Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heart_n	act_n	holy_a	spirit_n	2,702	5	5.2045	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A81214	The nature, solemnity, grounds, property, and benefits, of a sacred covenant. Together with the duties of those who enter into such a covenant. Delivered in a sermon at Westminster, at the publique convention, (ordered by the Honourable House of Commons) for the taking of the Covenant, by all such, of all degrees, as willingly presented themselves, upon Friday, Octob. 6. 1643. By Ioseph Caryl, preacher to the Honourable Society of Lincolnes-Inne.	Caryl, Joseph, 1602-1673.	1643 (1643)	Wing C782; Thomason E72_12; ESTC R14164	28,363	50

strength our brethren of Scotland have in a plentifull experience found it so already This Covenant through the blessing of God upon their counsels and endeavours hath beene their Sampsons Locke the thing in fight wherein their strength lieth And why should not we hope that it will be ours if we can be wise as they to prevent or overcome the flattering enticements of those Dalilahs who would lull us asleepe in their laps onely for an opportunity to cut or shave it off Then indeed which God forbid we should be but weake like other men yea weaker then our selves were before this Locke was growne having but the strength of man God utterly departing from us for our falsenesse and unfaithfulnesse in this Covenant Thirdly this Covenant observed will make us an holy people and then we cannot be an unhappy people That which promotes personall holinesse must needs promote Nationall holinesse The consideration that we are in the bonds of a Covenant is both a bridle to stop us from sinne and a spurre to duty When we provoke God to bring evill upon us he stayes his hand by considering his Covenant I will remember my Covenant saith the Lord Gen. 9. 15. which is betweene me and you and every living creature of all flesh and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh As if the Lord had said It is more then probable that I shall quickly see as much cause all flesh corrupting all their wayes before me to drowne the world with a second deluge as I did for the first the foulnesse of the world will quickly call for another washing But I am resolved never to destroy it by water againe for I will remember my Covenant Hence also in the second booke of the Chronicles chap. 21. where the reigne and sinnes of Jehoram are recorded such sinnes as might justly put a sword into the hand of God to cut him off root and branch Howbeit saith the Text vers 7. the Lord would not destroy the house of David because of the Covenant that he had made with David and as he promised to give a light to him to his sons for ever Now as the remembrance of the Covenant on his part stayes the hand of God from smiting so the remembrance of the Covenant on our part will be very effectuall to stay our hands and tongues and hearts from sinning A thought of that will dampe and silence our lusts and passions when they begin to move or quest within us it will also breake the blow of Satans temptations when hee assaults us The soule in such cases will answer True I am now as strongly tempted to sinne as ever I have now as faire an opportunity to commit this sinne as ever I could now be false to and desert this cause with as much advantage upon as faire hopes and promises as ever O but I am in Covenant I remember my Covenant I will not I cannot doe it and so he falls a praying against the temptation yea he begs prayers of others that he may be strengthned against and overcome it I read you an instance of this effect before the Sermon a paper is sent to this congregation containing this request One who through much passion oftentimes grievously offends the Majesty of God by cursing and swearing and that since his late taking the Covenant desires the prayers of this Congregation that his offence may be pardoned and that he may be enabled to overcome that temptation from hence forwards This is the tenour of that request to a letter and a tittle and therein you see how the remembrance of the Covenant wrought Probably this party whosoever he was took little notice of or was little troubled at the notice of these distempers in himselfe before least of all sought out for helpe against them And I have the rather inserted this to confute that scorne which I heare some have since put upon that conscientious desire As if one had complained that since his swearing to the Covenant he could not forbeare swearing and that this sacred Oath had taught him prophane ones But what holy thing is there which swine will not make mire of for themselves to wallow in I returne and I nothing doubt but that this Covenant wherein all is undertaken through the grace of Christ will make many more gracious who had grace before and turne others who were running on amain in the broad way from the evill and errour of their wayes into the way which is called Holy or into the wayes of Holinesse Every Act wherein we converse with an holy God hath an influence upon our spirits to make us holy The soule is