Selected quad for the lemma: fire_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
fire_n	evil_a	fruit_n	tree_n	3,899	5	10.3735	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93060	A good conscience the strongest hold. A treatise of conscience, handling the nature acts offices use of conscience. The description qualifications properties severall sorts of good conscience. The excellency necessity utility happiness of such a conscience. The markes to know motives to get meanes to keep it. By John Sheffeild, Minister of Swythins London.	Sheffeild, John, d. 1680.	1650 (1650)	Wing S3062; Thomason E1235_1; ESTC R208883	228,363	432

no duty small for there is no Commandment small Christ though he turned water into wine to refresh others would not at Satans instigation turne a stone into bread to relieve himselfe Matth. 4. 3. he might have done it for he was able had he done it who could have call'd it sinne he was then in want nothing to feed upon but hard stones yet would he not go out of Gods way to gratifie Satans plausible pretences or to relieve his own necessities The matter in which the first Adam offended seemed not great but the offence it selfe was great More go daily to hell for small sinnes unregarded then for your most horrid Atheism Blasphemy Desperation or sin against the holy Ghost Now a penny and then a penny idly spent undoes more men then the desperate hundred pound cast with a Dye There is no heed taken of the one when most abhor the other Ahab received his deaths wound through the little hole that was not heeded in his Armour From my secret sins cleanse me Psa 19. 12 13. saith David as well as Keepe me from presumptuous sins How circumspect and tender were the Primitive Christians in this point They would rather dye then cast the least grain of salt or incense into the fire as the Pagans did to save their lives they refused to sweare by the Genius or good fortune of their Emperours although they never forbare to pray for their health and prosperity Eusebius tels of one that was apprehended and led to the Altar to cast on Incense he refused they were willing to save him onely they would have him as he had done nothing so he should say nothing and make no words They would say for him that he had sacrificed if it was a sin it was their sin not his But they could not so perswade him when he came forth he protested that he had not sacrificed Theodoret tels also of Marcus Arethusius Euseb l. 8. c. 20. who having formerly in time of Constantius pulled down a Paganish Idoll-Temple and in Julians time being accused for it was ●njoyned to build it up againe as it was or give as much money as would do it he would do neither They then fell to half Theod. l. 3. c. 6. the sum he refused still At last they came so low as to bid him give what he would never Perinde impium esse obolum in impium opus impendere atque summam pecuniae universam so little were it but one half-penny so it were but any thing at all He in the midst of his extreme torments constantly stood out saying It was all one to give but a half-penny towards the furthering of any evill as to be at the greatest charge And therefore would not part with one single half-penny to such a purpose though to save his life 4. Tender conscience flyes secret sins as well as open and is best seene in the darke and most known by his Closet and solitary carriage His warning and memento is Shall not God search this out Psal 44. 21. He pitcheth up Labans watch-Tower and makes this Inscription No man seeth but God seeth Whereas men of no conscience say Who seeth us who knoweth what we do in the Chambers of our Imagery They write that sentence of Atheism over their secret and close designe that was in the mouth of those miscreants Ezek. 8. 12. 9. 9. The Lord seeth us not the Lord hath forsaken the Earth 5. The tender Conscience keeps a man as well from the guilt of sinfull Omissions of good as of sinfull Commissions of evil Our Saviour was as much displeased with Peters Mat. 16. 2● 23. carnall disswasion from a necessary duty to go up to Jerusalem to suffer as with Satans Diabolicall perswasion to Daemonolatry to Mat. 4. 8 9. commit the most horrid impiety imaginable to fall down and worship him in the roome of God His answer was the same to both Get thee behinde me Satan Thou must as well observe what thou doest not as what thou doest Though the world makes small reckoning of omissions God takes notice of what ever opportunity we had but neglected and it seems Mat. 25 42. in the day of judgement these are the sins which chiefly shall be charged on the wicked Go ye cursed into everlasting fire because when I was hungry thirsty naked imprisoned sick you did not minister to me Omissions are damning and cursing sins it seems Mat. 3. 10. The tree that brings not forth good fruit is for the fire The slothfull servant is called the evil servant and for his negligence sentenced to Deprivation first Matt. 25. 26. 