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	hold_v	shipwreck_n	1,276	5	12.0107	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85302	Animadversions upon Sir Henry Vanes book, entituled The retired mans meditations. Examining his doctrine concerning Adam's fall, Christs person, and sufferings, justification, common and special grace; and many other things in his book. / By Martin Finch, preacher of the Gospel.	Finch, Martin, 1628?-1698.	1656 (1656)	Wing F941; Thomason E1670_2; ESTC R208407	75,370	163

left in the saints in this world to keep them low and vile in their own eyes to make them prize and value the blood of Christ which cleanseth them from all sin to keep them from going about to establish their owne righteousnesse to make them desire to be dissolved to be with Christ to imbitter the world to them to let them see their owne weakenesse and nothingnesse and in judgment to the world that they are oftentimes hardened and prejudiced against the wayes of God by the failings and spots of Gods children but they are saints for all this remainder of corruption and I doe believe a man in the Authors second Image may complaine of this as well as Paul and others But the Author goes on and saith as v. 19. that these in the first Image the good which they would doe that they doe not and the evill which they would not doe that they do Which surely is true of all Saints in this world they do not pray hear meditate live unto God as they desire and by the remainders of corruption are often hindered from doing the good which they would and surely were it not that it is so at present with the best saints that they cannot doe the good which they would they would be more holy and heavenly and spiritual and thankfull and sincere and active for God then they are if they could do the things which they would and again were it not that the saints are so that the evill which they would not that they doe there would not be that pride deadness earthliness in the saints that there is for they pray against their corruptions with strong crying and teares and had rather be freed from them then from any crosses and afflictions whatsoever thus we have examined whither Paul in the seventh of the Romans doth represent in his owne person a man that is in the Authors first image and nor in a saving state we see the contrary that Paul here doth personate the true saints and what is there said is true of all saints this side glory Page 207. He saith these are but after such a manner Christs house as is intimated Heb. 3.6 whose house are we if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoycing of the hope firme unto the end But this place proveth not that any are the house and of the family of Christ that yet do perish and miscarry for ever but quite contrary that none are his house and of his family but those that do hold fast the faith and endure to the end that this perseverance is an evidence of true grace as Christ said if you continue to the end then are ye my disciples indeed else you are my disciples but in shew so if you hold fast the confidence and faith which you professe to have in the Lord Jesus then you are Christs house indeed else you have but onely a name to live a name to be Christs house members and this Author must needs according to the tenour of his judgement make the confidence here spoken of to be but such as a man hath in the first image and he maketh the throwing it up and not the keeping of it to be the way to be saved Page 208. He saith This state is called in Scripture the first faith which may be departed from and prove a faith that failes I suppose the place of Scripture the Author meanes is 1 Tim. 5.12 the Apostle is there speaking of widdowes for the service of the Church to visit the sicke and the like and wisheth them not to chuse young women to that office for he saith when they have waxed wanton against Christ they will marry having damnation because they have forsaken their first faith there is no necessity that we should understand here by damnation eternall damnation but that they are to be faulted and condemned for going from their faith and promise to continue single for the service of the Church if we will understand it of faith in Christ then those that leave it did but seem to have it as in these parables one Evangelist saith from him shall be taken that which he hath the other Evangelist explaines it thus that which he seemeth to have so many men leave the faith sincerity holyness which they once seemed to have but however this place be understood it will make nothing for this Auther for they are said to have damnation because they left their first faith now if this first faith were the Authors first image yet he maketh not the leaving of this first image but the keeping it and siting downe in it to be mens damnation Page 209. He makes Christs second appearance spoken of 1 Tim. 6.14 to be the higher image that the first image is to be kept without spot unto But that appearing of Jesus Christ is his 2. coming when he shall come with 10000. of his saints to execute judgment upon all that are ungodly and take to him his great power and raign but it s the Authors way to make scripture bow downe to his image and so in the same page he makes the Angells calling to Jacob to let him go Gen. 32.26 that Angell to signifie the first Image which calls to be let goe because of the day breake of Christs second coming the higher Image he that shall thus expound Scripture may even say what he will and surely if the Author doth not quote these and most of the Scriptures he quotes meerly for illustration and to use Scripture phrase and not at all to prove what he is about he will be deeply guilty of that which the Apostles call wresting of the Scriptures Page 210. He saith these are said 1 Tim. 1.19 5.12 to have faith accompanied with a good conscience but such as may be lost and shipwrackt The words are these holding faith and a good conscience which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwrack Now what is the faith that Paul bids Timothy hold fast here not so much the grace of faith in his owne heart but it is the doctrine of faith as Paul saith of himself elsewhere I have fought a good fight I have kept the faith and so he would have Timothy against all opposers and this doctrine of faith he had said downe in ver 15. which was this that Christ came into the world to save sinners now Hymenus and Phyletus and such as had onely received a notionall knowledge of this doctrine had not received this truth in the love and power of it not having a good conscience and hearts brought to the obedience of Christ concerning this faith they made shipwrack God gave them up to strong delusions to believe a lie they fell into errors concerning the faith and waies of Christ and said the resurrection was past already and so overthrew the faith of some that were perswaded of the contrary before so that this place proveth not that men may have true faith in

