Selected quad for the lemma: conscience_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
conscience_n	sin_n	soul_n	wound_v	2,163	5	9.3309	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

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

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

due and issuing out of an estate of knowledge to whomsoever it is given The servant that knew his Masters will and prepared not himselfe neither did according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes But hee that knew it not and yet did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes c. Luk. 12. 47 48. with what severitie of displeasure did God proceed against those heathen that withheld the truth in unrighteousnesse Rom. 1. 18. and that especially because that when they knew God they glorified him not as God c. vers 21. that is in effect they did not serve him And David propounds it as a matter of the greatest and most apparent equitie which the consciences of all men cannot but see and acknowledge that God who teacheth men knowledge should chastise and correct namely when those that are taught knowledge refuse to tender service and obedience as a dutie or tribute belonging thereunto Psal 94. 10. upon which place the Chaldee Paraphrase hath these words Is it possible that he hath given the Law to his people and they not be rebuked when they sinne So that this service of God whereunto you are exhorted is nothing but what is due unto him by multiplicitie of Titles and ingagements from you you must trample under foot right upon right reason upon reason equitie upon equitie and turne head upon all conscience if you will stand out and rebell against the voyce of this exhortation And know this that if you will break all their golden Cords by which God hath tyed and bound you so fast to himselfe and his service and cast them from you God will gather them up from your hand and turne them into Scorpions and make a terrible scourge of them it may be for your consciences by the way but most assuredly for your soules in hell Every reason that pleads for the service of God at your hands in this world will pleade for vengeance against you at the hand of God in that which is to come if it bee despised Thirdly to make the necessitie of your serving God more weightie and prevalent upon you consider that as it is his right so it is his commandement also to be served by you Hee hath declared and testified from heaven that hee is fully purposed to stand upon his right in this behalfe that hee lookes for the hearts and hands of all flesh to be lift up unto his Commandements Serve the Lord with feare and rejoyce with trembling Psalm 2. 11. Hee doth not simply command service of men but is very choyce of the service hee commands it must be made savory and such as his soule loveth it must be prepared for him with that spirituall composition of feare and joy So againe Psalm 100. 2. Serve the Lord with gladnesse c. Besides other passages in Scripture of like importance and charge without number now then let it be seriously thought of and laid to our hearts as hot or hotter than they can well endure it of what high concernment it is to the creature both on the right hand and on the left that the voyce and commandement of God be obeyed Mallem obedire quam miracula facere etiamsi possem I had rather obey than worke miracles though I could was a straine of that wisdome which God gave unto his servant Luther The truth is that obedience it better than a being in heaven simply because without obediēce a being in heaven would soone be turn'd into a being in hell a position ratified by the fall of Angels whereas on the contrary a being in hell would soone be turned into a being in heaven if obedience be found with it a conclusion gloriously sealed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and his ascention into glory Thou wilt not leave my soule in hell nor suffer thy Holy One to see corruption Act. 2. 27. Hath the Lord as great pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as when the voyce of the Lord is obeyed saith Samuel to Saul 1 Sam. 15. 22. So that he that obeyeth the voyce of God pleaseth him and he that pleaseth God is a benefactour to many and pleasures the world round about him God is seldome pleased but the windowes of heaven are presently opened and the blessings thereof powred downe upon the Earth But oh who is able to abide the heate of his indignation when he comes to avenge the words of his mouth upon the disobedient and rebellious What is it that puts the foundations of the world out of their course that makes Kings and Princes to labour in the very fire What is it that teares up the mountaines by the rootes and carries them into the midst of the Sea What is it that shakes so terribly the Earth as it is at this day nation being risen against nation and Kingdome against Kingdome What is it that causeth the Sunne to be darkned and the Moone to be turned into blood and the Starres to fall out of heaven and the powers of heaven themselves to be shaken that is as some interpret the holy Angels with astonishment at the great terrour of the Almighty falling on the earth In a word What is that separates betweene the world and the peace of it having the God of Peace for its Protectour and Ruler that turnes the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort into a consuming fire to it but onely the neglect and contempt of this great commandement of the most High He commands the world to serve him and the world would make him serve with her sinnes and this is that that the jealousie of him whose name is jealous cannot beare Thus the great breach is made upō the earth the whole world in a manner cast upon the bed of sorrow yea from the wombe of the contempt of this Commandement of God are the regions of darknesse replenished with inhabitants and the chambers of death furnished with guests to be lodged in shame and torments for ever Fourthly to ease the burthen of this exhortation to the service of God where I conceive it wringeth and pincheth most upon the shoulders of naturall and carnall men consider that if you be but once really perswaded and made willing to take this yoke upon you to consecrate your selfe to this service of God all the bitternesse and burthensomenesse and unpleasantnesse thereof unto you is past immediately The g●eatest snare of death wherein vaine and inconsiderate men are taken and held from the service of God I conceive is this They conceive and imagine that the waies of God and religious courses which are so contrary unto their natures and wherein they taste a bitternesse like death for the present will never be healed of this antipathy and unsutablenesse to them but will continue alike bitter and distastefull to the end Upon which apprehension the heart is enraged against all that is called holy and stands off at defiance with spirituall