Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	lord_n	name_n	write_v	5,698	5	5.8489	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B12251	Good newes from Canaan Full of heauenly comfort and consolation, for all those that are afflicted either in bodie or minde. With a proofe of true repentance for the same. By William Cowper, minister of Gods word, and B. of Galloway.	Cowper, William, 1568-1619.	1613 (1613)	STC 5919; ESTC S114575	78,519	300

the pleasures of the Paradise of a good Conscience a seede of Sathan a peece of leauen that sowreth and infecteth all it comes among turning sweetest things into bitter It is but a small thing to looke to soone done in the twinckling of an eye but hath an enduring sting and produceth manifold and great euill effects it perturbeth all being but one and spoyle man of the comfort of all God his creatures miserable men bewitched with the deceipt of sinne drunken with the present false pleasures therof cannot beleeue this it is but a pastime to them to doe wickedly but let them know it shall turne to bitternesse in the end But of this more in the third verse where hee complaines that his sinne was euer before him The word that in this petition God hath his accompt Booke wherein the debts of men that is their sinnes are Registred Dauid vseth is Machah signifiing a scraping a blotting out hee alludes as it seemes to the maner of them who haue their accompt Bookes wherein they write vp their debts whereof they purpose to haue paiment although they spare for a time wherupō Dauid sayeth I know Lord thou hast thine owne accompt Booke wherein thou writest the transgressions of them with whom thou mindest to enter in iudgement according to that The sinne of Iuda is written with a Penne of yron and Iere. 17. the point of a Diamond Let not O Lord my debt stand Registred there but of thy mercie put it and blot it out I haue done enough for my part to put my owne name out of the Booke of life and insert it in the Roll of them that must come to iudgement I know there is a standing decree in thy Booke That death is the wages of sinne If my sinne stand in thy Register I am but a dead man Lord quicken me forgiue me my trespasse and put away the Colos 2. 13. hand-writing of thy ordinance which is contrarie to me But here let vs marke how The bookes are two the booke of his Science and the booke of our Conscience it is that the Lord putteth sinne out of his two-fold Register First out of the booke of his owne science hee putteth the sinnes of his children vtterly both the gilt and the memorie of them hee putteth away so that out of his accompt booke hee scrapes our debt cleane away that it appeares not againe according to his promise I will remember their sinnes no more But out of the Register of our conscience hee putteth the gilt the accusing and tormenting power of it but abolisheth not vtterly the remembrance of it He reserues some monument of our sinnes in our memorie after that they are forgiuen partly to humble vs when wee looke backe vnto them and partly to preserue vs from committing the like in time to come And further we see how Dauid Blind are they who thinke they can make satisfaction to God for their debts acknowledgeth his debt was more then hee was able to pay and therefore disclaiming his owne sufficiencie hee appeales to Gods mercy beseeching the L. to blot it out for he had not to pay it It is a pitiful blindnesse in the aduersaries of the truth that teacheth poore people to leane vnto mans satisfactions which they must make to God for their sinnes either here or in Purgatorie how wilt thou satisfie that infifinite maiestie of God for thy manifold sinnes Ille figulus tu Ber. Scr. de quadrup debito figmentum When thou hast giuen vnto him all that thou art able either by doing or suffering Nonneistud est sicut stella ad solem gutta ad fluuium What is it but as if one should compare a Starre with the Sunne or a drop with a riuer Nemo est qui millesimae imo nec minimae parte debitorum suorum valeat respondere I see it was blindnes and so it is whatsoeuer shew of learning bee in them who maintaine it if they knew how great is the debt that man oweth vnto God they would say with Bernard There is none in the world able to answere the thousand part nay not the smallest part of that Debt which man oweth vnto God Away therefore with that blasphemous word of humaine satisfaction for except the Lord haue compassion on vs and for Mattb. 18. 27. giue the debt there remaines nothing for vs but to be pined in prison for euer And this also is to bee obserued By three words Dauid expresseth his sin to shew the greatnesse thereof how Dauid making mention of his sinne contents him not with one word but changes there sundrie words to expresse it whereof the one Pashang signifieth defection and rebellion the other Gnauah signifieth peruersuesse or crooked doing the third Chatta signifieth to erre or wander from the marke Men who do weigh sinne in the balance of consuetude can neuer knowe the weight of it they esteeme it but a light thing but godly men who weigh it in the balance of the Sanctuarie and examine it according to the rule of the word find it such a horrible euill as wherein manifold euils doe concurre VERSE 2. Wash me throughly from mine iniquitie and cleanse me from my sinne DAuid insists and Three things which make feruent Prayer in other termes hee repeates his former petition There are three things which make earnestnes and feruencie in prayer First Conscience of sinne Secondly feare or sense of wrath Thirdly ardent desire of mercie these three were at this time strong in Dauid and therfore sends hee vp feruent and strong petitions to God More particularly we learne Sinne a vile vncleannesse here that Sinne is a filthynesse which defiles a man there is no vncleannesse can make vs so vile and abhominable in the eyes of man as sinne maketh vs in the eyes of God what more vile thing in the world then a Menstruous cloth If euen our righteousnesse bee like vnto it as Esay witnesseth I pray you whereunto shall our vnrighteousnesse be compared or what similitude can be gotten sufficiently to expresse it Now as it is an vncleannes indeed would to God we could so esteeme of it we can suffer no vncleannes in our bodies but incontinent we wash it away Neither can abide it in our garments but without delay wee remedie it yea the smallest vncleannesse in the vessels that serue vs for meate and drinke makes our very foode lothsome vnto vs But alas wee haue not halfe of that care to keepe our Soules and Consciences cleane from the filthy pollution of sinne nor yet to wash them in that Fountaine opened to DAVIDS house for sinne and for vncleannesse when we haue defiled them And yet a great necessitie to doe so lies vpon vs for we are No part can we haue with Christ if he wash vs not warned that no vncleane thing can enter into heauenly Ierusalem That answere giuen by the Lord Iesus vnto Peter Ioh. 13. 8. stands

