Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
conscience_n	accuse_v	evil_a	excuse_v	1,813	5	9.4788	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A81566	Divine characters: or, The true Christian discovered, and the hypocrite detected. In three treatises. The first treatise shewing, that both saints and unconverted sinners ought daily to go to God in Jesus Christ, for pardon of their sins ... The second treatise shewing, how we are to expect salvation, not from any righteousness of our own, but by the righteousness of the mediator, Jesus Christ ... The third treatise shewing, The Gospel evidences of a true Christian ... ; To which is added the summe and substance of the Christian religion, in a short catechise.	P., A.	1695 (1695)	Wing D1718A; ESTC R174671	155,114	255

to phrase it and are subject to whatsoever the Law pronounceth against the transgressors of it 3. All the partial keeping of the Law will not deliver a Soul from that penalty that belongs to the breach of the whole Keep me all or none as to your deliverance from the curse saith the law But this I am further to prove when I speak to the next verse The impossibility of a sinners being accepted by his best keeping of the law Vse 1. Are all Men and Women in the World young and old naturally under the law bound over to the most exact and rigorous fulfilling it under a curse and are indeed under all the curses and threatnings it pronounceth and bound to make God satisfaction in your persons while you are under it Oh! let every poor Sinner be convinced of it what a state is this for any poor soul to rest it self satisfied in who is the man or woman that is not a transgressor of it and therefore see to it and that before the execution of judgment come upon thee without remedy Sinner if thou wast condemned by the Law and under a sense of death how wouldst beg for a reprieve and beg of all thy friends to interpose for thee what an amazing word would it be to thee Thou art condemned to dye Ah sinner 't is the case of thy precious soul Thou art condemn'd to eternal death by the law of God the sentence is pronounc'd from the righteous Judge of Heaven Away Sinner with all speed to a Mercy seat Acknowledge thy condemation just by the Law go to the great and potent Advocate of Heaven Jesus Christ the righteous put thy case into his hand tell him thou bast none else to make to and that thou hast heard he hath helped many a condemned Sinner in the same case as thou art and that thou hast heard he hath laid down a price for such as thou art to redeem them from the curse of the Law Follow him and if he speak but a word to the just and great God for thee the sentence of the law is remitted a pardon of grace comes forth and at last the Holy Ghost shall be sent from the Father and the Son to witness it and seal it in thy own Conscience and that blessed word shall be thine Therefore there is now no condemnation c. who shall condemn me since Jesus Christ hath cleared me and hath made the Court of Heaven for me Go and ponder in thy soul every day and say Is' t nothing to be under a Curse condemned by a Law to be damned for ever shall I let my poor soul lie in such a case one hour longer especially when a way I hear is open'd to me to get from under it Say what satisfaction can I wretched creature make to the righteous God None but by suffering what infinite justice will lay upon me which is no less than infinite punishment Oh! get in upon thy conscience what it is to be condemned by the great God to lye under guilt to have no plea or excuse by the Law left thee which I will labour to prove to thy conscience and then further urge thee which is the import of the next point Obser 2. A transgressor of the law as he hath nothing to boast in so he hath nothing to excuse himself for his sin or from the righteous judgment of God due unto him which is drawn from these words That every mouth may be stopped c. This the Apostle intimates Rom. 2.1 Therefore thou art inexcusable O man c. speaking to the Jew who went about to free himself And the judgment of God is according to truth against them which do such things verse 2. Reason 1. A poor sinner hath nothing to excuse himself for sinning against the law of God because the law is good and righteous Rom. 7.12 Therefore the law is holy and the Commandment holy just and good saith Paul when he was under such a Conviction of sinning against it as we are pressing So 1 Tim. 1.8 But we know that the law is good c. 'T is a Law that gives glory to the Creator and all good and blessedness as in it self to the Creature A Law that 's full of all wisdom and blessedness takes care for the good blessing peace order of the whole Creation that man might not sin against his Maker nor in the least harm nor think to do so his fellow creature so that its proper end is goodness preservation to all Now what excuse for a creature most concern'd in the good of it for sinning against such a Law what hath a creature to say for himself how inexcusable is he before God Angels and Men 2. God writ this holy and blessed Law in the heart of Adam as he was a publick person whereby he and in him all mankind had power to keep it therefore the sinner hath no excuse before God He gave man a power though he did not lay a