Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
conscience_n	good_a	heart_n	merry_a	1,048	5	9.9107	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A73885	Divers select sermons on severall texts Viz. 1. Of quenchiug [sic] the spirit. I Thessalon. 5.16. 2. Of the sinners suite for pardon. 2 Sam. 24.10. 3. Of eating and digesting the Word. Ier. 15.16. 4. Of buying and keeping the truth. Prov. 23.23. Preached by that reverend and faithfull minister of the word, Ier. Dyke, late preacher of Epping in Essex. Finished by his owne pen in his life time, and now published by his sonne Dan. Dyke Master of Arts.	Dyke, Jeremiah, 1584-1639.; Dyke, Daniel, 1617-1688.; Dyke, Jeremiah, 1584-1639. Heart-smitten sinner's suite for pardon.; Dyke, Jeremiah, 1584-1639. Of quenching, and not quenching of the spirit.; Dyke, Jeremiah, 1584-1639. Purchase and possession of the truth.; Dyke, Jeremiah, 1584-1639. Right eating and digesting of the Word.	1640 (1640)	STC 7414; ESTC S124520	150,541	441

so nothing can ease the conscience but pardon Psal 32.1 2. Blessed is hee whose transgression is forgiven Why is hee blessed and how appeares it that hee is blessed Hee answers to both ver 3 4 5. and shewes the truth of it in his owne experience All the while my sinne was unpardoned I was in wofull misery The very marrow of my bones was dryed up I was so full of paine I could not forbeare roaring And why see Psal 38.8 J have roared by reason of the disquietnesse of my heart Yea I was in continuall misery not onely now and then by fits had I pangs that made me roare but I roared all the day long I could have no ease But I acknowledged my sinne and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sinne And then when thou pardonedst me I had present ease then the aches pinches panges and tortures of my spirit were presently abated And therefore blessed is hee whose transgression is forgiven For blessed is he that hath ease and quiet from the troubles of conscience and pardon of sinne it is that will doe that as I can witnesse by mine owne experience All the while my sinne was unpardoned I was as a man on the racke but when my sinne was forgiven then had my soule ease and refreshment All implies that the onely thing that can ease the conscience and discharge it of its trouble is the pardon and forgivenesse of sinne Reasons are these First the onely way to remove and take away an evill any paine is to remove and take away the cause and the ground of it So long as the cause remaines of any evill what ever courses men take the evill remaines still If a man have a thorne in his foot it puts him to a great deale of paine it swells and is full of anguish Now let a man annoint his foot let him lap it up and keepe it warme let him sit still and not walke upon it yet all the while the thorne is in his foot hee hath no ease but it akes and throbs and vexes a man still for all this The onely way to helpe a man to ease is to remove the cause of the sorrow to get the thorne pluckt out to get that drawne forth So when a mans conscience is in trouble and disquiet a man may use playsters of ease may seeke to quiet his spirit with merry company good fellowship following his pleasures following his businesse hee may be padling with these playsters and poulteyses that men in the world seeke ease by but yet so long as the thorne is in the heart so long as guilt is in the conscience all these slabberments will never ease the paine There is no way to ease the paine of the heart but to plucke and draw the thorne out of the heart to get guilt out of the conscience Now nothing can plucke the thorne out of the heart but onely pardon of sinne Pardon of sinne pluckes out the thorne and so gives ease Marke Davids phrase Take away the iniquity of thy servant and so Hos 14.2 Take away all iniquity Pardon of sinne is the taking of it away the taking of guilt out of the conscience And nothing can take away iniquity but pardon And therefore pardon taking away iniquity that is the onely thing that can give a smiting conscience ease Then the conscience is at ease when the weapon is taken away with which conscience smites Now it is nothing but guilt that puts a weapon into the hand of conscience to smite withall When the weapon is taken away then conscience cannot smite and when the conscience cannot smite then a mans spirit is at ease Psalme 38.3 There is not any rest in my bones because of my sin when a man hath a grivous ach and paine in his bones it so afflicts and tortures him that he can take no rest lay him upon never so soft a bed yet his aking bones will not let him take any rest But the way to bring a man to rest were to take a course to take away that paine out of his bones If that ach and paine were out of his bones hee might rest So here sinne in the conscience makes the bones full of restlesse paines There is no rest in my bones because of my sinne It breakes the bones Psal 51. It not only dryes the bones Psal 38. and puts bones out of joynt but it