heart and spirit vnto him But least wee should thinke Contrition of spirit many waies expressed in scripture that euery spirit is acceptable to God he addes this epithet That a Contrite spirit is Gods sacrifice or as after he cals it a broken heart it is called by Ioel a rent heart by Esay it is compared to a bruised reed and it is also called a pricking of the heart and a melting heart such as was in Iosiah All which imports none other but that inward vnfained sorrow which is in a penitent soule for offences done against God Then were beasts vnder the As beasts in the Law were 1. bound 2. slaine 3. sacrificed so must our spirits be law said to be sacrificed to the Lord when they were taken from commō prophan vses bound with cords to the horns of the Altar afterward slaine offered by fire vnto God And so is it to be done with our affections if wee minde to sacrifice them to the Lord we must first separate them from their wonted wanderings wee must binde them with the cords of Gods word and lay them downe at the feete of Christ as his captiues by godly sorrow we must slay that sinfull pleasure which was the former life of our affection and then become they sacrifices vnto God But heere the difference is But in these sacrifices beasts offered lost their liues here men sacrificed recouer their liues great for beasts sacrificed vnder the law lost their liues and became dead creatures that they might be sacrificed But we when wee are sacrificed of dead creatures are made liuing wee being dead in sinnes and trespasses then begin to liue when sinne is slaine and sinfull lusts mortified in vs. Oh that wee could remember this that the strife betweene vs and sin is here Who shall slay other if sinne liue we must die if we slay it we shall liue except we binde our affections and deliuer them captiues to Christ they shall binde vs and deliuer vs captiues to Satan And that yet better we may know the quality and valour Three things concurre to a contrite spirit of a contrite spirit let vs consider these things in it first an inward sorrow for sinne which causeth repentance to saluation 1 An inward sorrow not to be repented of Sinne is contracted with carnall pleasure but is dissolued with spirituall displeasure euen as the cause of sickenesse is remoued by medicine which is contrary to it And this godly dolor is not onely profitable to cure sinnes past but also to preuent them in time to come Cum dolemus admissa admittenda excludimus Amb. lib. 2. de paeniten cap. 10. fit quaedam de condemnatione culpae disciplina innocentiae for when wee mourne for sinnes done we close the doore vpon sinnes to be don and the damning of our former faults becomes a discipline whereby we are instructed to amend in time to come Secondly in a contrite spirit there is a great sincerity it is 2 Sincerity without dissimulation that blessed spirit wherein there is no guile no couering nor dissembling of sinne for as in a thing which is brayed stamped the very inward parts of it are made manifest and that which before was with a skin or shel is now presented to the eye of man so is it in a soule truely humbled these sinnes which were secret couered the contrite spirit casts them out and makes them open to God man fearing no shame in the eyes of man if so be it may finde mercie in the eyes of God And therefore said Augustine of contrition that it was Sanitas animarum holocaustum medullarum a health of the soule and an offering to God not of any outward matter but of the inward marrow And thirdly this true contrition is neuer without faith 3 True faith with an earnest desire of mercie which causeth such a vehemēt desire of mercie as maketh the soule of man to long to wait to faint to crie to hunger to thirst for Gods consolation the delay whereof makes the soule of the creature pine away with inward griefe and he becoms like that book wherin Ezechiel saw written lamentations Aug. Ezech. 11. and wo for still he cries Wo is me alwayes til the comforter com and assure him that his sinnes are forgiuen him Now this being spoken of A contrite spirit called sacrifices in the plurall and why the contrit spirit we are to see why hee cals it sacrifices in the plurall number the reasons heereof are two first because this is more worth in Gods eies then all the legall sacrifices though they were ioyned in one this one excelleth them al next because in the contrite spirit are many sacrifices for it strikes the life of euery sinfull affection and so sacrifices many beasts to the Lord Nam si Gregor Moral vis compunctionis in intimis afficit omnis strepitus prauae suggetionis obinutescit for if once the sting of godly compunction touch the heart incontinent the whispering of wicked suggestion is silenced Vnder the law such as wee Nobles and Princes offered As Princes vnder the law multiplied externall sacrifices so now powerfull Christians are discerned by manifold internall oblations 2. Chro. 7. great oblations which far exceeded the offerings of the poore Wee read at one time Salomon offered many thousand sacrifices the common people contenting themselues with the offering of Pigeons and such like more simple sacrifices But now Princes among Gods people in Gods estimation are they who sacrifice most of their sinfull affections vnto him If the Lord should send vs to the bosome of the earth to the deepe bottome of the sea to the vttermost ends of the world to seeke a sacrifice for him wee might most iustly be astonished and specially the poorer sorte whose meanes may not extend to the furniture of so great a sacrifice but now O man since They are inexcusable who sacrifice not to God seeing that which be craues is within them the Lord requires no thing but that which is within thee or at least may be and should be if thou haue not to offer him a contrite spirit a sorrowfull heart for sinne is not all excuse taken away from thee God hath proclaimed to men what is the sacrifice that pleaseth him and if any man offer it not vnto him it is not because he may not but because he will not for in this sacrifice the poore may excell the most rich and honourable men in the world A contrite spirit is called Gods sacrifice because he is the giuer of it And yet further that hee cals the contrite spirit the sacrifices of God imports that he is the giuer of this grace he powers vpon his people the spirit of grace and compassion which causes them to mourne hee takes away the stony heart and giues them a heart of flesh Euen as he prouided a sacrifice for Abraham when hee called him