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	faith_n	sprinkle_v	1,168	5	10.6414	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09999	The saints daily exercise A treatise concerning the whole dutie of prayer. Delivered in fiue sermons vpon I Thess. 5.17. By the late faithfull and worthy minister of Iesus Christ, Iohn Preston, Dr. in Divinity, chaplaine in ordinary to his Maiesty, Master of Emmanuel Colledge in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolnes Inne.	Preston, John, 1587-1628.; Sibbes, Richard, 1577-1635.; Davenport, John, 1597-1670.	1629 (1629)	STC 20251; ESTC S105990	87,396	182

coniugall affection vpon it that should be wholly the Lords this man is an vnholy man his heart is not holy ●…or it is not sequestred from other things and consecrated to him alone for that is to be holy And as the heart must be holy so must the prayer be holy When a man prayes to the Lord with respect vnto him and hath an eye vpon him and nothing else comes in to take away part of this prayer if by respect and worldly and carnall thoughts come in and set you on work to pray now these haue a portion and interest in your prayers they make your prayers pro●…e and common they are not peculiar to the Lord they are vnholy So that is the holinesse then in seeking the Lord when we are knit and wedded to him when one takes this resolution to him selfe I am the Lords servant and him will I serue I am not the servant of man nor of any creature I am married to the Lord and his will I be alone I will withdraw my heart from all things else So likewise when a man prayes so that his soule is intent vpon the Lord and vpon nothing besides when the whole streame of his affections are carried to him this is to seeke to him i●… holinesse this is to sanctifie the Lord in our hearts And lastly if there be any conscience of 〈◊〉 that phrase I finde vsed in Heb. 10 that is if there be an evill conscience if a man be conscious to himselfe of any sinne that is vnrepented of such a man cannot pray that makes him vnholy if there be any sinfull lust yet living in him that is vnmortified in him which is not washed away such a man is vnholy yea my Beloved the Saints themselues when they sin against God as you heard heretofore they are suspended from the covenant though they be within the covenant yet they are suspended from receiving the benefit by it that otherwise they might have till that sinne be washed away they are not holy A priest or one that was holy if hee touched any uncleane thing he remained vnholy till he was washed though otherwise he were holy habitualy vvholy dedicated to Gods service so it may be with those that are within the covenant though thou be a holy ●…an yet if thou touch pitch that is if thy heart be polluted with any sinne of one kinde or other as long as that remaines thou art vnholy If thou come now and seeke to the Lord you know wha●… the iudgement was in the olde law such a one was to be cut off from his people And therefore you shall finde this was the constant practise of the Saints when they sought the Lord for any speciall mercie they began with taking paines with their owne hearts with humbling themselues for their owne sinnes and the sinnes of the people as we know Daniel and Ezra and Davia in their prayers I neede not stand to giue you instances and indeed so should we alwayes when we come with any request and petition to the Lord. First let a man examine his heart and his life diligently looke backe to all his former wayes consider and goe through all the particulars see if there be any thing amisse if there bee any tincture of vncleannesse yet lying vpon him that is not yet washed away if there be any pollution any defilement of flesh or spirit and let him know that it is but labour lost it is but a provoking of the Lord to come as a man vnprepared to draw neere to him except hee be cleansed But you will say how shall we be clensed I answere you are clensed by renewing your repentance and sprinkling the blood of Christ when a man humbles himselfe for his sinne and entreth into covenant with God not to returne vnto it when hee makes his heart perfect and sincere with the Lord in that particular And secondly when he shall w●…thall belieue that it i●… forgiven through Christ when hee is sprinkled in his blood to wash ●…t away though thy sinne be great yet this will make thee pure now thou art washed as it is in the 1 Cor. 6. 9. Now you are washed now you are sanctified now you are iustified therefore let a man not be d●…scouraged in this case for I confesse there is nothing that giues such a checke to our prayers that giues so many stabb●…o them as it were that hinders vs in that duty as the conscience of sinne when a man remembers such and such a sinne he hath committed yet be not discouraged for the blood of Iesus Christ is able to wash them away Though a mans face be very fowle yet you know a basen of cleare water will wash it cleane and all the filth is gone now the blood of Christ is more effectuall to rench thy conscience and to purge it from dead workes to take away both the guilt of sinne and likewise the power and staine of it And therefore if thou haue any sinne labour to be washed from that that then thou maist come to the Lord having thy heart sprinkled from an evill conscience and thy body washed in pure water as it is Heb. 10. 22. Let vs draw neere saith the Apostle in assurance of faith but how having our hearts sprinkled from an evill conscience as if he should say otherwise your drawing neere vvill be to no purpose you shall but provoke the Lord in dravving neere except you bee thus sprinkled and thus washed and thus purified I but you will say to me if this be required who shall be heard in his prayers for who can say his heart is pure and his hands are innocent and if this be required that we must lift vp holy and pure hearts or else we shall not be accepted what comfort shall we haue in calling vpon the Lord at any time To this I answere that to haue a pure heart is not to be free from sin and from da●…y failings for so indeed none should haue a pure heart but purenesse of heart holinesse of heart is to haue our hearts sprinkled from ●…n evill conscience and to haue our bo●…tes wash●…d with pure water that is to be purified before the Lord is nothing else but to haue such an habituall disposition which makes a man ready to wash himselfe still though hee be still spotted with sinne So that this is the disposition of a holy man if a man that drawes neere to the Lord with a pure heart though hee bee still spotted and polluted and defiled yet hee hath an habituall disposition hee hath a principle within hee hath a new nature within that is still working out that impurity and washing it away though still he he●…e opposed and assaulted tempted and sometimes foiled yet still hee resists it and fights against it as the Israelites had a charge never to make peace with Amalek such a disposition is in such a man he never makes peace with any

