Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n
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A19281
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A brand taken out of the fire. Or The Romish spider, with his webbe of treason. VVouen and broken together with the seuerall vses that the world and Church shall make thereof. By T. Cooper, preacher of Gods word.
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Cooper, Thomas, fl. 1626.
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1606
(1606)
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STC 5693.5; ESTC S108666
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97,414
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114
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generation and full of deadly poyson extreamly cruell where they can preuaile and yet by the Iustice of God breeding their owne bane when their sinne is full euen bursting a sunder with the poyson thereof and iustly confounded with their owne malice So is the Spider Yea as the Spiders Webbe is cunningly Wouen and quickly broken so are and shal be the deuises of our aduersaries they shall not be established by their iniquitie but their owne cunning hath and shall be their confusion And let this satisfie you concerning the Title As for the plainenesse and rudenesse of the matter if you doe duly consider the rule of my direction I trust you will acknowledge that the power of the spirit is best seene in weaknes and that plaine lines doe best answer a straight and euen leuell the euidence of the spirit is best seene in plainenesse You see I haue informed my selfe in these meditations by the most perfect Paterne a Psalme of that Princely Prophet Dauid that man of afflictions when his life was indangered by the subtiltie and violence of his close and trecherous enemies To be deliuered from these he flies vnto his God in prayer and the rather to preuaile he layes before the Lord the desperate practises of his enemies thereby implying that vnlesse the Lord stood vnto him hee iustly feared that they would swallow him vp This feare of his is the rather confirmed because he saw them soddaine and fearelesse in their mischieuous practises And why they should be thus fearlesse he discouers in the next words because they did by many sorts of incouragements meet with this feare And here begin our meditatioÌ„s deriued as you see froÌ„ this pure fountaine and watered all along with the streames therof If this heauenly treasure hath so shined in this earthen ves sell that the excellencie of that power may appeare to be of God and not of vs giue God the glory in the treasure and be humbled in respect of the vessell If the vessell hath receiued that honour from this beauenly treasure as not to haue handled it craftily and deceitfully but in declaration of the truth shal be approued to euery mans conscience in the sight of God Then if our Gospell be hid it is hid to them th 〈…〉 〈…〉 ish But I perswade myselfe better things of you euen su 〈…〉 〈…〉 company saluation And let this be your triall that you are contented to heare the same things againe So accepting these paines according to the entent thereof you shall happily ease yourselues of the Mother and the Daughter forgetfulnesse and vnthankfulnesse and burthen me willingly with further paines for the further building of you vp in Iesus Christ. To whose protection I commit you I pray you to beare with the faults escaped in the printing and correct the grosser of them as followeth Pag. 19. lin 11. for rest read cost ead lin 21. for that may read that we may ead lin 1. for we read he ead lin 29. for bloudie execution read for the bloudie execution pag. 22. lin 30. for Rhamaes read Pharaoes pag. 23. lin 5. for perpetuall read externall ead lin 8. for framing read foaming ead lin 30. for so Satan read superstition pag. 29. lin 30. for thing read change pag. 34. lin 28. for saue read some pag. 35. lin 24. for life restored read life are restored pag. 43. lin 28. for meane read mayne pag. 44. lin 28. for the read these THE Romish Spider THE FIRST PART The weauing of the Webbe Psal. 64. Vers. 5. They encourage themselues in a wicked purpose they coÌ„mune togeather to lay snares priuily and say who shall see them 6. They haue sought out iniquities they haue accomplished that which they sought out euen euery one in his secret thought and the depth of his heart THe holy Ghost hauing in the latter end of the former verse set out the desperate resolution of the wicked in their attempts against the Lords Annointed by two Circumstances The one That they are suddain in execution implying their desperatenesse The other That they feare not arguing their boldnesse and confidence in their proceedings doth in the two next verses yeeld a reason for this their desperate confidence by discouering their diuelish policie in the maner of their practising as also in the varietie and secrecie thereof For whereas of all other sinnes the sinne of treason hath cause most to affright the heart of man not onely in regard of the maiestie of the Prince who carries the Image of God full of terror and astonishment to the wicked but also in respect of the haynous punishment that attends the same not to omit the racking of the conscience in the horrour of the sinne may it not therefore seeme strange that wretches should not feare to commit so great a sinne that Subiects should runne of boldly and desperately to lay hands vppon the Lords annointed The Prophet Dauid was so affected when hee had but cut off the lappe of Saules garment a wicked and reprobate King that his heart smote him with conscience of some great euill in lifting vp his handagainst the Lords Annointed And when the Amalekite brought newes vnto Dauid that he had slaine his enemy Saule hoping to receiue some great reward the good King was so farre from delighting in the death of his enemie as that rather remembring him to bee the Annointed of the Lord hee not onely bewailes his death with a great lamentation but further reprooues the Amalekite with this seuere checke How wast thou not affraide to life vp thy hand against the Annointed of the Lord and rewards him with such wages as so haynous a murther did require To feare then in attempting against the liâ—e of a Prince as there is great reason in regard of the haynousnesse of the sinne and the Maiestie of the person against whome it is committed so there had neede be great policie vsed to banish this feare What this policie was the holy Ghost proceedes to relate vnto vs in these two verses following leading vs to the consideration of diuers notable points of policie in the practises of these Traytours against their Soueraigne to make them confident and secure therein that so they may bee taken in the pit which they haue digged for others The first whereof respecteth the manner of their plotting and it is here set out vnto vs to be two-fold First saith the spirit They encourage themselues in a wicked purpose they commune together wherein the meaning of the holy Ghost is to lead vs to a policie verie vsuall in great and desperate attempts that they are vndertaken and prosecuted by combination of all sorts of strength as so many helps to further the accomplishment thereof Secondly whereas close carriage conueyance is an especiall helpe to further dangerous designes therefore the holy Ghost addeth that the speciall matter of their counsell was how they might lay snares priuily signifying therein that they
