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	heart_n	sprinkle_v	2,758	5	11.3113	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A14199	The voyce of the cryer Containing 1. A denunciation of Gods iudgements. 2. An inuitation to repentance to preuent the same. Deliuered in two sermons by Alexander Vdny B. in Diuinity, and chaplaine to his Maiestie in ordinary, and minister of the Gospell at Hauking in Kent.	Udny, Alexander, minister of Hauking in Kent.	1628 (1628)	STC 24513A; ESTC S114880	80,029	113

God comforting our selfe in Christ relying vpon his promises by faith aboue all sense and feeling whatsoeuer 3. By paying our vowes vnto the Lord fearing our selfe in our best actions and Satans readines to set vpon vs approouing our selfe by striuing against corruption liuing in spirituall duties louing one another waiting for our end 4. We must watch ouer the outward man 5. Wee must moderate our liberty in respect of time place and person our guide must bee in this loue and wisedome For the fourth wee may entertaine the motions of Gods Spirit in our hearts How we may entertaine the motions of Gods Spirit 1. By discerning and esteeming of them 2. By reioycing in them as in our chiefest treasure 3. By putting them in practise and praising God for the same For the fifth we may discerne of the security and drousines of our hearts by these rules How we may find out the drousines of our hearts 1. If there be within vs a loathing of holy duties 2. If our consciences are continually turmoiled with great tetrors 3. If we finde but little or no comfort when we haue performed holy duties 4. If wee finde much contentment in our willingnesse to sinne and vnwillingnesse to die then our hearts are cast into a drousines and security For the sixt How our hearts may bee roused vp our hearts may bee awakened and roused vp from this security 1. By the powerfull ministery of the word 2. By strong cryes vnto God 3. By crauing the prayers of the faithfull 4. By a resolution to become more carefull 5. By endeauouring more constantly for the conuersion of others 6. By exercising a daily course of Repentance in respect of daily sinne 7. By priuate and publike humiliation and fasting before God For the seuenth we are to take notice of the chiefest sinnes of our heart whereby we may chiefly conquer them How we may find out the chiefest sins of our heart which being vanquished in time we shall ouercome the rest for from the purity or impurity of the fountaine the streames flow accordingly this we may doe 1. By diligent hearing of Gods word which will meet euen with our most secret corruptions 2. By a diligent and carefull obseruation of our thoughts words and actions by which the vsurer shall finde that couetousnesse the adulterer that vncleannes c. are their dearest darlings the chiefest sinnes of their heart out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh 3. By a generall and vniuersall reformation and mortification of our lusts in the performance wherof we shall meet with the greatest resistance from those our chiefest sinnes 4. By an examination of our selfe if we might retaine some sinnes which we would chiefly retaine those are our chiefe sinnes The vses of the former doctrine are threefold For instruction there can bee no true Repentance vnlesse the whole heart be changed it is not onely outward in words or in practise but inward in the affection of the mind and therefore our Sauiour saith First cleanse that which is within Our memory must be changed by remembring God our vnderstanding by knowing God our will by beleeuing God our affections by louing desiring meditating and reioycing in things heauenly All must concurre together else it is not with the whole heart Some haue knowledge but want true faith some haue will but want memory all which must bee amended we must conferre often to get memory reade much to get knowledge heare much to obtaine faith pray alwayes whereby we shall get good effections Seeing God doth require the whole heart and our imperfections are exceeding great we must euen pray with S. Augustine Da quod iubes iube quod ●is Aug. Lord giue vs power to do what thou commandest and command what thou willest For reprehension vnto such as either delay to returne vnto the Lord Vse 2 or turning vnto him but not with their whole heart Some turne but in hypocrisie their outward actions and inward affections goe not together This is abomination in the sight of God God will either haue the whole heart or none of it Seeing I say that the Lord doth require of vs to returne vnto him wholly and totally this excludeth 1. Euery