Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
conscience_n	knowledge_n	sin_n	sin_v	2,885	5	9.7377	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A19475	Andrewes resolution To returne vnto God by repentance. Directed vnto all the elect children of God, which truly repent, perfectly guiding them in the right way therein. Right godly to reade, as delightfull to heare, but most profitable to be practised. Newly published by Iohn Andrews, minister and preacher of the word.	Andrewes, John, fl. 1615.	1621 (1621)	STC 590; ESTC S115929	11,699	58

as farre as vnto me Thou must not with Agrippa come w e almost for God delights not in those which will but almost repent but if thou wilt repent truely thou must carefully giue vnto God three things viz. Primam Lunam Rotam Solis Canis iram The first quarter of the moon COR The circle of the Sun And the rage of a dog And withall haue both a purpose in minde and an inclination in will and endeauour in life wholly to forsake all thy sins for euer and turne vnto God For better proofe that true Repentance is a turning vnto God thou maist finde examples in the holy Scriptures plentiously O ye children of Israel saith Esay turne againe frō al your infidelity wherein you haue drowned your selues Turne you turn you from all your euill wayes for why will ye dye O ye house of Israel Repentance may be called a worke of Grace yea a supernaturall Grace of a sanctified spirit arising of a godly sorrow from a true faith and knowledge of a mans owne spirituall estate I may call Repentance a worke because it seemes not to bee a quality or habite but an action of a Repentant sinner striuing to returne from all his sinnes to come vnto God and it cannot be practised by any but such as are in the state of Grace Thou must leaue all sin and turne wholly to God therefore to be contrite and not to conuert to conuert and not to reforme to forsake sinne past and not to amend to eschew euill and not to doe good and to acknowledge Gods mercy not to giue thāks is indéed not to repēt truly To doe one thing and to leaue all the rest vndone or to doe all but one and to leaue that vndone is to do nothing at all but to leaue all vndone is to put the Diuell out of one corner of thy heart into another For bee thou well assured that thy soule is a reall thing and cannot passe but by liuery therefore if thou wilt deliuer the whole possessō of thy soule vnto God by Repentance vnfeignedly thou must needes driue the Diuell out of all the corners of thy heart by amendmēt of thy life wholly Thou must resolue to leaue sinne fully and absolutely If thou begin to repent and goe not forward from Grace to Grace thy Repentance is of no value Non progredi est regredi Not to goe forward in thy Repentance is to go backward without thy amendment for there is no standing still in the state of sin if thou mind to repent Qui cessat esse melior cessat esse bonus He that ceasseth to bée better ceasseth to bée good but he that doth begin goe on to the end receiues his reward and this can neuer be obtained except thou repent truly To Repent consisteth but of two syllables yet vnto the wicked it is so hard to be learned and so vnapt to be practised that like as the Camelion can change himselfe into all colours sauing white so wold they change thēselues from all goodnesse to follow euil rather then to returne vnto the Lord by Repentance To conclude this point thou shalt no sooner repent but heauen shall bee confirmed vnto thee habendum et tenendum for euer and euer Secondly God is the Author of Repentance REpentance is libera donatio a gift absolute without consideratiō and it comes fréely from God who is the very efficient and principall Author or Donor thereof It is therfore to be held the more precious and to bee desired with the more hope yea to be thy Summum Bonum for it obtaineth Saluation vnto all those which truely repent and turne vnto God And hee that turneth vnto God by Repentance must first of all bee turned by God and so saith Ieremiah Ierem. 31. 