Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n
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B03891
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Now and ever; shewing, where the work of conversion is thoroughly done, it is done for ever. / By William Jemmat, preacher of the Gospel in Reading.
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Jemmat, William, 1596?-1678.
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1666
(1666)
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Wing J550A; ESTC R178967
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36,525
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49
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it may be perish by the splinters running into his hand Certainly this trusting in creatures hinders faith in the Creator and brings a curse in stead of a blessing Jer. 17.5 Thus saith the Lord Cursed be the man that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arm and whose heart departeth from the Lord and ver 7. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord and whose hope the Lord is Take heed Christians and beware of the evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God Heb. 3.12 which in this our corrupt nature these Puppets are apt to do 5. This briâ—â—leness of nature and natural things yieldeth sundry good instructions to young people and to the Parents Parents briefly are admonished in three things First not to pride themselves in lusty and likely Children as too many use to do making them so many idols and promising themselves great comfort by them it may be insulting over other men whose Children are weak and sickly wherewith the Lord is offended and sometime the likely Children are taken away or prove crosses when 〈◊〉 weaklings survive and become comforts to their parents Secondly parents even from the beginning should commend their children to the Lord by hearty prayer that if they dye in the birth or in their youth yet by Jesus Christ it may be well with their poor souls to eternity Oh that Ismael might lâ—ve in thy sight Thirdly they should begin with them betimes that by their gracious instructions they may quickly come to know and fear the Lord their God and so whatever becomes of them in the world yet their poor souls may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ the highest acts of charity that can be shewed to our children Next for young people 1. They learn to walk in all humbleness of mind as those that may be soon snatched away and while they continue here are subject to many faintings and failings It concerns all to be cloathed with humility but especially young people whose judgment is not yet setled and they want the experience which in time they may have neither are they acquainted with themselves and their manifold weaknesses as in time they may be so that it is neither safe nor seemly for such to be shewing their opinion in matters to be talking much in company of Elder people especially to take upon them without a Calling to teach others as some bold men in these days have dangerously adventured Consider and fear if ye have the grace of God in you of a truth yet ye ought to walk in humility so to be worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called Eph. 4.12 Much more if the work of grace be not yet begun or not well evidenced here come those rules to be observed Prov. 3.5 6 7. Lean not to thine own understanding be not wise in thine own eyes fear the Lord and depart from evil 2. Beware of loose and Libertine courses which most young people do chuse and delight to take as best agreeing with their wild and foolish humors therefore called the lusts of youth and must be carefully avoided 2 Tim. 2 22. Fly youthful lusts As fleshly lusts and worldly lusts and lusts of the mind so the lusts of youth which are either peculiar to young people or most affected Remember and consider how these lusts are apt to forestall all good instructions of the word that there is no room for them â—â—â—her they cannot enter or if they do they are soon thrust ouâ— gain Mark 4.19 The lusts of other things entring choak the word and it becometh unfruitful When our young people are nipt in the bud they are scarce good ever afterward Our loose times have shewed it abundantly And after such lawlesness of young people comes that fearful summons Eccl. 11.9 Rejoyce O young man in thy youth and let thy heart chear thee in the days of thy youth and walk in the ways of thy heart and in the sight of thy eyes but know thou that for all these things God will bring thee unto judgment 3. Seeing all within you and without you is so fading and uncertain lift up your eyes and hearts to the Creator to get in with him and by him to obtain a solid and lasting good which may be sufficient for you in all other faintings and failings Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth and which is the whole duty of man fear God and keep his Commandments Eccl. 12.1 13. The wise man there had reckoned up all the vanities of the world and prescribed remedies against them and then bids us hear the conclusion of the whole matter in those two precepts When the soul is tyred out with the consideration of earthly vanities and distractive occurrences it should be think it self of getting home to his Ark where it may find rest for the soal of his foot as Psal 116.7 Return unto thy rest O my soul for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee It should be good instruction both to young and old when they find themselves perplexed or pricked with thorns of the world as who of us doth not to return to our God from whom by sin we departed Never till then shall we find rest and assured confidence Hos 2 6 7. When the Lord hedged up the Churches way with thorns that she could not find her paths then she said I will go and return to my first husband for then was it better with me then now And if young people in their young days would bethink themselves of returning to the Lord their God they might save themselves many scratches and woundings which afterward they are put to endure 4. Seeing all these things are so ye should all receive the exhortation which we give so often Make sure of Christ Make sure of Christ in him alone ye can find rest for your souls there is no salvation in any â—â—â—er no Name else given under heaven by which yâ—â—â—n be saved not Saints and Angels nor any of the creatures nor all of them put together all together could not redeem one soul nor make up the peace with the great God But in and by Christ all is firm and stable everlasting love everlasting compassions everlasting arms to embrace the Penitent an everlasting covenant promises most certain and sure to be performed Yea and Amen 2 Cor. 1.20 Bear us witness Christians we invite you day by day to come and receive Christ for your own we urge you with many Motives we tell you of your sin and danger and in the mean time ye feel in your selves the decays of nature and see in the mortality of your Neighbours what your case must be and ye know not how soon Once at last therefore be wise and Kiss the Son of God that in the worst straights ye may find enlargement and be blessed Psal 2.12 Blessed are they that trust in him If ye were commanded to do some great thing for blessedness would ye not
