Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A00993
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A divine herball together with a forrest of thornes In five sermons. ... By Tho. Adams.
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Adams, Thomas, fl. 1612-1653.
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1616
(1616)
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STC 111; ESTC S100387
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74,730
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164
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righteousnesse We are easily induced to thinke our selues euery one as Simon Magas some great man There must bee a deiection of this thought an annihilation of our owne worth that we can doe nothing meete for God or worthy his iust acceptance For Serdet in distinctiâ—â—e Iudicis quod fulget in opinione operantis That is often foule in the sentence of the Iudge which shines in the imagination of him that doth it But as Physitians say no man dyes of an ague or without it so seldome any soule dyes of pride or without pride not meerly of pride for though that sicknesse were enough to kill it yet it is euer accompanied with som other disease and vicious wickednes nor without it for it is so inherent vnto mans nature that pride if it doth not prouoke yet at lest holds the dore whiles any iniquitie is doing Hence flow so many errors and factions and singularities For as in the body a raw stomach makes a rhumatick head a rhumatick head a raw stomach So in the soule an indigested conceit of some good thing in vs makes the head rume of some rheumaticke opinion or madde factious singularitie and this petulant rheume in the braine keeps the conscience raw stil that the physicke of repentance or good diet of peaceable obedience cannot helpe it Let vs correct these exorbitant and superfluous conceits which are like proude flesh vpon vs and knowe wee are able to doe nothing of our selues but God is faine to put euen good thoughts in vs. And if wee doe good from him how good soeuer it be as from him yet running through vs it gets some pollution Neither let vs run into the contrary errour as if in a stupid willfullnesse what good soeuer wee did we could not hope that God in Iesus Christ would accept it There is a thresholde of despaire below to stumble at as wel as a post of high presumption to breake our heads at There is a base deiection a sordid humility Barâ—ena the Iesuite told another of his order that when the deuill appeared to him one night out of his profound humility hee rose vp to meete him and prayed him to sitte downe in his chaire for hee was more worthy to sitte there then he This did appeare a strange kind of deiectednes Surely I thinke a man should by Gods word and warrant take comfort in his wel doing and be cheared in the testimonie which a good conscience on good cause beareth to him So Dauid hartned himselfe against all the malicious slanders of his his enemies O Lord thou knowest mine innocence Good workes are the necessary and inseparable effects of a true faith We are by nature all dead in sinne and by sinne concluded vnder death Our Sauiour bore for vs this death and by his passion freed vs from eternal damnation It was not enough to scape hell how shall wee get to heauen Loe we are cloathed with the garment of his righteousnesse hung with the Iewels of his merits So not onely hell is escaped by his sufferings but heauen got by his doings Why should wee then worke what need our gardens stand so full of herbes Good reason Shall God do so much for vs and shall we do nothing for him for our selues If the Lord of a Forrest giues me a Tree it is fit I should be at the cost to cut it downe and bring it home if I will haue it I cannot say that I deserued the tree it was anothers gift but my labours must lead me to enioy that which was freely giuen me Neither can the conscience haue assurance of eternal life so frankly bestowed in Christ without a good conuersation Faith doth iustifie and workes do testifie that we are iustified In a clocke the finger of the dyall makes not the clocke to goe but the clocke it yet the finger without shewes how the clocke goes within Our external obedience is caused by our inward faith but that doth manifest how truly the clocke of our faith goes As a mans corporall actions of sleeping eating digesting walking declare his recouery from sicknesse and present health So his life witnesseth by infallible Symptomes that the disease and death of sinne is mortified