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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	life_n	name_n	write_v	18,504	5	6.4426	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10929	The true conuert. Or An exposition vpon the vvhole parable of the prodigall. Luke. 15. 11.12. &c. Wherein is manifestly shewed; 1. Mans miserable estate by forsaking of God. 2. Mans happie estate by returning to God. Deliuered in sundry sermons, by Nehemiah Rogers, preacher of Gods Word, at St Margarets Fish-street. And now by him published, intending the farther benefit of so many as then heard it; and the profit of so many as shall please to read it.	Rogers, Nehemiah, 1593-1660.	1620 (1620)	STC 21201; ESTC S116104	291,820	402

of affections Men may not sigh or change countenance at any kinde of accident but they must be so mortified as that they neuer grieue or reioyce or be angry no not when Gods owne cause requires it Yet we finde that the cheefest of Gods Saints haue had vse of them and Christ himselfe who was holy harmelesse separate from sinners wept ouer Lazarus Iohn 11.35 and ouer Ierusalem Luke 19.41 Marke 3.5 and beheld the incredulous Iewes with anger being grieued for the hardnesse of their hearts 2. Sort are worldlings who thinke grace kils affections especially Ioy and Delight Spiritus Caluinianus est spiritus melancholicus Gods children haue their ioy and delight as doth appeare First because they haue only cause to reioyce they being freed from all euils Secondly they hauing right to the promise 2 Pet. 1.13 Thirdly their names being written in the booke of life Luke 10 20. Fourthly they haue peace of conscience Prou. 15.15 Fiftly they daily drawing out of the wels of consolation Isay 12.3 Sixtly they haue Gods comfortable presence Zeph. 3.15 Secondly because God commands them to reioyce Phil. 4.4 Zeph. 3.14 Psal 32.11 Isay 4.1 Thirdly by many examples of such as haue reioyced Psal 119. Psal 14. Esay 25.9 38.19.20.21 The second sort that are to be reprooued are worldlings and prophane persons who thinke that grace doth driue out and kill all affections especially that of Ioy and Delight They thinke there is no ioy nor mirth belongs vnto a Christian but when men once beginne to liue godly they must giue a farewell and bid adieu to all mirth and gladnesse whatsoeuer and betake themselues to a mopish heauy lumpish and solitary life as their common prouerb testifieth But this is a foule deceit of the Deuill whereby he labours to put godlinesse out of countenance for grace doth not abolish this nor any other affection Christians haue their ioy as well as others haue they doe reioyce as much and more then any other doe or can and indeed none haue cause to reioyce but they For first they onely haue their sinnes pardoned they onely are set free from those infinite euils which are fruits of sinne wherewith all others are beset From Death and Hell are they deliuered and therefore haue cause of ioy Secondly they and they onely haue right to all Gods promises that concerne this life or a better Thirdly they and they only haue a certaine assurance that their names are written in the booke of life wherin they haue greater cause to reioyce then if they had the Deuils in subiection to them Fourthly they and they onely haue peace of conscience which is a continuall feast and makes men glad and cheerefull Fiftly these and these onely doe conscionably performe good duties and are conuersant in good exercises which are the Wels of consolation these onely haue pitchers to draw Sixtly and lastly they and they onely haue the comfortable presence of God to refresh them euen as the Sunne doth the earth how then can it possibly be but they must haue ioy Againe if it were so that they haue no ioy why doth the Lord command them to reioyce yea that alwaies Reioyce alwayes againe I say reioyce And why doth hee giue it so strictly in charge to his Embassadors to comfort them Comfort you comfort you my people saith our God And doe we not finde many examples in Scripture of such as haue reioyced and that in time of tribulation and affliction when crosses haue lien heauy vpon them Surely if they haue reioyced at such times we may well be perswaded they are not without ioy at other times and seasons But we see no such matter in them Answere no wonder for the stranger shall not enter into his ioy they shall not meddle with it no nor indeede discerne it for it is Internall and must be discerned by the eie of faith rather then with that of nature And againe the obiects of his ioy are not Carnall but Spirituall Rom. 5.3 Obiect Answ Prou. 14.10 The ioy of the Godly internall therefore not discerned by the wicked Obiects of a christians ioy are not Carnal but spirituall Phil. 4.7 1 Sam 21.9 he doth not reioyce in carnall things as he did before his conuersion he hath now better obiects for his ioy as First God and then those benefits which of his loue and mercy flow from him to vs in Christ Iesus Now the stranger who cannot enter into this ioy thinkes he hath no ioy because it is not on wordly things as thers is But wouldst thou know his ioy then practise for a while holy