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	love_n	unfeigned_a	1,422	5	11.0683	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09950	The breast-plate of faith and love. A treatise, wherein the ground and exercise of faith and love, as they are set upon Christ their object, and as they are expressed in good workes, is explained. / Delivered in 18 sermons upon three severall texts, by the late faithfull and worthy minister of Iesus Christ, Iohn Preston, Dr. in Divinity, chaplaine in ordinary to his Maiesty, Master of Emmanuel Colledge in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolnes Inne.	Preston, John, 1587-1628.; Sibbes, Richard, 1577-1635, ed.; Davenport, John, 1597-1670, ed.	1630 (1630)	STC 20208; ESTC S105956	328,230	606

therein this efficacie lyeth when the heart is knit to him as the soule of Ionathan was to Dauid and when CHRIST shall be knit to vs againe that we shall be content to leaue Father and Mother and to become one spirit with him as it is Eph. 5.23 It is a similitude expressing the vnion betwixt Christ and the Church A man shall forsake Father and Mother and shall cleaue to his Wife The word in the Originall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth to glew if there bee any conjunction that is neerer then other it is signified in that word there is not a word in all the Greeke Language that signifieth a neerer conjunction then the word there vsed for cleauing or glewing When a man shall forsake all euen Father and Mother the dearest things in the world and shall cleaue to Christ it is a repetition of what is said Gen. 2.24 concerning Adam and Eue when faith hath done this worke it is an effectuall faith But yet adde this againe a man may take Christ and seeme to draw neere to him when it may be it is done out of feare it may bee out of loue to his and not out of loue to him it may be done out of mis-information and mistake but when wee draw neere to GOD and doe it out of loue put these two together that we so take Christ as that there is an vnion made betweene vs and him and when it is done out of loue as that condition is put in in 1 Tim 1.5 The end of the Commandement is loue out of a pure heart and a good conscience and faith vnfeigned As if hee should say There is a double kinde of faith a false faith and a faith that is not hypocriticall that is the word vsed in the Originall Now saith hee the end of the Commandement is loue c. That is all that God lookes for is such a loue as comes from a faith that is vnfeigned that is not counterfeit Herein is faith seene not to be counterfeit if it beget loue and out of that loue we cleaue to Christ. So that this is the third thing that makes faith effectuall Fourthly faith is then said to be effectuall when it hath not onely done all this when there is not onely a good preparation made for it when it is well built in the vnderstanding and when the will hath thus taken Christ but there must bee a further act and that is the turning of the whole soule and a seconding of it in our whole liues practice a seconding of it in our executions and doing the things that Christ commands as in Gal. 5. In Christ Iesus neither circumcision availeth any thing nor vncircumcision but faith that worketh by loue Such a faith as workes that is effectuall faith As if he should haue said Many will be ready to beleeue in CHRIST but will doe nothing for him they will not worke Now working is in doing or in suffering for in suffering there is a worke as well as in doing onely it is a worke with more difficulty a worke with more impediments Againe if they will doe any thing for Christ it is not out of loue but for other respects perhaps out of some flash or good moode or some other respects out to doe it as being rooted grounded in loue if faith haue this worke it is effectuall faith and therfore when faith hath once taken Christ it must shoot it selfe into all the affections for when they are all set on worke endeuour will follow If the will bee so set on worke indeed the rest will follow after it Loue will follow Desire after Christ will follow Feare to offend him will follow Repētance and turning from Satan will follow bringing forth fruits worthy amendment of life and obedience c. will follow Therefore you shall finde that the promises are made promiscuously sometimes to one thing sometimes to another sometimes he that repenteth shall be saued sometimes he that beleeueth shall be saued somtimes he that obeyeth shall be saued you shall finde them promiscuously because that when faith is effectuall it hath all these with it it purifieth the heart and bringeth forth fruit worthy amendment of life Therefore this must be added to shew the efficacie of faith and if this be wanting faith is not effectuall not that it can be disjoyned from the other but that it is that wherein it consisteth with the rest And therefore it is GODS vsuall manner when men seeme to take CHRIST and to beleeue in him he puts them to the tryall to see what they will doe whether their faith will worke or no. Thus he did with Abraham when hee would proue him hee was a faithfull man before God had experience of him before but yet he would proue Abraham by offering his sonne and