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	sin_n	thought_n	2,136	5	6.9222	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A62612	A sermon preached before the King and Queen at White-Hall, February the 25th, 1693/4 being the first Sunday in Lent / by John Lord Archbishop of Canterbury.	Tillotson, John, 1630-1694.	1694 (1694)	Wing T1249; ESTC R33832	19,454	46

with our neighbours with which temper of mind this qualitie is utterly inconsistent Thirdly There is yet a more specious Plea than either of the former that men will be encouraged to do ill if they can escape the tongues of men as they would do if this Doctrin did effectually take place Because by this means one great restraint from doing evil would be taken away which these good men who are so bent upon reforming the World think would be great pity For many who will venture upon the displeasure of God will yet abstain from doing bad things for fear of reproach from Men Besides that this seems the most proper punishment of many Faults which the Laws of men can take no notice of Admitting all this to be true yet it does not seem so good and laudable a way to punish one Fault by another But let no man encourage himself in an evil way with this hope that he shall escape the censure of men when I have said all I can there will I fear be evil-speaking enough in the World to chastise them that do ill And though we should hold our peace there will be bad tongues enow to reproach men with their evil doings I wish we could but be persuaded to make the Experiment for a little while whether men would not be sufficiently lash'd for their Faults though we sate by and said nothing So that there is no need at all that good men should be concern'd in this odious Work There will alwayes be offenders and Malefactours enow to be the Executioners to inflict this punishment upon one another Therefore let no man presume upon Impunitie on the one hand and on the other let no man despair but that this busines will be sufficiently done one way or other I am very much mistaken if we may not safely trust an ill-natur'd World that there will be no failure of Justice in this kind And here if I durst I would fain have said a word or two concerning that more publick sort of Obloquy by Lampoons and Libells so much in fashion in this wittie Age. But I have no mind to provoke a very terrible sort of men Yet thus much I hope may be said without offence that how much soever men are pleas'd to see others abused in this kind yet it is alwayes grievous when it comes to their own turn However I cannot but hope that every man that impartially considers must own it to be a fault of a very high nature to revile those whom God hath placed in Authority over us and to slander the footsteps of the Lords Anointed Especially since it is so expresly written Thou shalt not speak evil of the Rulers of thy People Having represented the great evil of this Vice it might not now be improper to say something to those who suffer by it Are we guilty of the evil said of us let us reform and cut off all occasions for the future and so turn the malice of our Enemies to our own advantage and defeat their ill intentions by making so good an use of it And then it will be well for us to have been evil spoken of Are we innocent We may so much the better bear it patiently imitating herein the Pattern of our B. Saviour who when he was reviled reviled not again but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously We may consider likewise that though it be a misfortune to be evil-spoken of it is their fault that do it and not ours and therefore should not put us into Passion because another man's being injurious to me is no good reason why I should be uneasie to my self We should not revenge the injuries done to us no not upon them that do them much less upon our selves Let no man's Provocation make thee to lose thy Patience Be not such a fool as to part with any one Virtue because some men are so malicious as to endeavour to rob thee of the Reputation of all the rest When men speak ill of thee do as Plato said he would do in that case live so as that no body may believe them All that now remains is to reflect upon what hath been said and to urge you and my self to do accordingly For all is nothing if we do not practise what we so plainly see to be our Duty Many are so taken up with the deep Points and Mysteries of Religion that they never think of the common Duties and Offices of human Life But Faith and a good Life are so far from clashing with one another that the Christian Religion hath made them inseparable True Faith is necessary in order to a good Life and a good Life is the genuine product of a right Belief and therefore the one never ought to be press'd to the prejudice of the other I foresee what will be because it hath so often been said in the like case that there is not one word of Jesus Christ in all this No more is there in the Text. And yet I hope that Jesus Christ is truly preach'd when ever his Will and Lawes and the Dutyes injoyn'd by the Christian Religion are inculcated upon us But some men are pleased to say that this is mere Moralitie I answer that this is Scripture-Moralitie and Christian-Moralitie and who hath any thing to say against that Nay I will go yet further that no man ought to pretend to believe the Christian Religion who lives in the neglect of so plain a Duty and in the practice of a Sin so clearly condemn'd by it as this of evil-speaking is But because the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than a two-edged Sword yea sharper than Calumnie it self and pierceth the very hearts and Consciences of men laying us open to our selves and convincing us of our more secret as well as our more visible Faults I shall therefore at one view represent to you what is dispersedly said concerning this Sin in the H. Word of God And I have purposely reserved this to the last because it is more persuasive and penetrating than any Human Discourse And to this end be pleas'd to consider in what company the H. Ghost doth usually mention this Sin There is scarce any black Catalogue of Sins in the Bible but we find this among them in the company of the very worst Actions and most irregular Passions of men Out of the heart sayes our Saviour proceed evil thoughts murders adulteries fornications false witnes evil-speakings And the Apostle ranks backbiters with fornicatours and murderers and haters of God and with those of whom it is expresly said that they shall not inherit the Kingdom of God And when he enumerates the Sins of the last times Men says he shall be lovers of themselves covetous boasters evil-speakers without natural affection perfidious false accusers c. And which is the strangest of all they who are said to be guilty of these great Vices and enormities are noted by the Apostle to