Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
conscience_n	david_n	heart_n	smite_v	1,341	5	9.6931	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A20158	A three-fold resolution, verie necessarie to saluation Describing earths vanitie. Hels horror. Heauens felicitie. By Iohn Denison Batchelour in Diuinitie.	Denison, John, d. 1629.	1608 (1608)	STC 6596; ESTC S109587	139,837	594

thousand witnesses that which seemed doubtfull she proceedeth to pronounce sentence Then doth the prodigall child crye out Luk. 15.19 I am not worthie to be called thy sonne Then doth the Prophet censure himselfe and his people thus O Lord righteousnesse doth belong to thee Dan. 9.7 but to vs open shame and confusion of face 5. Lastly sentence being thus pronounced Quò enim cor meum fugeret à corde meo Aug. confes lib. 4. cap. 7. what is to be expected but execution to flie it is not possible a man may escape others but to flie from an euill conscience it is no lesse impossible then for a man to flie frō his shadow which the faster the bodie flyeth the faster it followeth then will the conscience inflict the punishment Thus when Dauid with diffidence of Gods assistance affiance in his own forces had numbred the people it is said that his heart smote him or scourged him Lo 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2. Sa. 24.10 this is the fruite of sinne both to the vniust and to the Saints for in both of them the conscience watcheth accuseth witnesseth condemneth and punisheth but these proceedings of the conscience are to the elect like the Apostles power To edification not to destruction 2. Cor. 13.10 The godly being hereby schooled are sent to Christ Gal. 3.24 whereby peace is spoken to their soules and they are repriued and pardoned the wicked despaire and flie from him and so they are eternally tormented But some man will peraduenture obiect that all the wicked feele not these throbbes because some that haue wholy deuoted themselues to iniquitie and all abhomination do yet liue merily and are not vexed with such stormes of terror or remorse Whereunto I aunswer that many which seem to liue thus merily haue yet many inward gripings Pro. 14.10 when onely The heart knoweth the bitternesse of the soule Caligula that proude Atheist Qui deos tantoperè contemneret Sueton. in vita Cal. cap. 51. who did so scorn the Gods was wont to winke and wrappe the clothes about his head at the least flashes of lightening and at the greater would hide himselfe vnder his bed Did not his conscience terrifie him and tell him that there was a reuenging power But suppose they were alwaies exempted from these terrors as some no doubt are who haue senslesse hearts cauterised consciences 1. Tim. 4.2 yet is their condition no lesse miserable whilest this lethargie of their soules will not suffer them to seeke to the Physitian to be cured Poyson is poyson how plesantly soeuer it be confected and though these men bee led by Sathan Carion Chr. lib. 5. like Baiazeth by Tamberlaine in fetters of gold yet remember that they are speeding to hell Let me then for conclusion of this point propound vnto thee my Christian brother Rom. 6.21 the Apostles question to the Romanes What fruit had you of those things whereof you are now ashamed Consider the fruites of sinne and thou shalt finde them to be nothing but shame and sorrow and horror of conscience besides which if there were no other reason of restraint yet were this sufficient to withdraw any man not senslesse in his sinnes For what a miserable thing is it to be alwaies hanging ouer a dangerous and deepe water by some small bough and what a lamentable case is this to be euer fearefully looking for the dreadfull iudgment and violent fire Heb. 10.27 that shal deuoure the aduersarie Crucifie therefore thy affections with the lusts thereof and hold it not sufficient like the foolish Israelites to make them tributaries Ios 23.13 lest they proue worse then the Cananites not a whippe on thy side and thornes in thine eyes but a sword of sorrow wounding thy sinfull soule Indeuour also to embrace a holy conuersation and that will yeelde thee a quiet and good conscience and a good conscience will be a continuall feast Pro. 15.15 SECT 3. The third steppe of the wicked into hell in this life which is their dolefulll dying THe cuppe that yeeldes bitternesse in the first draught must needes be very bitter in the bottome If the life of a wretched sinner be so full of terror as hath bene shewed how terrible do we thinke his