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	try_v	1,158	5	9.9291	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A38823	The Gospel treasury opened, or, The holiest of all unvailing discovering yet more the riches of grace and glory to the vessels of mercy unto whom onely it is given to know the mysteries of that kingdom and the excellency of spirit, power, truth above letter, forms, shadows / in several sermons preached at Kensington & elswhere by John Everard ; whereunto is added the mystical divinity of Dionysius the Areopagite spoken of Acts 17:34 with collections out of other divine authors translated by Dr. Everard, never before printed in English.	Everard, John, 1575?-1650?; Brooks, Thomas, 1608-1680.; Barker, Matthew, 1619-1698.	1657 (1657)	Wing E3531; ESTC R29421	513,595	936

other have split their vessels in these days But the Author so clearly distinguishes that he misseth both Rocks and carries on the truth Amain with Top-sail against all battery and opposition Here ye shall finde the vail rent and the last shadows vanishing and some Rayes of the glory of the holiest of all appearing being hid from ages and generations but in these last times upon the bringing in the fulness of the Gentiles and for the calling of the Iews more brightly breaking forth revealing the mystery of the Scriptures or the marrow of the true word of God which endureth forever wherein the Life and Spirit of the Holy Word is clearly distinguished from the outward and killing letter comparing spiritual things with spiritual that all those errors differences revilings and bitter censurings so much broken forth of late occasioned by resting in the letter may now vanish and make haste before the presence of the Lord and the glory of his coming whose fan is in his hand and he will throughly purge his floor and gather the wheat into his garner but will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire And will baptize his own people with his own Spirit with the Holy Ghost and with fire Howbeit we speak wisdom onely among them that are perfect yet not the wisdom of this world nor of the Princes of this world which comes to nought But we speak the wisdom of God in a MYSTERY even the hidden wisdom which God hath ordained before the world unto our glory which none of the princes of this world knew 1 Cor. 2. It is written Eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither hath entred into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for those that love him having revealed them unto us by his spirit And if in this life onely we had hope in Christ we were of all men most miserable 1 Cor. 15. 19. We are fools for Christs sake but ye are wise we are weak but ye are strong ye are honourable but we are despised 1 Cor. 4. 10. Let no man deceive himself if any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world or to himself let him become a fool that he may be wise 1 Cor. 1. 18. For the preaching of the CROSSE is to them that perish foolishness but unto us which are saved it is the power of God verse 18. But the foolishness of God is wiser then men and the weakness of God is stronger then men verse 25. He that is spiritual judgeth all things yet he himself is judged of no man verse 15. The Spirit searcheth all things yea the deep things of God 1 Cor. 2. 10. And the anointing which you have received of him abideth in you and ye need not that any man teach you but as the same anointing teacheth you all things and is truth and is no lye and even as it hath taught you ye shall abide in him 1 John 2. 27. If any man have an ear to hear let him hear Verse 10. Now unto him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy Jude 24. and to do exceeding abundantly for you above all that we can ask or think according to the mighty power which worketh in you unto him be glory and majesty dominion and power in the Church by Iesus Christ thoughout all ages world without end Eph. 3. 20. The grace of our Lord Iesus Christ the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all Amen Rapha Harford An Approbation THe publisher of this Book is desirous that it might pass with some testimonial into the world but it needs not testimony from man for I find it imprest with such a Divine Image and bearing such clear lineaments of Heaven-born truths as testifie it to be of God and therefore strongly bespeaks us to receive it as into our houses so chiefly into our hea●ts I dare assure thee Reader if thou hast received a spiritual relish thou shalt taste much sweetnes in it And if thou canst rejoyce to be laid low and made nothing that God may be exalted and made all in all then shalt thou find here that which will help thy joy and let me intreat thee That as thou readest the Book to read also thine own heart and by this thou mayest come to find thine heart in the Book and the Book in thine heart and will make thee fall upon thy face with that Ideot and worship God and report God is in this word of a truth 1 Cor. 14. 