30. and after to Destruction Cast the unprofitable servant into utter darkness No Negative Holiness or Righteousness sufficient to approve to God though it may commend to men There be as many prove Bankrupts in the Citie and beggers in the Countrey daily through negative il-bus bandry neglecting their Calling Shops Opportunities as by profuse expenses Hence you have it in the Proverbs That the idle person may take the great waster by the hand and call him brother He also that is slothful in his business is brother to him that is a great waster Prov. 18. 6. And as many go to Hell daily through omissions of Duties required though the world take little notice of any such danger as by foulest sins committed Sixthly this Conscience you may ever know it by this that it makes one flie and avoid the common sins and prevailing errours of the times Nehemiah is a famous instance and pattern of such a good Conscience he saw Sabbath-Profanation swallowing up the Priests Maintenance and oppressive Vsury were the sins of that state and time he sets himself with all his might to restrain the offences and reform the offenders in all these kindes First for the Sabbath-Propbanation see what a Covenant they made Neh. 10. 31. To buy nothing which was brought to sell by others But chap. 13. 15. to ver 23. much more when some were treading wine-presses bringing in sheaves lading asses and brought in burdens into Jerusalem on the Sabbath as if it had been like any other day He testified against the parties offending declares his judgement and Conscience against their practice And to the Nobles and Magistrates he goes expostulating with them for winking at such abuses What evil is this ye do and prophane the Sabbath-day Did not our fathers thus and did not our God bring all this evil upon us and upon this Citie yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by prophaning the Sabbath And at last he puts forth his coercive power to prevent the like A gracious heart if he see the morallitie of the Sabbath questioned as now it is by some he riseth up for the strict Observation of it the more zealously So again when he saw the Priests maintenance embezeled the Levites and Priests the then Ministers under disesteem and povertie the Priests Patrimonie devoured by irreligious

his head this is the day it hath longed for and the place where it desires to be heard 1 Joh. 3. 20 21. Hereby we know saith the Apostle that we are of the truth and shall assure our hearts before him for if our heart condemn us not then have we confidence or boldnesse before God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Libertatem aut audaciam quid vis dicendi This will make the Godly man in that great Audit to give up his account with joy and not with grief 4. To all Eternity Conscientia bona perfectè tranquilla et lae●a est formalis essentialis beatitudo sanctorum in vita futura Ames de Cons l. 1. c. 15. Lastly which is above all it leads him the way ad Gloriosè Regnandum aeternùmque Triumphandum It is the step to the highest glory and is the state of highest Beatitude To be feasted with the fruits of a good Conscience this is Angels food and one of the sweet-meats of Heaven As the evil accusing and tormenting Conscience is one of the greatest miseries in Hell causing the fire never to be quenched because their worm never dieth So the good Conscience is one principal Delicate in Heaven Therefore in that day Christ will not onely tell the Godly how much he hath done and suffered for them but he will tell his Father what they have done and suffered for him I was hungry these have fed me thirsty these gave me drink These have kept the word of my Patience These were not ashamed of my Name where Satan had his Throne These have kept their Garments unspotted therefore they shall walk with me in white Hence it is that the Crown of Glory is not onely called a Crown of Grace because the gift of God But the Crown of Righteousnesse because the Reward of this warfare for faith and good Conscience Then shall the Godly be satisfied from himself and the fruit of his hands shall be given him Then shall flow Pro. 12. 14 forth from the belly of each Beleever River● of living water rivers of Peace Joy Comfort to all Eternity where Repentance and Faith and Hope and Patience and Knowledge and Tongues and Prophecying shall cease there shall good Conscience continue and in it Life and Joy and Glory Consider on the other side the miseries of an ill Conscience in every condition both in Mot. 4 life death and after both First in life In midst of prosperity he can have no security Job 20. per totum read especially ver 16 17 22 23 24. He shall suck the poyson of Asps the Vipers tongue shall slay him He shall not see the Rivers the Flouds the Brooks of Honey and Butter In the fulnesse of his sufficiency he shall be in straights Every hand of the wicked shall come upon him when he is about to fill his belly God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him and shall rain it upon him while he is yet eating c. and so Job 15. 