Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
conscience_n	blood_n	evil_a	sprinkle_v	1,886	5	11.1905	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A01898	A childe of light vvalking in darknesse: or A treatise shewing the causes, by which God leaves his children to distresse of conscience. The cases, wherein [God leaves his children to distresse of conscience.] The ends, for which [God leaves his children to distresse of conscience.] Together vvith directions how to come forth of such a condition: vvith other observations upon Esay 50. 10, and 11. verses. By Tho: Goodwin B.D.	Goodwin, Thomas, 1600-1680.	1636 (1636)	STC 12037; ESTC S103254	155,960	295

them and their working in the heart and suspitions c. which are such contrary dispositions unto selfe-flattery which swayed our opinions of our estates before should thus arise and bee started up in the heart upon the worke of faith and be apt rather to prevaile now after faith is 1 Because that in the worke of humiliation which prepares for faith all those strong holds of carnall reason being demolisht which upheld selfe-flattery and that false good opinion of a mans estate and those mountainous thoughts of presumption as then laid low a man is for ever put out of conceit with himself as of himself At which time also 2 he was so throughly and feelingly convinced of the hainousnesse of sinne which before hee slighted and of the greatnesse and multitudes of his sinnes that he is apt now instead of presuming as before to bee jealous of God lest he might have been so provoked as never to pardon him and is accordingly apt to draw a misinterpretation of all Gods dealings with him to strengthen that conceit And 3 having through the same conviction the infinite errour and deceitfulnesse of his heart before in flattering him and judging his estate good when it was most accursed so clearely discovered and discerned he thereby becomes exceeding jealous and afraid of erring on that hand still and so is apt to lend an eare to any doubt or scruple that is suggested Especially 4 he being withall made apprehensive both of that infinite danger to his eternall salvation there may be in nourishing a false opinion of the goodnesse of his estate if it should prove otherwise because such a false conceit keepes a man from saving faith whereas to cherish the contrary errour in judging his estate bad when it is in truth good tends but to his present discomfort so as he thinkes it safer to erre on that hand then the other And 5 being also sensible of what transcendent concernment his eternall salvation is of which he before slighted this rowseth suspition which in all matters of great consequence and moment is alwayes doubting and inquisitive and also keepes it waking which before lay asleepe And all these being now startled and stirred up doe not onely provoke carnall reason unsatisfiedly to pry into all things that may seem to argue Gods disfavour or the unsoundnesse of our hearts but also doe give entertainment too and applaud all such objections as are found out and makes up too hastily false conclusions from them Last of all §. 5. as there are these corrupt principles of carnall reason 3. Principle The guilt in our owne consciences remaining in part defiled a cause of this darknesse and suspitiousnesse in us to raise and foment these doubts and feares from Gods dealings towards us So there is an abundance of guilt within us of our false dealings towards him And wee have consciences which remaine in part defiled which may further joyne with all these and encrease our feares and doubtings and as wee are darke and weake creatures so guilty creatures also And this guilt like the waves of the Sea or the swellings of Jordan doe begin upon these terrible stormes from God to rise and swell and over-flow in our consciences As in David Psal 38. when Gods wrath was sore upon him ver 1. 2. then also he complaines Mine iniquities are gone over my head ver 4. There is much guile and falsenesse of heart which in those distempers when our consciences doe boile within us and are stirred and heated to the bottome doth like the scumme come up and flote aloft Thus in David when hee was under the rod for his sinne of murther as the guilt of his sinne so the guile of his Spirit came up and he calls for Truth in the inward parts Psal 51. 6. For as his sinne ver 2. so his falsenesse of heart was ever before him and with an eye to this hee spake that speech Psal 32. Oh blessed is that man in whose spirit is no guile and to whom the Lord imputeth no sin Thus hee spake when God had charged upon him the guilt of his sin and discovered to him the guile of his spirit ver 4. 5. And this guile doth oftentimes so appeare that our consciences can hardly discerne any thing else to be in us it lies uppermost and covers our graces from our view and like as the chaffe when the wheat is tossed in the fanne comes up to the top So in these commotions and winnowings of spirit doe our corruptions float in our consciences whilest the graces that are in us lyecovered under them out of sight and the darke side of our hearts as of the cloud is turned towards us and the light side from us And indeed there are in the best of us humours enough which if they bee stirred and congregated in our consciences may alone cast us into these burning fits of trouble and distresse so as whilst Gods Spirit shall withhold from us the light of our own graces our own cōsciences represent to us the guilt and corruptions that are in our best performances our hearts may conclude our selves hypocrites as M. Bradfar in some of his letters cloth of himself others of the Saints have done Yea so as even our own consciences which are the onely principle now left in us which should take part with and encourage faith and witnesse to us as the office of it is the goodnesse of our estates in this may joyn with the former corruptions against us and bring in a false evidence and pronounce a false judgement Even Conscience it selfe which is ordained as the urine of the body to shew the estate of the whole and therefore is accordingly called Good or Evill as the mans state is This is apt in such distempers to change and turne colour and looke to a mans own view as 〈◊〉 as the state of a very Hypocrite And the reason of this is also as evident The reason as is the experience of it Even because conscience remaines in part defiled in a man that is regenerate and though we are sprinkled from an evill conscience in part yet not wholly so as though our persons are fully discharged from the guilt of our sins through the sprinkling of Christs blood before God yet the sprinkling of that blood upon our consciences whereby we apprehend this is imperfect and the reason is because this very sprinkling of conscience whereby it restifies the sprinkling of Christs blood and our justification thereby is but part of the sanctification of Conscience as it is a faculty whose office and duty is to testifie and with 〈◊〉 our estates and therefore as the sanctification of all other faculties is imperfect so of conscience also herein And hence it is that when Gods Spirit forbeareth to witnesse with conscience the goodnesse of our estates and ceaseth to embolden and encourage conscience by his presence and the sprinkling of Christs blood upon it against the remaining