made more holy in prayer though holinesse be not the particular matter of the prayer A man gets much of Heaven into his heart in praying for earthly things if he pray in a spirituall manner And the reason is because in prayer he hath converse with and drawes nigh to God whatsoever lawfull thing he prayes about And the same reason caries it in covenanting though it were only about the maintenance of our outward Estates and liberties forasmuch as therein we have to doe with God How much more then will holinesse be encreased through this Covenant which in many branches of it is a direct Covenant for and about holinesse And if we improve it home to this purpose for the subduing of those mysticall Canaanites those worst and indeed most formidable enemies our sinfull lusts if we improve it for the obtaining of more grace and the making of us more holy though our visible Caananites should not only continue unsubdued by us but subdue us Though our Estates and Liberties should continue not only unrecovered but quite lost though we should neither bee a rich nor a free nor a victorious people yet if we are an holy people we have more then All these we have all he is ours who is All in All. So much of the first generall part of the application The second is for Admonition and Caution in three or foure particulars First take heed of prophaning this Covenant Mal. 2. 8. by an unholy life Remember you have made a Covenant with Heaven then doe not live as if you had made a Covenant with Hell or were come to an agreement with Death as the Prophet Isaiah characters those monsters of prophanesse c. 28. 15. Take heede also of corrupting this Covenant Mal. 2. 10. by an unholy glosse Woe be unto those glosses that corrupt the Text pervert the meaning of these words Who attempt to expound the Covenant by their own practice and will not regulate their practice by the Covenant The Apostle Peter speakes of Pauls writings that in them some things are hard to be understood which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest as they doe also the other Scriptures to their own destruction 2 Epist c. 3. v. 16. We may feare that though the Text of this Covenant be easy to be understood yet some

which takes away the drosse and shewes you a refined lumpe It is a Shibboleth to distinguish Ephraimites from Gileadites Iudg. 12. 6. And who knowes not how great an advantage it is for the successefull carrying on of any honourable designe to know friends from enemies and the faithfull from false brethren some have thought it unpoliticall to set a foote this Covenant lest it should discover more enemies then friends and so holding out to the view more then otherwise can be seene the weakenesse of a party may render them not onely more obnoxious but more inconsiderable To this I answer in a word Invisible enemies will ever doe us more hurt then visible and if wee cannot deliver our selves from them when they are seene and knowne doubtlesse unseene and unknowne they will more easily though more insensibly devoure us And I verily beleeve we have already received more dammage and deeper wounds from pretended friends then from profest and open enemies The sad stories of Abner and Amasa informe us That there is no sence against his stroke who comes too neere us who stabs while he takes us aside to speake kindely to us who drawes his sword while he hath a kisse at his lips and art thou in health my brother at his tongue Let us never thinke our selves stronger because we doe not know our weaknesse or safer because we are ignorant of our danger Or that our reall enemies and false friends will doe us lesse hurt because they are lesse discovered I doe not thinke that a flocke ever fared the better because the Wolves that were amongst them went in sheeps clothing Rather will our knowledge be our security and the discovery which this Covenant makes helpe on both our deliverance and our businesse For as possibly this Covenant may discover those who are faithfull to be fewer then was supposed before this strict distinction from others so it will certainly make them stronger then they were before by a stricter union among themselves And this is The second benefit of this Covenant which I shall next insist upon As it doth separate those who are heterogeneall so likewise it will congregate and embody those who are homogeneall And therefore it cannot but adde strength unto a people for whatsoever unites strengthens A few united are stronger then a scattered multitude Though they who subscribe this Covenant should be comparatively so few as the Prophet speakes Isai 10. 19. that a childe may write them yet this few thus united are stronger then so many scatter'd ones as exceed all Arithmeticke whom as John speaks Revel 7. 9. no man can number Cloven tongues were sent Acts 2. 3. to publish the Gospell but not divided tongues much lesse divided hearts The former mer hindred the building of Babel Gen. 11. 