Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heart_n	able_a	lord_n	spirit_n	2,051	5	4.7627	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A95723	Two assize sermons preached at Bridgnorth for the county of Salop in the year 1657. The first, upon Psalm 58. verse 1. Doe you indeed speak righteousnesse, o congregation? Doe ye judge uprightly, o ye sonnes of men? The second, upon Psalm 37. verse 37. Marke the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace? / By Mich. Thomas; rector of Stockton in the same county.	Thomas, Michael, rector of Stockton.	1659 (1659)	Wing T970; Thomason E1790_1; ESTC R209682	31,232	144

to be slain And there was an end of Saul and Doeg his informer and their family The Lord by that army of the Philistines brake up the Congregation and made them know they were but the Sons of men and that they were not able to stand when he came to judge them Now the Lord help us to consider of these things and dispose our hearts to love the work of righteousnesse and in all our dealings with men to behave our selves justly and uprightly that when we shall come to dye like men we may finde the fruit of righteousnesse which is peace even Peace with God and peace with our owne consciences that we may commend our spirits into the hands of the God of our righteousness with joy and not with fear The Prayer after Sermon GReat and Glorious Lord God who art righteous in all thy wayes and holy in all thy works be good and gracious unto us thy poor Creatures who here stand guilt before thee of many acts of unrighteousnesse for having rejected and despised thy most pure and holy lawes and have chosen rather to walke after the lusts and imaginations of our owne hearts We have defaced that perfect Image of righteousnesse and Holynesse in which we were created we have defiled our selves with the pollutions of sinne so that all our righteousnesse is but as a filthy ragge and we cannot but loath and abhorre our selves for all our abhominations Blessed God we desire to return unto Thee and to seek thy face not only for thy mercy and pardon for the sins we have cōmitted but for thy Spirit and thy grace that we may be renewed restored to that state of holines whence we are faln And forasmuch as the Ministry of thy Word is the means which thou hast ordained promised to sanctifie to that end We humbly call upon thee for a blessing upon that portion of thy Word which hath bin dispensed unto us at this time Great God! our hearts are in thy hand we beseech Thee mould and fashion them according to thine own holy will Beget in us a constant purpose and resolution of giving to every one their owne and re-imprint in our hearts that excellent rule of righteousnesse Not to do any thing to our neighbour which we would not be content that he should doe to us We are met at this time O Lord about thine own worke The Execution of Justice and Judgement we beseech thee assist us in it As we begin this worke in thy Name give us grace to continue in it in thy Fear Touch the hearts of all those who are in any respects interested as parties in the administration of Justice that they may all speak righteousnesse and judge uprightly without respect to themselves or respect to their friends and without feare of the face of any man And give us all grace to consider that a congregation of men conspiring in an act of unrighteousnesse are but as a sheafe of straw not able to contest with thee who art a consuming fire Oh help us to consider that how great or mighty soever we be in this World we are yet but the sonnes of men fraile and mortall and know not how soon we may be called to thy Judgment Seat And let these meditations quicken us to an holy care to prepare our accounts and to behave ourselves so righteously toward all men here on earth as that we may cheerefully commend our Spirits to the God of Heaven Hear us O God and answer us according to thy wonted grace goodnesse supply all our defects out of the fullnesse of Christ Jesus who is the Lord our Righteousnesse to whom with thee O Father and thy blessed Spirit we desire to ascribe all honour and power and prayse now and for evermore Amen Amen A SERMON Preached at the ASSIZES Held at BRIDGNORTH For the County of Salop in the year 1657. On the Lord's Day By Mich Thomas Rector of Sockton in the same COUNTY LONDON Printed for Humphrey Moseley at the Prince's Armes in St. Paul's Church-yard 1659. