Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
conscience_n	bind_v	law_n	word_n	4,572	5	4.9214	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26816	The way to the highest honour a funeral sermon, on John XII, 26, preach'd upon the decease of the Rnd Tho. Jacomb ... April 3, 1687 / by William Bates ...	Bates, William, 1625-1699.	1687 (1687)	Wing B1131; ESTC R14324	38,983	138

What the Service of Christ implies In the general Notion to serve Christ implies Obedience to his Will as the Rule of our Actions with aims at his Glory as the End of them His Will revealed in the Scriptures is a Rule eminently and exclusively Eminently for it has all the Perfections of a Rule 'T is clear and compleat sufficient to make us wise to Salvation and to direct us in the Way everlasting 'T is called the holy acceptable and perfect Will of God 'T is a Rule Exclusively To speak strictly no Creature can be a Rule to another for they are all in an equal Line of Subjection to the Creator One may be a Guide or Governour to another according to the Rule of God's Word The Laws of Men cannot reach and bind the Conscience immediately but by virtue of God's Command nor unlimitedly but as they are consonant with his Laws Now a universal respect to the Will of Christ as the Rule of our Lives is truly to serve him And the aiming at his Glory in all our Desires and Endeavours either actually or habitually is an essential Ingredient in his Service The actual Intention in every performance is not absolutely necessary Many good Actions may proceed from the Influence of the habitual Intention An Arrow that is directed by aim may hit the Mark tho in its flight the Eye be turned off from it But the ultimate scope of our Life which ought to be often renewed in our Minds must be to please and glorify Christ according to the Apostle's Expression To me to live is Christ. I will more distinctly open these Things under the following Heads 1. The Church is a distinct Society from the World of which Christ is the Head and the State of Christianity is a high and holy Calling and all who are brought into it by the outward Ministry of the Word or in Conjunction with it by the internal Grace of the Spirit are obliged to the Faith and Obedience of the Gospel the same Duties and the same Rewards are common to all And living according to that Spiritual State in Godliness Righteousness and Sobriety is to serve Christ. Thus the Adoration the Honour the Homage we render to God the making him the sole Object of our highest Love an entire relyance on the Mediator for our Salvation an earnest desire to please him in all Things and an equal fear to displease him the exercise of compassionate beneficent Charity towards Men briefly a Holy and Heavenly Conversation is the universal Duty of Christ's Servants And that our Service be accepted it must be performed with Humility Zeal and Constancy With Humility and Dependance upon the Mediator for Divine Grace and Acceptance Every spiritual Act requires a Supernatural Power Not a holy Thought or Word springs from naked Nature Our Saviour tells his Disciples Without me you can do nothing As the Branches derive Life and active Sap from the Root that makes them flourishing and fruitful so from his sanctifying Spirit that was purchased by his meritorious Sufferings and is conferr'd by him in his Glory we are made fruitful in every good Work And in the beloved Son we are only accepted This general Service due to Christ must be done with Zeal We are commanded to be fervent in Spirit serving the Lord to work out our own Salvation as the Apostle with most lively Emphasis enforces the Duty Our most ardent Affections and active Powers are to be imploy'd in this work remembring that our Lives are short and uncertain Time flies upon the swiftest Wings That the Work is of infinite and everlasting Consequence in comparison of which our fervent Diligence in worldly Affairs is like the throwing of Straws and Feathers with our utmost strength remembring that we are always under the pure Eye of our Divine Master that will call us to an exact Account To be cold and careless in his Service disparages his Excellency and will defeat our hopes The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by violence With Constancy He delivered us from the Hands of our Enemies that we might serve him without Fear in Holiness and Righteousness before him all the Days of our Lives The travail of Faith continues till heavenly Vision be brought forth and the Labour of Love till the Reward be obtained I will not insist on this being to resume the consideration of it afterwards 2. In the various Conditions of Life in this World we are to serve Christ. The entire Man is the Object of God's tender Care and Providence and accordingly he has wisely ordered divers Conditions and special Callings of Men wherein they are engaged and employed for the Support and Comfort of themselves and the publick Good And as in a Circle from every Point of it a streight Line may be drawn to the Centre so in the vast Sphere of this World from every lawful Calling there may be a direct prosecution of our last and blessed End the Glory of God in conjunction with our Salvation There is no state of Life so low and mean but a Christian may so manage it as to excel in Holiness and consequently Honour Christ As Phidias that famous Sculptor expres'd his Art to Admiration not only in Gold and Marble and Ivory but in mean Materials in Wood or ordinary Stone The Apostle often inculcates this Lesson upon Servants to obey their Masters with Fidelity and Cheerfulness for ye serve the Lord Christ Col. 3.24 Eph. 6.7 It was to a mortal Man and if it might be of a perverse humour their Service was immediately addres'd but if from Conscience of their Duty to Christ and a direct intention to please him they performed it that Respect sweetened and ennobled the Service 'T is the Spirit and Perfection of Christianity to transform and elevate the lowest Actions it makes the Service of a Slave to be Divine Obedience which is the most free and noble Act of the reasonable Creature From hence the same Apostle enforces the Duties of Servants that they may adorn the Gospel of God our Saviour The faithful Discharge of their Service redoubles the Lustre of the glorious Gospel and recommended it to their Pagan Masters And 't is equally true that in every lawful Condition of Life when Men are conversant in the Duties proper to it with a respect to the Command of Christ when their civil Actions are ultimately resolved into his Glory they perform Religious Obedience This is enjoyned in that comprehensive Precept Whatsoever you do in word or deed do it in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ that is with a respect to his Will and for his Honour I shall only add that Diligence in our civil Callings must always be in Subserviency to the great End of our general Calling the Salvation of our Souls to which we are primarily and indispensably obliged The Life of a Christian is a walking with God and the way is in the performance of holy and civil Duties And

