Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
conscience_n	heaven_n	hell_n	worm_n	1,015	5	11.0094	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A08055	Mans actiue obedience, or The power of godlines especially in the commandement of the gospell, which requireth faith in euerie Christian: or A treatise of faith, worthily called precious faith, as being in it selfe a most rare iewell of ioy, and peerelesse pearle, that excelleth in worth the highest price. Wherein is plainly declared what faith in Christ is what properly is the obiect of it, what is the speciall operation of faith, by which it may bee discerned; and the worke about which it is principally imployed, the subiect wherein it is placed; what things are needfull to the making it up, what to the being, and what to the wel-being of it; with the differences that are betweene true beleeuers and fained in all of them, and the vses thereof. By Master William Negus, lately minister of Gods word at Lee in Essex.; Mans active obedience.	Negus, William, 1559?-1616.; Negus, Jonathan, d. 1633.	1619 (1619)	STC 18420; ESTC S113618	278,658	364

in their soules to bee like melancholike humours in their bodies which are found to lie so low and to be so hard to purge away that they who by purging would seeke to bee rid of them must almost bee purged to death before such humours wil euer be got out So when any of Gods true children haue been drawne into some foule sinne and grosse kind of offence before they can get to be recouered by repentance againe they are brought so low by sorrowing deepely and bitterly mourning for their sinne that they seeme not to bee worth the ground Leuit. 26. 39. they goe vpon by pining away for their iniquities and by such sorrowing for them vnto repentance lest they should pine away for them by punishment because they did not repent at all Repentance then cannot be without much sorrow of heart where that is there will be found mournfull heauinesse and great dolour and griefe for sinne that hath been committed And this sorrowing and mourning is so necessarie to all sound repenting as the latter can neuer be found where the former hath wholly beene wanting But where sorrowing and mourning is perceiued and found to bee for some offence that hath been done there we conclude is a kind of repenting for when men are said to repent we vnderstand by and by that they are grieued and are sorrie for that they haue done so as they would faine if it were possible haue it vndone againe And as sorrow is necessarie vnto repentance so it must be very effectuall and thorow sorrow indeede that must cause such repentance as shall be sound the heart must be contrite and ground to dust as is pepper in a morter or corne in a mill the bowels must sound like a harpe with sighing Isai 16. 9. 11. and sobbing for the offence done There must be weeping with the weeping of Iaazer and Elealah is to bee made drunke with teares by daily lamentation If corne come whole out of the mill what is it better for hauing been put to grinding If men come from vnder repentance not bruised and contrite-hearted it will profit them nothing God I know commendeth vnto men the preseruation of their health but yet hee will not that wee tender so our health that wee may not breake our hearts with sorrow after God for our sinne They that are so smyrck and so smug that being old haue yet so young faces and so few wrinckles vpon them no palenesse or leanenesse to bee seene it is to bee thought that if euer they haue come where true repentance had growne they would haue lost some of their colour by this time it is dangerous for men to be ouer-quiet with themselues after they haue once sinned for it is well obserued that the way to draw sinnes on with cart-ropes is not to be grieued for sinne and the refusing and casting off temporall griefe is the way to bee brought to eternall griefe they that driue sorrow away from their hearts worke their owne sorrow and procure to themselues the greater woe for afterwards wee surely doe know and feele much more earthly sorrow then wee should because we will not disquiet our owne soules nor trouble our selues with that godly sorrow that is required Too much merrinesse vnlesse the mirth be the better sanctified arising from the ioy and peace of a good conscience doth not well It is hard for any to bring two ends together that will not meete to thinke to flie to heauen with pleasant wings to dance with the world all day and looke to sup with God at night They that haue their hearts thorowly stung with the conscience and guilt of their sinne and feele the biting of that worme that lieth at the heart nibbling and nipping it thorow and gnawing and grating vpon it with endlesse vexation and casting the coales of hell euer in their face they can easily lay aside their vaine mirth and listen to the counsell of Iames who willeth such to sorrow and mourne to let their Iames 4. 