Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
conscience_n	draw_v	evil_a	sprinkle_v	1,134	5	10.3564	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93368	Soule-reviving influences of the sun of righteousnesse, or Some bright beames of light and love, sparkling from Christ upon the darke and drooping hearts of sin-weakend and clouded believers, even while we are in this solitary wildernesse, not yet arrived at the land of spirituall Canaan; but taking a turne in the darke and dampe valley of the shadow of death. With several evangelicall and heart-winning incouragements to the life of faith in the Sonne of God, notwithstanding our manifold weaknesses and hainous provocations; yea to the keeping up of the same comfort, hope confidence, and joy in him in the sadest straights, of the sorest darknesse.	Smith, John, of Badgworth.	1654 (1654)	Wing S4091A; Thomason E1485_1; ESTC R208761	97,631	237

make a good construction of all his dispensations towards thee and know that his actings in us or upon us are the accomplishing of his wil for his owne glory and the good of his that which I think worst for mee may be best for mee How ever it be yet God is good and good to mee Thou oh Lord art still the same 18 Means Frequent those whom God hath settled in the assurance of his love these are able to direct and informe thee in the knowledge of the grace of God revealed in them wherein is peace and joy unspeakable and ful of glory many heare and confer with such as are ignorant of the grace of God and finde successe accordingly 19. Means When our spirits are never so much dejected and sadned we should with Isaiah wind up our affections and stirre up our selves to take hold on God and remember that Christ is our resting place whose spirit whispers in and unto us as it did unto David return unto thy rest oh my soule c. If thou hast sinned thou hast done very foolishly it being done it cannot be undone what shal the soul do but remember that sweet and gracious promise their sins and iniquities I will remember no more and consider that there is not any sin a believer can commit that should cause him to cast away his confidence or so much as question the love of God unto him for any thing he hath done or can befal him All that know the name of the Lord wil trust in him and cleave unto him for strength yea to be their strength against sinne for the time to come it is but a foolish conceit that brings a poore child of God to cast away his confidence and renders him culpable of the reprehension of our Saviour oh fools and slow of heart to believe c. A poore believer is commanded to come boldly to the throne of his Fathers grace he may not in any wise admit of such a disquietnesse in his sorrowing for sin as shall discorage and hinder him in obeying another command of God Rejoice evermore 20. Means Know and remember the happinesse of a believer in Christ though never so weake he is cleane from all sin by the blood of Christ they are removed from him so that he is accepted of God in Christ as perfect righteous and comely as Christ is saith Christ who is on with his Father unto a poore believer Thou art all faire my love there is no spot in thee goe the ●ore in much assurance and confidence unto the throne of his grace who having given thee his Son cannot but with him freely give thee all things that he in his wisdome and love sees fit for thee whether for soule body or both Having therefore Brethren boldnesse to enter into the hol●●st by the blood of Christ by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the vaile that is to say his flesh And seeeng that we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities but was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sinne Let us therefore come boldly unto the Throne of grace that we may obtaine mercy and find grace to helpe in time of neede and let us draw neere with a true heart in full assurance of faith having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering for he is faithful that promised Whe● shal lay any thing to the charge of Gods Elect It is God that justifieth Meditate on these precious truths until then sweet influence through the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead have warmed and enlivened thy soule 21. Means Lastly know and remember that though these means tending so much to the soules settlement in and assurance of the love of God are to be used yet means alone are 〈◊〉 sufficient to quiet and settle a tro●●l●d soule it is the work of Christ spirit to answer all doubts and remove all discouragements God creates the fruit of the lips peace peace to him that is afarre off and to him that is 〈◊〉 saith the Lord and I will heale him In the use of meanes we are to looke unto and wait upon him who wil in his owne time which is best free all his from all their discouragements doubts and fears and satisfie their souls with his love which is better then wine These things I write unto you that your faith and hope may be in God A Collection of many the fears doubts and discouragements that a poore weake believer either in or about conversion or desertion takes up against himselfe together with their several remedies resolutions and answers Weake believers are like melancholy people who think things farre otherwise then they truly are rightly smoaking flax where there is more smoak then light more ignorance then true discerning and thereby they expose themselves to manifold fears and discouragements when there is not the least cause as for example Mary was troubled and afraid all the matter was the Angel saluted her and told her that she had found favour in the sight of God the shepherds were afraid even then when the Angel brought them tidings of great joy Peter was afraid when he had drawn up much fish by which their discouragements they highly dishonoured God hindered their own peace The feares of weake believers are usually of these kindes Viz. 1. They cannot be perswaded their sinnes are pardoned indeed they would and they would not believe it they cannot from the spirit that is in them but close with Christ and claspe about him for salvation yet then they are not sure they have him they may be deceived they thinke in that in a word They are and they are not perswaded their sinnes are pardoned The Remedy to this feare We are commanded to believe forgivenesse of sinnes in Jesus Christ throughly and not in part Through his name whosoever believes in him shall receive remission of sinnes 2. If faith carrie them on to believe a little more or better of their condition yet the pride of some sinnes will not down with them some of their sinnes which they have made their darlings more then others and cherished themselves in oh these they thinke are either too great or too often committed to be all forgiven and at once the remainders of these sins are like dregs in the bottome and their consciences cannot be satisfied that God hath fully pardoned them Briefly They are perswaded some sinnes are pardoned but not some others which they have most sinned in The Remedy There is indeed a large disproportion between sinnes in regard of their causes effects and adjuncts yet the robe of Christs Righteousnesse is so large that it covers the greatest

