping in a Boat they are carried down the stream of this World until they arrive at their Graves-end Death without once waking to bethink themselves whither they are going to Heaven or Hell I grant that in their long sleep they have many pleasant dreams As for instance They slumber and suppose themselves good Christians true Protestants they dream they repent them of their sins and that they believe in Christ they dream they have true grace that they fear and love and serve God as they ought they dream they shall go to Heaven and be saved But the truth is all their Religion is but a Dream and so is their assurance of salvation They have Regeneration in conceit Repentance and Righteousness in conceit they serve God well in conceit and they shall go to Heaven only in conceit or in a dream and never awake until they feel themselves in a bed of unquenchable flames Neither did pure and naked Supposals ever bring any man to eternal life 13 Which being so and that with the greatest part of the World How does it concern every one of you to try and examine your selves whether it fares not so with you and to mistrust the worst of your selves as all wise and sound-hearted Christians do as you may see by the Apostles Matth. 26.22 even every of them was jealous of himself and examined his own heart though but one of them was guilty of that soul sin which Christ spake of Now if you would examine your selves but by those marks I have already given you you may easily see whether you are the men guilty of what I have laid to your charge If you would be