Glory of Heaven and represent it to the Eyes of Christians so as to ravish their Hearts In short to make such a convincing Discovery of Things unseen that Men may judg that only the Saints above are truly and perfectly Happy and only the Reprobates in Hell are really and finally miserable and accordingly regulate their Lives I shall add to this that the Language of Sermons should be suitable to the quality of the Matter and the end of that Divine Ordinance A Minister must speak as becoming the Oracles of God With solemn Expressions according to the Sanctity and Importance of the great Mystery of Godliness The Apostle tells us his Speech was not with the enticing Words of Man's Wisdom A Luxuriant flourish of Words a vain Ostentation of Wit debases the Majesty enervates the Vigour and corrupts the pure taste of the Gospel True Eloquence is always suitable to the Subject and springs from it as the native Beauty of the Countenance that springs from a sound Complexion of Body and is not varnish'd with the Paint of Art When the Truth of Eternal Things is planted in the Heart and the vital Sense of them is shed in the Will and Affections it will furnish us with fit and powerful Words to express them Besides in the managing of a sacred Argument salus populi suprema lex esto The Salvation of Souls is the Rule to which the Language of Sermons must be parallel Divine Truths must be represented with those clear and solemn Expressions as may powerfully affect the Conscience and excite the practick Faculties of the Soul with such weighty and serious Words as may awaken Sinners to fear the powerful and terrible Judg of the World and to hate Sin that provokes his Displeasure The curious Contexture of Words of pleasant Sound without Substance is an elaborate Folly 'T is the framing a Net only fit to catch Flys the vain Applauses of the injudicious not to take Souls the Divine Work of a Minister And the Account must be woful for those Ministers to the Redeemer of Souls whose Study Thoughts and Time are wasted for so guilty and base an end 3. The Motives of their Affections and Endeavours in this Holy Service must be the Love of Christ and precious Immortal Souls Our Saviour with repeated Earnestness recommends this to St. Peter Lovest thou me feed my Lambs feed my Sheep The Salvation of Souls is his dearest Glory and satisfying Pleasure As it was prophesied that he shall see of the Travel of his Soul and be satisfied And our zealous Endeavours to save them from Death is the natural and necessary Effect of our Love to him A true Minister of Christ has a diviner Principle a sublimer Soul than to aim at carnal Fruitions at temporal and terrestrial Rewards The blessed End of his Office must be the End of all his studious Thoughts and Labours the Honour of his Master in the Conversion and Salvation of Sinners If the World be in their Eye and Heart as the Scope of their Ministry they are guilty of the most unnatural Disorder by employing the most excellent means for low and sordid Ends they use God to enjoy the World this corrupts and stains their Service Such Mercenaries are empty Vines that only bring forth Fruit unto themselves They have their Reward here But the Love of Christ and Souls reigns in the Heart of a faithful Minister this regulates his Work in order to their spiritual and everlasting Good This will make him descend to the Capacity of the meanest and plainly to instruct them in things concerning their Salvation As Elisha put his Mouth upon the Mouth and his Eyes upon the Eyes and his Hands upon the Hands of the dead Child and thereby conveyed a living Heat into him so a Minister should apply himself suitably to their Capacity who are but Children in Knowledg 'T is his Duty to raise the low Understandings as well as to humble the high and swelling Passions of Men. This Love to Souls will inspire him with tender melting Affections without which unless God renews the Miracle of Aaron's dry Rod blooming and bearing Almonds our Discourses will be barren without Fruit in the Hearers A plain Sermon dictated from the Heart with a holy Heat of Affections makes a solid Impression upon the Hearers When an elaborate Discourse not animated with the Affections is of little Efficacy As a blunter Iron if burning hot pierces more easily and deeply into a Piece of churlish Wood then a sharper that is cold The Love of Christ and Souls inspires with Joy and Alacrity in his Service No Element is heavy in its own Sphere A mercenary Spirit performs the Work as an irksom Task but Love sweetens all the Duties of the sacred Calling even such as are most distastful to the Carnal This entitles to the blessed Reward The Apostle saith If I preach the Gospel willingly I have a Reward Otherwise his abundant Labours would be of no comfortable account at last 3. The Ministers of Christ must with most faithful Diligence attend his Service The Subject and End of their Work challenges this of them The Conversion and Salvation of Souls What earnest and repeated Calls are necessary to awaken those who are involved in carnal Security to perswade them to love what they hate and to hate what they love and when the Foundation is laid in serious Repentance and the Work of Grace begun what Diligence is requisite to raise it to Perfection How does the malicious incessant Enemy of our Salvation strive by a thousand Temptations to blast our Endeavours The Work of a Minister is not like the Work of an Artificer A Statuary with long Labour cuts the Marble to form it into a noble Image but he leaves his work at his Pleasure and when he resumes it the Matter being durable 't is in the same state towards finishing as when he left it But the Heart of Man is of a strange Nature hard as Marble and fluid as Water Heavenly Impressions are with difficulty made in it and easily defac'd When by many Prayers and Tears many tender Addresses of Ministers the Heart is softened and the Image of Christ the Lineaments of his Divine Graces and Vertues are first drawn in it without a continual Eye and Attendance upon the Work how soon are those blessed Beginnings spoiled and the carnal Lusts regain the Heart How hard is it to prevail with Men to enter into the narrow Way and to preserve them from defiling Lapses in it or woful Excursions into the pleasant ways of Sin and to bring them safely to Heaven The solemn Adjuration of the Apostle to Timothy should excite Ministers with the most watchful Care and useful Diligence to attend their Work I charge thee before the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judg the quick and the dead at his appearing and his Kingdom Preach the Word be instant in season out of season reprove rebuke exhort with all long suffering