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Psalme 37. verse 37. Mark the perfect man and behold the upright For the end of that man is peace IT may perchance raise your attention to the Doctrine of this Text when you shall consider that it is a branch of that Psalme which hath alwayes bin in very high esteem both among the Antients and our Moderne Divines Origen calls it Humanae animae Medicinam It is Physick for the soul of man forasmuch as it reproves sinne and teaches us to live according to the lawes of God Athanasius recommends it to be readd by all those who are scandalized at the prosperity of the wicked and find themselves tempted to go along with them in their wayes and to think this world to be governed by chance or fortune that God is not a God of Judgment that he makes no difference between the righteous and the wicked Calvin and Mollerus meet both in this censure of it that it containes doctrinam apprimè utilem exceeding profitable doctrine and Lorinus tells us that Fulgentius that great light of the Church in Africa by reading St. Augustines commentary upon it was converted by it The tree then being so good you may fairely presume the Text which is a branch of it may yield you the like fruit I may not unfitly call the Text Totius Psalmi Epitomen The summary or abridgement of the whole Psalm The doctrine which is dispersed in the other verses of it is collected and united in this All the defect will lye on my part by reason of my weakenesse I shall not be able to shake this so full laden branch that all the fruit of it may fall amongst you So farre as the Lord hath enabled me to understand the doctrine of it I shall humbly present it to your religious consideration and shall hope that that sleight tast of it which you will receive at this time by my service will provoke your holy appetites to make a farther enquiry in your private meditations But not to waste more either of the time or your patience be pleased to take the Text divided into these three parts Here is an Act and an Object and they are both twofold The Act is to Mark and to Behold The Object of this Act is the Perfect and the Upright man And in the third place here is the reason of the Act which is very weighty and considerable For the end of that man is Peace But I must crave leave to invert the order of these parts and consider the Object first Who this perfect and upright man is And then passe to the Act what it is to Mark and to behold Him To which act we shall be the better disposed by the weight of the reason which enforces it Mark the perfect man and behold the upright For the end of that man is peace The first part The Object I confesse I find much variety in the severall Translations

concerning the reading of the Text. The LXX render it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and according to the old vulgate Custodi innocentiam vide aequitatem and then we should read the Text Keep innocency and take heed to the thing that is right And although Lorinus follow these translations yet we acknowledge that other grave Authors Concretè interpretantur ex Hebraeo render it out of the Hebrew by the Concrete Observa perfectum aspice rectum and so Junius and Tremelius have translated it and so also those Divines of the reformed Churches whose opinions Marlorate hath collected And truly the difference is not great whether we read it in the Abstract or in the Concrete the one will be the Exposition of the other and so the perfect man will be He that keepeth innocency and the Upright man He that taketh heed to the thing that is right But we must behold this Object at a neerer distance and let us look upon this perfection and uprightnesse in the Root and in the Branches of it and then according to our English word we shall have three Marks by which we may know who this perfect and upright man is and so the better judge of our selves whether we are such or no. The Root of this Perfection and Uprightnesse I place in the Heart and the branches of it in the Words and Actions of men And this method answers that Distinction so common among Divines Integritas Cordis Oris Operis The Uprightnesse of the Heart of the Mouth and of the Hand and upon the consideration of these Marks we shall have the fuller and the cleerer prospect of Him And I was put into this method not so much by the common distinction as by the propriety of the termes in the Original We read of Noah that he was a perfect man Gen. 6. 9. of Jacob that he was a plain man Gen. 25. 27. of Job that He was a perfect and an upright man and in all these places there is the same word in the originall Tamim and Mercerus upon those places in Genesis and Pineda upon that place in Job interpret this perfection to be the simplicity the integrity the sincerity which was in the Hearts of Noah and Jacob and Job For the farther clearing of the word you know well there is a twofold perfection Imputata Impertita A perfection which is imputed to us and a perfection which is bestowed upon us the one is called the Perfection of Justification the other of Sanctification The former of these in a strict sense is a compleat perfection The Saints are compleat in Christ they are perfectly justified there is not any sinne left uncovered nor any guilt left unwashed in the bloud of Christ not the least spot but is taken away By one offering Christ hath perfected for ever them that are Sanctified sayes St. Paul Heb. 10. 