hypocriticall conuersion when there wanteth sincerity 2. Euery conuersion from good vnto euil as from being a Protestant to become a Papist or from euill to euill as of a Prodigall to become a couetous miser 3. Euery false conuersion as when sinne turneth from vs not we from it when we doe not turne from sinne till the strength of nature be decayed when for some by-respects we forsake sinne as the drunkard le ueth his drunkennes in respect of want of meanes or the weaknes of his stomacke 4. Euery halfe turning or imperfect conuersion when we turne from many sinnes not from all as Herod who although he did many things well yet would not forsake Herodias his brother Philips wife Mar. 6.20 Hos 6.4 This is as a morning cloude as the dew of the morning For exhortation vnto vs all to draw nigh vnto God with a pure heart Vse 3 for thus wee are most fitting for him In old times there must bee no blemish either in the Priest or in the sacrifice our hearts now are both and therefore we ought to draw nigh with a pure heart in full assurance of faith hauing our hearts sprinkled from an euill conscience and our bodies washed with pure water Heb. 10.22 As the sacrifice of Cain was reiected so are the prayers of the wicked as hauing their hearts corrupted The heart rules the life purge the heart of ignorance pride and dissimulation and all things which may disquiet the conscience when thou commest before the Lord and the oftner thou doest come the more thou shalt be changed Pray that the Lord may cast thee in a new mould or thou shalt be for thy negligence cast into hell fire Let vs watch ouer our hearts ouer that part which is vnsound for there is no man but hath some wound in the soule We must doe with sinne as the Apostle counselleth to doe with anger Eph. 4.25 Let not the sunne goe downe thereon Doest thou delay to returne thou abusest the mercy of God if thou loue any thing aboue God thou denyest him the more thou delayest truely to repent the further art thou separated from God and the nigher and faster thou hastest vnto thine owne destruction Thus of the fourth point And so much for the inward forme of Repentance layd downe in these words Turne ye euen vnto mee with all your heart Now I come to speake of the outward forme of repentance which concerneth action consisting of three parts 1. Fasting 2. Weeping 3. Mourning The former was to bee internall in the affection this externall and in action whence this generall obseruation doth arise that Both outward and inward repentance must bee ioyned together Doct. Thus Peter to expresse his repentance wept bitterly

or contemne it God will remoue it if God spared not the naturall branches take heede lest he also spare not thee thou art but a wilde Oliue get thee vnto Christ as a branch ingrafted into this stocke and being incorporated and as it were become one with him keepe with all diligence that prerogatiue that nothing divert thee from him If the Heathen could say vnto his Countreymen the Athenians when they committed any offence Hoc nonfacerent Lacedemony certainly our enemies the Lacedemonians would not haue done thus thereby to disswade them from their Iewde behauiour much more wee which are created according to Gods owne image which weare the badge and cognizance of Christians learne both in respect of that nobility which wee haue in Christ and that glorious eternitie which wee hope for when mortality shall bee swallowed vp of life to abstaine from relying vpon any externall prerogatiue but onely as wee are in Christ of whom we are denominated Christians thus of the occasion Touching the substance it containeth matter both of mercy and of Iudgement Mat. 4.6 which were the two parts wherein the ministery of Iohn consisted Isaih 5.4 as it was foretold of him so likewise here he doth faithfully execute and performe both The whole speech is figuratiue and allegoricall which may be thus resolued God is compared to an husbandman who had planted a vineyard in Iudea namely his Church which from time to time he had manured and dressed What could I haue done more to my vineyard that I haue not done vnto it The people are compared vnto trees of which the Lord saith I looked that it should haue brought forth grapes Ibid. 4. The ministery of Iohn to an axe that will cut quickly either to hasten to damnation or to saluation By the rootes of the trees are meant the soules and consciences of men to which the word is well applyed The he wing down and casting into the fire signifieth the finall sentence which at the great day shall be executed vpon such as at the hearing of the Gospell preached remaine vnfruitfull