necessity upon his will but left them to the liberty of it but man corrupted himself Gen. 6.12 Whereby he disabled himself from keeping the Law Now if a man disable himself it can be no rational excuse for neglecting the duty so that his Mouth is stopped as to any plea or excuse before the Lord. 3. Though man had blurred and defaced the fair and original Copy of this holy and good law written in his heart yet God gave it forth again by Moses in Legible Characters one end whereof was to leave all Mankind without excuse therefore this strikes off all plea for the sinner especially to such to whom it is revealed 4. There is a remnant of this Law yet in the heart of Adam which though not sufficient to enable him to an exact performance of it yet enough to leave him without excuse so Paul Rom. 2.15 to prove this point we are now upon speaking of the Gentiles Which shew the works of the Law written in their hearts their Conscience also bearing witness and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another There is enough of the law remaining in every mans heart to accuse him when he doth evil and excuse him so far as he doth right though man by habitual sinning doth much stifle it so that this also helps to aggravate his sin and to leave him without all plea or excuse 5. There is that to be known of God in the creatures that may and doth leave a sinner without all excuse for sinning against him this the Apostle argues as to this very purpose Rom. 1.20 For the invisible things of him from the Creation of the World are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even his eternal power and god head so that they are without excuse c. The creatures could not say we will make our selves thus and thus and subsist in such an order and harmony therefore there was one first Infinite Being who made all things

and by the same power doth uphold them to which first Being all the creatures must owe their homage and conformity Now though such a glimmering of light can never suffice to lead a soul to the true worshipping of God as the Apostle there argues yet it leaves the creature without excuse which is that I am proving from it 6. All the Children of men do sin presumptuously wilfully and obstinately against the Law of God mans sin being not so much from his weakness to obey the law though weak he is but from the rebellion of his will against God and his law as it is in the case of disobeying the call of the Gospel also Now whatsoever a man doth presumptuously and wilfully it leaves him without all excuse and this is it that is charged upon the Children of men by the holy Ghost in the word that their sin was obstinate rebellion against the great God From all these the truth of the Assertion doth appear that every Transgressor of the Law is without all excuse before God 7. As the Creature hath no excuse for his sin so it follows he hath no pretence against the righteous judgment of God We are sure the judgment of God is according to truth Rom. 2.2 and Chap. 3.4 That thou may'st be justified in thy savings and clear when thou art judged that is whatever any sinner may dispute to the contrary God is righteous when he judgeth if the Law be just and holy and good once written in his his heart and had a power to have kept it that God hath given out this law again to him the remnants of it in his heart so much to be known of God in the Creatures and that he sins presumptuously and wilfully against God and so blessed a law made for his own good certainly must every sinner conclude the Lord is righteous when he judgeth and every mouth must be stopped Vse 1. If it be so that no sinner in the world hath any justifiable excuse for his sin then let this truth come in into your consciences and strike off all vain pretences and wretched excuses when you have sinned against the Lord which usually are such as these when sinners break forth into this or that rebellious way they cry Oh! 't is my nature my natural disposition and then they think that excuseth or allayeth the matter whereas it aggravates for we our selves corrupted our natures Saith another I have been so accustomed to such a way to drink to excess sometimes to swear to use the Lords name vainly and as a by-word whereas the custom of sinning is the greatest and most grievous aggravation of it Saith another 't is my company that draws me or the example of others or 't is my temptation when they are under the Spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience Or that they do keep the Law as well as they can and think this will excuse Whereas nothing no plea that ever a sinful deceitful heart put up or that the Devil suggests can before God excuse any sinner in the world rich or poor knowing or ignorant from the exact and perfect keeeping of the Law if they are under the Law but upon one transgression of it the law doth most justly condemn and curse them Nothing is more natural to fallen man under sin than when having sinned to devise an excuse and thinks and surmiseth that because such an excuse will be taken by his own blinded Conscience therefore God will also accept of it and so flatters himself in his own eyes till his iniquity be found to be hateful Psal 36.2 Thus Adam as soon as he had sinn'd he thought how to excuse the