death shall bee Exod. 5. The Israelites were in great slauery in Aegypt but when they were readie to leaue the land their thraldome was much increased and so it fareth with incorrigible sinners in their liues they are Sathans slaues and their consciences are subiect to the scourges of remorse but at their death their miserie is augmented and their terrors trebled 1 It must needs be a great griefe to them to leaue the world with all the delights thereof which they haue loued so dearely Those that haue made this life their heauen it must needes bee a hell vnto them to lose it as it was a death vnto the children of Israell to leaue the flesh pots of Aegypt 2. They must part with their friends whether it be wife children or other associates no friendship can obtaine it no substance can procure it that the life may be prolonged Psal 49.7 For no man can by any meanes redeeme his brother he cannot giue his r●nsome to God 3. They must leaue their friend Mammon the wealth and riches to which their soule cleaueth O death Eccles 41.1 how ●itter is the remembrance of thee to a man that liueth at rest in his possessions If onely the remembrance of future death be so bitter to a man in wealth prosperitie how irkesome shall it be to him when death it selfe standeth before his face readie to arrest him Well might Salomon say Eccles 5.15 this is an euill sicknesse But what should I speake of the losse of these toyes and trifles They must part with their liues Skinne for skinne and all that a man hath Iob. 2.4 will he giue for his life Life is sweet but not to be bought with all the wealth kingdomes of the world for death will claime his due and nature must be paid her tribute This is the way of all flesh but not the end of all flesh Happie were many if this were the tragicall catastrophe of their sinfull life that their sinnes might dye and be buried with them If the guest might take his meate and drinke and depart without paying any r●ckoning it were well for him so if the wicked that hath taken his repast in sin might leaue the world and so an end their case were nothing lamentable but this is the death that after all this there is a reckoning to bee made Thus must a man part with his friends his pleasures his wealth yea and his life too The remembrance of his pleasures will possesse him with a double passion with griefe because he must leaue them with detestation because they haue bene the causes of his ruine the sight of friends shall vex him enuying

comparison that Saint Iohn vseth in describing the ioyes of the kingdome of heauen calling them the Lambes supper Reu. 19 9. but indeed all the delicates in the world are not to be compared to the feasting of a good conscience This the Spouse sheweth in the second of the Canticles Can. 2.5 He brought me into his wineseller Loue was his banner ouer me Lo here the Ambrosian Nectar wherewith Christ Iesus maketh the heart of his spouse glad causing her to cry out Stay me with flagons Ver. 6. and comfort me with apples for I am sicke with loue where the sacred soule is cast into a holy swound being rauished with the vnspeakeable comfort that she enioyes vpon this peace of conscience Indeed these heauenly ioyes and comforts are not tasted of the wicked for how can they see that haue no eyes or those rellish the peace of cōscience which want their spirituall tast Yea who is able to expresse the excellencie of this peace nay who is able to conceiue it but those that enioy it Neither indeed are they able for it passeth all vnderstanding Phil. 4.7 In respect of which large excellēcie of the peace of conscience it may very wel be counted a part of the kingdome of heauen whose ioyes are endlesse and infinite If we consider the fountains also from whence this spirituall peace doth spring wee shall perceiue that our present comfort vpon earth and future consolation to be enioyed hereafter in heauen do both arise and flow from the same heads and fall into the same Ocean of felicitie 1 A iustifying faith yeelds this peace Rom. 5.2 for being iustified by faith wee haue peace towards God through our Lord Iesus Christ And this peace yeelds ioy as it followeth in the next verse and that no small ioy for they that doe truely beleeue in Christ Iesus 1. Pet. 1.8 doe reioyce with ioy vnspeakeable and glorious What could the Apostle haue said more of the ioy which the Saints shall enioy hereafter in the kingdome of heauen then to call it Vnspeakable glorious no maruell for as the first sight of the blind man wherby