defilement that then our consciences are as apt to fall into feares and doubts and self-condemnings even as much as when he withdrawes the assistance of his grace those other faculties are to fall into any other sinne And therefore as the Law of sinne in the other members may be up in armes and prevaile so farre as to leade us captive unto sinne So may the guilt of sinne in our consciences remaining in part defiled by the same reason prevaile against us and get the upper hand and lead us captive to feares and doubtings and cast us into bondage CHAP. VI. The third efficient cause Satan His speciall malice in this temptation commission accesse to and advantage over us in this temptation by reason of the darknesse in us THus far our owne hearts upon the holy Ghosts deserting become authors unto us of this darknesse But herein beleevers wrestle not alone with flesh and blood and the darknesse thereof but doe further conflict also with those spirituall wickednesses the Princes of darknesse Ephes 6. 12. about their interest in those heavenly priviledges as the phrase there used 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may bee well interpreted even with Satan and his Angels Whom this Apostle compares to a roaring 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that seekes whom hee may devo●re 1 Pet. 5. 8. And like as when God makes this naturall darknesse and it is night then the young Lions creepe forth and reare after their pre● as the Psalmist sayes Psal 104. 20 21. So doe these roaring Lions now when A God hath withdrawne the light of his countenance and night comes on and those dampes and fogges of jealousies guilt begin to arise out of a mans own heart then come these forth and say as Davids enemies said in his distresse Come let us now take him for God hath forsaken him Let us now devoure him and swallow him up with sorow and despaire And as God sayes of those enemies of his Church Zach. 1. 15. I was but a little displeased and they helped forward the affliction So when God is angry with his childe and but a little and doth hide his face but for a moment yet Satan watcheth that houre of darknesse as Christ calls it Luke 22. 53. and joynes his power of darknesse to this our naturall darknesse to cause if possible blacknesse of darknes even utter despaire in us Now concerning Satans working herein 4. things in generall premised to explaine Satans working herein wee will as in the former more distinctly treate thereof by way of explication of it 1. More generally 2. More particularly 1. In generall First §. 1. Satan he hath a speciall inclination and a more peculiar malicious desire Satan hath a speciall inclination to this kinde of temptation to vexe and molest the Saints with this sort of temptations of doubts and disquietnesse that God is not their God so as all other his temptations unto sinne are but as the laying in and barrelling up the gun-powder and making of the train for this great plot of blowing up all He tempteth Peter to deny his Master Satan desires to winnow you but hee hath a further reach a designe upon his faith which Christ foresaw and therefore did mainely bend his prayer against it But I have prayed that thy faith faile not Satan hoped by that grosse sinne to have drawne him into despaire Wee may likewise observe how hee did place this temptation in the forefront of those three assaults which hee made upon Christ who as in his obedience so in his temptations is made a compleate example unto us for hee was tempted in all things that is with all sorts of temptations and also like us for the maner only without sinne Heb. 4. 15. Now he tempted him not onely to vaine hopes when hee shewed him the glory of the whole would and to presumption to throw himselfe downe headlong from an now 〈…〉 ground But first and primarily to jealousies and distrusts between him and his Father and between his humane nature and the divine For when Christ had newly received that testimony from all the three persons the Father proclaiming him to bee his Sonne from heaven the Spirit descending on him at his baptisme it being the speciall grace and institution of that ordinance to seale up adoption and regeneration then comes Satan and tempts him to question that voice that it might be but a delusion and Christs humane nature never having done any outward miracle as yet as appeares Ioh. 2. 11. he would now have had him taken this occasion in the extremity of his hunger by commanding stones to become bread to make tryall whether he was the Sonne of God or no and hypostatically united to the second person which if God should not doe for him then to question his Son-ship and thinke all this to bee but a delusion This was the meaning of it If thou be the Sonne of God command these stones to be made bread c. withall insinuating that God leaving him even destitute of daily bread which parents that are evill give unto their children and not a stone instead of bread might seeme to occasion an if whether he was the Son of God or no. The reasons of this are The reasons 1. Above all graces in us hee is the greatest enemy to faith Therefore 1 Thess 3. 5. the Apostle was jealous of Satan in nothing more then in this lest he had been dealing and tampering with and perverting their faith I sent to know of your faith lest by some meanes the tempter hath tempted you For faith in God is the greatest enemy unto Satan it quencheth all his darts Ephes 6. 16. By standing stedfast in which we resist him so that he flyes from us 1 Pet. 5. 9. As therefore faith is that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 John 6. that worke of God and the master-grace So despaire and doubting is the master-peece of Satan Rom. 15. 13. And in faith he is envious especially at the joy of our faith And as comfort is the most proper work of the Spirit and most pleasing work to him So is discomfort and distresse the proper worke of this evill Spirit And againe 2. as he is most opposite to the holy Spirit So he delights to blaspheme his worke in our hearts to us by perswading us that all is counterfeit 3. Hee is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that envious one and the maine object and marke of his envy is this That God should be our God who hath cast off him and therefore when he sees he cannot separate between God and us really hee will endevour to cast and raise up jealousies that he is not our God in our apprehensions he endeavoured to raise jealousies betweene God and our first parents God knowes you shall be as gods c. As if God had forbidden them that fruit out of an envy towards them of a better condition and the like hee endeavoured betweene Christs humane