so that it is thus much in effect as if Iohn had said vnto them as trees when they neither blossome in the summer nor render increase the time of reaping notwithstanding of their planting and pruning are fit for nothing but to be cut downe and cast into the fire cuen so likewise ye for all your glorious shewes vnlesse ye take heed vnto your selues and bring forth fruit worthy amendment of life shall by the power of my ministery be hewen down cast into the fire euen prepared and fitted for eternall destruction Hence two things may be noted from this Allegorie First touching the husbandman hee is God Isai 5.2 Ier. 2.21 Iohn 15.1 thus hee writeth of himselfe thus our Sauiour testifieth of him an husbandman inrespect he is the first planter of his Church as also because he is the continuall dresser and manurer of the same an husbandman in whom we may behold both skilsulnesse and ●●inefulnesse in hedging it gathering out the stones of it building a tower therein purging it pruning it and carefulnesse to plant it with the best plants to hedge it to watch ouer it to defend it from wilde Boares and Foxes and patience in looking and waiting from time to time from yeare to yeare that it may bring forth good fruit Touching his husbandry it is the Church so named in many places of Scripture and that in diuerse respects as a vineyard hath need of planting watering pruning purging digging Psal 80.9 Cant. 2.12 dunging so the Church hath neede of planting watering pruning and purging as vineyards are not euery where but there where they are planted Isai 3.14 so the Church is not euery where but there where the Lord hath planted the same Ezek. 17.6 as in a vineyard there are Vines so in the Church is Iesus Christ 1 Cor. 3.6 the true Vine-tree of life whose branches are all such as by faith cleaue vnto him which abound in fruite and bring forth pleasant grapes euen the gifts and graces of Gods Spirit as the grapes are gathered and pressed out so are the members of Gods Church their faith patience experience and hope are manifested are not teares pressed out yea oftentimes their blood for the testimony of a good conscience finally as in a vineyard all the trees are not fruitfull but some prouing barren are cut downe and cast into the fire so in the Church all are not liuing branches of this true Vinc many proue fruit esse and therefore shall be taken away and perish Wherefore seeing God is the husbandman the Church is his Vineyard let vs pray vnto him that such as are not yet planted may by him be transplanted from their old stocke Adam and may bee ingrafted vpon the roote of Iesse Iesus Christ and that such as are already ingrafted may bring forth good fruit God hath beene painfull about vs he hath beene carefull ouer vs he hath beene patient waiting for our fruitfulnesse he might haue digged vs downe long agoe hath hee spared vs yet O then let vs not proue barren but fruitfull in good workes Thus of the substance Touching the Method St. Iohn denounceth iudgement to rouse th●m from their securitie and a waken their sleepie consciences calling them a generation of Vipers bidding them amend their liues and repent them of their sinnes telling them now also The Axe is laid to the roote of the trees and that vnlesse that they did bring forth good fruit they should bee bewen downe and cast into the fire and yet vnder this be doth also offer them mercy that if they did bring forth fruit worthy of amendment of life they should not bee hewen downe but perpetually saued Hence two things may be obserued First that the Law must precede the Gospell Secondly that the Gospell is to bee conjoyned vnto the Law and to accompany the same For the first the Law must precede the Gospell the Ministers of Gods word must first denounce judgement out of the Law against sinne Gen. 2.27 before they proclaime mercies out of the Gospell vnto sinners thus dealt God with Adam before his fall In that day that thou eatest thou shalt die the death so also before the giuing of the Law there were thunders lightnings yea Mount Siuai was all in fire and smoake Isai 1.4 Ioel 1.8 12. Matt. 4.17 Act. 2.36 Rom. 3.18 the trumpet sounding exceeding loud and the Mountaines trembled and all the people were afraid of death Thus Isaiah begun his prophesie thus did Ioel begin his thus our Sauiour Christ thus Peter thus the Apostle Paul and thus S. Iohn in the words of my Text. The Reasons hereof are these Reason 1 First because hereby the pride and corruption of our nature is cast downe by the Law As in a glasse we behold and attaine a knowledge of our owne infirmities as the Apostle Paul saith Rom.