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	witness_n	witness_v	2,329	5	9.9757	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A01804	The succession of the bishops of England since the first planting of Christian religion in this island together with the historie of their liues and memorable actions faithfully gathered out of the monuments of antiquity. VVhereunto is prefixed a discourse concerning the first conuersion of our Britaine vnto Christian religion. By Francis Godwin now Bishop of Hereford.; Catalogue of the bishops of England	Godwin, Francis, 1562-1633.	1625 (1625)	STC 11939; ESTC S105686	74,779	749

recompence for time to come 7 Patience is a further thing than mercy 8 1. Though we injure God and he be sensible of it yet he is patient ibid. 2. He vouchsafeth that time he forbeares them in to repent 9 3. He waits that men would come in and repent ib. Lastly Long suffering is but patience lengthned out farther ibid. The second generall Head Riches of this goodnesse spent on us 10 1. They are riches in themselves ibid. 2. All the world spend on these riches 11 3. The time he hath forborne men 12 4. The expensive prodigality of sinners in all ages ibid. Patience is precious 13 1. In regard of what those manifestations of his goodnesse cost 13 2. In regard of the usefulnesse 14 The third generall Head All this patience is used as meanes to bring men to repentance 16 1. All this goodnesse witnesseth a gracious hand in all these ib. 2. Our owne conscience beares witnesse of offending a good God 17 3. A common principle will witness against us when we returne evill for good ibid. An Vse of expostulation with sinfull and impenitent men and considerations drawn from 18 1. Their creation out of nothing 19 2. Their being made men 20 3. Having all the members of a man 21 4. Preparing the world for them 22 5. Suffering them to live a long time in it 23 6. Giving them space to repent in 25 7. Living upon his cost and charges 28 8. Filling up their yeers and time with goodnes 31 As riches credit friends comfort in them all AGGRAVATIONS OF SINNING AGAINST MERCIE ROM 2. 4 5. Or despisest thou the riches of his goodnesse and forbearance and long suffering not knowing that the goodnesse of God leadeth thee to repentance But after thy hardnesse and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thy selfe wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgement of God THis is the last most weighty aggravation which the Apostle puts into the measure of the Gentiles sinfulnesse which in the former Chapter he had verse 29. pronounced full before to make it fuller yet Their sinning against mercies and despising the riches of Gods goodnesse patience and forbearance the hatefull evill and iniquity whereof can be better no way set off and illustrated unto mens consciences than by a display of the riches of that goodnesse which mea sinne against My purpose therefore is to unlock and carry you into that more common treasury of outward mercies and leade you through the severall roomes thereof all which doe continually leade you unto repentance That then reflecting upon our ungratefull waste and abuse of so many mercies in sinning thereby our sins every sinne the least may yet appeare more sinfull unto us who are lesse than the least of all those mercies Know then that besides that peculiar treasure of unsearchable riches of grace laid up in Christ the offer of which neglected and despised addes yet to all that sinfulnesse a guilt as farre exceeding all that which shall be spoken of as Heaven exceeds the Earth There is another untold Mine of Riches the Earth is full of as the Psalmist tells us and the Apostle here which these Gentiles onely heard of and which we partake of all as much as they As there are riches of grace offered to you which can never be exhausted so there are riches of patience spent upon you which you will have spent out in the end the expence of which cast up will alone amount to an immense treasure both of guilt in you and of wrath in God as these words informe us To helpe you in this account I will 1. In generall shew what Goodnesse or Bounty Patience and long suffering are in God 2. That there are riches of these spent upon all the sons of men 3. That these all leade men to repentance And then 4. I will expostulate with you and aggravate your sinfulnesse in going on to despise all these by unrepentance as the Apostle here doth First in that God is said here to be Good or Bountifull 2. Patient or forbearing 3. Long-suffering they seeme to note out three degrees of his common mercies unto men First he is a good or a bountifull God for so as goodnesse is here used I exegetically expound it For though it be true that goodnesse and bounty may differ yet when riches of goodnesse are said to be communicated it imports the same and is all one with Bounty And such is God And all those noble and royall qualifications and properties which concurre to make one truely good and bountifull doe meet and abound in him in all those good things which he doth bestow and are found truly in none but in him so that it may be truly said that there is none good but God as Christ sayes of him Now Bounty in the generall which is in God may be thus described It is a free willing and a large giving of what is meerly his own looking for no recompense againe To explaine this that you may see that all these conditions are required to true goodnesse and all of them to be found in God onely 1. He that is Bountifull he must be a Giver and Bestower of good things and all he bestows it must be by way of gift not by way of recompence unto or by desert from the party hee bestowes all on Therefore Christ sayes Luke 6. 33. that to doe good to those who have done or doe good to us is not thank-worthy nor is it Bounty But God is therefore truely good because hee simply meerely and absolutely gives away all which he bestowes For hee was not nor can any way become beholden to any of his creatures nor had formerly received any thing from them which might move him hereunto so Rom. 11. 35. Who hath first given him that hee may recompence him againe Nay untill He gave us a being we were not capable of so much as receiving any good thing from him 2. He who is truly termed Good or Bountifull all that he gives away must be his owne And so all which God bestowes it is his owne So Psal 24. 1. The Earth is the Lords The ground wee tread on the place wee dwell in Hee is our Landlord But is that all for the house may be the Landlords when the furniture is the Tenants therefore he further addes And the fulnesse of it is his also that is all the things that fill the world all the furniture and provision of it both all the moveables So Psal 50. 11 12. The cattell and the fowles upon a thousand hills are mine sayes hee and also all the standing goods the corne and oile which you set and plant are mine Hos 2. 9. yea and the Psalmist in the same 24. Psalme adds further that they who dwell therein are his also not the house and furniture onely but the Inhabitants themselves And this by the most sure and most soveraigne title that can be