matter puts it off to the woman and the woman to the Devil which trade sinners have well learnt and have driven it on ever since to their own damnation Observe this if every sinner yet under the law and the power of sin had not some vain pretence and excuse to ensilence conscience and foolishly thinks to insinuate unto God he or she must needs fall down before the Lord see all their pretences and coverts to be damnable flatteries and soul-cheatings and so Judge themselves and pronounce God most righteous if he damn them for ever Oh therefore Sinners Away with all your pretences no more excusing but judging and go to the great God and fall down at his feet crying out Oh I am a Transgressor the Law condemns me no excuse will be taken my mouth is now stopped whatever God do with me he is most holy and righteous If I were going to Hell I must justifie God and cannot say unto him why doest thou thus Thus 't is with a poor soul when the Lord by his word and spirit discovers sin reveals the law lays it in upon the conscience discovers the Holiness and Exactness of his Justice that the law shews no mercy but crys out for fulfilling or pronounceth absolute condemnation then I say a sinner crys out Oh I am cast by the Law I am gone by the Law All my Pleas are found too light All my endeavours to keep it is worth nothing if guilty in the least while I am under the law I must find out a righteousness elsewhere another way or Condemnation just condemnation is my portion for ever Here 's the first stroak of a convinced sinner when God is outing him from himself and all his Coverts or Excuses and brings him naked to put on the righteousness of his Son Jesus Christ freely held out in the Gospel which is the work in hand 2. If no excuse can be heard or taken for the the transgression of the Law for but one breach of it but every mouth is stopped how much less will any excuse be taken for withstanding the Gospel of grace by Jesus Christ Saith our blessed Lord If I had not come and spoken unto them they had not had sin that is not so great sin and comdemnation but now they have no cloak nor excuse for their sin If a righteous law leave all the world without excuse much more a Gospel that offers free grace and pardon and righteousness by Jesus Christ to any sinner condemned by the Law that will come in as so condemn'd and accept of the free gift of Righteousness by him But that I may yet a little further labour to bring in the sense of Guilt upon the soul I shall prove every soul guilty before God of the transgression of the Law and shew what the sense of guilt is which few there are that have in a saving way Observ 3. Every soul in the world is guilty before God of the transgression of the Law And all the world may become guilty before God This hath been proved where we have shew'd that All have sinned and come short of the glory of God This guilt is threefold which is set home upon every sinners heart when convinc'd of sin by the spirit 1. The guilt of Adams sin which stands charg'd

hide from man not considering the judgment of God that hangs over thee But if not so yet a heart full of uncleanness envy wrath malice which our Lord Jesus Christ in his opening the Law in its spirituality Mat. 5.21 22 27 28. convinceth to be murder and adultery which it may be thou hast never considered of so thou hast not been an actual adulterer or murderer In a word There 's not a vain thought in thy heart the first rising of it but brings thee under the guilt of condemation of the Law and as thou art under the Law as if a transgressor in thought word and deed of the whole Law This may seem strange to thee but see it proved Jam. 2.10 For whosoever shall keep the whole Law and yet offend in one point is guilty of all But it hath been proved that thou art guilty of the breach of every Commandment of God from thy youth up But see further sinner that some word of God or other may hit thee this Law could not condemn thee wouldst thou have been convinc'd of guilt and made in to grace by Jesus Christ but thou art under the guilt of Gospel-contempt Come sinner saith Jesus Christ see what I can and will do for thee I 'll save thee from this condemning Law I 'll take away the curse I 'll remove all thy guilt blot out all the charge that is against thee I 'll put a righteousness upon thee I 'll bestow my spirit upon thee I 'll give thee a heart to love God and his Law and in the inward man to delight to walk in it and then take thee to Heaven and fill thee with glory for ever All this Heaven of mercy and free grace thou hast sleighted and sinned against and brought thy self under greater condemnation than by the law And yet by the way Jesus Christ will do as much for thee still as I have spoken of and more Though thou hast thus sinned against Law and Gospel if thou wilt come a poor undone guilty soul unto him which is that I aim at in thus pressing upon thee and were the sense of guilt indeed upon thy soul thou wouldst seriously hearken to me Therefore yet further bear with me Take home this guilt to thy Conscience and say Oh guilty guilty of all that hath been this day charged from the righteous God upon me Oh may the Lord find thee out this day and lay in the fresh sense of the guilt of sins even of such thou hast long