25. Some are casting off the letter of the Scripture others resting in it some are despising Ordinances others overvaluing them I find the Author walking warily betwixt both giving due honour to the letter and the form while he is exalting the Power and the Spirit incomparably above both And thou shalt find him laying the Ax of truth and the Edge of his Spirit to that cursed Root of Self-Approbation in man which is daily bringing forth such bitter fruits in his heart in his life and in the world and yet remains unseen and untouched in the hearts of many that would be thought to be arrived at the brink of perfection while they scarce understand wherein the great imperfection of the natural man doth lie Some expressions in thy reading may seem harsh or obscure to thee as they did to me but if thou comparest one place with another thou wilt clearly see what the Author means and shalt find his whole discourse to have a Sacred tendency to lay man low and so to put him into a Rich capacity of coming in to the near●st fellowship with God so that while some seek to build up themselves upon the deceitful foundation of corrupted nature and struggle though in vain in the light and power of it to advance towards perfection He is planting his spiritual Artillery against it to throw it into the dust that man may come to be surely bottomed upon the Righteousness Power and Wisdom of Iesus Christ which is the onely foundation that God hath laid and the Gospel revealed And in some things you must give him a latitude to his judgement as thou desirest to thine own in other If thou findest some truths delivered and inforced with reiterated expressions consider they were delivered for the most part in several Congregations so that in some particulars the same things may be re-inforced but yet with more lustr● to make Truth more clear And that thou hast them as they were Preached and Pressed in Sermons to the Capacity and Conscience of his Auditors and taken from his mouth by a Notary yet afterward owned and approved by himself and compared with his own notes Read Consider and Try and hold fast that which is good March 26. 1653. Tho. Brooks M. Barker Imprimatur Ioseph Caril Decemb. 6. 1652. In remembrance of the Author and upon view of his Essigies and SERMONS HIS ICON curiously

bold so it is a very strange speech and a home charge but wonder not for where the Spirit of the Lord is there is true boldness as Solomon saith Prov. 28. 1. The Righteous are as bold as a Lion For the Prophet here strikes at head and tail root and branch great and small Prince and People Priest and Prophet The whole house of Israel are here 1 Accused of Covetousness 2 Condemned for Covetousness The accusation is like an Indictment well laid which expresseth 1 The fault the charge which is Covetousness 2 The extent of the fault it was Epidemical from the greatest to the least 3 The Intention they gave themselves to it they did it purposely and voluntarily And 4 The Charge being proved and they found guilty the sentence or condemnation follows which is onely implyed in the word For it being the connexion of this verse with the former wherein is threatned that God will pour out his fury and indignation upon the children and young men upon the husband and wife the aged with him that is full of dayes and their houses and wive should be turned to others I The matter of the accusation is Covetousness But this sin how evil soever and however threatned here and elsewhere in the Scriptures is hardly esteemed any sin at all ye cannot perswade men of the Evilness thereof but you are ready to think and charge us that we Church-men are strange fellows To set up men of straw and then fight against them for our parts we find very few covetous some indeed are Swearers Drunkards Adulterers Lyars Prophaners of the Sabbath these they can see and acknowledge to be sins and would have us preach against them but to keep such a stir about Covetousness they think is a vain thing and time lost for either they are but few that are so or else t is not so great a sin as you make for or else you call that Covetousness which is not Indeed I confess other sins wear the Devils Cognizance and Livery openly but this alwayes wears a Cloak ye shall never see Covetousness without its Cloak as the Apostle terms it 1 Thes. 2. 5. For our last Translation renders it very right Nor a Cloak of Covetousness For this sin is generally in credit in the world and therefore they do not let it go naked but clothe it not with the name of any vice or sin but under tolerable and credible names as Thrift Providence Good Husbandry Honest care of a mans own and Care of the main chance I and so it should seem they esteem it the main chance a covetous man will part with his soul before he will part with his Covetousness and they have Scripture ready to protect and defend them 1 Tim. 5. 8. He that provideth not for his own especially for them of his own house is worse then an Infidel and hath denied the faith And so they bring it in as a duty that they ought to be scraping and covetous We may endeavour to uncase this covetous man by two words one is in the place before named 1 Thess. 