when he saw he did it he concluded that he had faith indeede it was a strong faith for it endured the tryall I say GOD will put men to it So likewise those in Ioh. 12.42 Many of the chiefe Rulers beleeued in him but they durst not confesse him for feare of the Iewes lest they should be cast out of the Synagogue There was a faith in them a taking of Christ but when it came to the tryall it held not out they durst not confesse him because they feared to bee cast out of the Synagogue that is when they came to suffer a little for Christs sake when they came to such an action as confessing his Name when they came to endure but such a thing as to bee cast out of the Synagogue they forsooke him which shewed that their beliefe was ineffectuall So that let a man seeme to haue all the other three yet when the praise of men shall come in competition with any command of GOD when God shall put him to doe any thing to part with any thing that is deare to him as he did Abraham if his faith worke not if his faith hold not out in the tryall but start aside like a broken Bow it is not effectuall faith So you see the things wherein the efficacie of faith consisteth First in the soundnesse of the preparation Secondly when the mind apprehends the promises and sees good ground to pitch vpon them Thirdly when the will so takes Christ as to bring Christ into the heart so that Christ liues in vs and that out of loue And fourthly when faith worketh and that in the time of tryall when God shall put vs to it I say when you finde these foure things you may conclude that your faith is effectuall The last thing I propounded is to shew how this is wrought how our faith is made effectuall It is made effectuall by the Spirit of God it is not in our owne power we are not able to beleeue nay wee are so farre from it that wee striue against it the spirit in vs resists it so that if GOD

professions are but dissimulation and such a man as will thus dissemble with the Lord shall be cut off from his people So I say when you professe that you love the Lord and yet have hard hearts that there is no softnesse there that your hearts doe not melt towards him but when you have sinned you can looke backe upon your sinnes without any disturbance at all know that it is but dissembling with the Lord and you are worthy to be cut off from his people I come to a third tryall If you love the Lord Iesus have you your hearts after his owne heart that is the disposition of all those that love him Acts 13.22 the Lord saith of David I have found a man after my owne heart that will doe whatsoever I will That is looke how the Lord himselfe was affected in any businesse so was Davids heart affected and so it is with all those that love the Lord for this is proper to the Saints If you love the Lord you will be of one heart with him if we have hearts after his heart as every Christian must have in his measure though perhaps he reach not Davids measure in all the turnings of our lives upon all occasions in the diverse disposition of our wills we will be conformable to the Lords will we will be like God affected in every thing as he is affected But you will say this is a hard thing how shall we discerne it You shall discerne it by these two things If you be affected as he is you will doe whatsoever he will as those words are added concerning David I have found a man after mine owne heart for he will doe whatsoever I will You may examine your selves by that doe you doe whatsoever he will are your affections aright that you love what he loves and hate what he hates For your actions are the immediate fruites and effects of your affections and as every man is affected so he doth And besides as that is one way to discerne it so this is another which you shall likewise finde in David that hee loved those that feared the Lord and those that love vaine inventions doe I not hate them saith hee c. And that you may discerne this consider whether you love all those that feare the Lord and hate all those that are enemies to the Lord. For while there is nothing but nature in a man so long those that are of good natures that are faire in their carriages and kinde and loving to us those wee love and those that are contrary we hate and dislike but when you love the Lord and are after his heart and have another nature in you it raiseth you above this nature of your owne and then you will love those that are like the Lord whosoever they are though perhaps they are not so sociable not of so faire a naturall disposition but if you have a new nature and are become new creatures now you have common friends and common enemies Doe not object now that you are willing to doe so if they were sincere and upright but they are hypocrites I say doe not deceive your selves in this for as they rejected Christ under the person of a counterfeit and of a wine-bibber so thou maist persecute Christ under the person of an hypocrite Paul you know hee thought hee did God good service in persecuting those whom he persecuted yet though hee did it ignorantly he confessed of himselfe that he was a blasphemer and a persecuter So I say though you doe it ignorantly under the person of an hypocrite yet that is the judgement and the