he saw men walke like trees Mar. 8.28 was the same whereby he saw them to be men a far off though it was at the first more confused so the inchoate ioy and peace of cōscience which wee obtaine in this life being vnspeakeable glorious and passing all vnderstanding hath more then a resemblance of that celestiall glorie which shall be imparted more abundantly and perfectly in the life to come 2 The children of God are endued with the spirit of God whereby they receiue the comfortable testimonie of their adoption Rom. 8. the same manumitting spirit doth also yeeld them most heauenly consolation Ioh. 14.16 3. This peace of conscience is the fruite of a holy conuersation as I said before and the Apostle can tell vs of his owne experience for his reioycing is this 2. Cor. 1.12 the testimonie of his conscience that in simplicitie and godly purenesse he hath had his conuersation in the world Besides this there is also an vndoubted Hope which being the first fruites of the spirit doth after a sort put the children of God in possession of the kingdome of heauen So that whē they do from the watch tower of a good conscience lift vp this Iacobs staffe or rather this Iacobs ladder Gen. 28.12 of a stedfast hope vnto the heauens and there behold with holy Stephen the glory of God Act. 7. it rauisheth and reioyceth their hearts more then any tongue is able to expresse Thus do the godly in this life tast of the ioyes of heauen the sweetnesse whereof is such that it swalloweth vp all the waues of temporall distresses causing them with Paule and Silas to sing Psalmes in the prison and to say with Dauid Act. 16.25 Psa 94.19 In the middest of all my troubles thy comforts ô Lord haue refreshed my soule Which maruellous effect this peace of conscience could neuer haue in encountering and conquering these infinite earthly calamities were it not of a diuine and heauenly Nature But what haue all the children of God this peace and comfort alike Surely no but according to Zeba Zalmunnaes words As the man is Iud. 8.21 so is his strength it may be said in this case as the man is so is his comfort and ioy For where the life is qualified with a great measure of grace there the heart is replenished with a great measure of ioy Neither are these ioyes alwaies participated alike but as the heauens are sometime bright and sometime obscured so the Sunne of comfort shineth sometimes more brightly sometimes obscurely in the hearts of Gods children So that one while they complaine thus Psal 77. Will the Lord absent himselfe for euer and will hee shew no more fauour and other whiles Psal 35.9 their soule is ioyfull in the Lord and all their bones do say Who is like vnto thee ô Lord yet euen in their greatest distresse Dulciores sunt lachrymae orant●ū quàm gaudia Theatrorum Aug. super Psal 1●7 the very teares of the godly are sweeter then all the showtes laughters at the Theaters This being the excellencie of the peace of conscience let it be thy care good Christian to obtaine and maintaine it A kinde and comfortable friend is much woorth but who can prize the peace of a quiet conscience Lo it was the best hymne the blessed Angels could sing Luk. 2.14 Glorie be to God in the highest heauens and peace on the earth The best Legacie our Sauiour could leaue to his seruants My peace I leaue with you Iohn 14.27 my peace I giue you The best prayer the Apostle could make for the Thessalonians Now the Lord of peace 2. Thes 3.16 giue you peace alwaies by all means Though there be many that say Psal 4. Who will shew vs any good and haue their minds wholy set vpon their corne their wine and oyle yet the godly haue more true gladnesse from the Lords countenance by a thousand degrees then the worldling hath in all these transitorie trifles Hast thou a good conscience then cherish it it is the greatest blessing vnder heauen Is this peace and comfort of conscience wanting or weake in thee then vse the meanes whereby the same is procured and preserued Labour to obtaine a sound faith a sanctified life Esa 32.17 for the worke of righteousnesse is peace Melchizedec being king of righteousnesse Heb. 7.2 was after that the king of peace get righteousnesse and peace will follow it Psal 85.11 For righteousnesse and peace will kisse each other yea the more thou art conuersant in holinesse of conuersation the more abundant shalt thou be in the comfortable peace of conscience For where righteousnesse flourisheth Psal 72.7 there shall be abundance of peace Behold it will be thy companion both