Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
conscience_n	darkness_n	light_n	shine_v	1,422	5	9.5903	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A81871	Comfort & counsell for dejected soules. Or a treatise concerning spirituall dejection. In which is handled, 1 the nature 2 the working 3 the grounds 4 the remedies of spiritual dejection. And in which is held forth, satisfaction to some particular cases, and generall advice for any soule who is cast downe. Being the heads and sum of divers sermons preached to a particular congregation from Psalm 42. last. By John Durant, preacher of the Gospel, and pastour of a church of Christ in Canterbury.	Durant, John, b. 1620.	1650 (1650)	Wing D2673; Thomason E1215_1; ESTC R208831	144,036	296

and Timothy did and we should walk not by sence but by faith 2 Cor. 5 At present O soule thou sayest Thou seest nothing but wrath thou feelest nothing but sorrow thou hearest nothing but threatning c. take heed thou conclude not thy state by thy sence A state sensibly bad may be really good as a state seemingly good may be substantially bad As the seared Consciences of Reprobates so the scrupulous Consciences of Saints are not fit nor able to make right conclusions What though at present Sence present nothing so much as in order to a cure yet cured thou shalt be God creates light out of darknesse and shines into our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of himselfe in the face of Christ as it is 2 Cor. 4.6 Though at present thou art sensible of nothing but darknesse yet God may create a light out of that Beware of concluding any thing from present sence or feeling Yea Beware of eying it tso much looke off from what thou seest and art sensible of unto that thou seest not We faint not said the Apostle Why marke it We looke not at the things Which we see but at the things which we see not 2 Cor. 4.16.18 Secondly Consider not selfe Selfe is alwaies insufficient as to holy worke or joy If thou conclude from the consideration of selfe thy conclusion wil be false Thou art cast downe and Childe-like art nor able to rise againe Selfe cannot raise thy soule what then wilt thou conclude thy soule cannot be raised O take heed of this Where selfe is insufficient Christ is sufficient and when we are weake his power is magnified in our weaknesse Abraham considered not his owne body now dead Rom. 4.19 had Abraham considered himself he had never beleeved for a Sonne it was Sarahs fault and the ground of her laughing unbeleefe she considered her selfe as old c. you must not therefore consider selfe as weake no let me adde this you must not consider selfe as sinfull This may hinder faith As weaknesse to helpe our selves so unworthinesse to be helped by Christ is generally the cause of doubting and unbeleefe but take heed of both Abraham beleeved though himselfe was old yea and though Sarah laughed neither his weaknesse nor her sinne could hinder his faith Take heed therefore of eying selfe either as unable or unworthy Christ is able to raise the weak yea and willing to lift up the worthlesse soules of cast-down ones 3. Conclude nothing by Satan Hee 'l tell you of difficulties and impossibilities but consider him not As Satan makes the proud heart of exalted Babilon think it shal never fal so he would make the grieved heart of dejected Sion think it shall never rise but know Satan is a Lyar and who would beleeve an old constant Lyar Hee 'l say despaire when Christ saith hope But beleeve thou the Lord Jesus and slight Satan be sure to conclude nothing from his suggestions Obj. But what if Conscience joyne with Satan what if that witnesse to Satans words c Answ Beleeve not nor conclude from thy owne Conscience it is possible that may erre and looke as the seared Conscience of the wicked erre and speake peace when there is no ground so the seduced Conscience of the godly may create trouble when there is no cause Besides Christ sometimes doth permit Conscience to condemne to heighten his owne grace in acquitting It is sometimes in Spirituals as it is in Temporals we receive the sentence of death in our selves that we may not trust in our selves Doe not therefore O dejected soule conclude of thy cast-down condition from Satans suggestions no not when backt with thy owne Conscience care not for Satans condemnation nay judge not thine owne selfe as it is 1 Cor. 4.3 Lastly Beware of concluding any thing form present seeming rejections of Christ Many a cast downe soule cryes O Christ seemes to reject mee and therefore I am lost and ther 's no hope c. But mind it O soule as a Caution Though Christ at present seem to reject thee yet conclude nothing Thou knowest and oh that thou wouldest for this purpose consider well the woman of Canaan Christ at first did seeme to reject her I am not sent said he but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel Nay he calls her dog and upon that account denyes her childrens bread yet you know the issue Beware therefore of concluding from the present dealings of Christ though he seem to reject thee and let thee lie Though he speak as if he meant not to cure thee and call thee dog as if he would not have to doe with thee yet beleeve for all this may be but a shew to try thee and thy faith It s said in the story of the journey of Christs Disciples from Jerusalem to Emaus that Christ made as though he would have gone further yet upon entreaty he went in to tarry with them Luk. 24.28 29. Christ O soul may seem to goe away when he intends to tarry Only he lookes for intreaty O therefore do not conclude any thing from the present visible seeming rejections of Christ He may frowne and smite cast off and reject cal thee dog and deny thee a crum and yet he may intend and if thou beleeve and waite will to imbrace thee and raise thee up and to fill thy soule with healing and rejoycing Having premised these things by way of caution to be taken heed of I shall now adde one or two positive considerations for the inabling of the soule to act his faith even then when it lyeth lowest and seeth least First Consider there can be no just ground why thou shouldest not beleeve As formerly I said there can be no just ground for our great dispairing casting downe so now I say there can be no just ground why we should not beleeve that yet we shall praise God T is true the soule is apt to conceive grounds of dispaire at least to conclude there are grounds why it should not beleeve But mind it wel and you shal see there is no reason can be given why the soule though never so low and cast downe should not beleeve its raising up by Christ and its rejoycing in Christ For First There is no command or inhibition to the contrary 'T is true Satan sayes there is an inhibition but he is a false Prophet and God never sent him The dejected soule cryes out O I may not I must not I dare not beleeve Why O soule why must not you beleeve who said so when did Christ forbid thee where is the word that faith you may not beleeve Nay is not the Scripture expresse in commanding you to beleeve at all times Is not this his commandement that we should beleeve on the name of Jesus Christ 1 Joh. 3.23 See the Text is positive why shouldest thou say then that thou mayest not beleeve Secondly The depth of your dejection neither is nor ought to be a