breakes the bones and so no wonder that upon sinne there is no rest in the bones But now if sin were taken away the bones would soone be at rest And therefore pardon of sin taking away sin which causes the restlesnesse of the bones is the onely thing to procure rest in the bones Psalme 38.4 My sinnes are as an heavie burthen they are too heavie for mee A man that hath an heavie weighty burthen upon his backe can have no rest till the burden be taken off his back though hee may seeke to ease himselfe by sitting down by leaning yet so long as the weighty burden is upon his back he can have no ease still hee is under the pinch and pressure of it But the onely way to give his backe ease is to remove the burden and to take it off Sinne is a heavie and a pressing burden that is ready to breake a mans backe Now the only way to give a mans back ease is to remove this burden and to take it off Now pardon of sinne is the removing of it Prov. 30.8 Remove farre from me vanitie and lies and Psal 103.12 So far hath he removed our transgressions from us And therefore pardon being the removing of the burden and the removing of the cause of the paine it is the onely thing that gives the back ease Matth. 11. Come unto mee all yee that are heavie loaden and I will ease you How I will remove and take off the burdens that lye so heavie upon your backes But how doth Christ remove the burdens By the pardon of their sinnes so that the onely thing in the world to ease a burdened Conscience is the pardon of sinne Sinne wounds the conscience The body being wounded is payned and put to smart But oyle and balme powred into the wounds ease their smart and throbbing And pardoning mercy that is the balme of Gilead that gives ease to a wounded conscience that asswages the throbbings and smart which is caused by sin Secondly Reas 2 all trouble and disquiet of conscience is from the feare and apprehension of wrath The clouds that are in Gods face cause the stormes that are in the conscience That as in that case hee speakes Psal 104.19 Thou hidest thy face they are troubled So in this case when God hides his face and his favour and men see nothing but anger and displeasure yea it may bee see hell and damnation then the conscience is troubled and disquieted Then a man suckes the gall of Aspes and then the Vipers tongue slayes him Job 20.16 The trouble of conscience arising

beames of these be hindred yet there are coales of fire in the heart and the body of these is there The flame of the spirit the feeling sense of it may be quenched for a time in the seconda-graces thereof but yet the spirit it selfe and the cardinall graces thereof remaine still in the heart It may bee in this as in that case Isa 6.13 As a Teyle Tree and as an Oake whose substance is in them when they cast their leaves An Oake may be greene and flourishing all the Summer but when Winter comes it casts and loseth the leaves but yet when the leaves are gone the life is not gone the substance and the sap is in it still though the leafe be gone Faith Hope Love these are the sap and substance of a Christian joy confidence zeale these are his leaves There may come a Winter when a Christian may cast his leaves may lose his joy c. but yet even then his substance and his sap of faith hope and love is in him It is one thing to lose life another thing to lose a leafe A Christian may be a Teyle Tree or an Oke without a leafe but not without life This we shall see plaine in Davids case Psal 51.11 12. Take not away thine holy spirit from me Restore to me the joy salvation It is cleer therefore that though David had the joy of the spirit quenched yet the spirit still unquenched The spirit quenched in regard of the joy of the flame but not quenched in regard of the fundamentall graces thereof not in regard of the fire of it The flame was downe but the fire was alive That the flame was quenched it appeares because he prayes Restore to me the joy of thy salvation as if he should say Lord kindle this flame againe therefore the flame was quencht But yet the spirit was not taken away in the fundamentall graces thereof for he saith Take not away thy spirit from me If that had beene taken away he would have said Restore to me thy spirit againe as he doth his joy which his sin had quencht but saying Take not away that argues that hee still had the spirit though the joy was gone He was still as an Oake which had cast her leafe he had his substance in him he had lost his leafe his joy was gone but hee had not lost his life Gods Spirit was still in him untaken from him Object But this may be a Doctrine of security what care I for quenching the flame so long as the fire goes not out what care I for my joy if I lose not my faith c. Answ This Doctrine is no ground at all for security For 1. it must be a mans care not onely to maintaine fire but to maintaine flame not only to have substance but to have his leafe greene The righteous must be a tree not only bringing forth fruit but a Tree also whose leafe