in him and that he hath taken certaine hold of eternall life It is meet then that we should doe good workes but all our works are made meete and worthy in him that bought vs. I will conclude then with that Antheme made by a sweet singer in our Israel Pendemus ate credimus in te tendimus ad te non nisi per te Optime Christe AMEN THE GARDEN Or A Contemplation of the HERBES The THIRD SERMON The Song of Salomon Chap. 6. Ver. 2. My Beloued is gone downe into his Garden to the beds of spices to feede in the gardens and to gather Lillies AMB. super LVC. Non Virtus est non posse peccare sed nolle LONDON Printed by George Purslowe for Iohn Budge and are to be solde at his shop at the great South-dore of Pauls and at Brittaines Burse 1616. THE GARDEN OR A Contemplation of the Herbes THE THIRD SERMON HEB. Chap. 6. Vers. 7. For the earth which drinketh in the raine that commeth oft vpon it and bringeth forth Herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed receiueth blessing from God THat the Herbes of our graces may be meete for the dresser contentful to GOD who hath planted watred husbanded the Garden of our hearts wee will require in them foure vertues Odour Taste Ornament Medicinall Vertue 1. That they haue a good odour God is delighted with the smell of our graces My Beloued is gone downe into his Garden to the beds of spices to feed in the gardens and to gather Lillies The vertues of Christ are thus principally pleasant and all our herbes onely smell sweetly in his Garden Because of the sauour of thy good ointment thy name is as ointment powred forth therefore doe the Virgins loue thee This sauour is sweetly acceptable in the nostrils of God All thy garments smel of Myrrhe Aloes and Cassia It is his righteousnesse that giues all our herbes a good odour and in him it pleaseth God to iudge our works sweet When Noah had built an Altar and sacrificed burnt offerings on it the Lord smelled a sweet sauour and sayd I will not againe curse the ground any more for mans sake Myrrhe and Prankincense were two of the oblations which the Wise-men offered to CHRIST being an Infant Tres Reges regum Regitria dona tulerunt Myrrham homini vncto auruÌ„ thura dedere Deo Tutriafac itidem dones pia munera Christo Muneribus gratus si cupis esse tuis Pro myrrha lacrymas pro auro cor porrige purum Pro thure ex humili pectore funde preces Three kings to the great King three offerings bring Incense for God Myrrhe for man gold for king Thy Incense be the hands a white soule reares For gold giue a pure hart for
him he carowses the wine he neuer swet for and keeps the poore Minister thirsty The tenth sheafe is his dyet the tenth fleece O 't is a golden fleece he thinkes is his drinke but the wooll shall choke him Some drinke downe whole Churches and steeples but the bells shall ring in their bellies Euery couetous worldling is a great drinker he swallowes aurum potabil◠as his dyet-drinke And like an absolute dissolute drunkard the more he drinks the dryer he is for he hath neuer enough It may be said of him as it was of Bonosus whom the Emperour Aurelian set to drinke with the German Embassador not a man but a rundlet fill'd with wine And my fine precise Artizan that shunnes a Tauerne as the Diuell doth a Crosse is often as drunke as the rankest His language doth not sauour of the pot he sweares not but indeed but trust him and indeed hee will cozen you to your face The loue of mony hath made him drunk And though the Prouerbe be In vino veritas yet as drunke as he is you shall neuer haue truth break out of his lips And the vnconscionable Lawyer that takes fees on both hands as if he could not drinke but with two cuppes at once is not hee a great drinker If what is wanting in the goodnesse of the cause be supplied in the greatnes of the fees O these Foecundi calices quem non fecere disertum Let all thinke these ebrieties must be accounted for How fearefull were it if a mans latter end should take him drunke Take heed to your selues lest at any time your hearts bee ouercharged with surfeting and drunkennesse and so that day come vpon you vnawares In corporall ebriety the soule leaues a drunken body in spirituall the body leaues a drunken soule both desperately fearefull There is yet a last and those a blest sort of Drinkers which drinke in this sweete raine of grace and mercie They doe not onely taste it so do the wicked Verse 4. They haue tasted of the heauenly gift they haue tasted of the good word of God and of the powers of the world to come 2. Nor drinke it onely to their throat as if they