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Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
conscience_n heart_n sin_n smite_v 1,347 5 9.5535 5 true
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ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A41488 God a good master, and protector opened in severall sermons on Esaiah 8.13.14 / by Iohn Goodwin ... Goodwin, John, 1594?-1665. 1641 (1641) Wing G1168; ESTC R22549 88,532 456

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before God there is such a difference of parts and circumstances as was in the Law as our Saviour expresseth upon occasion to the Scribes Pharisees betweene tithing of Mint and Cumin and exercising of Mercy and executing Judgement these are called the great things of the Law implying that those other were matters of inferiour consideration So there are in this duty in this Great and solemne service some thing that ought and are necessary and fit to be done others wherein the maine weight and importance of it stands as Christ told the Pharisees that for the tithing of Mint and Cumin they were things they ought to do as well as the keeping Mercy and Judgement though these had the preheminence and were the great things of the Law 2 Those things in this duty which ought not to be left undone though the life of the duty lyeth not in them are such as may goe under the name of bodily exercise which I shall not need to recapitulate particularly because as I conceive they are every mans knowledge as namely fasting not onely from our ordinary repast as eating and drinking but likewise from recreations costly apparell and many other things wherein the fancie of man is apt to take a delight and refreshment And so your bodily presence before God in the assembly for a greater space of time than ordinary To this head I may referre likewise those contributions that you use to make unto the poore upon such occasions as these Now all these are things very fit to be done but yet you must take heed this is the stumbling stone that I speake of that I would remove first that you place no weight at all or as little as possible may be in the most strict and literall observation of these things lest you lose the crowne of the service and reward of the day for such exercise profits little as the Apostle speaketh except it be perhaps to make the surface or appearance of the service the more comely solemne But now the Mercy and the Judgement and the Great things of the Law the Great things of this day and service are the exercise of the spirits as first the summoning and gathering together into your memories next a serious and affectuous consideration then an acknowledgement of the sinnes of the nation So likewise a confessing in this sense of the sinnes of your owne soules and the sinnes of those that are under your hand and charge yea and of the sins of your fore-fathers even to the breaking of your hearts and the humbling and laying low the smiting downe and wounding your spirits and consciences in the sight of God 3 Next to this your serious purposes and resolutions taken hold of by a fast and a single hand of being divorced from all your knowne wayes of your severall sinnes not onely your plucking out and cutting off but casting from you also your right eyes and your right hands This is another thing that is of the maine body or rather of the very heart and soule of this duty viz. reformation and truth of repentance Lastly your humble requests and earnest strivings struglings with God for the pardon of the sins you have confessed as well nationall as personall the putting forth your strength and might yea and the encreasing your strength and might the provoking your hearts to doe more and more in this kind in importuning the God of Mercy to powre out of his grace and goodnesse abundantly upon your persons and upon your land in all manner of expressions thereof which concerne the peace either of the one or the other For there is no man but if he hath once smitten the rocke of his heart and gotten out prayers and requests unto God let him smite the second time and the third time and hee shall finde that the waters will still flow more and more For there is spring upon spring desire upon desire Many rich veines and mines of this treasure that might with labour be digg'd out of the soule c. And this is the fourth and the last thing 4. Now this is that I desire to give you in by way of caution that you charge little of the weight of the day upon the former things mentioned or the literall observation of them though never so strictly observ'd for there is little of the substance of the duty in thē when you have done your utmost but all the strength and weight and hope and power of the service lyes in the latter And yet I would not have you charge these neither beyond their strength and beyond what they are able to beare As Paul would not have any man to thinke of him above what he either saw in him or heard of him 2 Cor. 12. 6. that is above what hee had sufficient Ground to thinke and therefore let our thoughts be commensurable to the nature and qualitie of the things Thus farre you may build upon them and thus farre you may trust unto them in regard of the testimony from heaven given unto them If so be they be done with truth of heart and performed as in the sight of the God of heaven and earth you shall see that light will arise out of darkenesse unto you and that the heavens are ready and doe but waite till the earth calls Onely you must not thinke that the Good the reward that comes upon those services is from the merit or desert of any thing you doe or from the strength or worth of grace received to goe through such a worke when you have caused your voyce to be heard on high no you must know that all the blessing and the vertue that seeme to come out of such things even the holiest duties in the holiest manner performed lyes rather in the strength of the promise of God in that truth and faithfulnesse of his which inclines him to performe and make good all that grace and goodnesse that he hath beene pleased to settle and confirme under the great seale of heaven unto such duties and services as these But this by the way onely now come wee to the words themselves Sanctifie the Lord of Hostes himselfe and let him be your feare and let him be your dread and hee shall be a Sanctuary c. CAP. II. The context briefly opened the coherence and sense of the words in part cleered with some briefe conclusions raised from them THe Prophet having prophesied of the comming of the great and mighty King of Assyria in a very terrible manner with a great host both against the two Kingdomes of Syria and Israel where they should spoyle all vers 7. and also against Iudah where hee shall prevaile farre too and reach even to the necke which wee know is immediately joyned to the head meaning that he shall prosper and carry all before him without resistance till he came at Ierusalem it selfe the head of that state or Kingdome vers 8. where notwithstanding hee doth in effect threaten him