and religious courses for it cannot be knowne but by experience It passeth all vnderstanding none but he that feeles it knowes it and then thou wilt change thy mind and say as Dauid of Goliahs sword None like to it giue it me Secondly is this soe that Regeneration doth not taken away our Ioy nor any affection of the heart then we see our Vse 2 liberty in the vse of them as occasion shall serue so they bee directed to their right obiects and with due measure and moderation according to the nature of the obiect And amongst all other let this affection of Ioy and Delight for which we haue Gods Mandate so often bee more in vse Out vpon that lumpishnesse and vnchearfullnesse which is to be seene in too too many professors whereby they greatly darken the glory of Religion and cause the way of God to be euill spoken of It may bee a question whether such doe more dishonour God by seruing him so heauily or not by seruing him at all This I am sure of Inconueniences arising from vnchearfull vncomfortable walking it opens the mouthes of the wicked and disheartens many that are comming on besides the much hurt that comes vnto themselues heereby As exposing of there hearts to the diuells temptations and making themselues exceedingly lyable thereunto as also it maketh them marueilous vnfit for any good dutie or exercise whether it be hearing reading praying meditation or the like Further it is vnder the reigne of continuall vnthankfullnesse for how is it possible that that man should be thankfull to God for his mercies whom they affect not to reioycing And lastly it makes the Lord offended with vs This was one maine cause of Gods dispeasure against Israel Deut. 28.47.48 and of his giuing them vp into the hands of their enemies to serue in hunger in thirst and in nakednesse and in want of all things Because they serued not the Lord their God in ioyfullnesse and with gladnesse of heart Now fie vpon it then that any christian should serue God so heauily God cannot abide it away with it then and serue God hereafter with more ioy and alacrity There is nothing that can be true cause of sorrow to the godly Art thou in Christ then thou canst thinke of nothing that can be true cause of sorrow to thee thy sinnes

weaknesse yeelding thereunto I came to some second thoughts and began to consider First what good might redound hereby to the Church of God for albeit Preaching be the cheife yet writing is not without it vse and profit Some are lame and sicke and weake and cannot come to the hearing of the word preached now for such to haue some plaine Exposition or Sermon vpon some part of Scripture must needs be very comfortable and vsefull Yea and in some respect writing may seeme to claime the priuiledge Quo liceat libris non licet ●re mihi for this reacheth far and neere My bookes may be admitted where I cannot come And further this tendeth for the good not onely of the liuing as Preaching doth but also for the good of such as are yet vnborne In which respect saith one He that speaketh profiteth for an houre but he that writeth profiteth for euer Secondly I considered what an excellent helpe it was both for the Vnderstanding as also for the Memorie Alas I how dull are we of conceiuing in the things of God so that a thing once spoken is as good as neuer spoken such is our corruption But this giueth a man leaue to pawse vpon and ponder on the things we haue heard deliuered So that though Preaching moueth the Affections and worketh more vpon them yet Printing may be said to teach more and better to informe the iudgment And so for our Memories who findes not how leaking siue-like they are in reteyning of diuine truth strawes haires indeed will these sieues hold some odd conceit or broken phrase shall be remembred when the pure water shall runne out Sound solid matter shall be quite forgotten But now by our often reading things are brought againe into our mindes and a long time reteyned in our memories and what formerly wee haue heard deliuered is as it were still sounding in our eares Thirdly I remembred what neuer can sufficiently be bewailed my time mis-spent and lost which caused me to redeeme some time with the losse of my owne case and pleasure that I might doe good this way to Gods Church and people And lastly the euill reports that some malignant spirits made of me when I preached them viz. that I taught noueltie and false Doctrine and what I did proceeded from a spirit of gall and bitternes and the like hath much moued me to this worke All these things being well weighed did darken my former thoughts and caused me to pervse my Notes and as I had time to fit them for the Presse which now I send into the world desiring the blessing of heauen to accompanie them that they may be profitable As for the Matter I doubt not but it is sound and good and how euer Eccles 1.9 There is no new thing vnder the Sunne And that there can be nothing sayd but what hath beene said before as the Heathen man could say Nihil est iam dictum quod non sit dictum prius yet there may be a more full opening and a more perspicuous deliuering of poynts yea and daily is to the great benefit of the Church