must not wither Psal 1.3 2. There is little comfort in life when there wants a leafe little comfort in faith when by sinne we quench our joy A man when he is a colde takes no pleasure in a fire that burnes not flames not it does him no good to see the coales lye smothering under green wood Though a man have the radicall graces yet little comfort in them during the want of the other Because whilst these secondary grace are wanting it brings the conscience to question the presence and truth of the primary ones The want of the leafe makes the conscience question the life of grace If there were any comfort in such a case what needed David having the spirit beg to have his Joy restored And what makes afflicted consciences in time of tentation call into question the truth of their fundamentall graces but the want of their flame of their leafe So that this gives no way at all to carnall securitie 2. According to the second Distinction First there are the infused habits of Faith Hope Love these habits cannot be lost and so in regard of these habits the spirit cannot be quencht Secondly there is the act use and exercise of them In that regard the spirit may be quenched For though the habit of faith cannot be killed yet the act use and exercise of it may bee deaded so as it may not for the present act and worke and a man not use it A man in his drunkennesse loseth the use but not the faculty of Reason A man in his sleepe loseth the use but not the faculty of his sense Sinne and temptation may as much distemper the soule as Wine and strong drinke may doe the braine 3. For the measure and degree in that regard the spirit may be quencht A man may come to have a lesse degree of faith hope love a lesse degree of joy and zeale The degrees of these may be abated and yet the things themselves remaine Apoc. 2.4 It is laid to the charge of the Angel of Ephesus That he had lost his first love he sayes not he had lost his love or all his love but his first love that degree of love he had at first he had love still but it was not so fervent as before it was abated in the degree of it and so the spirit was quenched in degree So then looke upon the habits of grace and in regard of the habit there is no amission of grace Looke upon the act and in regard of the act there may bee an intermission of it Looke upon the degree and in regard of the degree there may be a remission A remission of degrees an intermission of acts but no utter amission of habits of fundamentall saving sanctifying grace And thus having opened and cleared the Text come wee now to some observations And here first begin with the metaphor Quench not the spirit And out of it learne The nature of the Spirit of God and spirit of grace That the spirit of God is of the nature of fire so much the word quench implyes for nothing is properly quenched but fire Quench not the spirit is as much as quench not the fire of the spirit The Spirit of God then is of the nature of fire Mat. 3.11 He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire that is with the Holy Spirit which is as fire Mar. 9.49 Every man shall be salted with fire what fire As the fire of afflictions and the the fire of the word so the fire of the spirit Act. 2.3 4. There appeared to them cloven tongues with fire and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost Sometimes the Spirit is compared to water Isa 44.3 And sometimes againe to fire As the Word of God is a fire Jer. 23. Is not my Word a fire so is his Spirit a fire Is not my Spirit a fire And the Spirit is compared to fire in these regards 1. First Fire it gives light And therefore in the want of the light of the Sunne we make use of fire

therefore from the dread and apprehension of Gods anger and displeasure the onely thing that can ease the conscience is the hope and sense of Gods favour let but God give a man a good looke but smile lovingly upon him and that favor of God eases the conscience of all trouble Prov. 16.14 15. The wrath of a King is as the messengers of death so Gods wrath much more and when messengers of death come how is a mans heart troubled and disquieted But a wise man will pacifie it And what if it be pacified Then in the light of the Kings countenance is life So when God lifts up the light of his countenance then there is life and then the conscience is full of peace and ease I but when is it that the light and Sun-shine of Gods face breakes out thus That is done in the pardon of sinne When sinne is pardoned then comes peace and comfort Matth. 