did gargarize the word as carnall Politicians and formall Professors doe They must attend they must admit but no further then their throates they will but gargarize the Gospell It shall neuer come into their stomakes neuer neere their hearts But these drinke it in digest it in their consciences take liberall draughts of it and do indeede drinke Healths thereof Common health-maintainers drinke their sicknesse Therefore sayes the moderne Poet honestly Vne salus sanis nullam potare salutem But this is a sauing health such as our Sauiour began to vs when hee dranke to vs in his owne bloud a sauing Health to all Nations And wee are bound to pledge him in our owne faith and thankfulnesse as Dauid I will take the cup of saluation and blesse the name of the Lord. This is a hearty draught of the waters of life the deeper the sweeter Blessed he is that drinkes soundly of it and with a thirsty appetite There is as Diuines say sancta ebrietas such as fell on the blessed Apostles on Whitsunday Acts 2. They were drunke not with new wine but with the holy Ghost This holy plenitude doth as it were inebriate the soules of the Saints They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatnesse of thy house and thou shalt make them drinke of the riuer of thy pleasures The Spouse sings of her Sauiours kindnes He brought me to the banqueting house and his banner ouer me was loue Stay mee with flagons and comfort me with apples for I am sicke of loue In the originall it is called House of wine Christ hath broached to his Church the sweet wines of the Gospell and our hearts are cheared with it our soules made merry with flagons of mercie Come to this wine bibite inebriamini eate O friends drinke yea drinke abundantly O beloued drinke and be drunke with it God will be pleased with this and no other but this Drunkennes The vessell of our heart being once thus filled with grace shall hereafter be replenished with glorie A DIVINE Herball Or THE PRAYSE OF FERTILITY The SECOND SERMON MATH 25. 29. Vnto euerie one that hath shall be giuen and he shall haue abundance AVGVST Magnae Virtutis est cum foelicitate luctari Magnae foelicitatis est à foelicitate non vinci LONDON Printed by George Purslowe for Iohn Budge and are to be solde at his shop at the great South-dore of Pauls and at Brittaines Burse 1616. A DIVINE HERBALL OR The prayse of Fertillitie THE SECOND SERMON HEB. Chap. 6. Vers. 7. For the earth which drinketh in the raine that commeth oft vpon it and bringeth forth herbes meet for them by whom it is dressed receiueth blessing from God THAT difference which the Philosophers put betweene learning and mettals wee may truly find betweene humane writings and Gods Scriptures conferred They that digge in the one finde Paruum in magno a little gold in a great deale of ore They that digge in this rich field which the wise Merchant solde all hee had to purchase finde Magnum in pa◠no much treasure in a few words Wee haue heard how the good earth is beholding to God for his holy Raine the next circumstance obiects to our meditation this earths thankfull fertility It bringeth forth herbes meete for them by whom it is dressed Euery word transcends the other and as it excludes some vicious defect so demonstrates it also some graduall vertue 1. It brings forth It is not barren like a dead ground that yeelds neither herbes nor weedes This is no idle heart that doth neither good nor harme that like a meere spectator of the world sits by with a silent contemplation for whom was made that Epitaph Here lyes he was borne and cryed Liu'd threescore yeares fell sicke and dyed Doing neither profit nor preiudice to the Countrey hee liued in Heere is no such stupid neutralitie nor infructuous deadnesse It brings forth 2. They are not weedes it produceth but herbes A man had as good do nothing as doe naughty things It is lesse euill to sit still then to runne swift by in the pursuite of wickednes They that forbeare Idlenesse and fall to lewdnesse mend the matter as the Diuell in the tale mended his dames legge when he should haue put it in ioynt he broke it quite in pieces It is not enough that this ground brings forth but that it yeelds herbes Of the two the barren earth is not so euill as the wicked earth that men pittie this they curse It brings forth herbes 3. Neither is it a paucity of herbes this ground affordeth but an abundance not one herbe but herbes a plurall and plentifull number There is neyther barrennesse nor barenesse in this ground not no fruites not few fruits but many herbes 4. Lastly they are such