21. A dreadful sound is in his ears in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him As Adonijah in the day of his Coronation riseth from the table he and all his Guests fly and shift for themselves a short Reign a mourning Feast Or as Belshazzar in his Banquet when he sees the Hand-writing dread and horrour seizeth on him And as the Syrians upon a secret noise God caused 2 Kin. 7. 6. them to hear fled disorderly from their Tents leaving all their wealth and good chear a booty to the hunger-famished Israelites What torment like that of an ill Conscience of which that forenamed Authour Dr. Stoughton ubi supra excellently speaks All outward blessings saith he cannot make that man happy that hath an ill Conscience no more than warm cloathes can produce heat in a dead carkasse if you would heap never so many upon it There is no peace to the wicked Aut si pax bello pax ea deterior For this man in his greatest fortunes is but like him who is worshipt in the street with cap and knee but as soon as he is stept within doors is cursed and rated by a scolding wife Like him that is lodged in a Bed of Ivory covered with cloth of Gold but all his bones within are broken Like a book of Tragedies bound up in Velvet all fair without but black within the leaves are Gold but the lines are bloud O the rack O the torment O the horrour of a guilty mind There is no hell so dark as an evill conscience Secondly but much more in adversity ill Conscience that hath long lien silent and quiet is apt to cry out and fly in the face as Josephs Brethren in their distresse were forced to cry out Gods hand was just upon them Their sin which was before Peccatum susurrans is now Peccatum clamans such cry out as Saul in his distresse I am sore distressed the Philistims make war upon 1 Sam. 28. 15. me and the Lord hath forsaken me and answers me no more then poor soul he goes to hell for comfort and accordingly he sped Such have neither Joy in Life nor Hope in death Vtrinque timidi as Eusebius Euseb l 6. cap. 42. speaks of some in the time of the Persecution under Decius Cowardly and unsound Christians who were timidi cum ad moriendum ●um ad sacrifi●andum A lamentable case neither would their Conscience serve to let them Sacrifice to the Heathen Idols nor would their heart serve them to die for refusing So were they in a miserable strait between two dangers of losing Life and wounding Conscience and could no way satisfy themselves whereas good Conscience had seen in such a case what was presently to be chosen Ill Conscience never made good Martyr yet But there are three times especially wherein ill Conscience proclaimeth Terror and Rev. 8. 13. as the Angell in the Revelation flies over the head of a sinner crying Woe Woe Woe First One Woe in life Secondly Two Woes at death Thirdly But Three Woes at the day of Judgement 1 Woe in this life The first woe is in this life But this how dreadfull soever is the least because the shortest and hath an end in a little space of a few dayes or years therefore it is said the first woe is passed but behold two worse woes come shortly upon it Rev. 9. 12. The Second woe is at death This is a great 2. Woe at death woe double to the former the furnace is heated seven times hotter than it could be in this Life And as the Apostle saith of the Godlies afflictions all the sufferings of this present time are not to be compared to that Glory that is to follow so may we say all the sufferings of this life to the wicked whether in Body or in Spirit are nothing to be compared to those that follow This is a long lasting woe But yet of the second woe it is also said

encroachers their appropriated Tithes and set maintenance detained by dunghill-minded Professours whose Gain is all their Godliness and who would maintain it may be there was nothing due to them Jure divino They must labour with their hands as well as others The service of the House of God was neglected the Levites through such discouragements taken off from their Ministerie and diverted to Mechanick Emploiments They were fled every one to his field that is they were fain to shift for themselves as they could there was Neh 13. 10 11 12 13. no Publick Church maintenance for them what doth Nehemiah now in such a Case He doth not go to the common people whose hand and heart was in it they would all have cried out No more tithes no more Priests Ease us of this charge The temporal things we sow upon our Priests are above all the spiritual fruits we reap or ever look to reap by them Cannot Religion be upheld without these Priests cannot these Priests afford their service to God and his Church gratis and of free-cost or at least be content to live upon the voluntarie Contributions of the Church He doth not go to these I say Reason is not to be exspected among the multitude but he goes to the Nobles and chief Representatives he contended and expostulated with them Neh. 13. 