censure that will be upon you that in so doing you are persecuters And if you shall say that if the Lord himselfe lived amongst us if Iesus Christ were here I hope I should shew that I doe not hate him You shall see what the Lord himselfe saith In that you have done it to these you have done it to mee As he speakes there in the matter of giving so may I say to you concerning this case in that you have despised those that feare his name in that you have spoken against such as are his you have done it against the Lord in this thing you have shewed your hatred against him Examine your hearts therefore seriously by this marke Againe fourthly wee will bring you to that expostulation which is grounded on 1 Ioh. 2.15 Love not the world nor ●he things of the world for if you love the world the love of the Father is not in you Now question with your own hearts about this whether you love the world and the things of the world for if you doe the words are cleare The Love of the Father is not in you You will say how shall we know this You shall know it by these three things First by your delight in the things of the world and your griefe and sorrow for the losse of them after you have enjoyed them for if you finde that you are much affected about them it is certaine that you love the world and the things of the world Intemperate and excessive griefe and complaint for worldly losses and crosses is a sure argument and evidence that you love the world Whereas when you love the Lord you will be indifferent in those things if a worldly losse befall you you will grieve as if you grieved not if any worldly advantage happeneth you will enjoy it as if you enjoyed it not A man will be thus affected If I have God sure I reckon him onely my portion all other things are by accident he onely is essentiall to my happinesse We doe not denie that a man may grieve upon such occasions but it is a lighter kinde of griefe and therefore it is expressed well by the former phrase As if he grieved not He knoweth all this while the maine is sure and so long his heart is stedfast within him but when a man shall fall into excessive griefe when the affection shall be exceedingly stirred about worldly things it is a signe that you reckon not God and the assurance of his favour to be the maine thing in your happinesse you should be affected to the world with a remisse affection Now when your affections are so much taken up about them it is a signe you love the world and the things of the world It is true you may doe the things of the world and enjoy them and follow after them but in a remisse manner but when your affections are so much stirred about them when you come to excessive love in the having them and excessive griefe in the losing of them it is a signe that you love the world and the things of the world Secondly you shall know it by this when worldly things shall come into competition with those that belong to a good conscience and the service of God you shall finde this one way

looke upon the Lord as upon a judge whether you doe not all that you doe to him as one that lookes upon a judge If you feare the Lord in this manner it is certaine you hate him for those whom you thus feare you hate and that you shall finde in 1 Ioh. 4. If you feare saith hee you love not for perfect love casts out feare when you look upon God as upon a strict judge and that is it that puts you on to doe all that you doe that is it that makes you keepe a good conscience in secret for this you may doe and yet looke upon God as a judge to feare with this kinde of feare is a signe you hate the Lord for whom you feare you hate Besides this Doe you not looke upon God and upon his wayes as contrary to your hearts that your hearts and the wayes of God are in an opposition your hearts and sanctifying the Sabboth will not agree the Lord would have your speeches to be good and holy he would have you not onely abstaine from evill but to hate it to have your hearts rise up against it Are not these commandements contrary to you Consider but that holinesse that is expressed in the booke of God and that is expressed also in the lives of the Saints who carry his Image stamped on them and is there not a kinde of contrariety betweene your wayes and theirs betweene your hearts and them If there be it is a certaine signe of hatred for wheresoever there is contrariety there is hatred Examine your selves by this and see whether you doe not hate the Lord. And yet to come to one more if you love pleasures more than God and wealth more than God you hate God For so you have it Mat. 6. No man can serve two Masters but either hee must hate the one and love the other c. That is when you love other things though you thinke you doe not hate the Lord yet I say in that you love pleasures and love the world and the things of the world in that you love your lusts and the objects of them in doing this you hate the Lord. Now if this be your case if upon these expostulations that I have propounded if upon these rules of examining your selves you finde that you doe not love the Lord if this be your condition as it is your wisedome to deale strictly with your selves for hence it is brethren that the soules of men perish