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	pure_a	unfeigned_a	2,187	5	10.9762	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A15369	The debt book: or, A treatise vpon Romans 13. ver. 8 Wherein is handled: the ciuill debt of money or goods, and vnder it the mixt debt, as occasion is offered. Also, the sacred debt of loue. By Henry Wilkinson, Bachelor in Diuinity, and pastor of Wadesdon in Buckinghamshire.	Wilkinson, Henry, 1566-1647.	1625 (1625)	STC 25646; ESTC S114431	56,271	156

in euery commandement It is the * Col. 3. 14. bond of perfection quo omnia hominum inter se officia continentur coherent wherein all the duties which passe betweene men are comprehended and combined As faith is the bond of our vnion with Christ so is loue of our communion with our brethren the members of Christ in which two consists the perfection of the mysticall bodie It is called here the fulfilling of the Lawe both in this verse and in the tenth because qui diligit non vnum aliquod praeceptum obijt sed in genere praestitit quod lex iubet he that loueth obserueth not some one precept but performeth in generall what the Law inioineth but of this in the next place 4. Fourthly where loue is not the life of man is like a perpetuall tempest here rushing and there blustering here beating and there bearing downe all before it without this wee still doe liue in the gall of bitternesse and bond of iniquitie where this failes mischief comes in place thereof dissentions discords and such curses as accompany them Non euenissent Cyprian Ep. 8. fratribus haec mala si in vnum fraternitas fuisset animata Such euills had not befallen the brethren if the brotherhood had held together in one mind Let vs therefore nourish this precious charity in our hearts in obedience and true conformity vnto Christ as also for the worthinesse of the grace it selfe and for our owne refreshing and consolation in our pilgrimage here on earth CHAP. 13. Of the diuersities of loue and of the nature of Christian religious loue towards one another BVT that ye loue one another We haue a rule euen in moral discipline that the prayse of vertue consisteth in action This is as true of loue as of any other whatsoeuer * 1. Cor. 13. 13. in this preferred before faith and hope not simply but because it is diffusiue of it selfe to the vse of others whereas these are confined to the person of the beleeuer Wee haue also another rule that whatsoeuer wee would that men should doe vnto vs euen so should we do to them for this is the Law and the Prophets Mat. 7. 12. But wee desire that men should loue vs and accommodate themselues to our seruice therefore it is a naturall and a perpetuall debt to do the like vnto them Now that loue may be diffusiue of it selfe in precious streams and operatiue with approbation of God and of man let vs choose out among the seuerall kinds of loue 1. the most excellent in nature 2. the best esteem'd in quality 3. the most beneficial in the operations fruits of it For the first wee must obserue that there are diuerse kinds of loue as naturall affection whereby wee loue our Parents Children and Kindred Hee that hath not this is worse then brutish euen beasts cherish and suckle their young ones This though a Christian cannot want yet a reprobate may haue There is a ciuil loue the obligation whereof is domesticall or politicall societie Meere naturall men yeeld this for mutuall commodity and consolation There is a morall loue consisting in an exact compensation of affection with affection of benefite with benefite which falls short indeed of that loue which here we seeke as our Sauiour shewes Mat. 5. 46. 47. It may be in vnregenerate men yet it is a great furtherance to the producing and preseruing of the charity whereof we speake 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Greg. Nazian Nothing so auaileable vnto loue as compensation of affection which is expressed by mutuall offices Vis vt ameris ama Wilt thou be beloued then do thou loue Lastly there is a christian religious loue which is a sanctified affection wherby our hearts are ioyned either to our brethren in the faith in contemplation of Gods image in them shining in an eminency of Graces or in respect of the common hope of our calling declared by outward profession or else whereby we wish and doe good to our enemies in obedience to him who hath commanded vs so to doe There is not any kinde of these loues aboue mentioned but it is a debt and so is this christian religious loue also and must be duely paied First in respect of the communion of Saints there is one body one spirit one hope of our calling one lord one faith one baptisme one God and father of all Eph. 4. 