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
A77996	The rare jewel of Christian contentment Wherein is shewed; 1. What contentment is. 2. The holy art or mystery of it. 3. Several lessons that Christ teacheth, to work the heart to contentment. 4. The excellencies of it. 5. The evils of murmuring. 6. The aggravations of the sin of murmuring. By Jeremiah Burroughs. The first of the eleven volumes that are published by Thomas Goodwin, William Greenhil, Sydrach Sympson, Philip Nye, William Bridge, John Yates, William Adderly.	Burroughs, Jeremiah, 1599-1646.; Goodwin, Thomas, 1600-1680.; Greenhill, William, 1591-1671.; Bridge, William, 1600?-1670.; Nye, Philip, 1596?-1672.; Simpson, Sidrach, 1600?-1655.; Yates, John, d. ca. 1660.; Adderley, William.	1666 (1666)	Wing B6107B; ESTC R201188	189,505	233

as now If he wants outward comforts good chear feasting a good Conscience is a continual feast he can make up the want of a feast by that peace he hath in his own Conscience if he wants melody abroad he hath a bird within him that sings the most meldious songs that are in the world and the most delightful And then Doth he want honor he hath his own Conscience witnessing for him that is as a thousand witnesses the Scripture saith in Luk. 17. verse 21. Neither shall they say Lo here or Lo there for behold the Kingdom of God is within you A Christian then whatsoever he wants he can make it up for he hath a Kingdom in himself the Kingdom of God is within him If one that is a King should meet with a great deal of trouble when he is abroad yet he contents himself with this I have a Kingdom of mine own now here it is said the Kingdom of God is within a man truly upon this Scripture of the Kingdom of God being within those that are learned if they would but look into that Comment upon the Gospel that we have of a learned man they shall find a very strange conceit that he hath about this very Text he confesses indeed it is inutterable and so indeed it is The Kingdom of God is within you he makes it that there is such a presence of God and Christ within the soul of a man that when the body dies he saith that the soul goes into God and Christ that is within him the Souls going into God and Christ and enjoying of that communion with God and Christ that is within its self that is Heaven to it saith he He confesses he is not able to expresse himself nor others cannot understand fully what he intends but certainly for the present before death there is a Kingdom of God within the soul such a manifestation of God in the soul that is enough to content the heart of a Godly man in the world the Kingdom to content hath now within him he shall not stay till afterwards till he goes to Heaven but certainly there is a Heaven in the soul of a Godly man he hath Heaven already Many times when you go to comfort your friends in their afflictions you will say Heaven will pay for all nay you may certainly find Heaven pays for all already there is Heaven within the souls of the Saints that is a certain truth no soul shall ever come to Heaven but that soul that hath Heaven come to it first VVhen you die you hope you shall go to Heaven But if you shall go to Heaven when you die Heaven will come to you before you die Now this is a great mystery to have the Kingdom of Heaven in the soul no man can know this but that soul that hath it that Heaven which is within the soul for the present I say it is like the white stone and the new name that none but those that have it can understand it It is a miserable condition my Brethren to depend upon creatures altogether for our Contentment you know rich men account it a great happiness if they need not go to buy things by the penny as others do they have all things for pleasure or profit upon their own ground and all their inheritance lyes entire together they have no body comes within them but they have all within themselves there lies their happiness whereas other poorer people are fain to go from one market to another to provide them necessaries but yet great rich men they have Sheep and Beeves Corn and Clothing and all things else of their own within themselves and herein they place their happiness But this is the happiness of a Christian that he hath that within himself that may satisfie him more than all these That place which we have in the first of James seems to allude to that condition of men that have all their estates within themselves James 1.4 But let patience have her perfect work that we may be perfect and entire wanting nothing the word there used signifies to have the whole inheritance to our selves not a broken inheritance but that where all lies within themselves as a man that hath not a piece of his estate here and a piece there but he hath it all lies together and the heart being patient under afflictions findes it self to be in such an estate as this is finds his whole inheritance to be together and all intire within its self And now still to shew this by further similitudes it is with him being filled with good things just like as it is with many a man that enjoys abundance of comforts at home at his own house God grants to him a convenient habitation a comfortable Yoke fellow and fine Walks and Gardens and hath all things at home that he could desire now this man cares not much for going abroad other men are fain to go abroad to take the air but he hath a sweet air at home and they are fain to go abroad to see friends because they have railings and contendings at home many ill husbands will give this reason if his wife make any moan and complaint of his ill husbandry of their bad husbandry and will make that their excuse to go abroad because they can never be quiet at home Now we account those men most happy that have all at home those that have close houses that are unsavoury and smells ill they delight to go into the fresh air but it is not so with many others that have those at home those that have no good clear at home they are fain to go abroad to friends but those that have their tables furnished they had as leive stay at home So a carnal man he hath but little Contentment in his own spirit it is Austines similitude saith he An ill conscience is like a scoulding Wife a man saith he that hath an ill conscience he cares not to look into his own soul but loves to be abroad and looks into other things but never looks to himself but one that hath a good conscience he delights in looking into his own heart he hath a good conscience within him And so a carnal heart because there is nothing but filthyness a filthy stink in himself nothing but vileness and baseness within him upon this it is that he seeks his Contentment elsewhere and as it is with a vessel that is full of Liquor if you strike upon it it will make no great noise but if it be empty then it makes a great noise So it is with the heart An heart that is full of grace and goodness within such a one will bear a great many stroakes and never make any noise but an empty heart if that be struck that will make a noise those men and women that are so much complaining and always whining it is a sign that there is an emptiness in their hearts but if their hearts were

