Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A44565
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One hundred select sermons upon several texts fifty upon the Old Testament, and fifty on the new / by ... Tho. Horton ...; Sermons. Selections
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Horton, Thomas, d. 1673.
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1679
(1679)
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Wing H2877; ESTC R22001
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1,660,634
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806
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them by their Father But he withholds no good thing from them that walk uprightly Therefore let us be sure to look to that and indeavour to find it in our selves before we challenge the Providence of God And yet withall I must add this that this word Vprightly is not to be taken neither in the strictness and rigor of it so as to be free from all kind of Sins or Infirmities whatsoever which is not to be Expected here in this life but Evangelically and in the Sense of the Gospel for a study and Indeavour after Uprightness and Carefulness all we can to walk Holy and unblameably in our Conversations This is the walking Vprightly which the Holy Ghost here intends in this place and which has this Blessing attending upon it Of no good thing withheld from it So much of that viz. The Proposition in the Negative and so also of this whose verse For the Lord God is a Son and shield c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 SERMON XXII Psal 94.19 In the Multitude of my Thoughts within me thy Comforts delight my Soul The Blessed and Holy man David as he was a man of manifold Afflictions which he was exercised and tryed withal so also of manifold Comforts and Consolations in those Afflictions as He had deep calling unto deep in regard of his Troubles so he had Height also calling upon Height in regard of his Inlargement The latter is that which we have now at this time before us IN this present Verse before us we have two General Parts especially observable of us First The Malady And Secondly the Remedy The Malady that we have in these words In the multitude of my Thoughts within me The Remedy that we have in these words Thy Comforts delight my Soul We begin in order with the first viz. The Malady In the Multitude of my thoughts within me wherein again we have these four following particulars First The Grief it self and that is Thoughts Secondly The Amplification of this grief and that is Multiplicity a Multitude of thoughts Thirdly The Subject or if ye will the occasion of it and that is David Himself My Thoughts Lastly The intimacy or closeness of it and that is within me For the first The grief or evil it self which did afflict and trouble at this time it is exprest to be thoughts Cogitationes meae Thoughts considered simply in themselves do not contain any matter of grief or evil they are the proper and natural issue and emanations of the Soul which come from it with a great deal of easiness and with a great deal delight but it is the exorbitancy and irregularity of them which is here intended when they do not proceed evenly and fairly as they ought to do but with some kind of interruption And so the word which is here used in the Text seems to import the Hebrew Sagnaphim carrying an affinity with Segnaphim which is derived from a root that signifies properly a bough Now we know that in a bough there are two things especially considerable as pertinent to our present purpose First there 's the perplexity of it And Secondly there 's the agitation Boughes they usually catch and intangle one in another and boughes they are easily shaken and moved up and down by the wind If there be never so little Air or breath that is any time stirring abroad the boughes they doe presently discover it and are made sensible of it So that this expression does serve very well to intimate and set forth unto us the perplexity and inconstancy of Thoughts which David was now troubled withal and whereof he now complains as grievous and offensive to him They were not thoughts in any consideration but thoughts of distraction such thoughts as did bring some grief and trouble with them This the Septuagint Translates it were so fully apprehensive of as that they quite leave out thoughts and render it onely by griefs 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 According to the multitude of my sorrows But it is more full and agreeable to the word to put them both together my grievous and sorrowful thoughts such thoughts as in regard of the carriage and ordering of them do bring grief and sorrow with them And here we may by the way observe thus much That God need not go far to punish and afflict men when he pleases He can do it even with their own thoughts no more but so He can gather a Rod of these boughes and make a scourge of these twistings wherewith to lash them and that to purpose If He does but raise a Tempest in the mind and cause these thoughts to bluster and bustle one with another there will be trouble and affliction enough though there were nothing besides It is no matter whether there be any ground or occasion for it nor in the things themselves It is enough that there be so but in the conceit and apprehension God can so improve a fancy a meer toy and imagination it self if that he will indeed fasten it and set it on upon the soul there shall be no quiet nor rest for it It is that which many a poor Creature in the world is too sadly acquainted withall a meer vexing and tormenting it self with its own thoughts and the distempers and prevarications of its own brain Belshazzar his countenance was changed and his thoughts troubled him Dan. 5.6 What does this now teach us but from hence to stand in awe of this Great God who is the searcher and tryer of the thoughts and has the ordering and disposing of them who forms the spirit of man within and declares to him what is his thought as he has that property ascribed unto him Amos 4.13 how I say should we tremble and fear before him Here is that which may take men off from security and hope of impunity in regard of their sins Because it may be sometimes they are out of the reach of humane censure and man cannot so easily come at them they may therefore think themselves safe and well enough no but they are not so for all that God can muster their very thoughts against them and raise a force out of their own Consciences if He pleases which will be punishment enough what 's the Hell of Hell it self That worm that never dyes and that fire that never goes out but this perplexity and irregularity and exorbitancy of distracted thoughts And how often is God pleased in a degree thus to torment them before their time to shew them what he will hereafter do more fully And more particularly let us here be advised to have a special regard to our thoughts above any thing else let us not give our selves too much scope and liberty here but restrain them and keep them in awe There are many which think thoughts are free and that they have leave to think what they please without any contradiction no but they are mistaken in so thinking Even the very thought of foolishness is sin as