miserable to have ones spiritual strength so weakned even as miserable as to become poor after great wealthiness or sickly after great healthiness A lamentable change will nature and reason say and grace will teach a godly man to say likewise of spirituals By faith the Elders out of weakness were made strong and waxed valiant in fight Heb. 11.34 And this man of strong is become weak and fainteth in fighting the battels of the Lord. How is he decayed Oh this woful bankruptness of the soul whither doth it tend and what will be the end of these things unless the wiser course be taken in time Christians it concerns us much to lament and bewail this faintness whatever it is found in any Say not therefore I am safe in the main I cannot fall from grace I may do well enough though I be weaker then I was O who would miss so many comforts of the Spirit as such a one must miss or walk so heavily as such a one must walk it may be feel so many terrours as such a one must feel that there is but little difference between hell and him and he le ts go that perswasion concerning perseverance and hath some cause to doubt and fear he shall fall quite away I say who would be in such a woful case Therefore it is time to renew thy repentance and thy covenant and thy endeavours in footing it along in the ways of God as now toward a Sacrament the Lord offers thee new strength and more occasions to recover what is decayed since the last Sacrament he spreads his Table for thee again and hath kild his fatlings all is prepared and ready only be not thou unprepared and unready c. Know the only comfort is to them that take notice of their fainting and bewail it and would fain redress it Our Text saith They shall renew their strength Though their strength do decay at times yet it shall be renewed the labour that they take against a Sacrament shall not be lost therefore go in faith and go with confidence this is a promise and shall surely be performed Thou waitest on the Lord therefore thou shalt renew thy strength Heed and believe it and hear no accusing voices to the contrary either of the Devil or of thine own unbelieving heart Say not I often grow weak after I have been strong therefore I fear whether ever I shall come to that pitch and stature in grace or comfort which sometimes I had Know it is our condition in this life still to ebb and flow in heaven only we renew not our strength And divers Saints have relapsed as we see in the Spouse Cant. 3. and 5. And the promises here are indefinite after Relapses strength shall be renewed as well as in other cases though perhaps with more ado Only follow on and pray still one day thou shalt say as David Psal 138.3 in the day when I cryed thou answeredst me and strengthnedst me with strength in my soul And it is greater glory to God to preserve so weak a Vessel as thou art to his heavenly Kingdom having said My grace is sufficient for thee my strength is made perfect in weakness 2 Cor. 12.9 If we be strong in the Lord and the power of his might we are safe we are sure to do well enough Troubled we may be and shall be The Devil and the World and the Flesh will provide us troubles but in all this Conflict we shall stand and in the end overcome and in overcoming is the Crown and Glory To him that overcome will I give such and such mercies Now all this serves for Information Consolation and Exhortation USE I. INformation in two things If those things stand for truths according to the Scripture 1. Hereby is established the Doctrine of Saints perseverance in the estate of grace whereinto they are brought at their conversion When they are once regenerate and wait on the Lord as before they are sure to continue in that holy and happy estate to the end yea to an endless glory Now and Ever I speak not any thing to magnifie our selves and our pure naturals as some have pratled but only to advance the grace of God in Christ by whom we are able to do all things And we say It is vain whatsoever the Adversaries object concerning a mans own weakness that he is apt to fall into gross sins and shake off the grace of God and become no sheep no Member of Christ no Child of God no Heir of Heaven True of himself he is apt to do so and there is no other likelihood but if a Christian were left to himself he would fall both fearfully and finally We have an evil heart of unbelief to depart from the living God and are not sufficient of our selves to persevere in the good estate wherein we are set But what saith our Doctrine the strength whereby a true Christian standeth is a strength above that of Nature even most refined It is a borrowed strength a strength derived from God and will suffice him against all his weaknesses and all oppositions from hell and the world It will work so strongly in his heart that he will not fall away will not become a Goat when he was a Sheep will not run out of the sheepfold will not of a Child of God become a Child of the Devil nor lose the possession of heaven which he hath had in his eye to quicken and encourage him in his way The fear of God is so put into his heart that he neither can nor will depart from him The gifts and calling of God are without repentance God will never repent that he so revealed himself to the Elect and the Elect by grace shall never repent 2. The world is hereby convinced and condemned of passing rash and erroneous judgment upon the godly because of their falls and failings Oh they are Hypocrites Dissemblers make a shew of Religion and talk much of profession but see how they do the contrary But beware of Blasphemy It were good to hush and be silent and not condemn the Generation of Gods Children Know the Christian may be true though weak or he may be strong though weak in this or that particular his God is able to raise him again and make him stand Rom. 14 4. His strength shall be renewed when another with his meer civilities and formalities shall fall and fall without recovery I marvel what these would have said if they had lived in the days of David and seen him so scandalous in the matter of Urâ—ah Were they not Gods enemies who blasphemed because of those sins 2 Sam. 12.14 By this deed thou hast caused the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme It were time for all our Mockers and Censurers to repent bitterly USE II. THis stability of a godly mans estate ministers singular comfort to all who upon good evidence have owned and applyed Gods mercy to their poor hearts Their comfort is that they stand