11. Why is the House of God forsaken Shall our return out of Babylon be honoured and our Reformation bear date and be made famous for our laying aside Sabbath and Publike Church-worship Church-men and Church-maintenance Then I contended with the Nobles saith he Why is the House of God forsaken What a reproach will this be to our Reformation The Nobles it seems were either too forward as well as others to keep back and take away Church maintenance or put the people upon such designs or else the Nobles were too backward to compel the people to pay their duties They made not such provision for the Ministers livelihood and subsistence as they should but now Nehemiah takes care to see it amended ver 12. 13. So his detestation of their Vsury and Extortions and the Nehem. 5. 9 10 11 12 13. means he used for Reformation and Restitution you may read in the fift Chapter By this you see a godly man observes what are the prevailing sins of the times and he sets himself against them when another now of no Conscience thinks it a principall point of Prudence to give way to that which is like to take and obtain the upper hand yea to sit still connive keep silence and it may be against his Conscience and Judgement to comply as Peter once did while he was in the high Priests Palace he saw all spake against Christ there and therefore thought it was to no purpose for him to speak for him nor was it safe But it cost him dear Yea some account it a Note of singular Pietie to be forward in promoting such a way and opinion as it at present the prevailing way and rising opinion though they see no weight of Reason leading thereunto Herein many dealing with their understanding and poor Consciences as they did with their bodies when Eutropius the Eunuch was in that Power and Greatness in the Emperours Court and favour that he could raise and prefer whom he would yet would he never prefer any but those who were like himself and first made Eunuchs whereupon many were so mad as to gain his favour and attain their ambitious ends they did voluntarily geld themselves and were content to Cease to be men that they might be more capable of an Office or a great place So do not we see men of low spirits ordinarily to obtain a great place and esteem in the world abase themselves even to hell as the Prophet speaks and Isai 57. 9. stoop to Nahashes conditions for a quiet life and Eutropius his Terms for preferment to part even with their right minde and to castrate themselves of the best member they have their Consciences ceasing to be Christians that they may become some body in the world These are a fourth sort and a new Order of Eunuches besides those three reckoned by our Saviour who are made Eunuches by men for the kingdom of earths sake Mat. 19. 12. 7. The tender Conscience must fly as well all sinfull Occasions as Actions He must keep out of the way and company of the Psal 1. 1. wicked man out of the chair of the scorner he must not come into the chamber of the wicked woman whose eyes are snares whose Eccles 7. 26. hands bands nor neer her doors he knowes that evil words corrupt good manners and evil Companie soon corrupts good Natures Set cold water over the fire it growes fire-hot Can Prov. 6. 27 28. you carry coals in your bosome and not be burnt How soon did Nebuchadnezzar degenerate into a beast by conversing with them when he was driven from men and had his dwelling Dan. 4. among the wilde beasts of the earth Bury a man in the earth he soon becomes earth Judas took no hurt among the Disciples leaving them and going to the High Priests he was for ever lost Peter in the garden took no hurt in the palace was ensnared Austin tels how his friend Alipius having resolved formerly against beholding their wicked plaies and sports once yeelding through importunitie of friends to go along but with a purpose not to be a beholder though he were upon the place He went he sate down he staid he kept his eyes fast closed till at last hearing the loud shout and acclamation of the people he was not able to forbear opening his eyes he returned a lover of those vanities which S. Austin did much bewail and lament in him Et non erat jam Aug. Conf. l. 6. cap. 8. ille qui venerat sed unus de turba ad quam venerat Quid plura Spectavit clamavit exarsit abstulit secum inde insaniam quâ stimularetur redire non cum illis sed prae illis alios trahens How many have utterly undone themselves brought their friends to shame and grief their states to beggery their lives to untimely ends their souls to hell and their posteritic to infamie by the wicked companie they have kept nothing so infectious as this nor hath made more fall among Gen. 34. 1 2. men Dinah walking out to see the daughters of the Hivites and Sampson to see the daughters of the Philistines neither of them returned so well as they went out And Judg. 14. 1 2. again How many by leaving Ministers Ordinances Assembling together c. have made themselves a prey to seducers and have been corrupted They went out from us therefore it followes they were not of us saith S. John for if they had been of us they would no doubt have continued with us c. 1 Joh. 2. 19. Eighthly he must not onely fly what is simply evil but whatsoever