mouth were smoother than butter but war is in his heart And Ezek. 33.31 With their mouth they shew much love but their heart goeth after their covetousness More expresly as it is noted of the Pharisees Matth. 23.28 They outwardly appear righteous unto men but within they are full of hypocrisy and iniquity Now all such as these they are here censured by this present expression which we have now before us as being abominable in the sight of God The Lord abhors this double dealing in Religion with an heart and an heart and an heart as to outward manifestation good and commendable but as to reality and inward affection naught and unsound Hypocrites and liars they shall have their portion in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone And therefore let all such as are so look to themselves If there be any that now hear us whose consciences tell them that their inward thoughts and affections and private carriages are wicked and unwarrantable whiles their outward pretences and appearances are fair and commendable let all such know that God is not mocked that though they may deceive men and such as themselves perhaps are yet they cannot deceive him who will one day discover them and reveal them and make them known and shew what they are who will turn their cake for them and put their inside outward in the view and sight and appearance of all the world both Angels and men That 's one thing signified in this phrase and metaphor here used as it is an expression of hypocrisy Secondly It is an expression of neutrality and indifferency in Religion When men know not what to hold or to betake themselves to but are compounded as it were of several mixtures this is a cake not turn'd This was the condition of this people they neither wholly embraced the Idols and abominations of the Heathen nor yet kept the true worship of God entire and pure amongst them but were a medly betwixt them both neither flesh nor fish a linsy-woolsy as we may so express it This is that which the Prophet blames in them Thus Rev. 3.15 It is laid to the charge of the Church of Laodicea that they were luke-warm neither hot nor cold Such were those Israelites in Ahab's time which halted betwixt the Lord and Baal 1 King 18.21 And those Nations which the King of Assyria placed in the Cities of Samaria they feared the Lord and served their own Gods 2 Kin. 17 33. And those Jews in Zephaniah's time which worship'd and swear by the Lord and swear by Malcham Zeph. 1.5 And so all ther else besides who have not a constancy and certainty of religious Principles in them such as these they all come both within the compass of this present expression and this prophetical censure too Now the Lord cannot endure such kind of persons as these are which have no bottom nor foundation in Religion which are to seek what to fasten on and what profession to take upon themselves as being indifferent to any It was in part here the case of Ephraim and is in like manner the condition of many other people besides That they would joyn those things together which are of themselves incompatible which will not consist or hold together Such are those which in matter of Faith would reconcile Popery and Protestantism together In matter of worship God and Baal in matter of affection God and Mammon in matter of practice and life and conversation Christ and Belial These things they will not hold neither are they such as God himself can away with His soul abhors them As Rev. 3.16 So then because thou art luke-warm and neither cold nor hot I will spue thee out of my mouth And the reason of it is this because he is a jealous God as the Scripture expresses it He cannot abide to have any joyn'd with himself but to be absolute and entire and alone without any mixture Nec Regna socium ferre nec tedoe sciunt The Bed and the Throne will admit of no Competitors Forasmuch then as God is both of these to his People their King and their Husband too therefore he will not endure to have any other joyn'd with himself What shall we think then of those which are for a general and universal toleration of all Religions which would have every one to do that which seems best in his own eyes without restraint which are for a Meshmash and Galemaufery of all Sects and Opinions and Professions jumbled together Are not these come to Ephraim's temper here in the Text of a Cake not turn'd which are partly bak'd and partly leven Yes out of doubt they are and accordingly if they look not to it may expect Ephraim's judgment of which more anon That 's the second thing impli'd in this Metaphor here in the Text of an unturn'd Cake It is an expression of Neutrality in Religion Thirdly It is an expression of Deficiency and Imperfection in Religion and it may be extended to the whole work of Conversion and entertainment of Religion it self He that is but an half-converted Christian that has not a thorough-work of Grace wrought in his heart such an one he is a Cake not turn'd When a man shall onely have a work upon his understanding to discover to him his miserable condition so as it may terrifie him and affright him and astonish him but no work at all upon his will and affections so as to close with Christ upon his conditions here the work is done but by halves The spirit of Bondage onely and not the spirit of Adoption following upon it This is the state and condition of many which go no farther than Judas his repentance which have some convictions and that 's all they rest there and come not up to a full closing and complying with the Gospel they are not willing to part with their lusts nor their beloved sins which they still nourish in themselves and so are lost It is the undoing of thousands of souls this which we speak of that they are content to be somewhat in Religion but nothing to purpose as Agrippa he was almost a Christian but he was not one altogether so it is with many other besides they are perswaded and convinced in their judgments that somewhat is to be done by them but they are not willing to do that which they should For methods sake we will reduce them to these following heads First which proceed to meer notion and speculation in Religion but not to practise and operation This is one cake which is not turned There are many which have strong brains but weak hearts so far as Religion is a matter of understanding and discourse so far they are pretty good at it they are able it may be to go through all the points of it to reason and argue about it but yet in the mean time they have no savour or rellish of it so far as it may any thing tend to the changing and reforming of