14. And then there is a Perfection of Sanctification and that is called so either in regard of the beginnings of it or in regard of our desires or aimes at it The Saints even in this life have a perfect beginning of holinesse as being sanctified in every part they are Sanctified throughout in soul and body and spirit And then their desires are high and reall towards perfection they pray and strive to subdue every corruption to abandon every known sinne to performe every duty And this is the utmost degree of perfection that any sonne of man can attaine to in this life And in this respect it was that Job had the character of a perfect man Not that he thought himselfe so in respect of an exact obedience to the whole law of God so he professes If I say I am perfect it shall also prove me perverse Job 9. 20. but in respect of his desires and endeavours towards this perfection Job was sincere he was sound at heart He did not personate religion but was really a religious person He was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Lxx render that place A simple man that is plaine hearted single minded He was not a compound speaking one thing and meaning another Job's heart might be known by his tongue and his spirit by his actions And this is the first and chiefest mark of the perfect man whom David in the Text advises us to observe and behold And truly this perfection in the root as I have called it this foundnesse of heart is that perfection which is only valuable and considerable 't is that which the Lord so often calls for in the Scripture to love Him and serve Him with all our hearts that we would not suffer our hearts to be divided and carried away from God and laid out upon the vanities of the world while we pretend to be the servants of God in a more strict and purer way then others are In the second of the Kings ch 17. v. 33. we read of the Samaritans that they feared the Lord yet served gods of their own And the prophet Zephany reports it as one of the sins of Judah that they sware by the Lord and by Malcham the idol of the Ammonites And I would to God we that call our selves and would be thought Christians could purge our hearts from this guilt that our hearts were perfect and sincere and intirely devoted to the service of God Beata servitus sayes St. Ambrose si nihil possit adversarius de tuo sibi servitio vendicare That 's a blessed way of serving God when Satan can challenge no part in it How few are there of us that can come to God with Davids argument and may press Him as he did I am thine oh save me The worldly-man cannot say so to God because he hath many Masters Lust comes and sayes Thou art mine for thou makest provision for the Flesh to fulfill the desires thereof Covetousnesse comes and sayes Thou art mine thou servest not Christ but thy selfe The Gold and Silver which lyes rusting in thy coffers is the portion of the Widdow and the Fatherlesse The stone in the wall of thine house cryes out and the beame out of the timber doth answer it and the furrowes in the field joyn in the out-cry and say We were gotten by oppression and bribery Luxury comes and sayes Thou art mine thy conscience can tell thee thou hast spent more at a feast in one day then thy charity to the poor hath cost thee in a whole year that thou hast striven to pay most at a Reckoning in a Taverne but hast pretended excuses to give nothing to a Briefe in a Church Ambition comes and sayes Thou art mine thou hast affected greatnesse and power that thou mightest sinne without question or controul and then Christ will put in his charge too and say Thou considerest not that I gave thee a command over men that thou shouldst obey Me I honoured thee that thou shouldst honour Me. Now Quem tam multi competunt quàm vile mancipium est sayes that Father St. Ambrose What a vassall

what a slave is that man whose heart is challenged by so many masters Such an one cannot pretend to Jacob's title to be Homo Simplex a perfect single-hearted man He is rather Homo Multiplex St. James his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth not reach Him He is more then a double-minded man He hath an heart for every lust a new God and a new Religion when soever the sway and humour of the times shall require it of him Upon those words of the Lord by his prophet Joel Turn unto me with all your heart devout Bernard hath noted thus Corporis conversio si sola fuerit nulla erit If the body only turn to God and not the heart there is no conversion It is but the form of Conversion there is nothing of truth in it when there are pretensions to godlynesse but no power He is a miserable man that contents himselfe in the outward formalities of religion and neither knows nor regards his heart Bernard applyed this Note to his monks upon a Fast-day and took occasion to reprove them for their hypocrisie Manet tonsura as he goes on yee continue your shavings yee change not your garment yee observe your rules for fasting and your hours for prayer and yet the Lord cryes from heaven Cor vestrum longè est à Me Your heart notwithstanding all this is far from me The best discovery we can make of the integrity and sincerity of our hearts is to observe the bent and sway of those foure chiefe affections Love Feare Joy and Griefe and see whether God or the World have most of these and accordingly we may judge our selves whether we are true Converts or