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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
fire_n	world_n	year_n	young_a	62	3	6.0546	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A42544	A caveat to the standing Christian, and to him that thinketh he standeth by William Gearing ...	Gearing, William.	1666 (1666)	Wing G433; ESTC R14121	41,281	62

the world many years and betook himself to a Monastery having received a packet of Letters from his father and mother and divers of his dear friends he durst not look upon them but threw them all into the fire with these words Ite cogitationes patriae pariter concremamini nè me ulterius ad illa quae fugi vocare tentetis Be gone ye thoughts of my Country and burn for company for fear lest ye tempt me to look again toward the things which I have forsaken He feared saith the story lest by the reading of their lines and the sight of their names he should have been enticed to warp toward their company and the world again The eye before the fall of Adam was the window to let in good instructions into the soul but since the fall it is Proxeneta peccati the Broker that goes betwixt the heart and the object to make up the sinful bargain CHAP. VII I Now come to the second point of Doctrine and note from my Text Observ That it concerns all who profess godliness to take heed to themselves lest they fall away from their profession The Apostle principally aimeth at Professors in this his Caution He that thinketh he standeth that is 1. He that conceiteth himself to be in the state of grace 2. He that conceiteth he shall persevere to the end that thinks within himself he shall as David speaks of the Sun rejoyce like a giant to run the course of Christianity For explication observe these distinctions there is a twofold falling away Partial Total Distin 1 1. Partial when a Professor falls from degrees of his holy profession there is love in him still but there is not his first love there is zeal in him still but there is not the first zeal he takes more liberty then formerly walks in a broader way removeth the ancient bounds of godliness I shall speak of this in the last Doctrine 2. Total falling away and this is when a man casteth off the yoke of Christ and puts his neck under the yoke of Belial shakes hands with his profession and embraceth profaneness or as Demas shook hands with Christ and embraced this present world or falls from the shew of godliness into an open shew of profaneness takes no delight to sit with Mary at the feet of Christ but loveth to fit in the seat of the scornful Distin 2 Total falling away is twofold Temporary Final 1. Temporary for a time when men depart from God and Christ as Noah's Dove went from the Ark who having tyred her self abroad and finding no resting place for the soles of her feet returned again to the Ark Thus many a Professor falls off from God and his ways flutters up and down in the world but finds no peace in conscience no content in the ways of sin returns to God again Such was the falling away of Solomon who did for a while cast off God fall into the fond and inordinate love of women and insatiably too of many women he had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines 1 Reg. 11.1.3 and that which was worse into the love of strange women idolaters of whom the Lord had given a charge to Israel Ye shall not go in unto them neither shall they go in to you and to outward incontinency he added spiritual adultery his wives turned away his heart from God ver 4. he fell to idolatry and followed after strange gods erected Temples to the Idols which his wives adored set up Altars Ornaments Priests and all upon Mount Olivet before the face of the Lord in his Temple 2 Kings 23.13 he gave himself to all pleasures and vanities under the Sun as appeareth by his book of Ecclesiastes which he wrote after his return but could find no contentment in all nor in any thing under the Sun therefore see what he saith Eccles 12.13 here is the summa totalis totum officii totum conatus totum faelicitatis the whole duty the whole endeavour the whole happiness of man This was Israels revolt Hos 2.7 and some Divines conceive that Demas thus fell away for a time and returned again 2. Final falling to fall irrecoverably to cast off God and his ways for ever when men go from God and his ways as Noah's Raven went from the Ark that fled away and never return'd again The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 frequently used in Scripture signifieth to depart from that which we formerly stood to it is a military word for among Souldiers such a one was anciently called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 transfuga qui ordinem suum locum in acie datum turpiter deseruit that basely deserted his place and rank assigned him in the battel vel qui ad hostes transfugit who fled away to the Enemy Such a one then is an Apostate who falls away and departs from that faith he formerly stood to and maintained and becometh the servant of sin and the vassal of Satan This is called in Scripture a turning away from following the Lord Psal 125.5 Sound Christians like Caleb follow the Lord fully but the unsound Christian turneth away from following of him It is likewise called a leaving the paths of righteousness Prov. 2.13 a going backwards and not forwards Jerem. 7.14 it is called a departing from the faith 1 Tim. 4.1 when a man doth despight to the Spirit of grace flings away the strictness of holy walking casts off the yoke of Christ and turneth the grace of God into lasciviousness this is a woful apostacy this is that which the Apostle meant in Heb. 6.6 where he useth the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth the falling of reprobates as learned Zanchy Zanch. in Heb. 6 6. noteth such who stumble and fall and never rise more who never stay till they fall headlong into everlasting destruction This was the fall of Hymeneus and Alexander of whom the Apostle saith they made shipwrack of their faith and of a good conscience it is impossible to recover a Ship once dasht into pieces running upon a rock and the Apostle saith of such it is impossible for them to repent Distin 3 This total and final Apostacy is twofold 1. Open and notorious a falling from open profession into open profaneness a falling from open profession into open opposition of the ways of God Thus Alexander the Copper-smith fell away and opposed Paul's preaching which was worse then to withstand his person doctrinal opposition is far worse then personal Great was the Apostacy of Bols●cus whom the Papists afterward hired to write Calvin's Life where so many lines so many lies Baldwin another Apostate changed his Religion at least 3 or 4 times for advantage Petrus Carolus was also an odious Apostate and troubler of the Church What a notorious Turn-coat was Ecebolius who under the Emperour Constans was a zealous Christian under Julian again a bitter Pagan but when Julian was dead and Christianity restored he returns