as they did well or ill in an ordinary way with outward judgments and outward mercies but it 's not so now in these times of the Gospel we cannot bring such a certain conclusion that God did deal so severely with men by such and such afflictions that he will deal so with them now and so that they shall have outward prosperity as they had then therefore that is the first thing for the understanding of this and all other texts of that kind The second answer I would give is this It may be their faith doth not reach to this promise and God brings many times many outward afflictions because the faith of his people doth not reach the promise and that not only in the old Testament but in the time of the new Testament Zachariah his time may be said to be in the time of the new Testament when he was struck with dumbness because he did not believe and that is given to be the cause why he was struck with dumbness But you will say now Hath Faith warrant to believe deliverance that it shall be fully delivered I dare not say so but it may act upon it to believe that God will make it good his own way perhaps you have not done so much and so upon that this promise is not fulfilled to you Thirdly When God doth make such promises to his people yet still it must be with this reservation that God must have liberty to these three things 1. That notwithstanding his promise he will have liberty to make use of any thing for your chastisement 2. That he must have liberty to make use of your estates or liberties or lives for the furtherance of his own ends If it be to be a stumbling block to wicked and ungodly men God must have liberty though he hath made a promise to you he will not lose the propriety that he hath in your estates and lives 3. God must have so much liberty to make use of what you have for to shew that his ways are unsearchable and his judgments past finding out God reserves these three things in his hand still Object But you will say What good is there then in such a promise that God makes to his people Answ 1. That thou art under the protection of God more than others Obj. But what comfort is this if it doth befall me Answ Thou hast this comfort that the evil of it shall be taken from thee that if God will make use of this affliction for other ends yet he will do it so as he will make it up to thee some other way Perhaps you have given your children such a thing but yet afterwards if you have use of that thing you will come and say I must have it Why father may the childe say you gave it me But saith the father I must have it and I will make it up to you some other way Now the childe doth not think that the fathers love is ever a whit the less to him So when there is any such promise as this is that God by his promise gives thee his protection and yet for all that such a thing befalls thee it is but as if the father should say I gave you that indeed but let me have it and I will make it up to you some other way that shall be as good saith God let me have your health and liberty and life and it shall be made up to you some other way Secondly When ever the plague or pestilence comes to those that are under such a promise it is for some special and notable work and God requires of them to search and examine in a special manner to find out his meaning there is so much to be learned in the promise that God hath made concerning this particular evil that the people of God they may come to quiet and content their hearts in this affliction I read in this Psalm that God hath made a promise to his people to deliver them from the plague and pestilence and yet I do find it to come It may be I have not made use of my faith in this promise heretofore and if God do bring afflictions upon me yet God will make it up some other way God made a promise to deliver me or at least to deliver me from all the evil of it now if this thing doth befall me and yet I have a promise of God certainly the evil of it is taken away this promise tells me that if it doth befall me yet it is for some notable end and because God hath use of my life and intends to fetch about his glory some way that I know not of And if he will come in a fatherly way of chastisement yet I will be satisfied in the thing So a Christian heart by reasoning out of the Word comes to satisfie his soul in the middest of such a heavy hand of God and in such a distressed condition as that is Now carnal hearts they find not power in the VVord that healing vertue that there is in the Word to heal their distracted cares and the troubles of their spirits but now those that are godly when they come to hear the Word they find out that in the VVord there is a plaister to all their wounds and so they come to have ease and contentment in such conditions as are very grievous and miserable unto others But now for other particular promises and more generally for the Covenant of Grace how and in what mysterious way the Saints do work to fetch out Contentment and satisfaction to their souls we shall refer to the next time SERMON IV. at Stepney Aug. 17. 1645. PHIL. 4.11 For I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content IN the last exercise we spoke of divers things in the mystery of Contentment and in the close we spoke of two more but we could not have time to open either of them I shall open them a little more largely and then proceed to some few more and so to other things in the point That is the next thing A Christian heart hath not only contentment in God and certainly he that hath God must have all he that hath him that hath all he hath all But he is able to make up all his outward wants of Creature-comforts from what he finds in himself That may seem to be more strange It is true perhaps we may convince men though they do not feel by experience what it is to make up all in God yet we may convince them that if they have him that hath all things then they have all for there is such a fullness in God he being the infinite first Being of all things that may make up all their wants But here is another thing that is further I say A Godiy man can make up whatsoever he wants without the creature he can make it up in himself in Proverbs 14. vers 14. A good man is satisfied in himself