2. 5. Nor a cloak of Covetousness its never without a cloak as I said and the other is 1 Tim. 6. 10. its hare called The root of all evil What a world of evils grow up from covetousness as if we had time we might shew In brief it excludes all love and fear of God and all love and pity to men and all care of our neighbours good and so breaks the whole Law it will make him Oppress Cozen Deceive Lye sell a good Conscience for every trifle In short it will make a man turn his back on all Religion to forsake the faith and consequently Salvation as is there exprest and in the foregoing Verses The love of money is the root of all evil which while some have coveted after have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows It is such a sin that if ever God touch the heart about it it will pierce through with many sorrows before ever they can forsake it for saith he They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in perdition and destruction It is such a subtil snate so cunningly contrived and so full of fair pretences that let a man be once in love with money he knows not which way to wind out but it wil fetter him even to everlasting perdition and destruction Indeed friends it is a very hard thing to uncase this sin because care and diligence there may and must be and this is its Cloak DILIGENCE is Covetousness his Cloak never off his back whereby it s sheltred against all reproof I suppose and sure it is a man may pray Agurs prayer without Covetousness Prov. 30. 8 9. Give me neither poverty nor riches feed me with food convenient for me A Competency of food and raiment this certainly is the limitation and bound of our desires But then will arise another Question What is a Competency or what is sufficient Therefore some in answer hereunto have de●ined Covetousness to be an inordinate desire of more and using unlawful means and ways to get it But I conceive this is somewhat too favourably defined for one may be covetous yea deeply covetous and yet get his goods without fraud deceit or oppression c. Aug. de lib. Arbit lib. 3. Chap. 17. Avaritia est plus velle quam satis sit It is Covetousness to desire more then is sufficient which is But daily bread and but This day our daily bread we have no warrant to seek more But we having daily bread according as our Saviour teacheth us to pray in the Lords prayer which includes all things necessary for this life food and raiment and the like without question this is sufficient and the desire of more is Covetousness As our Saviour commands Matth. 6. latter end Take no thought for the morrow saying What shall we eat or what shall we drink or wherewith shall we be clothed for after all these things do the Gentiles seek And as the Apostle exhorts 1 Tim 6. 8. Having food and raiment let us be therewith content When this will not content then the desire is inordinate when a man will hunt and seek after that which he dare not warrantably pray for which is but daily bread and why should we seek with carking care for any more for any more for our breath is in our nostrils we are not sure of life not an hour then to what end is all this taking thought and then thou fool whose shall those things be which thou hast provided within this bound we ought to keep our selves for no sooner are we over this pale and bound SUFFICIENT but then we are in the wide wildernes and boundless CHAMPAIGN of Covetousness which consists in two things 1. To be covetous is to let

our desires run out to seek eagerly after beyond what is sufficient to the preservation of nature in its own kinde and not to stand indifferently affected in the use of lawful means whether God will give more or less 2. An inordinate love of that a man hath though he have not beyond the limits of sufficiency is Covetousness And in this sense a poor man may be covetous Covetousness may be either in Scraping or Holding Rapacity or Tenacity A large paw to grasp or In a S●runk hand to hold fast In Sum I conceive Covetousness is an inordinate desire and endeavor after these outward things without the bounds of sufficieny in the preservation of nature in its own kinde as I said Beloved This sin is like poyson destroyes and kills unobservedly unseen infects the blood by degrees when as some other sins break out more openly and suddenly in botches and boyls and plague-sores But we may observe the footsteps and shew you some symptoms of this covetous man wherby he may be discovered and detected and chiefly to himself that he may confess himself guilty as 1. In his course of life and walking and actting their time their lives and their actings are wholly taken up in buying and selling in trafficking and trading and reaching which way to grow rich and get more all their thoughts and words and all their mights and endeavors run in this channel Here they are in their own element as a fish in the water here their hearts run out freely and never regard their immortal souls just like them of the old world Luke 17. 