because they will not see and search into their estates they will not come to this examination of themselves it is a painfull thing to them men are backward to examine themselves in private what is the reason of that phrase in the Psalme Examine your selves upon your beds but because examination should be when a man is most retired I say if you finde it to be so as it is the case of many then it should open a window to you to see what you have deserved at the Lords hands how just it were that the Lord should cast you off For when you are enemies to the Lord can you thinke much at it My brethren what a condition is that man in that hath the great God of heaven and earth to be his enemie And besides this have you not reason to justifie God in his just judgements upon others when you shall see God sharply plaguing them It may seeme to you that it is a hard thing that men should be so punished but when wee consider that they are haters of God that they are enemies to him you may justifie God in that hee doth But to conclude you ought to humble your selves if upon these tryalls you finde your selves to be lovers of the world and not lovers of God And you that are young and put off repentance it should move you to come in betimes For if this be required of you to love the Lord and you shall not be exempted from death when it comes though you be never so able and never so strong and lustly what condition doe you thinke you will be in if you die enemies to God and haters of him as you needes must be if you love him not And if you thinke you have time enough hereafter to settle your affections Consider is it in your owne power though you have warning before death to have this affection of love You may doe many good duties you may be sorry and repent for your sinnes but though you doe this and a thousand times more yet if you have not this love-wrought in you by God if it come not from heaven if it be not the fruite of his owne Spirit all your repentance and all your forsaking of sinne all your doing of duties the change of your courses is nothing the Lord regards it not unlesse you have this naturalnesse of love I have stood therefore the longer upon it and upon this part concerning examination because it is a matter of great moment Wee should have come to the next part concerning exhortation which wee would not disjoyne because it is very usefull and profitable but we cannot doe it now but reserve it for the afternoone FINIS THE SIXTH SERMON GALAT. 5.6 For in Iesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumcision but Faith which worketh by Love AND before we leave this poynt one thing I must add For what reason doe we put you vpon this disposition vpon this examination whether the love of God be in your hearts or no The reason is not that you should be discouraged that you should be put off from comming to God that you should be greived with the sight of the want of your love but the end of it is to stirre you up to gett it if you want it You know we have formerly delivered some meanes of getting it onely there is one which we will commend unto you which we gave a little touch on but could not handle it and it consists of these Three branches if you would love the Lord First you must know him for otherwise you cannot love him As it is in naturall loue that is bred between man and man you say love ariseth from sight they must see before they can love so you must know the Lord there must be a sight of God by faith before you can love him And every man that sees him and knowes him as he is will love him he cannot chuse for that is the Lords worke to all the Saints Ierem. 31 You shall he taught of me and you shall know mee from the greatest to the least It may be in some manner they knew God before but although a man have never so exact knowledge of him yet till he be a regenerate man he never knowes him indeede it is an other kind of knowledge that hee hath when a man is regenerate whē God teaches him to know him he lookes on God with an other eye every thing is presented to him

is By looking into the Booke of GOD and that is the second thing and there I finde all the promises CHRIST is there cleerely offered onely with this condition required that I must obey him and serue him and loue him so that that is the second thing CHRIST is offered in the Scriptures to euery one and if you haue him you shall haue a pardon of your sinnes with him onely he is offered with condition of obedience Well when you see this cleerely now you come to consider it you begin to ponder this Word whether it be so or no a man begins to thinke Is this a sure promise and then he sees that looke what certainety there is of the Scriptures in generall there is the same certainety in these particular promises so that with the same faith that a man is to beleeue the Word of GOD with the same faith he is to beleeue this offer of CHRIST I but is it sure to me Then a man lookes to the generality of the promise that it is offered to all none excepted and therefore saith hee it is offered to me But will Christ doe to me as hee hath promised is he powerfull and willing to doe it Then a man lookes into the Word and finds that he is Almighty that he is able to