since committed do not justifie nor excuse thy self any longer for that 's the natural way of thy heart as thou hast been shewed Never did guilty prisoner at the bar find more shifts more subtle pleas than the proud and shameless heart of a sinner will do till God himself pronounce guilt in the conscience and then the guilt of one sin laid in brings in the guilt of all other and they sometimes come in like waves and billows upon thy soul Oh let the sense of thy lying swearing prophaning the Sabbath slighting the word refusing Jesus Christ out of thy secret hatred of holiness reproaching the people of God because in their practice they condemn thee Oh let this any all seize upon thee go and lye low before the great God judging charging condemning thy self and say God and his Word hath found me out this day and I go home with at arrow of God in my conscience I am the Man or Woman that am found the guiltiest soul in the Congregation how to be delivered and saved from it that 's my business now Blessed be the advice and counsel now which formerly I despised of any good man that speaks in the Name of the Lord unto me and will show me there is yet hope for so wretched a creature as I am Particularly these are the effects of the sense of the guilt of sin wrought by the Holy Ghost upon the conscience of a poor soul in order to his salvation 1. Fear of wrath to come more or less possesseth the heart can a man be guilty and not fear if truly sensible of it This was upon Adam after he had sinned and heard Gods voice which struck him with sense of guilt Gen. 3.10 I heard thy voice and was afraid so when guilt came upon Belshazzar his thoughts troubled him Dan. 5.6 Felix trembled Acts 24.25 The Jaylor came trembling Acts 16.29 The fear of wrath the fear of a miscarrying soul the fear of eternity seizeth upon the spirit of a poor creature and then 't is an infinite weighty matter with a poor soul to be saved 2. Shame is another effect of guilt brought in upon the conscience So Adam likewese was ashamed and hid himself because he was naked Gen. 3. What fruit had you in those things whereof you are now ashamed Rom. 6.21 So Ezek. 16. last That thou mayest remember and be confounded and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame when I am pacified towards thee for all that thou hast done saith the Lord See also Ezek. 43.10 11. Oh how is a sensible guilty soul ashamed before God Angels and men of such ways and carriages in which he impudently before delighted himself and lies down in his shame and confusion of face even covering his face before God and ashamed to look up unto him 3. The soul walks up and down with a burthened spirit those creature-comforts delights contentments which before would still the spirit now will not sense of guilt eats out the hearts of them the soul must now have something else than wind and vanity for so are creatures become to such a poor soul It may be the deceitful heart carries a poor creature to this thing and that but finds no satisfaction there the burden still remains the arrow that God hath shot sticks fast till Jesus Christ pluck it forth and heals all with his Blood and Spirit 4. Guilty souls make out for deliverence sue to Heaven are enquiring how the law may be satisfied how guilt may be removed how attonement may be had how bondage taken off in a word how he may come to see the face of a blessed God reconciled in Jesus Christ and so love him and bless him to eternity Why now careless sinner Is' t not better be thus than be hardening for Hell and have the guilt of sin as nothing to thee till the books shall be opened all thy sins written in Letters of Blood against thee Conscience accused charged and witnessing against thee and so away screeking to Hell without all remedy and canst not be heard a word for thy self nor any one Saint or Angel for thee Now thou mayst be heard if thou wilt speedily acknowledge thy guilt not cover thy transgression nor hide thy iniquity in thy bosom Job 31.33 but come with fear and shame burthen'd with thy guilt to him whose arms are yet open to receive thee and is ready to take away iniquity off thee and take off thy

ways of God and People of God Oh such say they have the Spirit that they be Holy and they are so strict that they will not do such and such things as others do This is a degree of Blasphemy and borders upon the brink of the unpardonable Sin These are stiled by the Apostle Revilers 1 Cor. 5.11 6.11 and they as such shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven The giving out of the Spirit upon plain meaning people in the measure it now is is a new thing but not therefore to be despised and reviled Every Town and Family almost doth abound with this wickedness and dreadful provocation and 't is the saddest sign upon the generality of people whatsoever only 't is to be hoped they do it through Ignorance as Paul did 1 Tim. 1.13 and God as he hath done may humble and convert many of them to the praise of his Grace only let sinners that have been frequently shewed the desperate wickedness of such speeches of scoffing at the Spirit and Holiness and call it Hypocrisie tremble lest God give them up when they sin against Conviction and the clear light of the word in this matter Had I time to reason