19. Surely after I was conuerted I repented and after I was instructed I smote vpon my thigh I was ashamed yea euen confounded because I did beare the reproch of my youth And our Sauiour Christ saith No man can come vnto me except my Father draw him Therefore saith S. Paule Instruct them with meekenesse prouing if God will at any time giue them Repentance that they may be saued For God is good and mercifull vnto all those that turne vnto him by Repentance he is full of pitty and hath no pleasure at all that the wicked should die but is rich vnto all that call vppon him for mercy and hath promised to heare thy petitions if thou truely repent Furthermore if thou hadst repentance in thine owne power and mightest repent when thou wouldest yet it were but a folly yea it were a méere madnesse to presume in sinne because thou hast a remedy But now séeing thy repentance is in the hand of God and that none can repent without his especiall Grace it were a double and a treble folly to delay thy Repentance from day to day or to seeke it from any other but from God Thirdly of Contrition COntrition is a feare and inward sorrow of consciēce perceiuing that God is angry with sin is sorry that it hath sinned And to speake more largely of it thou maist know this y ● Contrition also comprehendeth first the knowledge of God requiring Obedience and discommending Disobedience and not to remit Sin without full and perfect satisfaction either in respect of obedience it selfe or else in respect of punishment Secondly the discussing and examining of thy Nature thy thoughts will affections and all thy actions and déedes according to the square and rule of Gods Lawes in euery point for as saith S. Augustine Peccatum puniendum est aut a te aut a Deo si punitur a te tunc punitur sine te si vero a te non punitur tecum punietur Sin must néedes bée punished either of God or of thy selfe if by thy selfe then sin is punished without thée if of God then thou and thy sin must bée punished together Therefore if thou wouldst repent with a true contrition that thereby thou maist reape a most plentiful haruest thou must sowe in Gods field y e séedes of Repentance and oftentimes water them w t the teares of thy humble Contrition so shalt thou gather the true fruits of euerlasting ioy and felicity For as y e déeper the woūd the more diligent the cure so let thy repentance bring forth as much sorrow as sin gaue thee delight And as S. Ambrose saith Expectat lachrimas nostras Deus vt profundat Pietatem suā God looketh for thy teares in thy Contrition that hée may powre downe his grace vpon thy amendment Lauandum est cor Poenitentiae lachrimis Thou must wash thy heart in the troubled Poole of Bethesda in the true tears of Repentance hauing an inward sorrow wrought by the holy Ghost for thy sinnes before committed against so good and gracious a God ioyned both with a perfect faith to bee forgiuen for Christ his sake and also from henceforth with a ful and determinate purpose to

amend and leade a new life Fourthly of Examination BEfore thou confesse thy sinnes vnto God thou must take heede to examine thy selfe that thereby thou maist know them both in greatnesse and danger for vntill thou know thy sins that thy conscience may be conuicted by them thou canst neuer humbly hartily confesse them For let any repentant sinner aske his conscience what was the first cause of his conuersion and surely he will say That when hee began to repent he did first search himselfe and finding his wayes dangerous and his cause feareful did therevpon resolue to take a new course It is the beginning of all grace to search trie and examine thy selfe It is also a meanes to preuent Gods iudgement for if thou doest not search thy selfe then God will search thee with his fiery crosses and terror of his punishments But if thou truely examine thy selfe first to bee guilty of Adams sin Secondly prone by Nature to all euill Thirdly subiect to the curse of Gods wrath Thus in the guiltinesse of Adams sin sin hath his beginning in the originall his continuance and in actuall his full perfection So answerable thereunto is the wrath of God it beginneth by leauing thée by nature vnto the slauery of Sathan it is continued by death and accomplished by damnation Now these three rules I leaue to thy carefull consideration assuring thée from God thou canst neuer bee saued vnlesse thou repent nor neuer repent except thou doest search trie and examine thy selfe Thus if thou wilt repent truly thou must search and looke into thy selfe to see in what a miserable case thou art as I haue said before and thou shalt find that by nature thou art the child of wrath out of the fauour of God not onely wretched and accursed by the Law a bond-slaue vnto Sathan but finally subiect to death hell and damnation Thus if thou wouldst know if thou art in the right way of repentance or no thou shalt finde if thou consider in thy selfe whether thou hadst euer any neede of Gods pardon for thy sinne or of Christ his blood to salue and cure thy soule Or was thy heart euer wounded or