Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n
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A58032
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The hue and cry of conscience after secure sinners; or The alarm of conscience in order to the discovery of hidden guilt by John Ryther minister of the gospel
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Ryther, John, 1634?-1681.
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1680
(1680)
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Wing R2439; ESTC R218576
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38,947
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164
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smiting him Aâ— David his Heart smote him when he cut off the Lap oâ— Saul's Garment Tendeâ— Consciences find this inwarâ— smiting either upon thâ— commission of Evil or thâ— omission of Good Ah! now how did Joseph's Brethren's Consciences smite them It is set forth by the poor Publican smiting on his Brest And sometimes with Ephraim's smiting upon his Thigh O now Sinners reflect upon their Sins as thaâ— word No Man repented and said what have I done 5. It is set forth by bringing again to mind which is the proper notion of Reflection Remember and shew your selves Men Isa 46.8 and bring it again to mind O ye Transgressors Therefore we have frequently such Expressions Remembring their evil ways 1 Kings 8.47 and if my People shall bethink themselves These are properly the Reflex Acts of the Mind and Conscience 6. It is set forth by Accusing The Conscience draws up an Accusation against the Sinner as here Joseph's Brethren did it Reflects when it Accuses We reade of the Gentiles who only had the Law of Nature and yet their Consciences did accuse them 7. It is set forth by Condemning which is higher than Accusing it passes Judgment as well as it witnesses If our own Hearts condemn us 1 John 3.20 God is greater than our Hearts viz. our Consciences We may spell out of all these some things of the nature of Reflection of Conscience Second Inquiry is What this awakened Conscience reflects upon For we must understand that Conscience doth never bear false Witness for in this case the voice of Conscience is the Voice God Conscience's Testimony holds true in the case of Joseph's Brethren 1. Conscience in a day of Affliction reflects upon matters of Fact It may be at the present commission of the Sin the Sinner takes no notice of it in an hurry and huff of Temptation all is forgotten O! but there is 〈◊〉 Book of Remembrance that Conscience keeps and all your Sins are registred there and though it be a sealed Book at present you know not â—ow soon it may be opened and you judged out of it according to what you have â—one O how many Sinners may now deny matter of fact but when Conscience â—hall be awakened to lay it â—ome and charge them plainâ—ith it saying as Nathan to David Thou art the Man Then there will be no denying of it The witness of â—â—es own Conscience is an â—deniable Testimony Cain â—ould not deny this Testimony therefore his Guilt cri'd all that meet me will slay me 〈◊〉 aoh could not deny this Testimony I and my People are wicked Judas could nodeny this Testimony I have sinned in betraying innocent Blood The People of God could not deny this Testimony when they cried out Our Iniquities testifie again us c. 2. Conscience doth no only reflect upon matter oâ— Fact but upon Circumstances and Aggravations of the Fact Conscience when awakened becomes tender and calls every particular Circumstance to remembrance that did heighten or any way aggravate the matter and thus did they in the Text Wherein lay the aggravation of the Guilt You have heard hinted before I that we saw the anguish of hâ—â— Soul and he besought us yet we would not hear 1. They saw the anguish of his Soul and yet their Eyes did not affect their Hearts 2. It was their Brother too 3. He besought us 4. They would not hear All of them great Aggravations Saw it The anguish of a Brothers Soul A beseeching Brother and would not hear Deasned their Ears to his lamentable Cries O how do their Consciences Reflect upon all these There are several things that Conscience when awakened reflects upon with reference to the Circumstances of matter of Fact 1. Sometimes Conscience tells the Sinner it is against Light Thou hadst so much Light as to conceive this before commission that it was a Sin that it was a Violation and Transgression of an holy Law and says Conscience this thou knewest yea this thou knewest before-hand and yet contrary to the discovery of this Light thou didst run violently into it and rebelledst against the Light as Job's phrase is Job 24.13 2. Sometimes Conscience tells the Sinner he hath sinned against Resolutions and this is an aggravating Circumstance O how often says Conscience hast thou broken thy serious Purposes and Vows when it may be you have been in imminent dangers and distresses Now Conscience registers and records the very Resolutions of poor Sinners it being privy to all the secret Purposes When some of you are at Sea ready to be swallowed up of the Belly of Hell as Jonah phrases it O then you pray to God and purpose against Sin if God will bring you off with your Lives at this time Or it may be others of you at Land upon a supposed Death-bed O if God will spare you How do you resolve against Sin yea against those Sins that sting your Consciences most But alas after all this do not you break your Bonds Now Conscience books all and at one time or other will remember you of all these things 3. Sometimes Conscience in its Reflections tells the Sinner of sinning against its Warnings and Dictates To sin against the dictates of Conscience is a very great Aggravation O Sinners how often hath Conscience warned you As you love your Peace as you love your Souls as you will answer it at the great Tribunal of God that you go not on in such a Course or that you commit not such a Sin at your Peril says Conscience but not withstanding all this the Sinner blunders on I tell you Sinners from the Lord there is never a Warning an awakened Conscience hath given any of you but it will rise up against you another Day either here or hereafter 4. Sometimes Conscience in its Reflections tells Sinners of their sinning against its Reproofs which is an aggravating Circumstance To run into Sin after long reproved hence you have that terrible word Proy 28.1 He that being of ten reproved hardens his Heart shall suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy O says Conscience is not this thy Case Hast thou not often been reproved Have not I often reproved thee and God often reproved thee and Ministers often reproved thee Yet hast thou gone on c. And will not every Reproof walk in your Consciences another day that you sin against now 5. Sometimes Conscience in its Reflections tells Sinners of sinning against Mercy which is another aggravating Circumstance How many Mercies says Conscience have you sinned against sparing Mercy at Sea and at Land preventing Mercy preserving Mercy O what a life of Mercy hath thy Life seen Nothing but a Series of Mercy a large Tract of Mercy a Line of Mercy and yet thou hast sinned against all This will grieve thee another Day when thou shalt have all thy Mercies as well as Sins set in order before thee Thirdly Conscience reflects upon the dishonour Sin brings to God as well