make him the Sonne of God that whatsoeuer Christ hath by nature he shall haue it by matching with him Indeede Christ hath it immediately as he is the Sonne of GOD but wee haue it mediately as the Wife hath the riches of her Husband If a Woman marry the Kings Sonne she hath the same priuiledges and the same inheritance that he hath so whatsoeuer CHRIST hath becomes ours Paul and Apollo and all are CHRIST'S the World is CHRIST'S and all things present and to come are CHRIST'S and they are all made ours Now when this is well pondered and we finde that wee haue a sure Word to confirme this Then in the third place we come and take him and this no man will doe indeed till he haue well considered as the saying is of marriage that it is a bestowing of ones selfe vpon such a one so it is in this euery one therefore should consider before-hand what it is to bestow himselfe vpon CHRIST and when this is done that we haue made the match and bestowed our selues vpon CHRIST then In the next place we come to see what we shall haue by him and then we come to make vse of all that CHRIST brings with him reconciliation and pardon of sinne and all things else that he hath I haue with him I am the sonne of God and I shall be sanctified for together with him I haue his Spirit all my prayers shall be heard all the promises in the Booke of GOD are mine for In him they are all Yea and Amen as all the World is his so it is all the wealth of a Christian after he hath taken CHRIST Now when this is distinctly propounded to vs and wee conceiue it aright it makes the way much more easie to vs but when we goe on in a confused manner because the Gospell is not cleerely vnderstood by vs hence it is that wee labour much and yet the thing is not done therefore my beloued if you haue a perswasion of the forgiuenesse of your sinnes if it bee but a meere perswasion it will alter exceedingly it will goe and come in the time of temptation but when you haue a sure Word when you haue built your selues vpon the Scriptures it is not dependant vpon your perswasion but it is the Word that you rest vpon For fancie and opinion and perswasion it will grow sometimes longer and sometimes shorter as the shaddow doth whereas the body of the thing is the same but when your eye is vpon the Word when you rest vpon that then your perswasion will continue the same as the Word continues Indeed your comfort may be sometimes more sometimes lesse but when it is pitched vpon the sure Word that is it that will bring you comfort in the working of it to obserue the method and degrees of it Indeed my beloued it is a point of another nature to beleeue then the world thinks of therefore examine and recall and vnderstand this Doctrine that we haue now taught you distinctly it will be worth all your labour for the present you shall haue a good conscience and the assurance of Gods fauour and when death comes the right vnderstanding of it will be worth all the world besides It is said of the second ground that they fell away because they had no roote in themselues they had some root but their faith was pitched vpon a generall Doctrine vpon a generall perswasion that hath a kinde of roote but it hath no roote in it selfe so many Christians goe farre and they doe much but they haue no roote in themselues that is they doe not vnderstand distinctly and throughly the grounds vpon which their faith is built they see not a sure ground for it in the Word of GOD they know not how faith is built vpon the ●ure corner stone for CHRIST is that sure corner stone he that is built vpon him shall neuer be ashamed wee should learne therefore not to giue ouer till wee be rooted and grounded If a man should aske many peop●e What is the reason that you are perswaded that your sinnes are forgiuen for you ought to build that vpon an infallible ground I● it be no more but because you are perswaded it is nothing but if you can say My sinnes are forgiuen because I haue Christ and he that hath the Sonne hath life I haue the sure Word of God for it God cannot lye he is Truth it selfe that hath said it and he hath offered CHRIST to euery creature vnder Heauen then is the ground good thou maist take him boldly being within that number So much for this time FINIS OF FAITH The fourth Sermon ROM 1.17 For by it the righteousnesse of God is reuealed from Faith to Faith As it is written The iust shall liue by Faith THe next thing to bee done is this to draw the will to take the promises for though the vnderstanding rightly apprehend all that is deliuered in the Word yet except the will bee bowed except we incline and be willing to embrace these offers and willingly take Christ vpon these conditions the thing is not done for I say iustifying faith is as well in the will as in the vnderstanding for that which I deliuer now is built vpon that which I deliuered before and I speake chiefly to those that vnderstand the premises or else you will not fully vnderstand that we are now about But seeing that the will hath a part in faith as well as the vnderstanding the second thing is to draw the will But how is that done This is the worke of God hee onely hath the soueraignety ouer the will and affections of a man it is the great prerogatiue