Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heart_n	action_n	good_a	life_n	2,683	5	4.5961	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44606	A discourse concerning Ananias and Saphira wherein is laid open thier sin & punishment. By William Houghton, minister of Ordsoll in Nottinghamshire.	Houghton, William, preacher at Bicknor in Kent.	1661 (1661)	Wing H2937A; ESTC R215974	18,223	23

than himself and they are entred in and dwell there and their last state is worse than the first you have now seen how Satan filled them these particulars that I have named make up the full measure of their iniquity and do shew that it is now come to the height and that it is ripe so that the Lord must needs come and thrust in his sickle The third particular is the subject or shop of Satan which was his heart Thy heart these sins were entertained with the best welcome with their mutual consent and into the best room their hearts The heart is the principal place and seat of life in the natural man and of grace in the spiritual Now these places that should have been Sancta Sanctorum the most sacred Temples of the Holy Ghost are entred upon and prophaned by the devils guests And this is a further aggravation of their sin for God hath set every man to guard and keep his heart as one would keep and defend a Castle if a man deliver up this Castle into the enemies hands 't is treason evill thoughts are the keyes of this Castle for they open the heart and let in the enemy to think as the devil would have us think is to deliver up the keyes of our hearts to him the rolling up and down of evill cogitations is the turning of the key and opening of the gates to Satan And this is that for which Peter so sharply rebuked Ananias Why hath Satan filled thy heart That is why hast thou betrayed thy trust Why hast thou delivered up the keys into his hands Why hast thou done this Let us learn from hence what is the cause of all our sin and misery Inference 1. even our own hearts The Apostle here laies the fault upon Ananias expostulates with him not with Satan He doth not say Satan why hast thou filled the heart of Ananias but Ananias why hath Satan filled thy heart Why didst thou suffer him to do this And yet more plainly v. 4. Why hast thou conceived this wickedness in thy heart 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vers 4. Or as it is in the Original Why hast thou put this wickedness in thy heart The devil could never have got this wickedness into his heart if himself had not put it in there If Ananias had not opened the sack the devil could never have fill'd it He could never enter and come into our hearts did not we open the door to him therefore saith the Apostle Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust Jam. 1.14 15. and enticed then when lust hath conceived it bringeth forth sin The devil indeed filled the heart or Ananias but it was not till Ananias had conceived this wickedness in his heart or had put it in his heart that is he gave it conception and then the devill nourisht and augmented it till it came to the birth Secondly That sins of the heart are great sins and such as we should most strive against For the Apostle here strikes at the root of this mischief the heart Why hath Satan filled thy heart And why hast thou conceived this wickedness in thy heart Making it as it were the engineer and framer of all this mischief Such was his dealing with Simon Magus Pray God Act 8 22. if perhaps the thoughts of thy heart may be forgiven thee Thus the Prophet Jer. 4.14 Wash thy heart from wickedness that thou mayst be saved It was ordered by a Law called the Law of the twelve Tables Fontinus that all springs and fountains should be kept from filthiness and pollution lest these being corrupted should fill the Land with infection So here the heart is the fountain therefore saith Solomon above all keepings keep thy heart Prov. 4 2● for out of it are the issues of life If thou wouldst have any sin mortified kill it in thy heart if any grace entertained plant it in thy heart A good man saith our Saviour out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good Mat. 12.35 where the word Good is thrice repeated but mark the order first a good treasure then a good man then good fruits The treasure of the heart being good makes all good gives the owner of this treasure his denomination makes him a good man yea his speeches actions these fruits that come from him they are good also the heart being good It is the goodness of the man sanctifieth all outward things but it is the goodness of the heart that sanctifieth the man To return to my Text. This sin of Ananias as you have seen it set forth by the Author Quantity Subject so in the fourth place it is lively deciphered by the matter of it and this will put us upon a narrower search concerning the nature of this sin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the natures of things are commonly known by their names Now this sin of theirs hath three names in this Chapter for first it is called a counterfeiting of the Holy Ghost Secondly Lying to the Holy Ghost in my Text Thirdly Tempting of the Holy Ghost Counterfeiting of the Holy Ghost v. 9. I will endeavour to open them all in order First There was a Counterfeiting of the Holy Ghost It is said of Achan that he took and stole the accursed thing Josh 7.11 and dissembled also Vid. Cajetan in loc p. 13. Joshua sent Officers into the Army to charge every man to keep the decree of Almighty God in not taking the accursed thing and when all the people answered that they had kept the decree Achan said so too thus he stole the accursed thing and dissembled also faining himself as innocent as any in the company Just so dealt this sacrilegious couple they stole part of the Price and dissembled also they would seem to do as others did and be thought as devout as any of them here was a counterfeiting of the Holy Ghost that is of the grace of the Holy Ghost a faining and making shew of that sincere grace which was not in them in that they would seem to give the whole when they gave but part only here was their hypocrisie for this is the guise of hypocrites if they can cast a mist before your eyes and walk invisible if they can carry it away cleanly and be reputed just and holy they care for no more They are like some Taverns having before them the sign of the Angel but within nothing but beastly drunkenness or as Christ saith like whited sepulchres which indeed appear beautiful outward Mat. 23.27 but within are full of dead mens bones and all uncleanness Fair without but foul within outwardly they appear righteous unto men but within they are full of hypocrisie and iniquity Many examples of such are recorded in Scripture as of Saul who said that he had done the Commandment of the Lord 1 Sam. 15. when he had done