And they said one unto another Verily we are guilty concerning our Brother in that we saw the anguish of his Soul when he besought us and we would not hear therefore this distress is come upon us THe Text refers to the Tragical story of Josephs sale by his Brethren The occasion of which severity towards him you have mentioned viz. Their envy to him upon the account of the Dream he had of his Advancement and Preferment above them And likewise their way they took to prevent the accomplishment of his Dream viz. Their selling of him tho this was the way to bring it to pass Therefore says he it was not you but God that sent me hither It is to be observed that the Ways and Methods God takes many times to bring to pass his Designs are strange and improbable to us This was a most unlikely way in an Eye of Reason to Joseph's advancement yet it was God's way When Joseph was advanced the Lord brings a Famine upon Canaan the Land of his Father and Brethren and they came now down to Egypt to buy Corn and little did they know it was their sold Brother Joseph that they bowed to for Bread according to his Dream in the bowing of the Sheaves God now brings Affliction upon them and Joseph he deals roughly with them by way of Probation and Temptation and now they find themselves bryer'd and plunged into a pit of Distress They all joyntly reflect upon themselves to search and make a discovery of the Matter as the Text tells us In which we have 1. Their Reflection 2. We have the Occasion of it 1. We have their Self-Reflection and Accusation And they said one to another We are verily guilty c. As one says well upon it We have here the force of Conscience and the fruits of Affliction Conscience calling old Sins to a new Reckoning faithful in Recording and fearful in Accusing 2. We have the occasion of it Joseph handling them severely and putting them in Ward three days and binding them to the terms of bringing down their younger Brother which they knew were hard Terms because their Father's Life was bound up in him 3. We have farther in the Text their Justification of God in all this Therefore this Distress is come upon us O now the Lord hath found us out and is reckoning with us for our guilt and all his Procedures with us are very Righteous in what he suffers to come upon us The Reflection is that part of the Text I principally aim at I. We have the Reflection it self In that we saw the Anguish of his Soul when he besought us O now Conscience is busie and active O now their Guilt lies uppermost and they presently reflect upon it As if they should say O what hard Hearts had we to him in his distress O what bloody cruel Brethren were we to him What Wretches were we to sin against the Law of Nature against the Law of God against our own Consciences Here is an Asseveration in the Accusation Verily we are guilty and it hath a Verily written upon the head of it They no ways hesitate or doubt in the leaft about it 2. Here is in the Reflection or Accusation the aggravation of their Guilt 1. In that it was to their own Brother and now this they reflect upon We are guilty concerning our Brother It was their own Brother and so a piece of Unnatural Guilt for one Brother to do thus by another It is not only Guilt but circumstances of Guilt that will fly in the faces of our Consciences in a day of Distress II. Aggravation in it was that their Eyes did not affect their hearts We saw the anguish of his Soul O! now it rises in their Consciences 3. Aggravation of Guilt in their Reflection He besought us His cries and prayers should have pitied and melted their Hearts 4. Aggravation We would not hear They turned a deaf Ear to their Brother's crys O! now all this comes fresh to their Minds in the day of their Distress 5. Aggravation It was a deliberate consulted Case Come let us kill him It was an advised Act. III. As we have the Reflection it self and the Aggravations of it So also we have observable that it was by joynt consent This Reflecting it was not one or two of them but They said one unto another It was a joynt confession Nemine contradicente they differed not in the case their Sentiments were the same therefore they jointly conclude that they were all Guilty concerning their Brother IV. The occasion of this joynt Reflection and Accusation was their distress Therefore is this distress come upon us The whole of the Text resolves into these two Practical Truths First That Guilt will walk in Sinners Consciences a great while after the Fact committed Secondly That in a Day of Affliction Conscience is often quick and active in its Reflections Thus it was with them Therefore is this Distress come upon us 1. Guilt will walk in the Consciences of Sinners a great while after the Fact committed This is plain from the Text. Joseph had been a great while sold by his Brethren Joseph did certainly spend many Years in Potiphar's House Some say ten Years some say eleven Years before he was cast into Prison It is true it is said Chap. 39.7 after these things his Master's Wife cast her Eyes upon Joseph It is thought by some Expositors it is a mistake to reade it After these things The Latine Translation reads it After many days It must be reckoned thus He was 17 years of Age when he was sold Gen. 37.2 And He was 30 years of Age when he expounded Pharaoh 's Dream and was delivered by him So that that time was 13 Years or 14 as you reckon the 17th Year when he was sold either begun or ended Gen. 41.46 During which time it is supposed he spent 10 or 11 in the House of Potiphar and 3 in the Prison Now to these 13 Years from the time of his Sale to the time of his Advancement by Pharaoh you must add the 7 Years of Plenty that was in the Land of Egypt before the Famine began the time when his Brethren came to him for Corn and when he dealt thus with them as in the Story and this distress was upon them mentioned in the Text. So that the whole from the Sale to this time was 20 or 21 * As Dr. Lightfoot and others Years if you reckon the 17th Year of his Age but to be begun when he was Sold and the time of this their Distress to be the first year of the Famine and 22 * As Mr. Burroughs and others if the first year of Famine was expired as some think so that it was now 20 Years at the least or 22 at the most that this Guilt had slept in their Consciences and now God awakens it Guilt now rises and walks in their Consciences after so many Years being forgotten As we say of