9. laughter be turned into weeping and all their merrines into mournefull lamentation they can easily be drawne to goe and hang vp their harpes with the poore captiues vpon the Psal 137. 1. 2. willow trees and sitting by the riuer bankes goe weepe with them their bellies full Dauid how many excellent Psalmes did he compose and make for how pleasant tunes did he make those ditties which he so diuinely did frame and deuise he was worthily stiled the sweete singer of Israel 2. Sam. 23. 1. but Dauid himselfe when he had so long fallen in sinne so long as he had a wolfe in his owne breast he could bee no Physitian to other men he left of making Psalmes till he had soundly recouered himself by true repentance and had gotten restored to him againe the ioy he was wont to find till then he left off his singing and fell to weeping and that in so great abundance and with so long continuance as he made his bed to swimme and watered his couch Psal 6. 6. 7. with teares and his eies did grow dimme and waxed old with weeping As for such as loue to be so iocund and to be all of the hoigh that cannot abide to heare of this repenting and of hauing their hearts to be broken with this sorrowing for their sin they may put away Preachers and keepe fooles to make them merry with but let such feare what will be the end Godlinesse will not dwell but in a broken Iohn 7. 38. heart the waters of life that must fill the belly till they flow thence againe euen the manifold graces of Gods spirit must enter through those passages into the heart of a man that is to say through the holes and cliftes of the brokennesse of a mans heart for God will giue grace to the humble and them will he teach his way Neither is it when men be called to weeping and mourning to baldnesse and Isai 22. 12. sackcloth and sorrowing for their sinne that then the way is taken to depriue men of sound comfort and take all true ioy cleane away from them but thereby they are prepared for the obtaining more sweeter comfort then euer they yet felt and to haue their ioy now more to abound then euer before it did euen so to abound vntill it be made full as our Sauiour hath spoken for they that mourne thus they Mat. 5. 9. are promised to be comforted and such godly sorrowings as these are doe euer end in contentments and are turned into the best and the most lasting ioyes yea there wanteth not some comfort and sweetnesse of ioy in the midst of most bitter mourning and greatest lamentation that is made for sinne when the heart is best humbled and most broken for the same for men are deceiued if they do not beleeue that the very teares for sinne be much more pleasant to deuout and holy men then be to wicked men their laughings mockings iestings

hee himselfe saith Psalm 32. 3. 4. 5 was while he kept silence and would still haue kept close his sinne and bit in his sorrow and griefe he felt for the same but such smothering of his sin was as if hee hauing hot coales powred into his bosome should haue clasped his garments close about him so to shut them in which euery one knoweth would haue been a course not to be abidden for the burning and scalding would haue been intollerable and neuer to haue bin indured and borne vntill all had been ript open and throwne out againe Therefore when hee could find no more ease by keeping silence he burst out to make open confession of what he had done and came to the acknowledging of his sinne without any further hiding of his iniquity for so he saith he did conclude with himselfe and resolued to do euen to confesse his transgressions vnto the Lord shewing what a blessed effect followed vpon this course taken that then hee was refreshed and found ease to his soule the Lord was pacified towards him and forgaue him the iniquitie of his sinne A very memorable example and thing most worthie to be marked as we are well giuen to vnderstand by that word Selah Sinne in the conscience is as a thorne in a mans foote as needels in the flesh or as poysonfull matter in a soare which lieth burning and belching and aking with paine not to be abidden there is no rest in such cases vntill they be got out the soare launched and the poyson expelled then commeth ease to the patient Iob doth say that If he Iob. 31. 33. had couered his transgressions as did Adam by hiding his iniquitie in his bosome he could haue had no comfort by that course in his distresse Yea the Spirit of God directly setteth it downe that whosoeuer couereth and hideth his sinnes shall neuer prosper but he that confesseth and forsaketh his sinnes that is the man that shall haue mercy Prou. 28. 