4 5 6. If a * Eccle. 4. 12 three-fold cord bee not easily broken how much lesse this of loue in such a concurrence of inuincible obligations It must also be paied as an homage to God who will take no notice of our loue to him vnlesse we loue our neighbour Thou shalt loue thy neighbour as thy selfe I am the Lord Leuit. 19. 18. as also 1 Ioh. 4. 20. Hee that saith hee loueth God and hateth his brother is a lyar Who so loueth not his brother whom he hath seene how can hee loue God whom bee hath not seene Thirdly it must bee paid in regard of mutuall offices and duties as of tender affections and earnest prayers for one another the intercourse whereof cannot be stopped among Christians Maior est fraternitas Christi quàm sanguinis Brotherhood in Christ is stronger then in blood If kinne will creepe where it cannot goe christian charity cannot chuse but be diffusiue of it selfe from the highest to the lowest * Psal 133. 2. 3. As the precious ointment from the head of Aaron to his beard and to the skirts of his garment as the dew of Hermon vpon the hill of Zion so this loue imparts it selfe by a co-operation of Gods spirit to the comfort and refreshing of high and low pertaining to the couenant Moreouer as in ciuill debts so also in sacred the paiment must be currant It is not the loue of brethren in euill bee it neuer so strong that will serue the turne such concord is a conspiracy as in * Gen. 34 25. Simeon and Leui in the outrage vpon the Shechemites It is not the doting of * Iudg. 16. 4. c. Num. 25. 15. Samson vpon Dalilah or of Zimry vpon Cosby be the men neuer so great that will serue the turne this is but carnall lust The currant loue which beares the stampe of the Sanctuarie must bee deriued * 1. Tim. 1. 5. from a pure heart a good conscience an vnfaigned faith this is the right myne out of which it must be taken And in this respect the christian loue doth as much surmount all carnall loues as gold or siluer doth copper or lead which makes mee wonder why we should bee so ambitious of the friendship and countenance of men notoriously sinfull seeing how much soeuer they are beloued of vs yet they can but giue vs drosse for gold chaffe for wheat True christian loue indeed as it is a noble heroicall grace so can it not proceed but from a sanctified originall CHAP. 14. The qualities of religious Loue. AS is

consider the vnsatiable Daughters of the Prou. 30. 15 Horsleech that sucke him and deuoure the sweat of his face the fruit of his labour industry and skill If the King should take out of the poore mans ground three of his best Kine yearly or so many horses out of his Teame would hee not crye that he must needs giue ouer house-keeping and husbandry Yet the Borrower of 100 pound from yeare to yeare suffers in effect all this which I say at the hands of the Vsurer and dare not speake a word against his consumer but onely suffers and giues thankes If one word of discontentment fall from him then must the stocke bee sold that satisfaction may be made lest any aduantage of forfeiture be taken If an vsurious contract for so small a summe make such a breach into a mans estate what will the borrowing of thousands doe for many yeeres together When I see any man of eminent place and worth cast vpon the Vsurer whose mercies are cruel for greater matters then he is able to weild I cannot but interpret it as a dismall signe of some fatall ruine to the family or at least of some notable defalcation of estate for causes best knowne to God and sometimes apparant to the eies of the world Moreouer this soaking and standing debt doth so exercise and afflict some men deepely engaged that it takes vp better studies meditations it spends much precious time in solicitation of Broaker Lender and Suerties it leaues no free time for praier repentance it drownes the comforts which men otherwise might enioy when they see how debt consumes them day and night yea and continues still without any diminution of the sum Much perhaps some borrowers haue in lands and in revennues in possession and expectation but as Alexander the great somtimes said Quid refert si multa habeam Plutarch in Alex. nihil agam what matters it if I haue much and doe nothing So say I what is one the better for a great estate if debt bind his hands from doing good to the poore answerably from prouiding for younger children from restoring the Ministers right If a man