run through to have it set apart for ease and to be void of torment if the rich man in hell made it such a great suit and counted it so great a favour to have but one drop of water which could but for a little while scarce more than a moment have cooled and eased not his whole body but the tip of his tongue only how much more would he have thought it mercy to have lived so many yeares againe as he had done free from torment what is it then for thee to live so many yeares free from the falling of the least drop of that wrath whereof the full vialls should have been poured out many yeares agoe The same Law was out against us which was out against the Angels That day thou eatest thou shalt dye the death what put the difference the Apostle tells us his long suffering to us ward not to them for in Chap. 2. 4. he had told us that hee spared not the Angels which fell but posted and threw them into hell as soone as they had sinned Sixtly But further in the 6. place Is this all hath it beene barely a time of ease given thee a time of reprivall No it hath beene more space to repent and so to obtaine thy pardon in Rev. 2. 21. And as it hath beene more than ease of torment unto thee so also consider it hath beene more than slacknesse in him that hath afforded it to thee as the Apostle there doth tell us It is not that he hath tooke no notice of thy offending him but he is sensible of every idle thought of every oath vaine word and as the Scripture tels us he is pained at the very heart in so much as he repents that ever he made thee he is angry with thee every day thou risest every time hee lookes on thee when ever he meets thee going into the Taverne to be drunk the whorehouse to be uncleane when he meets thee reeling in the streets he hath much adoe to forbeare killing thee as he had to forbeare Moses when he met him in the Inne He is ready to have a blow at thee and it should not need be any great stroake or fetching his arme about if he did but blow on thee thou wert consumed To suffer thee to live doth therefore cost him much riches of patience but to cut thee off need cost him nothing hee can doe that with ease But further all is joyned with a willingnesse that thou shouldst repent and not perish as that place tells thee It were much mercy for a Traytor to be reprived to have a lease of his life for twenty yeeres though there were no hope nor meanes of obtaining his finall pardon after that time spent and this also though moneth a yeere what others who have laine gasping would have given a world for time againe as I have heard one crying day and night call time againe or if not then oh what in Hell The third thing I am to shew is that all this goodnesse patience and forbearance is afforded towards you as a meanes and helpes to bring you to repentance Acts 17. 26 27 28. God sayes the Apostle there hath allotted to men both their times to live in and also their places of abode and habitations all richly furnished with blessings to uphold their lives beings And to what end are both these thus afforded That they might seek the Lord if by groping after him even as men in the darke they might haply finde him But men being in the darke and destitute of guides to bring thē unto God may yet be as far of finding him as ever Therefore adde but the words of my text to what the Apostle sayes there and we see that this goodnesse of God takes us by the hand and leads us to repentance to turne from sinne unto God and so to finde him And thus lead are you unto God by the help of three severall guides which each after other sweetly leade you and point you out to this First all this goodnesse beares witnesse to your hearts of a gracious hand that extends it self in all these therefore in that 17. of the Acts he subjoynes God is not far off any of us That there is a good God bestowes all things on you is a thought lyes at next doore of all his blessings not far off Yea they all sayes the Apostle to the same Gentiles Acts 14. 16. doe beare witnesse of him though they went on in their owne wayes yet sayes he there God left not himselfe without witnesse that is an impression on their hearts that his good hand bestowed all on them when he filled their hearts with foode and gladnesse Secondly His goodnesse having brought thus God to mens thoughts then your owne consciences take you and leade you downe into your selves and beare witnesse that you by walking in your owne wayes doe nothing but provoke and offend this good God So Rom. 2. 15. And then thirdly there is an indelible principle common to all men to love those who love them which after the two former have brought you hitherto point you to Repentance as the conclusion Shall we goe on to sinne against this good so good returne evill for good Is not this a naturall necessary consequent out of all these to say as they Let us therefore feare the Lord who giveth us the early and the latter raine as it is Ier. 5. 26 27 And though men are said not to know this in the text yet the meaning is they doe not throughly and effectually consider thus much so as thereby to be brought to Repentance yet however there is such a witnesse of all this in all mens hearts and thus are they led on unto Repentance would they see their way and follow their guide The use shall be an use of expostulation as here the Apostle carryes it with men sinfull and impenitent for going on to sinne against all this mercy together with an aggravation of their sinfulnesse hereby Men if young doe usually take the advantage of this their precious time which out of so much long suffering is vouchsafed them and of all those precious opportunities and blessings they enjoy to improve them onely in reaping and gathering in to themselves the pleasures of sinne making the time of youth their harvest of sinning and yet thinke to escape by repenting afterwards and then when old after they have already enjoyed a long and a faire Sunshine day to turne to God in and to have sowne much seed to the Spirit the comfort whereof they might now have reaped yet as they have altogether neglected so to doe all their youth so they goe on to doe so still whilst they see they have any day left be it never so neare the setting and doe choose rather desperately to venture their estate in the world to come upon the riches of his mercy pardoning though without all care and endeavour to change their