Perfect men But because the nature of the root is best discerned by the fruit which appears on the branches be pleased that the discourse may passe from the first mark of perfection which I call'd perfection in the root the perfection of the heart to the second which is Integritas Oris the Integrity of the Mouth or words and no mark can be more proper then this or more naturally consequent Our blessed Saviour hath given us the rule Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh In the 32 d. Psalm David pronounces a blessednesse upon that man in whose Spirit there is no guile And there are good Expositours conceive this guile to consist in and about the duty of Repentance and especially in the covering of sinne as when men shall cover their extortions and oppressions by building an Hospitall and when they shall cover all the Week-sins with a Sabbaths solemnity Such is sometimes the folly of Hypocrisy that it will strive to cover sin though with a Net which every man sees thorow they will have such mean and pittifull pretences for their unjust actions whereas a perfect-hearted man is serious in the search of his conscience and he will take knowledge of his sins before they discover themselves he will acknowledge his riot and voluptuousnesse before he burn in a Feaver occasioned by his surfeits He will acknowledge his wantonnesse and licentiousnesse before he comes under the anguish and smart of corrosives He will acknowledge his pride and wastfullnesse before he lye in prison for debt The perfect man doth not seek his sins in his belly nor in his bones but in his conscience He unfolds that ripps up that and enters into the privatest and remotest corners thereof And he that doth not thus there is dolus in Spiritu There is guile in his Spirit and he hath no title to that blessednesse which David was pronouncing So that if there be Veritas in Corde Truth in the heart there will be also Veritas in Ore Truth in the mouth which being the second mark of a perfect man give me leave to lay it open to you The perfection of the Mouth hath a double prospect it looks towards God and towards man God shall have His glory in the Confession of his sinne and man shall have his right in speaking the truth Among those marks which David gives of that happy man who shall dwell in the holy hill of the Lord this is one He speaketh the truth in his heart And so in the 14 of the Revel v. 5. those blessed persons who are said to follow the Lamb are thus described In their mouth was found no guile Truth as it is a most excellent vertue so it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saies Philo the most sacred possession pretious and necessary as the Sunne to the world When the question was put to Pythagoras What that was in the doing whereof men might be like unto God he answered 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If they speak the truth It will be a good interpretation of that command of our blessed Saviour Be ye therefore perfect as your Father which is in heaven is perfect when as He is truth so we be alwayes carefull to speak the truth from our hearts 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 even the Heathen by the light of nature could conclude that it was a servile un-ingenuous humour to lye and to speak falsely And we have some impression of it still remaining in us of all reproaches we can least brook that Thou liest How many quarrells hath it occasion'd How much blood hath bin spilt about it But truly 't is sad and strange that men will not endure to be charged with lying and yet make no conscience of lying that they should take up that part of the Heathens morality 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To speak the truth is an evidence of a noble constant well composed spirit and desert the other part of it by a deficiency in their practice in yielding themselves up to tell lies for advantage Some Divines have moved and debated these two Cases Whether if a man be examined before a Competent Judge he may not lye to preserve himselfe or his Friend from the penalty of the Law And 't is answer'd in the negative He may not lye There can no case be put in which it may be lawfull for any man to lye to any man not to a midnight not to a noon-thiefe that assaults his house or his person he may not lye And although many have put names of disguise upon such practises and call them Equivocations and Reservations yet they are all children of the same Father the Devill who is the father of lies The other Case is Whether if a man be examined before an incompetent Judge he may not equivocate and prevaricate with Him And 't is answer'd thus that if he do speak he must speak the truth They allow that to an incompetent Judge that hath no legall power to examine him he may be silent without sinne but to a competent Judge 't is an indefensible sinne either to be silent or to depose an untruth And upon this account since it is so clearly sinfull in a witnesse either to prevaricate or to depose an untruth I submit it to your grave Judgements whether it be not highly