9. Be of good comfort thy sinnes are forgiven thee That is the onely thing that can comfort the conscience and ease it because that is an infallible evidence of Gods favour Pardon of sinne never comes but out of love and favour Outward mercies a man may receive from an angry God but pardon of sinne never comes but from favour and love And therefore pardon of sinne being the evidence of a God reconciled shewing a man the light of Gods countenance is the onely thing that can ease the trouble of conscience Thirdly sinnes are debts And a man that is in his guilt is in his debt and so in danger before God Now a man that is deepely in debt cannot be without much trouble of heart It may be he may make a shift and set a face upon it before men I but yet the thoughts of his debts give him many a secret nip many a close pinch He may set up an high sayle and brave it out in apparell but yet for all this his debts vex him and many a night hee takes but little rest because still the thoughts of his debts trouble him Now when a man is in this trouble of heart and disquiet of spirit with his debts there is no way for a man to have his heart eased but either to get his debts paid or to get his debts pardoned And if they be such as hee is never able to pay then no way to ease him of his cares and feares but to have his debts pardoned Now a sinner is in debt to God and when conscience is troubled about these debts what ever face a man may set upon it yet his heart will be miserably troubled about his debts hee will live in a continuall feare of being arrested by Gods anger of being drag'd by the throat to hell For such debts they are as a man can never pay Luc. 7. Two debtors that had nothing to pay So therefore there is no other way to give a mans conscience ease but by the pardon of his sinnes because that is the pardoning of his debts Therefore pardon of sinne is called blotting out iniquity Psal 51. It is the drawing crosse lines over all our debts it is the blurring out all our sinnes in Gods debt-booke Pardon of debts is the onely way to ease a disquieted debtor pardon of sinne is the pardon of debts and therefore the onely way to ease our consciences To teach us in trouble of Conscience and under the smitings of heart what course to take for ease and peace viz. to make out presently as David does for pardon of sin make hast to God and sue for pardon and give God and thy selfe no rest till thou hast got thy pardon If thine heart smite thee and thy conscience pinch thee fall presently to this course I beseech thee O Lord take away the iniquitie of thy servant As Solomon speakes in the case of suretieship Prov. 6.1 5. So doe thou If thou hast sinned and thy conscience have stricken thee with the hand doe this now my son and deliver thy selfe from the painful and smarting buffetings of thy conscience So humble thy selfe and make sure thy friend see and humble thy selfe by confession and by begging and getting thy pardon make God thy friend and make him thy sure friend and do this quickly as verse 4 5. This is the onely way to get ease this is the only way to get rest in thy bones It is strange how men in paine of Conscience will sharke for ease and try all conclusions before they will take the right course to come and sue to God for ease by pardon The Prodigall was in want Luke 15. why doth hee not so soone as he is pincht goe to his Father no hee will try other conclusions first Hee joynes to a citizen it may bee he may finde helpe that way Hee will keepe swine it may be he may fil his belly with the huskes But when he hath done all that will give him no ease hee must come to this at last I will goe to my Father I will goe beg mercy And he never finds ease till he be in his fathers Armes in his Fathers house till his Father kisses him and cloathes him So men in trouble of conscience are loth to make out to Gods pardoning mercy Some will try what company will doe some will try what pleasures will doe it may bee they may drinke away their trouble and drowne it that way it may bee they card and dice it away it may be they may it may bee they may hauke and hunt it away it may be superstitious penance a pilgrimage a Popes pardon will doe the deede it may be multitude and variety of imploymēt may take off the heart so that it shal not beat leasure to trouble them with accusations and torments How vaine are all these This is nothing but arrand sharking All such courses will not doe It is in that case as in that Hos 5.13 When Ephraim saw his sicknesse and Juda saw his wound then went Ephraim to the Assyrian and sent to King Jareb yet could hee not heale you not cure you of your wound So when men see their spirituall sicknesse and feele the wounds of conscience the smart and the anguish of them then go they to this shift and that to this sharking course and that they go to their merriments companions sports plaies imployments superstitions and yet can they not heale them nor cure them of their wounds their wounds bleed still smart still their consciences throb with anguish still and for all this as with them there vers 14. Conscience is as a Lion unto them and roares and teares still Men must come to God for pardon at last if they wil have ease And were not a man as good come at first and save so much lost labour Had not the Prodigall as good have come to his father at first as to goe the furthest away about Sin leaves a sting in the conscience When a man is stung with an Hornet it afflicts the place