of God though happily in regard of the summe and substance of matters the former saying may be true I cannot then here promise thee Christian Reader any new thing which thou hast not before heard of but this I can promise thee though nothing els Thou hast here this Parable handled more amply and fully then to my knowledge thou euer hast had it heretofore for I know not any that haue trauailed throughout in the opening of it I doe confesse I with the little Bee haue flowne ouer many a Garden and sucked many a flower for this little and haue beene beholding to many an Author both old and new for some matter and stuffe towards the erecting of this building But blame me not for this seeing I haue done no other then all other Expositors haue done before me and withall haue laboured by enlargement to make those things as vsefull to thee as I could As for the style it is plaine and homely though I trust not ouerhomely I haue euer desired and I hope for euer shall so to speake as that the simplest might vnderstand ayming in all my teaching at that to which the whole Scripture driues viz Humilitie Comfort and Conscience of obedience Rom. 3.27 First at the humbling of the obstinate and impenitent and abasing of their pride Secondly at the comforting of the distressed soule Rom. 5.1 and setling of his conscience in true solid peace through the assurance of Gods loue Thirdly at the framing of mens hearts to a constant desire and care of pleasing God and to the prouoking and stirring vp of the penitent to more obedience 1. Cor. 2.1.4 Now this I know cannot be performed with excellencie of speech nor with the enticing words of mans wisedome If then the style dislike thee as too homely harsh or ragged being neither round nor fluent know that matter was more regarded then Rhetoricall termes And the Author desires rather to work vpon the conscience then to tickle the eare with affected eloquence And to be plaine he hath no skill in crooked conceits which if he had yet he would be loath to spend his time so idly as to feed that itching humour of many which hath more need to be purged then to be nourished But to be briefe seeing that this booke is come into thy hands let me desire thee first to read it through begin not onely but make an end thou knowest not the best wine may be reserued vntill the last Iohn 2.10 To read by snatches and by peece-meales here a little and there a little or els by fits as it were vpon rainie dayes seldome proueth profitable read constantly and read it ouer and when thou hast so done ouer with it againe vpon thy second reading what formerly seemed difficult will appeare more plaine Secondly I desire thee before thou readest to amend those faults which are escaped in the Printing and where so euer thou findest words falsyfied sentences dismembred or confounded by false poynting or the like couer them with thy loue Besides literall and punctuall faults which are too too many there are many materiall faults which doe much peruert and obscure the sence especially in the former part of this booke for a more heedfull regard was had for the remainder after it was perceiuied as page 1.1 line 23. it is thus sayd It speakes against the Deuils Diana this Idoll of vice with so many worshippers when it should haue beene thus printed That speakes against the Diuels Diana this Idoll vice which so many worship And so againe page 29. line 16. you shall finde it thus printed I confesse this affection in worldly mens iudgements is a strange Paradoxe when it should haue bin thus I confesse this assertion c. And in the 45. page and the last line you haue it thus God is immediately the first

haue their fits and much indanger your soules and bodies The last Vse shall be an exhortation to such as are yet Vse 3 in the estate of Nature to pittie themselues and pray for themselues that they may haue their sences restored to them when thou seest a Lunatique to rage and raue to rend and teare his haire and flesh thou canst not but pittie and send forth a prayer for him that God would helpe him Behold oh man I thine owne estate such a one art thou void of all sence and spirituall vnderstanding who doest daily wound thine owne soule by sinne be as mercifull to thy selfe as thou art to others bewaile thine owne fearefull estate crie to God for helpe and redresse neuer giue ouer till thou art brought to thy selfe and being once cured commiserate the estate of others that are not Turne not their madde pranke into a iest as most doe but turne to God by prayer for their recouerie as few doe And thus much shall serue for this point which the phrase hath afforded now to the motiues or inducements causing his turning He first takes himselfe aside and begins to consider of the estate wherein he stood He said whence learne Doctr. Examination of our hearts the first step to Repentance Ier. 8.6 That a taking our selues aside and diligent examination of our hearts and waies is the first step to Repentance Thus much is implied in these words of Ieremiah cap. 8. ver 6. I hearkened and heard but they spake not aright no man repented him of his wickednesse saying What ha●e I done They