7. and the latter though tongues should agree will hinder the building of Jerusalem Then a worke goes on amaine when the undertakers whether they be few or many speake all and thinke the same thing A people are more considerable in any worke because they are One then because they are Many But when many and one meete nothing can stand before them So the Lord God observed when he came down to see the City and the Tower which the children of men builded Gen. 11. 5. And the Lord said at the sixth verse behold the people is One and they have all One language And this they begin to doe and now nothing will be restrained from them which they have imagined to doe Men may doe as much as they can thinke while they All thinke and doe as one and not onely can such doe great things if let alone but none can let them in doing what they intend so saith the Lord in Genesis They have begunne to doe and nothing will be restrained from them which they have imagined Nothing could restraine or let them from their worke but his power who will worke and none can let it Isa 43. 13. Thus it is apparent that union is our strength and it is as apparent That this Covenant through the blessing of God upon it will be our union To unite is the very nature of a Covenant Hence Ezek. 20. 37. It is called the bond of the Covenant I will bring you into the bond of the Couenant 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Masoreth Masora traditie dectrina per menus à majoribus tradita sine literis ad posteras transmissa Schind saith the Lord. Iunius and some others render it I will bring you ad exhibitionem faederis to the giving or tendering of the Covenant Deriving the word from Masar signifying to exhibite or deliver Whence to note that in passage the Traditionary doctrine among the Jewes is called Masora or Masoreth Others whom our Translators follow and put the former sence delivering in the Margin Others I say deriving the word from Asar to bind render it the bond of the Covenant And this Covenant is the bond of a twofold union First it unites us of this Kingdome among our selves and this Kingdome with the other two Secondly it makes a speciall union of all those who shall take it holily and sincerely throughout the three Kingdomes with the One-most God Weake things bound together are strong much more then when strong are bound up with strong most of all when strong are bound up with Almighty If in this Covenant we should onely joyne weake to weake we might be strong But blessed be God we joyne strong as creatures may be accounted strong with strong The strong Kingdomes of England and Ireland with the strong Kingdome of Scotland A threefold coard twisted of three such strong Coards will not easily if at all be broken They which single blessed be God have yet such strength how strong may they be when conjoyned As the Apostle writes to his Romans c. 6. 19. I speake after the manner of men because of the infirmity of our flesh So I speake now after the manner of men concerning the strength of our flesh outward meanes in these Kingdomes For as the Apostle Peter speakes in like phrase though to another occasion 2 Pet. 3. 9. the Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some men count slacknesse So I may say no man no Kingdomes are strong to any purpose as the Lord counts strength And therefore I reckon this the least part of our strength that these three strong Kingdomes will be united by this Covenant nay if this were all the strength which this union were like to make I should reckon this no strength at all wherfore know that this covenant undoubtedly is and will be a bond of union between strong and Almighty betweene three strong Nations and an Almighty God This Covenant engages more then Man God also is engaged engaged through his free grace in his power wisdome faithfulnesse to do as good and much good though in and of our selves unworthy of the least unworthy of my good All this considered this Covenant wil be our

had made a Covenant before the Lord he caused all that were present in Ierusalem and in Benjamin to stand to it How far he interposed his regall authority I stay nor to dispute But he caused them to stand to it that is openly to attest and to maintaine it Meethinkes the consideration of these things should reigne over the hearts of men and command in their spirits more then any Prince can over the tongues or bodies of men to cause them to stand to this Covenant Yee that have taken this Covenant unlesse yee stand to it yee will fall by it I shall shut up this point with that of the Apostle take unto you the whole Armour of God that you may be able to withstand in the evill day and when yee have done all to stand Eph. 6. 13. Stand and withstand Are the watch-word of this Covenant or the impresse of every heart which hath or shall sincerely sweare unto it For the helping of you to stand to this Covenant I shall cast in a few advices about your walking in this Covenant or your carriage in it which if followed I dare say through the mercy of the most high your persons these Kingdomes and this cause shall not miscarry First walke in holinesse and uprightnesse When God renewed his Covenant with Abraham he makes this the preamble of it I am the Almighty God walke before me and be thou perfect And I will make my Covenant betweene me and thee Gen. 17. 