grieued for thy sin so that thy soule were euen sicke with the stinke thereof Or didst thou euer hunger and thirst after God in Christ and with sighes groanes and teares beg for his mercy vpon thy knees as for life and death If thou hast not felt nor done these things in some measure surely thy case is very fearefull and dangerous y u art not yet in the way of Repentance therefore as yet the mercies of God belong not vnto thee Fifthly of Confession SAint Chrysostome saith that nothing pleaseth God more then Confession if it be ioyned with true contrition and that it is a part of Humiliation euer ioyned with true Repentance because they cannot bee truly humble repent who confesse not their sins vnto God neither will he giue them pardon for God couers when men vncouer and acknowledge he iustifieth when men condemne themselues and flye vnto him for mercy If any plead vnto God Non est factum and deny his deedes and debts of sinne there is no reason why he should haue the Acquittance of Grace Therefore saith Salomon He that hideth his sins shal not prosper but hee that confesseth them and forsaketh them shall haue mercy If thou confesse them effectually it wil cause thee to weepe like Mary Magdalen wrastle with God like Iacob and poure forth flouds of teares like Ezechia Thou must cōfesse thē in this or such like manner First y u must put vp an inditement against thy selfe and accuse thée before God wherin thou must acknowledge both thy particular vnknowne sins generally without any excuse extenuation or defence in hiding the least of them An example thou maist finde in Dauid I know my iniquity is euer before me Secondly y u must w t griefe of heart as a Judge vpon y e Bench giue sentence against thy self acknowledging thy vnworthinesse by reason of thy sinne to haue deserued euerlasting damnation as the Prodigall child did who said Father I haue sinned against heauen and before thee Or the Publican who standing a far off would not so much as cast vp his eyes vnto heauen but smot his breast crying Lord bee mercifull vnto me a sinner Thou must also accuse thy sins thy very conscience must witnesse against them and thy heart conuince them thou must accuse them first as strangers deiected secondly as aduersaries conuicted and thirdly as enemies professed In so doing saith Augustine when thou accusest thy selfe by confessing thy sins vnto God thou preuentest thereby the Diuell of his purpose so that hee cannot accuse thee at the day of Judgement For saith hee thou blottest out all thy sinnes by Repentance Where there is no accuser there is no crime produced for the Judge to cōdemne For Eius quod non est non est poena peccatum remissum non est ergo peccati remissi non est poena That which is not hath no punishment forgiuen sins are not ergo forgiuen sins haue no punishment And so saith the Author to the Hebrewes 10. 18. Leo saith that those sins shall neuer bee condemned which are purged before with confession and Repentance Neither is Jesus Christ any longer thy Judge to condemne thee but thy Aduocate to plead for thee if y u accuse thy selfe by confession Therefore confesse thy sins vnto God without any excuse or delay For it is another manner of thing to repent then many take it for It is not euery sob or sigh that brings Repentance God is mercifull c. And thus lightly dawbe them ouer as though Gods mercy were to be gained in a moment Let no man deceiue himselfe it will cost thée many a praier and many a teare in thy confession before thou canst haue pardon for thy sins If thou diddest feele the smart of sin but pricke in thy wounded conscience y u wouldst neuer giue God any rest but like Dauid crye vnto God againe againe vntill thou hast found some comfortable perswasion of Gods mercy in Christ for the forgiuenesse of thy sins Untill thou doe thus thou shalt neuer finde any quietnesse in thy conscience nor any sound comfort of Gods Spirit in thee Dauid could neuer repent vntill God sent Nathan vnto him to reprooue him for his sin but so soone as hee saw his sin and that it was not onely cōmitted against Vriah but also against God it presently so woundes his conscience killed his poore heart and so grieued his soule that hée cryed out in his conscience Against thee O Lord against thee haue I sinned c. As if he would haue said Oh my God it grieues me exceedingly and wounds my very soule that euer I was so vile a sinner as to sinne against thee O my most gracious and merciful God Therefore the only way to repent is from the bottome of thy heart in thy conscience to