Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heart_n	conscience_n	evil_a	sprinkle_v	3,712	5	10.9699	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26359	The Christians daily sacrifice duly offer'd, or, A practical discourse teaching the right performance of prayer by Lancelot Addison.	Addison, Lancelot, 1632-1703.	1698 (1698)	Wing A512; ESTC R25228	55,277	162

Pray and go not thither full of thy Sins unrepented of And be not as Fools who offer Sacrifices for their Sins and yet turn not from them Only Penitents then are fit to come to the House of Prayer and to be Suppliants at the Throne of Grace Every one is to put off his Shooes to abandon his Sins when he comes unto God to take heed to his Feet and approach him with all possible Reverence Under the Law no man had liberty to come into the Congregation who had touch'd any Unclean thing till he was sprinkl'd with Water by the Priest And under the Gospel there is no coming unto God without having your heart sprinkl'd from an evil Conscience and your body wash't with pure water Heb. 10.22 2. The Masters forbad any to enter the Temple with Dust on their Feet meaning thereby That all Earthly and Worldly Affections Thoughts and Passions were to be shaken off and discharged by them who come to offer Spiritual Holy Services unto God The Jews were also injoyn'd not to bring with them into the Sanctuary any of those Tools and Instruments used by them in their Civil Trades and Imployments by which they were also minded to leave behind them whatsoever might in the least suggest any Earthly Concern Worldly Notion or Incumbrance whilst they were at God's House lest they should be disturb'd or diverted in Devotion Nor were the Jews singular in this particular or the only People that were careful thus to Prepare themselves for Prayer For the Mahumedans who took many of their Rites from the Jews are very precise in Preparing themselves for the Moschs or Giamma's the places of their Publick Worship For they never repair to these till they have first Wash't at home nor do they enter those Solemn Places with their Shooes on And they are of Opinion That if they come Unprepared to Prayers or behave themselves Indecently at them that they lose the benefit of their coming Cleanliness according to Mahumed is the Key of Prayer and that it is not regarded without it Under the name of Cleanliness all the Preparatives to Prayer are understood And by Prayer is meant the whole System of Religious Worship Now this Cleanliness does not only respect the Body but also regards the Mind and Conversation and it implies the putting away of all unlawful Actions the purging of the Heart from all vicious and unworthy Thoughts and Affections And they hold that Filthiness in these is a thing most offensive to God who according to their Alcoran as well as our Bible is of Purer Eyes than to behold the least Defilement And it may well be suppos'd that Christians will not come behind Jews and Mahumedans in this particular Nor boldly and inconsiderately rush upon those holy Duties which these Infidels approach with so great Preparedness The Apostle advises all of his Religion to lift up holy and pure hands in Prayer 1 Tim. 2.8 By his Apostolical Authority he appointed that not only at the Temple at Jerusalem but every where else Christians should Pray with that Ceremony of holding up the hands joyn'd with Purity of Conscience and Good Works And that they should take care that no doubts or irresolutions of Mind should hinder the exercise or benefit of Prayer You do but burn Incense to Vanity and lift up your hands to Heaven to no purpose whilst you regard Iniquity in your Heart and your Actions are unjust God will cast back your Prayers like dung upon your face and reject both them and your Person when you tread his Courts and at the same time hate to be reform'd God hears not sinners but if any man be his worshipper him he heareth S. John 9.31 His eyes are over the righteous and his ears are open to their Prayers but his face is against them that do evil Psal 34.15 1 Pet. 3.12 God looks kindly on his obedient servants but he sets himself as an enemy against the obstinately wicked He is nigh to good men and hears their Prayers but their Prayer is an abomination unto him who turn their ears from hearing the Law Prov. 28.9.15.29 The humble dutiful Soul imploring God's assistance is sure to receive it in kind or in equivalence But the Texts of Scripture declaring the Prayers of Sinners to be ineffectual are to be understood of none but Impenitent sinners who stubbornly walk in the Ways of their own Hearts and do that which is Right in their own Eyes who either wilfully continue in their Impieties or retain a kindness for them It is not then your having committed Sin and your sense of some Guilt being upon you that ought to hinder your Praying For you must Pray the rather that God may remit and pardon the sins you have commited For if you are humbly minded and sincerely chang'd from Bad to Good if you loath and forsake your evil Ways and with a broken and contrite Heart grieve for your Offences you then are one whose cry God will hear and whose tears he will put into his bottle and not suffer a Drop falling from the eye of a Penitent to be as Water spilt upon the ground He will hear your cry and deliver your soul from death He will recover your feet from falling that you may walk before him in the light of the living Psal 116.8 9.13 He will give you space and opportunity to live and acceptably to serve him He will hear your Prayers when you come unto him without the love of your Sins about you or purposes to continue in them When Noah came out of the Ark in which saith one he had long been Buried not Dead his first Care was to Build an Altar unto the Lord and to take of every Clean Beast and of every Clean Fowl to offer in Burnt-Offerings And the Lord smelt a sweet Savour he took notice of the Purity of Noah's heart and accepted of his Actions and shew'd himself pleas'd with his Holy Intentions But that which herein seems to be most observable and to our purpose was Noah's great Industry and Care for the right offering of this Sacrifice And this was seen in his Building an Altar and making Choice of such Beasts and Birds as were fit thereon to be Offered Now Prayer is your best Sacrifice which in Imitation of Noah you are to offer unto the Lord with great Preparedness For the want of this will betray in you a Prophane temper of Spirit and a lack of a just Esteem and Reverence for God and his Service And therefore according to Siracides Before thou prayest prepare thy self and be not as one that tempteth the Lord Ecclus 18.23 Let the Clean Beasts and Birds offer'd by Noah mind you of keeping your Soul Clean and Pure from all wicked Resolutions and Affections and to appear before the Lord empty of all Sinful Habits and Intentions And let no Envy Hatred Malice or any Uncharitableness lodge in your Heart For no Lusts of Carnal Uncleanness no Filthiness of Spirit no