out of debt will doe more good with a hundreth then a man vnder the Vsurers chain with a thousand pound a yeere yea and much more chearefully Let vs then bee thus farre indulgent to our selues as to shake off the deadly yoak of Billes and Obligations which mancipate the most free and ingenuous spirit and drie vp the very fountaines of liberalitie Yea they so put a man out of aime that he cannot set his state in order but liues and dyes intangled and pusled with cares and snares and after a tedious and laborious life passed in a circle of fretting thoughts he leaues at last instead of better patrimonie a world of intricate troubles to his posteritie and to his sureties which cannot be mannaged by those who vnderstand them not but to great disaduantage When * Acts and Monumēts Vol. 2. p. 1692. col 2. Arch-bishop Cranmer as is recorded in his life by reuerend M. Foxe discerned the storme which after fell vpon him in Queene Maries dayes he tooke expresse order for the paiment of all his his debts which when it was done a most ioifull man was he that hauing set his affaires in order with men he might consecrate himselfe more freely to God This should teach vs all in this tumultuous and raging world to free our selues so much as is possible from the bonds of debt to men that wee may more freely and constantly performe our duties and vowes to God which will otherwise be interrupted if not vtterly abolished by wordly cares and molestations if wee giue them intertainment as wee cannot choose but doe so long as wee are in debt CHAP. 9. A confutation of such Apologies as men plead for their continuing in debt THat the Apostles counsell of owing nothing to any man may the better be followed three things remaine to be added to this discourse First I would shew the vanitie of those Apologies which men haue deuised for continuing in debt Secondly how to auoid it that we come not into it Thirdly how to get out of the snare if wee be intangled That debt is a consumer of credit and state of goods and good name howeuer some men thinke the contrarie yet there is no question to be made How ofter do we see that as after the biting of an Aspe the man smitten fals asleepe but the poison dispearseth it selfe through euerie member till the whole bodie be poisoned So after debt contracted specially vpon the hard tearmes of vsurie or ill conditions the debter is lulled a sleepe by the sweetnes of the present supply but the debt passeth as a poison through euery part of a mans substance donec totum conuertatur in debitum till all be turned into debt it is Chrysostomes comparison Yet In Matth. 5 for all that as the dropsie-man delighteth in abundance of drink though most hurtfull in that disease because it satisfies the present appetite so men in debt alreadie are willing to continue yea to multiply the same because thereby their present need is serued though it be neuer so pernicious in the conclusion Let vs see their allegations and accordingly determine First they hold it lawfull without all Allega ∣ tion 1 question to borrow when they can and thinke it conuenient and make no scruple at all to continue in an vsurious debt for many yeers together and cōmonly so far and so long as they can giue security they will neuer by their good wils come clearly out of debt for howsoeuer they condemne the lender vpon vsurie at least in their consciences though they dare not tell him so yet they take the borrower to be cleere and rather to bee pitied then censured by any But in this as I take it they are deceiued For though the case may so be put that a man may borrow and ought to borrow euen vpon vsury if there bee no other remedy as when money is payable vpon forfeiture of a Lease or of a Bond or of a mans liuing and the party that owes it is vtterly and suddenly disappointed by another then is hee by the reason of the hardnesse of mens hearts who will not helpe him at such a need ineuitably cast vpon the Vsurer as chusing of two euills of losse the lesse Yet to sticke and to continue in the Vsurers furnace which will leaue a man at last neither mettle nor matter I hold it to bee vtterly against prudent frugality which is a duety of the eight Commandement most requisite for the discreet dispensing both of plentifull and poore Estates and necessary to bee obserued by such as intend an intire obedience vnto God as well in one thing as in another without which the royalty of Salomon could not haue consisted for all his riches I know that as in full bodies euacuations may bee not hurtfull yet if a