acknowledge that our cause is Gods yet they shall continue their malice against so good a cause yet they shall thus desperately fight against heauen and prouoke the holy one of Israel to their iust confusion And yet behold the Lord will open their mouthes further to their fearefull condemnation euen by the gratious deliuerances that he performeth vnto his children It was much that Saul should iustifie the innocencie of Dauid wonderfull was the Lord herein to wring from a reprobate the approbation of his seruant and very holy herein was the Iustice of God in discouering this wilfull obstinacy of a cast-away that so hee might prepare him thereby to his further condemnation But all this while innocency though it were praised yet it went a begging Dauid might be promised a kingdome yet was not sure of his life Nay for the safegard of it he is driueÌ„ to a narrow shift euen in a sort to venture his innocency it selfe So are Gods children to seeke of that which is theirs in hope that God may haue the glory of what they do enioy so doth the Lord prepare his to the obtaining of a blessing that comming vnto it at so hard a rate they might more highly prize it when they shall obtaine But did not the Lord heere giue his seruant some token that hee would recompence him according to his innocency yea surely the Lord that opened the mouth of his enemy to giue testimony vnto the one hee also opened the same to be a Prophet of the other HarkeÌ„ my beloued woÌ„der at the prouidence of God I know saith Saule that thou shalt be King and that the kingdome of Israel shal be established in thy hand Loe here Saule is amonge the Prophets to declare glad tidings to the Saints to speak feareful things against themselues Harken howe the wife of Haman becomes a prophetesse vnto her husband of the deliuerance of the Church and a swift witnesse of the destruction of the enemies thereof If Mordecay saith she be of the seede of the Iewes before whom thou hast begunne to fall thou shalt not preuaile against him but shalt surely fall before him Marke I pray you the ground of this prophecye the wicked haue begunne to fall before the righteous nation some vpper hand haue they had against their enemies what doth this infidell collect herevpon surely the wicked shall fall more and more before the righteous till at lenght the righteous shal haue dominion ouer them in the morning Wouldst thou then haue a token that thine enemies shal be confounded consider then howe from time to time they haue fallen before thee certeÌ„ly if thou be of the seed of the Iewes and of that royall generation thou shalt one day haue all thine enemies thy footstoole Wouldst thou haue a further euidence to confirme this vnto thee behold the Lord shall open the mouth of thine enemie to bewray their fainting spirits that so thou maist be comforted as Gideons Souldiers were by this testimony of thine enemies that the Lord shal giue them vp into thy hands and thou shalt make a ful end of them Oh but thou wilt say how can these things stand together Saul tells Dauid he shall certenly be King and yet hee continues persecuting him to take away his life from him May not this be a policy to make him secure that he may the more easily seaze vpon him I see indeed will the weake Christian say that God hath deliuered his church from time to time I heare euen the enemie giuing ouer for a time as confessing with the Pharesie Behold we preuaile nothing against him for all the world runneth after him and yet I see the aduersaries are in hope stil I see they are stil practising and plotting against the soules of the righteous what may I conceaue hereof may I not iustly feare with Dauid that I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul that at length these aduersaries shall obtaine their desire against the church and therevpon resolue rather vpon some indirect course to corrupt my conscience or abate of my sincerity that so glosing with them I might finde fauour in their sight Oh stay here whosoeuer thou art that shalt be thus affected giue mee the hearing a while to satisfie thee herein Tell me I pray thee why doth Sathan our maine aduersary so violently and incessantly persecute the Church of GOD doth not the spirit giue thee the reason because his time is short if thou therefore seest the instruments of Satan still to rage more fiercely against the spouse of Christ know thou for a certenty that their time is but short and that thou maist not want a prophesie to confirme thee herein consider but what their desperate practises doe speake vnto thee If they were not affraid to loose their kingdome if they had not a presage in their conscience that Christs Kingdome would one day preuaile surely they would be still and follow their flesh potts they would not so persecute and plot as they doe they would not thus spend their goods and venture their liues and all against the poore Church of God Alas it is not for Christs kingdome what pretence soeuer they haue for they haue said plainelie We will not haue this man to raigne ouer vs. But the trueth is to holde their own Here is the matter the Iewes had this Oracle from their Father the Deuill that if they let Christ alone the Romanes would come and take away their Kingdome And therefore they resolue that Christ must bee persecuted his death must be the life of their vsurped power their conscience told them that they were but vsurpers the very life and holy conuersation of Christ was a manifest conuiction and condemnation of them so that their conscience told them that Christ Iesus was that holy one whom they ought to haue obeyed and yet their hypocrysie replyed if wee giue him honour wee shall loose ours and so their deuilish policy concluded to their owne confusion better one perish then our whole Kingdome goe downe faine would they haue done him homage so he would haue serued their turne to Daube vp their hypocrisie and vnderproppe their toâ—tering Kingdome but yet because they saw his course to bee cleane contrary a sharpe reprouer of their hipocrisie and a mayne beaterdowne of their carnall pompe and vanity hereupon against their conscience they followed their persuite against him and doe you marke herein how their Father deceiued them their practises against the sonne of God made way to his Glory and the redemption of mankind and so proued the occasion of the ouerthrow of their kingdome So doth the Lord Confound the wisdome of the wise and turneth their malice vpon their owne pates In like sort the aduersaries of the Church haue carried themselues A kingdome they haue vsurped vpon by the power of Sathan and through his Subtilty and violence they haue seazed vpon the Lords