babe in Christ though carnal those desires which worke towards God came from God the Spirit returnes to him that gave it Secondly I call those Members of Christ accidentally weak who are habitually strong in the faith having strong breathings of the Spirit of Christ and so not lyable unto that constant weaknesse wherewith babes or children in Christ are incompassed and yet may somtimes be accidentally weakned by reason either of sharp afflictions unto which Christ brings them or great services unto which he calls them or else by some great and desperate falls into sinne which through infirmity and as it were by accident they have taken There are two sorts of men that after the committing of sinne can believe pardon thereof no further then they can see themselves humbled or finde repentance in them for it First Such as have a weak faith in the Lord Jesus and these with Thomas may receive reprehension from our Saviour Because thou hast seen me thou hast believed blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed Secondly Meere titular Christians but in very deed hypocrites who build their faith upon the sandy foundation of their own repentance humiliation and such other like qualifications though they say and perhaps think otherwise and then no wonder if when their foundation be removed their faith faile and they fall But if it be inquired what the difference is between a weak Member of Christ and an hypocrite I answer The weak Member of Christ hath another secret frame of Grace in him which will not suffer him to rest upon this rotten foundation the Spirit of God bloweth upon him and gives him to see that this way of the flesh will faile him and at last pitcheth him absolutely upon Christ and leads the poore soule to lay hold upon the word of his promise which indures for ever All flesh is grasse and all the goodlinesse thereof is as the flower of the field the grasse withereth the flower fadeth because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it Surely the people is grasse the grasse withereth the flower fadeth but the word of God shall stand for ever When the Lord begets one by the immortall seed of his Word he then lets him know that all flesh is grasse and that whatsoever ●lesh and nature can desire to rest upon falleth away and teacheth him to rest onely upon the word of Promise which indures for ever tendred in the Gospel But the hypocrite being not blown upon by this Spirit not having the seed of grace conveyed unto him in the Gospel-promise stumbles at this way of free justification and seeks justification in another way forming up a Religion according to himselfe of pleasing and displeasing and by what he doth and doth not and thus going about through his naturall knowledge or light to establish his own righteousness wherein is but a more glorious damnation to be got at best he submits not to the righteousnesse of Jesus Christ And he waxing confident in this way teacheth it unto others thinks others foolish and blind in regard of himselfe yea he growes so confident as that he● dares pleade his cause with God Have we not prophesied in thy name c. He hath a faith though indeed but a dead one and yet it wil go farre in the resemblance carrying the image of something like unto the new man as the faint reflections of the Sun in a cloud look like the Sun but are not and may both deceive the soul of the person where it is and of others that goe but according to the appearance yet there being no spiritual life nor Christ formed in such a soul there can be neither any right spiritual enjoyment of Christ nor sollid communion with God in him though all the changes of the Spirit may seeme to be there to such a carnal formally deceiving heart He may repent as Ahab he may joy in the Gospel ordinances and have a kind of reforming with Herod there may be in him a kind of faith as in those that believed mentioned in the Parable but in time of temptation fell away there may be a frequenting of the word preached as appears by those that said unto our Saviour have we not eaten and drunk in thy presence and thou taught in our streets There may be a conviction of sin as in Faelix who trembled at Pauls preaching he may hold out with Christ in very great troubles nay suffer even death in the cause of Christ But all these are not yet in the power of Christ nor in the life of the Spirit so that the fruits and seeming graces of such are but like the berries upon the thorn in the way side not like the grapes upon the Vine he is not built upon that Rock of ages Christ Jesus and other foundation can no man lay and therefore it is no matter of admiration if like wandring stars and clouds that have no water such are ever rolling up and down and never established He dare not reckon with his conscience for the blood of sprinkling is not there and without blood there is no remission no boldness against sinne no looking Conscience in the face An hypocrite may have a name to live and to tast of the heavenly gift but is indeed dead and senseless yea absolutely void of spiritual life and may not unfitly be compared to that Statue of a man which they say Albertus Magnus was thirty years about that by reason of springs and devices within could walke up and down and speak articulately which stil was void of life so here c. some springs within resulting from self-love some scrnes of ostentation may produce in the hypocrite speech and motion in the wayes of God but being destitute of spiritual life must needs be void of spiritual senses and consequently of those soule satisfying ravishing and transforming tastes and relishes of the goodness of God which the Saints enjoy And thus although he may ascend many rounds in Jacobs ladder the greater at last will his fall into utter darkness be if the Lord give not repentance But inasmuch as the child of God and an hypocrite both stand for repentance it may be enquired what the difference is between the repentance of the one and of the other I shal only instance a few of the differences instead of many more that might be insisted upon 1. That which turneth an hypocrite from his sin causing him to grieve and mourne for it is principally a convicted conscience and restraining grace this made Judas confesse his sin and restore his pieces of silver who neverthelesse denyed the power of the Spirit of Christ But the child of God he hath this Law of repentance put into his inward parts and written in his heart by the finger of the Spirit of the Lord though many times by