26 27. They eat they drank they married they were given in marriage and this was all they minded they never thought of their end till the flood came and destroyed them all So do they O how eager and how full of contrivances to adde house to house and bag to bag and land to land and never think how soon death may seize and snatch them away And then what fruit have ye of all those things you so pursued you have onely heaped together sorrows and snares and darts to pierce through your very Livers And it may be for all this toil you could never attain what you sought but adventured to lay out your precious and immortal souls to pursue after that which is when attained but vanity And much lighter then vanity if not sure to attain it The second Symptome whereby you may know this man and so know your selves is his company they still associate with such company as is like themselves and they are the onely men for wisdom with them and all others they make them either their Prey by circumventing and over-reaching them or else they make others their laughing-stocks he is their fool to make them merry who neglects such a Price in their hands as they conceive so much mindes things unseen and in their opinion but air emptiness and vain things The third Symptome is his breath he smells of that he is made of he is like a dying man his breath is strong and savours earthly Iohn 3. 31. He that is of the earth is earthly and speaketh of the earth The Egyptian garlick that he hath swallowed riseth in his stomach and his breath smells strong thereof There is Earth in his heart his breath that comes from thence smells strong of the earth all his words and discourses savour of the world 4. He keeps a Court of Faculties in his conscience for gain he can dispense with any sin he is not so precise but he wil drive a bargain or take unnecessary jouneyes on the Sabbath If his conscience tell him of doing wrong or injustice he can quiet it presently O it s but a trifle a little injury what 's that he may live to give satisfaction I may do him a good turn another way and so he thinks he hath made up the matter If he forswear himself he hopes he may live to ask God forgiveness and he knoweth God is ready to pardon and forgive and thus he dawbs up himself and quiets his conscience with these ignorant excuses 5. He is Homo omnium artium or Nullius artis A man of all Arts or a man of no Art that is He hath either a multitude of business of his own that he cannot look after nor minde any body else or else he is a busie-body and hath his finger in every Pye every mans business is his or else he is idle and hath no business viz. He is an Usurer and lives upon other mens labours and industry Oh but Sir you make us amazed is it possible that this should be so great a sin I thank God saith he I am found in Religion I am free from Adultery Fornication Swearing Sabbath-breaking Drunkenness Murther These indeed are Heinous sins I would not be guilty of them for a world but for a man to be covetous this is slighted it s a thing of nothing rather esteemed a vertue then a vice and every one extenuates and lessens it with ●incing terms and excuses say they indeed he is a little with the hardest or he is a little too much for the world but in truth a marvellous honest man a wondrous good man But let me ask you were it not a thing to be laught at to say so by a Thief he is no Adulterer no Murtherer but a very honest man for you see Matth. 21. 31. God ranks him with no other then Thieves and Whoremongers and Murtherers and yet you say he is A wondrous good honest man But as honest a man as the world makes him to be yet take a little view from some particular Scriptures how God ranks him among them whom you account the most Heinou● Transgressors Mark 7. 21 22. For from within out of the heart of man proceed evil thoughts Adulteries Fornications Murthers Thefts Covetousness c. all these come from within and these de●ile the man and 1 Corinth 6. 9 10. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God be not deceived neither Fornicators nor Adulterers nor Effemina●e nor abusers of themselves with mankind nor Thieves nor Covetous c. shall inherit the Kingdom of God And Rom. 1. 29. Being filled with all unrighteousness Fornication Wickedness Covetousness c. still Covetousness comes in a rank with all other the vil●st grossest sins A Christian professing the name of Christ would be ashamed of such gross sins as are there named as to instance he would be ashamed to be an Idolater what to fall down to and worship stocks and stones for his God to seek relief from them God ranks covetous persons even with such and with the grossest sinners in the world even as gross and hateful as can be named and makes even it a note of a Reprobate minde and one given up to vile affections therefore our Saviour gives special and particular warning against this sin Luke 12.