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	faith_n	sprinkle_v	2,358	5	11.3240	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
a39328	The great mystery of godlinesse opened being an exposition upon the whole ninth chapter of the epistle of Saint Paul to the Romans / by the late pious faithful servant of Jesus Christ, Mr. Edward Elton.	Elton, Edward, d. 1624.	1653 (1653)	Wing E651; ESTC R40205	342,638	246

witnesse of the Conscience Many there be that think of their consciences witnessing holily and truly of the good things said or done by them when indeed and in truth there is no such matter when their Consciences telleth them that they pray and hear Sermons as the consciences of all erring spirits Papists and Anabaptists Familists and others their consciences cannot witnesse truly with them and holily they fail in their Judgment and their consciences must needs be erroneous and so cannot possibly afford them any true comfort surely they think they do exceeding great service to God but they are deceived and their Judgment is erroneous But to draw near unto our selves Thus standeth the case with all unregenerate persons and such as be in their natural estate the consciences of unregenerate persons do many times witnesse much good in respect of the good things said or done by them Their conscience telleth them oh they have much good and great comfort in hearing the Word especially if they live a civil honest life and be free from grosse sins and deal justly and truly with men their consciences telleth them that they are in a marvellous good case and you cannot drive them from it for why their Conscience telleth them so that they are no Drunkards no Theeves no Swearers and God is well pleased with them and they have much good and comfort by the testimony of their consciences But their Conscience doth witnesse falsly so as the Prophet saith a deceitful heart hath cousened them Esay 44. and their Conscience cannot possibly truly witnesse any comfort to them For the good things they have done be they the best works or words or deeds done that possibly can be spoken or done their conscience cannot truly witnesse so long as they be unregenerate and therefore to conclude this point If thou wouldst have thy conscience to witnesse holily and truly and to thy comfort never rest untill thou find that thy conscience is sprinkled with the blessed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ Heb. 9.14 which is able to purge thy conscience and that thy heart is purified by faith and sanctified by grace and then thy Conscience will witnesse with thee in the Holy Ghost otherwise it is but a deceitful conscience that maketh men soothe up themselves and esteem themselves in a holy and good estate without cause VERSE 2. That I have great heavinesse and continual sorrow in my heart NOw from hence in that the Apostle doth set down his grief and sorrow for the rejection of the Jewes I might stand to shew that Gods Children are not stocks nor stones free from natural affections Gods Children have humane affections of joy and sorrow and love which is common to the nature of man but those are rectified and by grace guided to right objects and that by due measure and moderation according to the nature of the object to which they are moved The Apostle maketh this a note of such that are given over to unnatural sences Rom. 1.30 that they want natural affections and doubtlesse the more true and sincere grace is in the heart of Gods children certainly the more tender are the affections of that heart and soul and the more effectual apprehension of any true cause of matter of sorrow or grief but to passe by that And to come to the main point In that the Apostle doth manifest that he had great heavinesse and sorrow and that for the rejection of the Jews that was the object of his sorrow because the Jewes were left in the blindnesse of mind and hardnesse of heart and did not imbrace the Gospel this was matter of great heavinesse to the heart of the blessed Apostle in the first place the observation is this That we are to be grieved for the known miseries of others Doctr. and especially for the known miseries of the soules of others we are to grieve and to mourn for others that we know do lye under any heavy trouble or affliction or distresse in respect of any outward calamity but beloved our hearts must bleed and be broken for the evils that we know do lye upon the soules of others we are exceedingly to be grieved for the blindnesse of the mind and hardnesse of their heart that they go on in sin without repentance with an high hand that they are led by the lusts of their own hearts and according to the lust of their vile hearts in security and brutish lusts this is that which must stick close and wound us especially Besides this evidence in the example of the Apostle we have testimony in other places of Scripture in Ezek. 9.4 we read of the godly who should be marked and have a mark set on their forehead that they should not be destroyed in the common overthrow of Hierusalem they were such as cryed and mourned for the abominations that were committed by others in that City their hearts bled not so much for the overthrow of the City as for the hardnesse of the hearts of men such as did abominably and in Jer. 13.17 saith the Prophet when the people would not hear him and yeeld obedience to the voyce of God in his Ministery My eyes shall weep in secret and why for the hardnesse of the hearts of the people that they would not take notice of the Word of God and the Judgments of God denounced against them for their sins Oh saith the Prophet I must needs grieve for your obstinacy and Psal 119.136 saith David my eyes gush out with rivers of water thereby expressing the grief of his heart why because they were under any calamity no because men keep not the Law of God even for the sins that lye upon the soules of men and the hardnesse of their hearts And the Apostle witnesseth of that holy man just Lot that his soul was vexed with the filthy lusts and unclean conversation of the filthy Sodomites 1 Pet. 2.7 they vexed just Lot from day to day with their filthy abominations and it is witnessed of Christ himself in Mark 3.5 that he mourned for the hardnesse of the hearts of the Pharisees even the blessed soul and heart of the Lord Jesus mourned for the hardnesse of their hearts that they would not be humbled for their sins and in Luke 19.41.42 The Lord Jesus wept for what because Hierusalem should be ruinated not so simply but also especially for the hardnesse of their hearts and that they would not take notice of those things that did belong to their peace the Lord had sent his Prophets and his own Son and yet they would not hearken so that we see it is a clear truth that we are especially to be grieved for the miseries and the known evils of the soules of others those that continue in their sins and will go on with perseverance in swearing Sabbath-breaking Drunkennesse and the like for these we are especially to mourn and to be grieved The Reason Reason is because the evils that be upon the soul of