hath a conceit in his minde of any thing with a will that another should vnderstand it and that God should vnderstand it that is enough for the expression of it so it is with the spirit of a man when he hath such a petition in his heart in his minde and there is a desire in his will that God should vnderstand that petition that is an offering it vp to the Lord it is as true a speaking to the Lord as when you deliver it by an outward voice for the spirit agrees with the Angels as it is a speech and as they speake one to another and to the Lord so doth the spirit of man though indeede the tongue be to be vsed as it is Iam. 3. 9. there with blesse 〈◊〉 God and therewith should we pray among others and before others and speake before others but when there is any cause to vse the voice in private it is this as farre as it may quicken the heart as I said of gesture and as farre as thereby wee may keepe our thoughts from wandring If the voice were not vsed perhaps thoughts would be subiect to more wandring and we should not be ready to take notice of them but they would slip before we are aware therfore when the voice is vsed it must be to keepe in the thoughts In some cases to omit the voice is more convenient when it may draw any other inconvenience but that is left to every mans particular case as 〈◊〉 shall finde the vse of it to ●…inder him or further him And so much shall serue for this Case FINIS THE FOVRTH SERMON 1. THRS 5. 17. Pray continually ANother case of Conscience in the businesse of prayer is wha●… a man is to doe when hee is in streight of time by reason of som●… w●…ighty b●…nesse that requires a 〈◊〉 and sudden dispatch and giues him not the leisure and liberty that otherwise he might haue had To this I answer you shall find that i●… Scriptures the prayers of Saints haue beene sometimes larger and sometimes shorter Our Saviour Christ you know sometimes spent a whole night in prayer Surely he did not take so much time alwayes and no doubt wee haue libertie sometimes to be larger sometimes shorter according as our occasions will permit But yet this you must remember that though the businesse be great yet that businesse that concernes the salvation of ou●… soules and the worship of God is greater And therefore except it bee a true strait this is still to be preferred for it is a businesse of greater moment and therefore you must giue a iust weight to your businesse and not to suffer every small businesse that comes in to thrust out this dutie for here you keepe not the due proportion but neglect the greater and take the lesse Besides doe you not say when you haue great businesse in hand that a man must haue a dining time and a sleeping time c Why may wee not say as wel●… A man must haue a praying time is it not as necessary You know what Iob saith you know the course that ●…e kept in reading the word for that is cleerely meant in that place It was more precious ●…o him then his appointed food that is he had rather omit his vsual●… meale●… for that he meanes by his appointed food then to omit a constant course in performing those holy duties Therefore I say it ought carefully to be tooke heede of that we omit it not except it be a very great streight if it be we may be short in it ●…od tyes vs not so exactly you see therein are not rules set downe in the Scriptures wherein we are tyed precisely to such an houre to such a time but God in mercie and in wisedome hath left it to our liberty onely you see this is the command Pray continually doe it exceeding much at the least keepe a constant course in it as wee heard before but you may bee shorter in it Now let these foure Cautions be observed First take heede that this straightning come not from your ill husbandry that is from your ill husbanding of time For if a man were carefull to redeeme time before it may be he neede not be put to such a strait as he is at that time when he is to performe this duty suppose you haue a iourney to goe that requires so much time and you must be gone early you may so husband the time before that you may get time for your iourney And for the performance of this duty and so for other businesse as I said in the morning when you should sequester your selues to performe this duty of prayer take heed that you be good steward of your time that you husband it well And likewise this is another part of husbanding your time that you let not that which is very pretious goe for things of small moment for that is ill husbandry You should redeeme the time and buy it with the losse of something You haue time to bestow in the waighty businesse of your calling in things that belong to the good of man much more should you in this that belongs to the worship of God And therefore if it may be redeeme it with some losse so you ought to husband it otherwise you redeeme not time as you ought This is the first Caution that ought to be observed to husband and redeeme the time well The second is if we bee straitned at any time recompence it an another time for if it be not a feigned excuse and pretence if you be straitned when you haue libertie you will bee carefull to spend mo●e time in it by that you shall know your sinceritie in it that it is true and that it is not an excuse and a putting off Moreover another Caution to be observed is that you take not too much businesse vpon you if you be straitned with businesse and therefore cannot be so large in the performance of this duty as otherwise you would if you take not too much vpon you your selues are the cause of it And therefore he that takes lesse he that spends more time in the things that belong to salvation he hath made the better choise As Mary made a better choise then Martha though her imployment were good Likewise as you must not pester your selues with too much businesse so likewise you must take care that your mindes be not too much intent vpon them for too much intention of mind vpon businesse causeth distraction in prayer and causeth vs post over over the dutie as well as too much businesse when a mans minde shootes it selfe too farre in businesse when it is too much occupied about it when it is too much intent when the soule cleaues too fast vpon the busines and cannot loose it selfe to the performance of spirituall duties which require freedome The last Caution is that the strait rise not from diffidence in