Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
conscience_n	bad_a	good_a	quiet_a	1,755	5	9.8229	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10926	A strange vineyard in Palæstina in an exposition of Isaiahs parabolical song of the beloued, discouered: to which Gods vineyard in this our land is paralleld. By Nehemiah Rogers, Master in Arts, and pastor of the congregation at Messing in Essex.	Rogers, Nehemiah, 1593-1660.	1623 (1623)	STC 21199; ESTC S122274	258,015	353

preached is an excellent Winepresse for this end This discouers what is in a man and therefore it is compared to an Axe put to the root of the tree because it discouers who are sound and vnsound as the Axe doth For albeit by the eie it is not so soone perceiued what trees are good and what naught for many a one there may be which is strait without hauing a goodly top and faire rinde and yet rotten and hollow within yet when the Axe is brought and laid to the root and it felled then what was before vnknowne is manifestly seene In the same respect it is compared to a Fanne in Christs hand whereby he doth purge his floore Chaffe and Corne good and bad lie together vpon an heape a while but when the Gospell comes it being preached with power and a good conscience it blowes so mightily as with the gust thereof hypocrites are scattered and the faithfulnesse of such as with honest and good hearts embrace it is reuealed and made knowne After the same manner is the Word compared vnto fire which hath a double effect to waste stubble and drosse and to purifie that which is refineable as gold and siluer It enflames some mens hearts with a zealous loue to God and his glory and setteth others on fire to persecute and impugne it And to a Sword with two edges which cutteth both waies and diuides betweene the ioints and the sinewes and the marrow and the bones it doth anatomize the hearts of men and discouer the soundnesse or vnsoundnesse of them And to Light which maketh all things cleare and manifest which before lying in the darke could not be discerned nor discouered Thus we see the nature of the Word which like a Winepresse will make knowne what is within laying open the poison that lurked in the wicked and the grace and goodnesse that lay hid in the bosome of the godly Secondly Crosses and Afflictions wherewith God exerciseth his Church are as Gods Winepresse By these he doth discouer what is in his people that professe his name Thus Moses said he led his people Israel fortie yeares in the Wildernesse For to humble them and proue them to know that is to make knowne what was in their hearts And so God speaking of the remainder of his people whom he did not vtterly cut off in iudgement saith thus I will bring the third part thorow the fire and will refine them as siluer is refined and will try them as gold is tried And S. Peter comforting the faithfull in their afflictions speaketh after this manner Dearely beloued thinke it not strange concerning the fierie triall which is amongst you to proue you as though some strange thing were come vnto you c. And Saint Iames after the same manner calleth afflictions trials and temptations because they serue to trie vs what is in vs and make it knowne And indeed afflictions are blabs and tell-tales as one faith well they will not conceale the truth but make it knowne they presse out of the godly that sap and iuice of grace which is within them yea the more they are pressed the more the liquor of grace distilleth from them the more abundant they are in praier confessior humiliation c. But from the wicked they can presse nothing but noisome stinking putrifaction all they send forth in the day of trouble is railing murmuring and impatiencie Thirdly Discipline or the Spirituall censures of the Church executed against such members of the Church as haue fallen into any scandalous offence the highest degree whereof is Excommunication and debarring from the publike ordinances of God and societie of the faithfull both publike and priuate are as a Winepresse And though it be not absolutely of the essence of the Church no more than the Winepresse is essentiall to the Vineyard yet it cannot well be wanting in the Church no more than a Winepresse can be wanting in a Vineyard By and in the true vse whereof the sinner becomes humbled and reformed Others are terrified and made afraid And the ordinances of God are kept in reuerence The sweet iuice that this ordinance of God wringeth forth S. Paul sheweth in his second Epistle to the Corinthians For behold saith he this selfe-same thing that you sorrowed after a godly sort what carefulnesse it wrought in you yea what clearing of your selues yea what indignation yea what feare yea what vehement desire yea what zeale yea what reuenge In all things ye haue approued your selues to be cleare in this matter All this may serue to stirre vp euery one to looke that their hearts be vpright and sincere and our graces sound and sauing for God will in time discouer vs. His Wine-presse is for some vse and end we must assuredly be brought vnto the triall first or last he will presse vs to the purpose and then what will become of faire shewes and flourishes The house that is built vpon the sands makes as goodly a shew as any other in a faire Sun-shine day and stands as well while the weather is calme but when the windes arise and the raine beats then it falls and is not able to stand out the triall And the fall of that house is great saith our blessed Sauiour If thou beest not sound at the core thy false-heartednesse will appeare when thou commest vnto the Presse it cannot be hid Haply the word and discipline hath discouered abundance of corruption in thee and caused thee to murmur repine and grudge c. Well assure thy selfe the Wine-presse of affliction will discouer farre more when thou shalt be brought vnto it and how soone we may be tried therewith God only knowes Lesser and lighter afflictions make thee as the raging Sea foming out mire and dirt what then will common afflictions and heauier persecutions which may befall the Church cause thee to doe And yet as S. Paul saith concerning heresies so say I of these they must needs be that the approued may be knowne Wouldst thou then be able to endure the presse Looke well vnto thy inside thy saith must be vnfained thy loue vnfained in deed and truth thy repentance an vnfained renting of the heart and thy wisdome without dissimulation and then thou needest not feare it for as good grapes thou art pressed to be preserued not spoiled A childe or afoole indeed would thinke a goodly cluster of grapes spoyled when it is cast into the presse but a wise man knoweth if it be not cast in it will perish within a few daies If it had not beene so we had wanted the Vine we now haue Thus the pretious liquor distilled from thee shall be kept to refresh the heart both of God and man out of that gratious and sweet iuyce God will glorifie himselfe and comfort others And thus much of these particulars wherein the great care diligence of this Vinitor