a little in the power of the Lord with such souls why Consider seriously and in good earnest Can you be so sottish and so wilfully blinded that have heard or read the Scriptures to imagine that you are God's and Christ's and have not the Spirit and are not made Holy nor crying to God that you may be holy He that hath not the Spirit of Christ is none of his And without Holiness you shall not see the Lord How dare you then in the Atheism and devilish wickedness of your hearts scoff at the very Name of the Spirit and Holiness The lowest place in Hell will be yours that have been so often admonished of this unless God smite you to the Earth for it True Converts have the saddest Humiliation for this sin as they have been more or less guilty of it 2. Or you that are not so desperately carried forth in this open ungodliness of speaking evil of what you know not but yet make little Conscience of lying for your profit or in excusing a matter so you may do it covertly and count it a venial small sin or you that when provoked swear prophanely and desperately tearing the Name of the great and dreadful God wreaking your anger and wrath upon the Name of God and the blood of Christ your Tongues are set on fire on Hell and the Spirit of Disobedience the Devil worketh in you not a drop of the Grace of God in you 3. Or you who have your petty Oaths by your Faith by your Lady and by Creatures or make mention of the Name of God and Lord in your ordinary Discourse vainly and as a by-word crying Oh Lord upon every slight occasion and for God's sake and Christ's sake do this and this in poor trivial matters verily there is nothing of the New-Creature in you And yet these great Prophanesses you call your infirmities and 't is your infirmity to swear when angry and provoked and you say you forget your selves when you mention the Name of the Lord God sleightly or through Ignorance plead for it that you may do so I tell you Souls they are your reigning damning sins who are frequent in them And in carnal prayerless families as most are how oft in a day may these ungodly speeches be heard by men women and children If the fear of God were upon you or any work of Grace you durst not do it nor indeed could do Therefore do but observe your selves a day and see how often you are here guilty and tremble before God and go and humble your selves at his feet that you may find mercy and have another heart and mouth given unto you Pray and cry and wait for the good treasure of the Word of Grace in your hearts and 't will be otherwise with you 4. Yea you who are engaged in worldly Discourses on the Sabbath-day in your families at your doors in the streets in idle and vain jesting you are not of God born again by his Spirit you take no delight in the Word of God the meditation of your heart is not in it you speak little of it because you savour it not Tremble you Worldlings who shew it this way at that Word 1 John 5.5 They are of the world therefore speak they of the world and the world heareth them If ye are of the world you are not as yet of Jesus Christ the power love of this present World ruleth in you and that may damn you for ever Know sinners you that make little Conscience of vain prophane words though you pretend to make some conscience of your word of promise to Men for your credits sake and so think you have grace all which a Turk will do that by your words you shall be judged and of idle words you shalt give an account at the day of Judgment and by thy words thou shall be condemned Mat. 12.36 37. Such words as we have opened to be damning sins And therefore do not put off this guilt from you in saying 't is your infirmity and so make light of it but know 't is guilt which will send you to Hell if the Lord humble you not and change you 'T is a certain Rule a prophane heart and a prophane mouth a carnal heart a carnal tongue a worldly heart a worldly yea Sabbath-days tongue Therefore you are not New-Creatures in the least and therefore begin with the heart that the heart may be smitten of God for this sin and changed and seasoned with the word and grace of Christ upon you and it will be better with you and you will have a tongue to speak well of the Spirit and the things of God and his People and to speak for God and reverently of his Name and delight your selves in it 2. Let this be a word to such as through grace are become New-Creatures in Christ that you would shew it in this discovery in a new Tongue that you give not your selves that liberty of vain carnal much less prophane Discourses as formerly as indeed you will not if you be new Creatures Men's Converse do either lye among such as are wholly carnal and worldly or such as savour that which is good As to the former as in all our carriage so especially in our Words there is great caution to be had 1. Not to mix our selves with them unnecessarily unless we find we have strength enough through a dependency on the Lord to avoid their snares and do it with a purpose of heart to do them good by reproving or counselling them Many a good soul hath been sadly worsted by mixing unnecessarily with vain prophane or frothy company 2. If Providence cast thee amongst them sometimes it may be the Wisdom of a Child of God to keep silence as David Psal 39.1 I said I