the way to glory and life and immortality and peace and joy and healing c. I say if I am in the way to these things why should I not beleeve them Why soul the way of lifting up is casting downe and now you are in the way you ought to beleeve Josephs Dungeon was Gods way to his setting him second in Aegypt Davids flight and feare before Saul was Gods way to bring him to the Throne When David was in his greatest feare that he said he should dye by the hands of Saul then was he within few steps of the Throne and when thou art most cast downe ready to dye in the pit then is Christ nearest to pull thee out and surely O soule the nearer Christ is to deliver thee out of the stronger should thy faith be in dejections You now see reasons for the point it s not so irrationall as unbeleef makes it to act faith when we are most dejected CHAP. 5. One improvement of this Doctrine to informe the judgement YOu heare now that times of dejection are to be times of faith when the soule is lowest it is to beleeve Pray be informed hereby to know when faith is seasonable you may mistake much if you thinke that dejection is or may be a time for doubting No it is the season of faith Some soules thinke that if the promise be cleare if experience be rich if hints are many and taste is sweet O now surely they are to beleeve now is a time of faith It is true now is a time for faith to lay in and store up But suppose the Promise is darke experience poore hints none taste dry c. suppose all is darke and there appeares nothing know that this is a time for faith to come and lay forth it selfe for the soules settlement you mistake the matter O soule if you thinke times of dejection to be times only for patience no they are times also for faith Yea and in case you beleeve not you wil not indeed cannot be patient Suppose thou art very low and cryest loud and God answereth not suppose Conscience accuseth Sathan triumphs and Christ appeare not suppose it darke that the Sunne shine not and there be no Starre Suppose thou looke on the left hand where Christ workes for casting downe is a left-hand work but thou canst not behold him yea and suppose O soule he hideth himselfe on the right hand that thou canst not see him Is thy case thus as Jobs was chap. 23.9 know now it is a time not only to exercise Jobs patience in bearing but to act Jobs faith in beleeving Every Grace O soule hath its season and Faith is in its season in a dejected state yea Christ expects it from us that we beleeve in him then when our hearts are most disquieted The hearts of his Disciples were troubled cast downe and dejected and yet he bids them beleeve Job 14.1 Whom having not seen ye love though now you see him not yet ye beleeve saith Peter 1 Epist chap. 1. vers 8. It is Christs time to be not only loved by you but trusted upon and beleeved in when you see him not And in order unto the triall of this it is that sometime Christ sees it needfull as it is there ver 6. to let you be in heavinesse through manifold temptations I beseech you now improve this Doctrine to informe your judgements in the time of faith Christ O soule wil bring thee low ere he doe raise thee up and while thou art low he expects to see thee raising thy selfe by faith Quest But why doth Christ thus why doth he cast downe his poore creature ere he lift it up why takes he this course to exercise my faith Ans I. It s thy duty O soule rather to doe then dispute rather strive to beleeve then to question his dealing But yet 2 Know O soule Christ hath more ends then one in casting thee downe and making that his way for his comfort and thy faith he hath more then one ground for this First Hereby Christ cleares his grace to thy soule he brings thee low and shuts thee up under unbeleefe that he might make thee see his raising is meere mercy as it is Rom. 11.32 If Christ let thee be ready to doubt and dye ere he raise thee thou wilt see it was free grace only which moved him to helpe thee now that thou maist see this he lets thee be most cast downe ere he come to exalt thee Secondly By this Christ helps thy taste to relish mercy in its full sweetnesse To be ready to starve with hunger and dye of thirst and then to have bread and drinke this makes it relish the sweetnesse of both That Christ may cause thee to tast his love in thy raising the sweeter he uses to let thee lye low and be much cast downe ere he come c. Thirdly Christ hath a designe upon his owne glory in thy deep dejection He not only lookes to evidence the strength of thy faith but the brightnesse of his owne glory by making thee almost sinke in dejections ere he raise thee it wil argue glorious power and deep wisdome to raise a soule lost in its selfe So that now O soule if thou canst but beleeve thou shalt see the glory of Christ as it is Joh. 11.40 wherefore then doe not stand questioning why doth Christ bring thee low and make that a time of faith But up and act say Indeed I am cast downe and disquieted I am in the darke and see no light I am low and know not how to raise my selfe yet now I le beleeve for this my dejection is to be a time of beleeving Verily thou art a God that hidest thy selfe O God of Israel the Saviour Isa 45.15 God was hid yea he hid himselfe yet marke it now the Church acteth her faith Israel shall be saved with an everlasting salvation ver 17. See O soule God hid himselfe Israel could not see his Saviour nor the way of his salvation for both were hid yet even now faith saith Israel shall be saved Well here is the first improvement of this Doctrine let it reforme a mistake and informe the judgement in this truth that times of low dejections are not only times of patience but they are times of faith CHAP. 6. The maine use perswading and directing soules to beleeve in their deepest dejections DEjected hearts you heare your worke and duty pray fall about it you are cast downe you lye low and see little wel beleive say I shall yet praise God for all this I shall see him as the health of my countenance and my God I beseech you know your duty in all its parts as I formerly opened First Hold fast your first faith doe not call all into question because of dejection whatever thou didst beleeve before beleeve it now Secondly Doe not question the power of Christ say not thy case is incurable beleeve it there is Balme yet in Gilead Act