Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
conscience_n	faith_n	good_a	shipwreck_n	6,868	5	12.4968	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30235	The difficulty of and the encouragements to a reformation a sermon preached before the honourable House of Commons at the publick fast, Septem. 27, 1643 / by Mr. Anthony Burges ...	Burgess, Anthony, d. 1664.	1643 (1643)	Wing B5643; ESTC R7338	25,238	35

fulnesse saith Tert. As Bonaventure said if he were to er he wuld rather er in giving to much to grace then to free-will so do you in giving too much to the Scripture rather then to little though its best to go neither to the right hand nor the left 3. Though it be a rule yet it does not exclude other ministeriall helpes and here commeth the office of Pastours and Teachers in as also of praying unto God and diligent reading of Gods Word Therefore it s a vaine and absurd question of the Papists Let a man be lockt up in a study with a Bible what good will he get by that if he cannot reade as if because we say its a rule therefore other ministeriall helpes were not also necessary The Pastors and Teachers have indeed a light yet as God when he created the world conveyed the whole light of the world into the body of the Sunne so that though the Moone and Starres should give light yet they should shine with no other light but what they received from the Sunne So God in the constitution of the Church conveyed the whole light of it into the Scripture and the Offices of the Church are to shine with light from thence The godly Pastours and Teachers of the Church they doe not make truths though they may declare them As Solomon by his prudence did not make the childe the true mothers child but declare it and the skilfull Ieweller doth not make the Iewell but doth distinguish it from the counterfait This rule doth extend first to matters of faith A sound faith is the soule of Religion it s like the Sunne in the firmament like the eye in the body and commonly ubi male creditur ibi nec bene vivitur An ill faith and ill life goe together Hence Hymeneus and Philetus as they made shipwracke of their faith so they did also of a good conscience 1 Tim. 2. 17. There is no building of any confessions of faith but the materials must be fercht from this mountain Errour and Heresie have no such enemy as the Scripture The holy Fathers were scrupulous in using the word {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} and Trinity and all because they were not Scripture words Hence Heretiques are lucifuga Scripturarum Owles that cannot indure the light therefore Lindan the Papist was not ashamed to say That it had beene better for the Church if there had been no Scripture at all but only Traditions Now the Scripture being the ground faith though we be never so orthodox yet if it be not because of Scripture it s but an humane faith As men may have anhumane repentance when their hearts are troubled meerly upon humane considerations which is farre from godly sorrow So he may have an humane faith meerly because of education and humane custome and all this comes farre short of divine faith Secondly to worship and discipline An orthodox Church without good discipline and pure worship is like a field of Come without hedges What a comely Church should we have if Scripture Orders were lookt too In worship all that is done without Gods Word is doing we know not what Iohn 4. 22. You worship you know not what And by what ground they receive one voluntary worship they might receive more The Pope once resolved that he with his Cardinals should at a set time ride on Asses partly to shew their humility and partly to imitate Christs riding on an Asse to Ierusalem But the Cardinals refused it as too absurd yet they might on the same ground have received that as a custome as all their other rabble of worship So for discipline and order a prophane man should be as rare in the Church as a blazing starre If any one be an Idolater a reviler no not to eat with such an one 1 Cor. ● 11. And againe If any walke disorderly withdraw from such an one I know different judgements improve these places to different opinions but I presse that which all agree in I acknowledge that governours are more to be incouraged in this work because the ignorance and prophanenesse of people cannot indure to see a brazen serpent broken down You worthy Patriots you have indeavoured to bury Moses his Body left it should be worshipped and how doth the Devill withstand you Thirdly to our outward conversation Psal. 19. By them thy servant is forewarned The Scripture is the Antidote against sinne Psal 19. 9. A young man may cleanse his wayes by them in the former a King in the latter a young man Where there are the greatest temptations even there Gods Word will prevent Now this use of the Scripture men doe not consider they dare not have any other faith then the Scripture propounds yet they date live another life Verba Scripturae non sunt legenda sed vivenda As therefore you beleeve as it is written so live and feare and joy as it is written canst thou prove thy drunkernesse lawfull more then thy heresie Fourthly to the heart and conscience of man and herein it differs from all other Rules and Lawes they bind onely the outward man but these reach to the heart and conscience Rom. 7. The Law is spirituall it doth convince even a selfe-admiring Pharisee when this Sunne-light shineth it discovereth all the hidden thoughts of the heart all those moates that otherwise would not be seene so Heb. 4. 12. It s a two edged sword c. The eloquence and wit of men doth not awe and terrifie the conscience but the Word of God doth that makes the heart cry out I am overcome overcome It s true God makes use of humane eloquence Qui dedit Petrum piscatorem dedit Cyprianum Rhetorem but all must be subordinate to the Word As God is the Father ofspirits so the Word is a word of spirits If the word comfort though all the world threaten the heart beareth up it selfe and so if that threatens the heart is discouraged Use 1. Of exhortation to set up this rule Let the Word of God dwell in you sollow that in your reformations as the Wisemen did the starre you are carefull as Magistrates to keep Parliament priviledges be as tender about Scripture priviledges this is your spirituall Magna Charta Then will God set you up in the consciences of men when they shall see that you are as seriously bent to keep Gods right as your own Esay 8. 19. Should not a people enquire of their God Every Nation seeks to their own god The voluptuousman takes counsell from his belly the ambitious from his great ones the Papist from the Popes chaire and shall not we from God It was a complaint of an Anonymus in his Epistle to Calvin we hope through the blessing of God this Parliament will take it away this man writing out of England to Calvin concerning the disorders in our Discipline and Church way saith We goe to the Nobles and great men to redresse this abuse they say the