of man frequent labours though but little beget an aptitude to endure greater a little rent in a garment makes it fit to receive a wider every nail and thorn is apt to take hold of it and to make the rent broader Qui minima contemnit paulatim decidit he that takes no heed of lesser sins falls by degrees into greater absurdities I think that more go to Hell for smaller sins then for great ones lesser sins persisted in provoke the Divel to assault us with stronger temptations as a maids easie yielding to some lesser toyings provokes the Wanton to tempt her to greater indecencies The beginnings of sin saith a Learned man are modest Principia peccati modesta sunt Satan tempts us but to small matters at first but if he find us give way to him therein then like bold beggars he sets upon us for greater courtesies Men are more apt to commit lesser sins then greater for if a man fall into a great sin 1. It is always in his fight it stares him in the face his Conscience often bites and stings him for it Medica sunt qua perdunt and 2. Lesser sins are often committed and quickly forgotten therefore they are small sins that destroy most men Therefore let me tell those that think their case well if they can be taxed but for one or two sins and being told of it they answer it is all their fault That as small sins destroy so will a few small ones one knife in thy throat is enough to dispatch thee one bullet in thy guts will kill thee and one sin in thy heart is enough to destroy thee 2. To what we must take heed 1. Take heed to your heart In all thy keepings keep thy heart Prov. 4.23 he only that knoweth the sinfulness and deceitfulness of the heart saith it is deceitful above all things Men are deceitful sin is deceitful the Divel is deceitful but there 's no such deceitfulness in them as is in our hearts every one of us carrieth his own supplanter within his breast Be sure to keep sin out of your hearts if Satan can get and keep possession of our hearts he hath won the main fort of the soul no part of man can sin without the heart the heart can sin without all the rest the Fox goeth to the flock purposing to devour a Lamb and is prevented by the vigilance of the Shepherd yet vulpes exit vulpes egreditur he goes forth a Fox and cometh home a Fox the heart intendeth a sin which is never brought into action yet it sinneth in that intention He that looks upon a woman to lust after her saith our Saviour hath committed adultery in his heart Math. 5. The heart is like a Mill if the wind or water be violent the Mill will go whether the Miller will or no yet he may chuse what kind of grain it shall grind if the affections be strong and violent the heart will be working Be sure to keep sin out of your hearts and suffer not one known sin willingly to root there It is said of Creta that no serpent nor venemous thing will live there but dye as soon as it cometh into that Island such an antipathy there is between them and the nature of that soil so let us be affected toward sin let us labour to keep it out of our hearts knowing that a bad guest is more easily kept out then thrust out of doors but if we cannot do that let us labour to smother and stiffle it as soon as it cometh there 2. Take heed to your affections It is the Wisemans advice When ye go into the House of God take heed to your feet Eccles 5.1 take heed to your feet wheresoever you go if a man hath a love to sin he will fall into sin when opportunity serveth the affections are the feet of the soul see that your affections be ordered according to the dictates of faith sincerely and constantly cleaving to all good in an holy order and shunning all evils in their several kinds and degrees as they are discovered to be evil by the power of faith judging according to the word of truth see that your affections be moved by sound reasons cleerly apprehended then you will not love what you should hate let your affections keep within the pale of sound Reason and move according to her information it is very dangerous to give way to loose affections if once they have broken the bands of reason they will hurry us up and down into many inconveniences 3. Take heed to your outward senses especially the ear and the eye Greg. Nazianzen Greg. N●●●ianz said That if a man would live in the world he must have a vail on his eyes a lock on his ears and a compass on his lips If these two senses be not watched they will be like Simeon and Levi brethren in evil the senses are the out-works if Satan once take the out-works he will quickly master the fort within 1. Take heed to your ears do not listen to the voice of hellish charmers charming never so sweetly corrupt communication dum aurem afficit animam interficit while it affects and pleaseth the ear it killeth the soul Joseph would not hearken to the sollicitations of his wanton Mistress though she spake to him day by day Gen. 39.10 2. Take heed to your eyes Prov. 23.26 David prayeth Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity Psal 119. The first sin that ever was committed entred in by the eye Gen. 3.6 Physitians observe that death first seizeth on the eyes because sin first seized on them at these windows most sins creep into our souls looking begets liking in the heart therefore it is not good to look where we may not like The Romans did ill provide for the keeping the Law which they made that Virgins should drink no wine when they permitted them to see it Solomon's wisdom exceeded theirs when to a man that loveth wine well and is apt to be ensnared by it he giveth counsel not to look upon it when it giveth its colour in the cup and moveth it self aright Prov. 23.31 Et licet quidam putent majoris esse virtutis praesentem contemnere voluptatem tamen ego arbitror securioris esse continentia nescire quod quaeras Hier. Ep. ad Laetam Cassian institut lib. 5. c 32. So Hierom in one of his Epistles to Laeta where he giveth direction how to bring up her daughter virtuously among other things adviseth her not to suffer her daughter to see those meats which seeing she might be moved to desire and this his advice he shuts up with these words Though some there be who think it a point of greater virtue to contemn a pleasure when it is present yet I judge it to be a thing of more security not to know or see that thing which one may not safely desire Cassian also reporteth of a certain young man that after he had left