Covetous men have ever something to say for themselves so these you see they want no words desire of gain makes them very witty But turn we our ears from them to God and hear what he saith They that wrong Levi in his substance God shall smite through the Loyns of such Deut. 33.11 saith Moses Mal. 3 8. Will a man rob God Ye have robbed me in tythes and offerings therefore are ye cursed with a curse cries the Prophet Malachi Those that say Come let us take to our selves the houses of God in possession O my God make them like a wheel still running about as if they were mad As the fire burneth the wood and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire Psa 83.13 14. So persecute them with thy tempest and make them afraid with thy storm So David Thus the Penmen of Holy Writ sharpen their Stile denouncing heavier judgments against sacrilegious persons This is therefore the third and last Question If Ananias might not keep back part of that which was his own but it cost him his life How then dare men take away from the Church that which never was their own and not think themselves subject to the wrath of Almighty God Having thus laid open the several parts of this Text and shewed the nature of this sin of Ananias and Saphira let me desire thee Christian Reader to fix thy serious thoughts and meditations upon this general Conclusion very clearly arising from the premises That there are many who call Christ Master yet are the Worlds servants Or That it is possible for a man to go far in the way to heaven yet be at length overtaken with a whorish love of this World for thus was it with Ananias and Saphira Who would ever have thought that Saint Luke writing so many things in their praise in the former Chapter should here come in with such a tragical relation There they received the Word here give ear to Satan There they prayed here hold parley with the devil There with joyful hearts they praise God here they tempt him There you read of their charity now you have seen their hypocrisie There they joyned themselves with the Apostles 1 Tim. 6.10 here for detaining the price of their Land were cast out of the blessed society and fellowship of the Apostles Summos saepe viros transverses egit av●ritia Salust Hominum mentibus est inspersa cupiditas corum qui in pie●ate cons●●uti vid●●●u● Chrysto●… 5. p. 204. Well doth Saint Paul say that the love of money is the root of all evil It is the root of Apostacy and falling from God This sin creeps into the heart w●en other sins go out and this is the sin of many Professors men of eminent parts who for Piety and Religion seem to be set in a higher rank and form than other men Curtius writing the Life of Alexander praiseth him for many things as Wisdom Valour Industry reports him very hardy a man that when frost and snow lay upon the ground would climb up the Alps on his bare hands and feet then he gives a sudden dish with his Pen Caeteruming entia animi bona c. hand tolerabili vini cupidita of aedavi● Q Curt. p. 158. But he was intolerably given to the love of Wine and would be drunk and that was a blemish to all his other Virtues The like may be said of many Professors that make a glorious shew hear much read much do many excellent things But their hearts are overcharged with the love of earthly things and that deprives them of salvation for that * Plaagere cos praecipit non propter homicidia non propter fornicationes aut alia postremo vitia lethali gladio animos parenns occisione jugulantia sed propter solas tantummodo opes propter insanam cupiditatem propter auri atque argenti famem ut ostenderet scilicet sufficere hae● homini ad aeternam d●mnatio●●●… ●ri●ms●●●atus olii 〈◊〉 s●…●ssent Sal p 357. alone may do it as well as murther or adultery The hearers resembled to thorny ground went they not further than the rest Did they not hear the Word Did they not beleeve it Did they not receive it with joy Yet after all this were choaked with cares and riches The young man in the Gospel did he not leave Christ because he would not leave his possessions and Ananias here because he would not let go the price of his Land Judas also and Demas they both suffered shipwrack upon the same rock When Naomi went out of Moab with her two daughters Ruth and Orpah towards the Land of Judah Ruth stuck to her and would by no means forsake her Orpah she also went a good way with her wept and took on but at length she kist her mother and departed She returned to idolatrous Moab to her People and to her Gods saith the Text So a hypocrite may make a fair progress in the way to heaven read pray converse with the Saints weep it may be at a Sermon yet for all this be deeply in love with the World and have his heart there amongst his Gods of Silver and Gold And these O ye men of might have been the Gods many of you have been fighting for so long Luk. 8 14. Mat. 19.22 2 Tim 4.10 Ruth ● 15 Psal 7● 5 Mat. 21 38. that which you have chiefly sought hath been to seize upon the inheritance and to get into your hands the price of the Land Who see●h not at this day a great measure of Ananias's hypocritical covetousness and covetous hypocrisie to have been reigning in your hearts Seeming Saints you have been and servants of God but the World hath been your Master You have used Religion but as a ladder to climb up to wealth and worldly preferment which being had the ladder hath been thrown aside no matter what became of it Saint John saith 1 Joh. 5.4 This is the victory that overcometh the World even our faith to you it may be said This is the victory that hath overcome your faith even the World and your worldly hearts look into them and you will find this to have been the root of your late so foul miscarriages but manum de tabula oculos ad coelum The Lord showr down his blessings upon the head of our Soveraign Lord King Charles and so replenish him with the grace of thy Holy Spirit that he may alwaies incline to thy will and walk in thy way Bless the Great Council of the Realm assembled together in the High Court of Parliament grant that with a single eye they may look at thy glory ever preferring the publick good before their private interests Job 29.17 strengthen their hands that they may pluck out of the throats of those Cormorants the spoyl which they have so greedily devoured Rebuke the madness of those false Prophets 2 Pet. 2.3 who through Covetousness with fained words make marchandize of thy people Lord bless Levi's substance and accept the work of his hands and suffer not the means of thy Worship to come into the hands of those who count all gain godliness This heavy judgment on Ananias struck fear into all that heard it The Lord grant it may have the same effect in all that shall read these lines Act. 5.5.11 that all Israel may hear and fear and do no more presumptuously Deut. 17.13 Seeing few have conceived this sin of Sacriledge in their hearts who have not felt the judgement of God upon their backs Deut. 21.21 may therefore the example of his heavy judgments deter and keep back all men from this sin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