1. 2. As this must be a Covenant of Salt in regard of faithfullnesse so there must be salt in this Covenant even the salt of holinesse and uprightnesse The Iewes were commanded in all their offerings to use salt and that is called the salt of the Covenant Levit. 2. 13. Every oblation of thy meate offering shalt thou season with Salt neither shalt thou suffer the Salt of the Covenant of thy God to be lacking c. What is meant by Salt on our parts is taught us by Christ himselfe Marke 9. 50. Have Salt in your selves and have peace one with another Which I take to be parallel in sence with that of the Apostle Heb. 12. 14. follow peace with all men and holinesse c. As Salt the shadow of holinesse was called for in all those Iewish services so holinesse the true substantiall Salt is called for in all ours As then it was charged Let not the Salt of the Covenant of thy God be lacking so now it is charged suffer not the Salt of thy Covenant with God and his people to be lacking Seeing we have made a Covenant of salt that is a sure Covenant let us remember to keepe salt in our Covenant Let us adde salt to salt our salt to the Lords Salt our salt of holinesse to his Salt of faithfulnesse and we shall not miscarry Secondly walke steddily or stedfastly in this Covenant Where the heart is upright and holy the feete will be steddy Unstedfastnesse is a sure argument of unsoundnesse as well as a fruit of it Their heart was not right with him neither were they stedfast in his Covenant Psal 78. 37. As if he had sayd would you know the reason why this people were so unstedfast it was because they were so unsound Their heart was not right with him We often see the Diseases of mens hearts breaking forth at their lips and at their fingers ends in all they say or doe Then be hearty and be steddy God will be steddy to us why should not we resolve to be so to him And this Covenant will be stedfast and uniforme unto us why should not we resolve to be so to and in this Covenant The Covenant will not be our friend to day and our Enemy to morrow doe us good to day and hurt to morrow it will not be fruitfull this yeere and barren the next But it is our friend to doe us good to day and ever It is fruitfull and will be so for ever Wee neede not let it ly fallow we cannot take out the we need not let it ly fallow we cannot take out the heart of it though we should have occasion to plough it and sow it every yeere Much lesse will this Covenant be so unstedfast to its own principles as to yield us Wheate to day and cockle to morrow an Egge to day and to morrow a Scorpion now Bread and anon a stone now give us an embrace and anon a wound Now helpe on our peace and anonne embroyle us Now prosper our Reformation and anon oppose or hinder it strengthen us this yeere and weaken us the next No as it will never be barren so it will ever bring forth the same fruit and that good fruit and the more and the longer we use it the better fruit like the faithfull Wife Prov. 31. 12. It will doe us good and not evill all the dayes of its life It is therefore not only sinfull but most unsutable and un-ingenuous for us to be up and downe forward and backward likeing and disliking like that Double-minded man Jam. 1. 8. unstable in all our wayes respecting the duties of this Covenant Thirdly walke believingly live much in the exercise of Faith As we have no more good out of the Covenant of God then we have Faith in it so no more good out of our owne then in a due sence we have faith in it There is as much need of Faith to improve this Covenant as there is of faithfulnesse We live no more in the Sphear of a Covenant then we believe And we can make no living out of it but by believing All our earnings come in here also more by our Faith then by our workes Let not the heart of God be straitned and his hand shortned by our unbeliefe Where Christ marveyled at the unbelief of a people consider what a mervaile followed omnipotence was as one weeke he could doe no mighty workes among them for them Mar. 6. 5. 6. works lesse then mighty wil not reach our deliverances or procure our mercies The ancient worthies made more use of their Faith then to be saved and get to Heaven by it By Faith the walls of an opposing Jericho fell down Heb 11. 30. By Faith they subdued Exercurrunt Justitiam Beza Kingdomes wrought righteousnesse or exercised Justice stopped the mouthes of Lyons v. 33. By Faith they quenched the violence of fire escaped the edge of the Sword out of weakenesse they were made strong waxed valiant in fight turned to fight the Armies of the Aliens v. 34. We have Jericho's to reduce and Kingdomes to subdue under the Scepter and government of Jesus Christ we have Justice to execute and the mouthes of Lyons to stop we have a violent fire to quench A sharpe-edged Sword to escape popish alien-Armies to fight with and wee comparatively to these mighty workes are but weak How then shall we out of our weakenesse become strong strong enough to carry us thorough these mighty works strong enough