what good seruice it will doe The Lord God hath set it as his deputy in the brest of man which though it bee oftentimes a neuter when the act is doing and while sinne is a commiting yet afterwards it will proue a friend and faithfull witnesse for the Lord but an aduersary against man Oh that the wicked would thinke of this who sinne in hope of secrecie why who sees them who can witnesse any thing against them who can condemne them for such or such an action Alas poore soule There is a conscience within thee that sees thee and will condemne thee thy selfe shall passe sentence against thy selfe Now thou canst hide couer and cloake thy sinne and plead in the defense thereof but when God shall cite thy conscience to giue in euidence that shall bee as a thousand witnesses and condemne thee for thy most secret sinnes Though thou doe escape all apprehension and accusation in this world yet thy owne conscience will arrest thee and hale thee vnto iudgement And albeit thou escape mans iudgement yet the iudgement of thy owne conscience thou shalt neuer escape Neither thinke that what thou thy selfe knowest shall euer bee concealed thou art priuy to thy owne lewdnesse and knowest of thy drunkennesse adultery theft c. What art thou the better then in that no body else is priuy to them so long as thou hast a conscience within thee Neither thinke thou that because thy conscience is now asleepe or feared and benummed through a continuance in the custome of sinne that it will neuer be awakened or that this is nothing so For as the poize of a clocke being downe all motion ceaseth the wheeles stirre not but being would vp all is set on going So albeit now while thy conscience is downe there is no noise nor mouing in thy heart all is quiet yet when it is wound vp by the iustice of God as one day assuredly it shall it will set all the wheeles on working thy tongue to confesse and say guilty Lord guilty thy eies to weepe thy hands to wring thy voice to cry thy heart to ake and yet all in vaine Bee watchfull therefore and euer remember Conscience Beware of hypocrisie and secret sinnes for though thou canst hide them from men and Deuils yet not from it And looke thou neglect not the checks of conscience Doth it now checke thee and reproue thee for thy waies know the time commeth when that conscience which doth now checke thee shall iudge thee and condemne thee and that which doth now reproue thee shall hereafter torment thee in endlesse woe if thou repent not Secondly seeing this is so that Man shall iudge himselfe and iustifie the Lord then let it teach vs this point of wisdome to beginne betimes and now iudge our selues that we may not be iudged Selfe-condemning is an especiall meanes to preuent future condemnation and the more speedily we set vpon the worke the more mercifully will the Lord deale with vs. It is recorded of Edward the first sometimes King of this land that being crossed by a seruant of his in the sport of Hawking and further incensed by a sawcie answer which he made vnto the Kings threatnings telling him it was well there was a riuer betweene them spurd his horse into the depth of the riuer not without great danger of his life the water being deepe and the bankes too high and steepe for his ascending Yet at last recouering land pursues his seruant with his drawne sword The seruant finding himselfe too ill horsed to outride the King and seeing no way to escape his fury lights from his horse and on his knees exposed his necke to the blow of the Kings sword The King seeing this puts vp his sword and would not touch him Behold how humble submission and selfe-iudging soone pacifles him whom a dangerous water could not with-hold from violence Whiles men stand out against God iust fying themselues stubbornly flying from him he that rides vpon the wings of the winde posts after with the sword of vengeance drawne but when we condemne our selues and cast our selues downe at the foot of his mercie then will his wrath be soone appeased towards vs. Thirdly here we haue a patterne for our imitation and a coppy set to write after Let vs herein also be followers of God as deare Children and be so vpright and iust in our proceedings as that wee may dare to appeale to the consciences of our aduersaries for witnesse and testimonie of our innocency And as the Apostle willeth let vs approue our selues to euery mans conscience in the sight of God Such was Dauids cariage towards Saul as that he was constrained twice to testifie of him Thou art more righteous than I. The innocencie of Shadrach Meshach and Abedaego caused Nebuchadnezzar to pronounce with his owne mouth they were the seruants of the high God Though Plinius Secundus be an enemie to Christians and a persecutor of them yet their holy and godly conuersation shall make him to certifie the Emperour his Master Traian that they are harmelesse persons Thus let thy life bee holy and innocent and then thou maist fetch a testimony from the conscience of the very enemie And as Dauid said sometimes to Micol obiecting vnto him that euen his owne seruants contemned him for his dancing before the Arke Of the seruants which thou hast spoken of of them shall I be had in honour So say I euen those wicked ones that outwardly traduce thee and reuile thee cannot but inwardly they must acquit thee and commend thee their heart and conscience shall speake for thee euen then when their tongue and lips doe speake against thee And when euer it shall please the Lord to set their consciences on the racke or to compasse them about with the snares of death then shall their tongue be constrained will they nill they to discouer what now lies hidden for the iustification of thy righteousnesse Then they crie out oh send for such a man or such a woman they will pray for me and doe me good and giue me comfort and doe we not see daily that they sooner trust for all their talke such as they terme Hypocrites Dissemblers and Precisians with their goods and with their children and with their portions yea and with their soules also before any other The last thing propounded to our consideration in this Appeale is the Parties betweene whom the variance is and they are the Lord and Israel God and his Vineyard God being the Plaintiffe and the whole body of the people euen all Israel and Iudah the Defendants As vnequally matched as euer were Earth and Heauen Strength and Weaknesse or the great Beemoth and the silliest worme that creepes in the chinkes and crannies of the earth God contends with man he that is excellent with them that are but dust who then is like to haue the day Betweene mee and my Vineyard And