repented not why surely because they examined not themselues they communed not with their owne hearts saying What haue I done Thus much also is expressed by him in the 3. Chap. of his Lamentations and the 40. Lament 3.40 verse Let vs search and try our wayes and turne againe vnto the Lord there must be a searching and trying before there can be any turning The reason is plaine Reason because we can neuer know our wayes what they are nor whither they lead without a serious consideration and strict examination of them a Physitian cannot know the estate of a mans bodie without some good search and inquisition how then can a man know the condition of his soule Now the ignorance of a mans owne bad estate is neuer seuered from a false perswasion of a mans owne good estate Reuel 3. as wee haue example in the Church of Laodicea hee that is ignorant of his owne waies euer thinkes his waies to bee the best waies and who in such an errour will desire any change or turning Vse 1 The vses are first to conuince and condemne such as walke on securely in ignorance and neuer take notice of their waies neither call their courses to account yet thinke their estate to be very good and no mans better that they haue repented and their sinnes shall be pardoned But how is this possible can thy sinnes be pardoned before they be repented of and is it possible to repent of them before thou doest know them and canst thou euer know them without faithfull searching and acurate sifting into them deceiue thy selfe no longer with thy vaine dreames for alas thou dreamest thou art so farre from repentance that as yet thou art not capable of it seeing thou hast not called thy selfe to a reckoning Vse 2 Secondly Let this stirre vs vp to a diligent search and examination of our estates Wouldst thou repent of thy sinnes turne from them and haue them pardoned then labour to know them striue to find them out consider of thy wayes make a stand for a while and examine thy courses put the question to thy soule What haue I done and againe propound it wherein am I failing Take the light of Gods law that will shew thee thy filthinesse that will discouer vnto thee thy great corruptions and many failings Be not backeward in this dutie the more backeward thou art the greater cause hast thou to feare thy estate It is a secret guiltinesse of sinne that causeth a backewardnesse in our examination Bankcrupts that are not worth a groat doe not dare not looke into their estate because they know they be worse then nought Be then perswaded to call thy courses to account consider the estate wherein now thou art thy case is fearefull because thou art ignorant of it but it is desperate if thou wilt not be perswaded to looke into it but on the other side if thou wilt take thy selfe aside and commune with thy owne heart as Dauid speakes surely then thou wilt be in a faire forwardnesse to a sound conuersion Psalme 4. Lastly Let mee adde a word of exhortation vnto all Vse 3 in as much as all haue sinned and all doe sinne and therefore had need daily to repent often to consider of your waies and courses let no day passe ouer without examination Call to minde what euils haue been committed what good duties omitted which God hath required suffer not thy eyes to slumber nor the temples of thy head to take any rest tell this taske bee performed Would Christians daily keepe this course and well consider of their carriages the day past they would soone finde the excellent commodities of it to their vnspeakeable comfort Oh how watchfull would it make them ouer their courses and how many a sinne would be preuented which now for want hereof they fall into Psal 119.59 this was Dauids practise I haue considered my wayes and what followes I haue turned my feet vnto thy testimonies As oft as hee considered his waies hee euer found some defect that needed redresse so will it bee with thee thou shalt neuer strictly examine thy estate but thou shalt euer finde somewhat that needeth amendment Make conscience then of the practise of this dutie wee see how needefull consideration is in the things of this life for without it no estate of life can be well ordered The Marriner must consider his course by his Compasse or else he is in danger to runne on rockes or sands The Merchant if he consider not his affaires by his Count booke will quickely prooue bankcrupt The Traueller if hee considers not his way will soone goe wrong if hee seeth many waies before him hee considereth with himselfe which of them to choose neither will hee goe on till hee be well aduised which is the best How much more then should we consider of our actions whose course is to the kingdome of Heauen for euery way leadeth not to it Doth euery one vse consideration in euery estate of life And shall a Christian onely bee carelesse farre bee this from vs. There is no passing from earth to Heauen without consideration How many hired seruants See here the two motiues of his turning First he saw his owne miserie and that draue him from himselfe I perish with hunger Secondly Hee remembreth his Fathers mercy and that brought him vnto him How many hired seruants of my Fathers