born are transgressors from the womb and if le●t to our selves grow worse and worse revolt more and more and if what the Author saith were true then every man had power to keep himselfe from unbeliefe for to be sure that is one of the highest provocations for which God swears in his wrath men shall not enter into his rest And the Author here telleth us that men may keep themselves from such provocations and if they have power to keep themselves from unbelief then consequently they have power to believe then farewel the discriminating grace of God his making us to differ we know men have their Wil nots as wel as their Cannots there is both they will not and they cannot they want will and power there is both wilfulnesse and weaknesse such vile and miserable Creatures are we of our selves and let not the Author make our case better then is is let us have a care of Freewill Page 182. and 183. He saith men may have a feare of God to keep them from sinning against him and may have an experimental sense of the emptinesse of their good works to justifie them and yet neither be under the Law nor Believers and so it was with the Centurion who was neither under the Law nor a Believer until Peter came to him and this he speaks in reference to those that are usually called the Heathens But though the Heathen have such a light set up in their understandings according to which their consciences accuse them or excuse them yet where doth the Scripture say that the fear of God keeps them from sinning nay most of them have denied that there is a God that infinite first being of all things and then they could not through the fear of him be kept from sinning and the truth is no man but the true believer is truly kept from sinning through a true fear of God the fear of hell and wrath may be without a true fear of God the true feare of God is a peculiar benefit of the covenant of grace and how have the Heathens an experimental sense of the emptinesse of their good works to justifie them that know not of heaven or hell to come the businesse of justification before God and forgivenesse of sins is not in all their thoughts But let us come to the Centurion and try whether he were thus and whether he was neither acquainted with the Law nor was a Believer before Peter came to him and the tenth chapter of the Acts will resolve us in these things out of that Chapter we may gather that Cornelius was a Proselyte in his beliefe and Religion and so might be a true believer in Christ though he did not know that Christ was already come and therefore the Lord sent Peter to acquaint him with it and so ver 22. shewes us that this Cornelius was of good report among all the Jewes and the word which God sent unto the children of Israel preaching peace by Jesus Christ that word Peter told Cornelius he knew Acts 10.36 37. From all which it is plain that Cornelius was not to be reckoned among the Heathen and that he might be a believer in Christ before Peter c●me to him he might believe in Christ as to come though he might not have light to believe that he was already come as he was taught afterwards by Peters Sermon Page 183. He saith Paul when he saith that he was alive once without the Law Rom. 7. shews that he lived in good conscience in such a state But when Paul saith he was alive without the law once his meaning is not that he was not acquainted with the Law that was written in Tables of stone but that he was not acquainted with the spirituality of the Law but only made an overly Exposition of it not knowing how the Law reached the thoughts and principles of the heart for otherwise Paul knew the Law and was no Heathen in that sense for he was an Hebrew of the Hebrewes a Jew by father and mother and circumcised the eighth day but it shewes how a man may have the outward knowledge of the Law and yet be without the inward and spiritual knowledge of it Page 197. He saith those that hold general redemption and their opposers that goe under the name of Orthodox doe both bear a true witnesse and a false one against another and both of them oppose and exclude upon divers grounds the true righteous seed that live by faith But they cannot be both in the right in that dispute either Christ did die for the whole race of mankind or he did not and either there is an election from all eternity of a certain number to grace and glory or there is not and so throughout that controversie so that I say they cannot be both in the right in these disputes Well but he saith they both oppose and exclude though upon divers grounds the true righteous feed that live by faith God forbid But if it be so is not the Author one of them for I am sure he holdeth general redemption as his book doth sufficiently witnesse and though those that hold universal redemption are surely mistaken in that yet it doth not follow that they and their opposers therein doe exclude the righteous seed that live by faith for most that hold universal redemption and those that oppose them agree in that to wit that he that truly believeth in Christ shall be saved and no other many who are mistaken about the extent of Christs death are yet sound in the Doctrine of Justification Page 198. He saith those that are for the general extent of Christs death finding the truth of their belief expressed in the Letter of the Gospel as indeed it is satisfie themselves in that and rest there thinking it sufficient to try and judge all men as they reject or own this literal knowledge of the Gospel I shall not mingle so many disputes together or else I might undertake to shew that general redemption is not expressed in the letter of the Gospel if by the letter the Author meanes the meaning and mind of the holy Ghost but that hath been sufficiently witnessed by the worthies of our times but yet this Author doth not doe well to charge all those of that judgement in general that they rest there and try or judge all men as they reject or own that Doctrine for though I have known some that have been so rigid yet it is not so with all there are those of that judgement that do not own all to be saints that believe general redemption neither do they disown others that differ from them in that point but notwithstanding their judgement in that particular they do own or disown men according to their faith in Christ and power of godliness neither do they as the Author saith rest there but hold the necessity of applying the blood of Christ and of a new birth though yet some of them may take up