Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	david_n	king_n	samuel_n	1,895	5	9.9973	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93060	A good conscience the strongest hold. A treatise of conscience, handling the nature acts offices use of conscience. The description qualifications properties severall sorts of good conscience. The excellency necessity utility happiness of such a conscience. The markes to know motives to get meanes to keep it. By John Sheffeild, Minister of Swythins London.	Sheffeild, John, d. 1680.	1650 (1650)	Wing S3062; Thomason E1235_1; ESTC R208883	228,363	432

the two prisoners dreams Pharaoh made it good Hic crucem sceleris precium tulit alter honores Gen. 41. 13. It came to passe saith the Butler to Pharaoh as he interpreted to us so it was me he restored to mine office him he hanged Joseph is then said to hang the one and restore the other because he foretold it so and it fell out accordingly so conscience is said to absolve and condemn because according to the sentence of this lower Court and Judicatory of conscience usually is the last sentence of that highest Court in Heaven If my conscience Job 31. 35. 36. clear me let my adversary write a Book and Libell against me I shall wear it as a Isa 50. 8. Crown my witness is at hand and he is near 1 Sam. 2. 25 that justifieth me But if my conscience Libell against me who shall Apologize for me If a Quamquam humana sub tersugiem judicia judicium propriae conscientiae fugere non valeo Bernard man sin against another the Judge shall judge them but if a man be condemned by himself who shall be his Dayes-man I may flie mans judgement seat or stop the Judges mouth but I cannot escape the Bar nor stop the mouth of my own conscience Prima est haec ultio quod se Judice nemo nocens absolvitur Improba quamvis Gratia fallacis Praetoris vicerit Vrnam Juven Sat. 13. I might adde to these four named Offices of Consciences registeriall office conscience a fifth his Registerial Office for conscience is the great Register and Recorder of Vbicunque vado conscientia mea ●●e non deserit sed prae s●ns ad s●s●it quicquid facio scribit Bernard the world It is to every man his private Notary or Secretary keeping notes or records of all his Acts and Deeds Hence it hath his name Synteresis given it Conscience hath the Pen of a ready writer and takes in short hand and in an illegible character from thy mouth as fast as thou speakest yea from thy heart what thou contrivest consciences writing at present is not legible as that which is written with the juyce of a Lemmon is not to be read by Day-light but against the fire by night you may read it so consciences writing will be read by fire light of distress or in that day when Heaven and earth are on fire then shall this book be opened and the Cypher be discovered Conscience is the poorest mans Historiographer who hath no Chronicler to write his Story Every mans Acts both first and last are written in the Apocryphal Book of conscience The sin of Judah is written with the pen of iron and with the point of a Diamond it is graven upon the Table of their heart Jer. 17. 1. It is not the lot of every mean man to have his Acts and memory perpetuated it is the honour of Kings and sometimes of some other more eminent persons of David it is said 1 Chro. 29. 29. Now the rest of the Acts of David the King first and last behold they are written in the Book of Samuel the Seer and in the book of Nathan the Prophet and in the Book of Gad the Seer But of every man of whatsoever quality it may be said the rest of his Acts though they be not mentioned in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings yet first and last they are all written in the book of the Chronicles of conscience by Syneidesis the Seer and Synteresis the Recorder Now to draw to a conclusion conscience I said was then a good conscience when it doth discharge all his forenamed Offices A Magistrate a Minister a Judge a Witness is then good when each of them is good in his proper place and function and indeed that every one is in truth which he is in discharge of his particular Calling Then is conscience good when it doth officiate well and doth the part of a Minister of a Magistrate of a Witnesse and of a Judge In these four tespects I may say of conscience Ipsa indicat ipsa imperat ipsa observat ipsa judicat as Bernard excellently Ipsa testis ipsa judex ipsa tortor ipsa carcer Ipsa accusat Lib. de consc cap. 9. ipsa judicat ipsa punit ipsa damnat A good conscience is a good Minister a good Magistrate a good Witness a good Judge the best of friends but an ill conscience is an observer of thee will be an informer against thee and both thine adversary and accuser and witness and Judge and Jaylor and Executioner and Tormentor too the worst of enemies Hence flow five Corollaries or conclusions Corollary 1. Conscience is to perform his two first Offices viz. of a Minister to inform and direct and of a King to command and prescribe before a work is to be done or when in fieri Conscience should call in Understanding and Faith to advise with and herein imitate God who Gen. 1. 26. intending to Create Man propounds his Action propounds his End and propounds his Model Let us make man in our Image after our likenesse and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the ayre and over the cattell and over all the earth c. So should we say Let me upon deliberation do such an Act after such a manner to such an end This is to Act according to conscience and consequently according to God Corollary 2. When a work or action is already done In facto esse conscience is to discharge his two last Offices of a witness and of a Judge to accuse or excuse to approve or reprove and so to passe sentence Thus did God after every dayes work finished he reviewed his worke and saw with much content and fulness of approbation it was good And at last Gen. 1. 31. God saw every thing that he had made and behold it was very good So should we review all our actions before we passe from them to new businesses Let thine eyes look right on and let thine eye-lids look strait before thee Ponder the path of thy feet and let all thy ways be established Prov. 4. 25 26. There you have these two rules in the well learning and practising whereof lies the chiefest businesse of Practical conscience Coroll 3. When a man goes wilfully against the two first Acts or Offices of Conscience viz. Ministerall Regall he commits the highest sin and draws on the greatest guilt Maxima violatio Conscientiae maximum peccatum Ames What made the sin of the lapsed Angels unpardonable but because they went against a full and clear light of a fully informed conscience and divinely irradiated understanding Their sin had many ingredients of that sin against the holy Ghost in it being committed against clear light much received grace with full consent of will having much of malice in it therefore no wonder it became unpardonable And whence is it that the sin against the