Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
conscience_n	end_n	faith_n	unfeigned_a	1,201	5	10.8215	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A50522	The works of the pious and profoundly-learned Joseph Mede, B.D., sometime fellow of Christ's Colledge in Cambridge; Works. 1672	Mede, Joseph, 1586-1638.; Worthington, John, 1618-1671.	1672 (1672)	Wing M1588; ESTC R19073	1,655,380	1,052

unruly and obvious to be surprised for such things we are wont to keep and so much therefore is implied in that they are to be kept else they needed no keeping This is therefore the condition of our Hearts 1. They are untrusty The heart is deceitful above all things Ier. 17. 9. Therefore it stands in hand to watch it to suspect it and deal with it as we would with a notable Iugler or with an untrusty and pilfering servant to have a jealous and a watchful eye over it For if our eye be never so little off it will presently break out into some unlawful liberty or other 2. It is an unruly thing if it be once lost a man cannot recover it again without much time and labour For it is like unto a wild horse if the bridle be once let go he will be gone and not gotten again in haste yea it may be we shall be forced to spend as much time in recovering him as would have served to have dispatched our whole journey So if the bridle of watchfulness be once let go and our Hearts get loose they will not easily be regained it will ask us no small time to temper and tune them again for the service of God Lastly our hearts are continually liable to surprise we walk in the midst of snares encompassed with dangers on every side What is that almost which will not entice and allure so fickle a thing as the Heart from God We can be secure of it at no time neither sleeping nor waking in no place neither house not street neither bed nor board not in our Closet no not in the Church and Pulpit THUS much shall suffice to have been briefly observed by way of implication from the Act Keep Now I come to the Object it self The Heart Keep thy Heart By Heart we must understand the inward thoughts motions and af●ections of the Soul and Spirit whereof the Heart is the Chamber But not a natural man's Heart for that is not worth a keeping but such a Heart as lives to God-ward a good and gracious heart which consists in two properties in Purity and Loy●lty This is the state and temper we must keep our Hearts in I will speak of them in order And first of Purity and Cleanness We must keep our Hearts in Purity and Cleanness For Blessed are the pure in Heart for they shall see God and none but such shall ever see him It behoves us therefore to know what this Cleanness is the having or not having whereof concerns us so nearly Know then A clean or pure Heart is that which loaths sin and loves righteousness For the better understanding whereof we must further know That an absolute cleanness and pureness of the heart and soul from sin is not attainable in this life Prov. 20. 9. Who can say I have made my heart clean I am pure from my sin Yet is there a cleanness of heart which must be had and without which we shall never see God as you heard before Such was that which David prays for Psal. 51. 10. Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me And 2 Tim. 2. 22. true Christians are described to be such as call upon the Lord out of a pure heart 1 Tim. 1. 5. The end of the Commandment saith the Apostle is charity out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and of faith unfeigned And himself 2 Tim. 1. 3. thanks God whom he served from his forefathers with a pure conscience But if this Purity of the heart were no other than a total freedom thereof from all unclean thoughts and sinful motions and desires in such sort as a man should never be troubled and defiled with them alas who then should see God who should be saved That Claenness therefore that measure of Purity which God requires to be in the heart of every one who shall see him and with whom he will vouchsafe to dwell is as I told you the loathing of sin and the love of righteousness that is an accepted Cleanness through Faith when the hate of impurity and love of cleanness in the heart is accepted with God for cleanness and pureness it self Though not a cleanness of all our affections yet at least and what can God require less an affection to all cleanness For God accepts the will for the deed If we love if we desire if we delight heartily in that which is clean and pure in the eyes of God if we hate and abhor if we loath in our selves all sinful impurities and pollutions both of flesh and spirit howsoever we find in our selves a great want of the one and our hearts much and often vexed and troubled with the other yet is this affection of our hearts accepted with God for a pure and cleansed heart indeed And where this disposition is the heart cannot chuse but grow cleaner and cleaner even with real and formal cleanness For a man cannot but cherish that which he loveth and rid himself as much as may be of what he loatheth So he that loveth and affecteth cleanness of heart will cherish and make much of every good motion which the Spirit of God shall put into it and if he indeed loath and abhor unclean and sinful thoughts will do his best to stifle them and remove them far from him This Cleanness and Purity of Heart is that which the Scripture slyleth Holiness even that Holiness without which S. Paul tells us Heb. 12. 14. no man shall see the Lord. For in the Law the legal cleansing washing and purging of that which any way belonged to God or was prepared for his presence and service is called sanctifying or hallowing Exod. 19. 10. When the Lord was to come down upon Mount Sinai Go unto the People saith he to Moses and sanctifie them to day and to morrow and let them wash their clothes 2 Chron. 29. 5. Hezekiah saith to the Levites Sanctifie now your selves and sanctifie the house of the Lord God of your fathers and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place And accordingly in the 16. ver the Priests go in to cleanse it which cleansing in the next verse is called their sanctifying it In Deut. 23. 14. where a law is given for cleanness and neatness in the Camp the reason is rendred in these words For the Lord thy God walketh in the midst of the Camp to deliver thee and to give up thine enemies before thee therefore shall thy Camp be holy that he see no unclean thing in thee and turn away from thee The same expression S. Paul applies to spiritual cleansing 2 Cor. 7. 1. Let us saith he cleanse our selves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God Here with S. Paul also Holiness is Cleansing and Cleansing is Holiness So Eph. 5. 26. That he might sanctifie and cleanse it c. As therefore under the Law that