13. The couers and cloakes of sinne doe nothing but intercept and hide the gracious light of Gods countenance from shining vpon the obtenders and vsers thereof for why should God vouchsafe to forgiue that to vs which wee will not vouchsafe to acknowledge seeing that mortall men doe looke for confession of such faults as others though being but their fellow-seruants haue done against them before they will forgiue them Thrusting out of sinne then and a clearing of the conscience by casting it vp and vomiting of it out of the stomack of the soule as a loathsome burden that cannot any longer be borne by a free an open and plaine confession made thereof and by an acknowledgement of the euill that hath been done though it be against a mans owne selfe that hath been the doer of the same is the readiest and best way that can bee taken to ease a grieued heart that is oppressed with sorrow and heauily laden with the importable burthen of his sinne * Confessio peccati est medicina peccati Nazianz. for confession of sinne is the medicine to cure sin and where sorrow is in such a degree felt in the hart it cannot alwaies bee kept in but it will force out some confession to be made by the tongue to trie if that way any ease can come to the heart or any reliefe possibly bee gotten by such a course taken This confession of sinnes is to be made first and chiefly 1. To God Publike to God and that both publikely with and before others in the publike Congregations and Assemblies of the Church and also priuately in our secret and priuate prayers Priuate by our selues which is then sufficient when our sinnes are not knowne to others or none else thereby wronged and offended vnlesse we find cause to discouer our priuy faults and secret infirmities to some faithfull Minister or friend that is fit and able to counsel and comfort vs in respect of the same as Iam. 5. 6. willeth Christians to do And we are to confesse our sins vnto God not as to one that were ignorant of them and knew them not before to haue been done but as to him that knoweth and perfectly remembreth all things hauing them as it were written before him in a booke who searcheth the heart and knowes all that wee doe amisse that spieth out all our waies and hath the heauens the earth and our owne consciences the faithfull witnesses of our sins against vs therfore are we the rather to confesse our secret sins vnto him because we know he knoweth them that by our so confessing of them wee may doe him to know that wee also know them our selues and that our hearts are so filled with sorrow within for hauing done them that wee cannot but expresse the bitternesse of our griefe by making such an humble confession of our sinnes vnto him who taketh knowledge of all sinnes and that onely can forgiue them and grant vs pardon for them as he hath promised so to doe Prou. 28. 13. 1. Iohn 1. 9. and hath accordingly performed to Dauid and others 2. Sam. 12. 13. Beside this confessing of sinne vnto God if the sinne 2. To men committed hath not onely been done in the sight and knowledge of God but also before men with scandall and offence to the Church wherein it is so done then is it to be openly confessed both to God and men thereby offended that the plaister of confession being spread as far as the hurts and wounds of sinne haue extended they may be soundly cured Sinnes for which confession is due vnto men are either such as be offensiue and hurtfull vnto some certaine and particular persons onely vnto whom like priuate confession is requisite by the testimonie of our Sauiour Christ Mat. 5. 23. 24. or else they are such as bee publikely offensiue and scandalous to a whole Church or Congregation either in regard of the notoriousnesse of the crime committed or in respect of the obstinacie of the offender proceeding vnreclaimeably with an obdurate heart and high hand in 1. Cor. 5. Matth. 18. 17. any priuate or lesser sinne whereby he doth iustly deserue and cause that it should be made publike that others may take heed of him and hee accordingly be censured ashamed chastised for these no lesse then publike cōfession is sufficient that thereby the Church and Congregation may be satisfied and the poore sinners sorrow and griefe of heart as one that is indeed truely penitent may bee brought out and made manifest to be true and sound as it ought to be Here in confession of sinne also there is many manifest Difference thereof and plaine differences betweene the repentance of sound conuerts and of those that are impenitent vnrepentant and at the best but counterfeit And first to begin with the Papists who for priuate 1. From popish confession confession are more seuere in their tradition then God is in his Word vrging euery man vnder paine of damnation