Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heart_n	harden_v	moses_n	pharaoh_n	4,537	5	10.9869	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A88592	The souls cordiall in two treatises. I. Teaching how to be eased of the guilt of sin. II. Discovering advantages by Christs ascension. The third volum. / By that faithfull labourer in the Lords vineyard Mr. Christopher Love, pastor of Lawrence Jury, London.	Love, Christopher, 1618-1651.	1653 (1653)	Wing L3176; Thomason E1230_1; ESTC R211061	183,257	401

heart sensibly affected with those sins that are confessed to God many confesse as if they were telling stories rather what other men did then what themselves did there are few that confesse sin as the prodigal did that he was ashamed to be called the son of his father But many confesse sin like Pharaoh Exod. 9.27 And Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron and said unto them I have sinned this time the Lord is righteous and I and my people are wicked Vers 34. And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder were ceased he sinned yet more and hardned his heart he and his servants Defect 9 The ninth Defect in confession of sin to God is this to content your selves with slight ordinary and generall confession of sins to come into Gods presence and a say you are sinners this is a fault which Christians many times are guilty of many men rest contented with a confused and a generall confession of sin when they doe not come to any distinct view of their particular sins there is a tumult in the conscience some noyse they make in a prayer but they know nothing distinctly but like Nebuchadnezzar in a dream he knew he dreamt but he forgot what his dream was many men do confesse sin but they know not what they do confesse You are to be humbled for these Defects that may be found in you in your confessing sin to God Def. 10 A tenth Defect in confession of sin to God is this that they are bold and adventurous to commit the sin again which they have confest they confesse passion and afterward are bold and adventurous to run into a rage and fury When a man shall confesse on his knees he hath done thus and thus and hath been thus and thus yet afterwards all the impressions of these confessions are defaced and he is bold to adventure on the commission of the sin again This is also a Defect that may be found amongst good men in their confession of sin unto God Me thinks I hear you aske me But seeing these Defects are found amongst us then in confession of sin unto God what should we do to be helpt against these Defects For answer that ye may not be guilty of these Defects in confession of sin Rule 1 First Get a clear insight into Gods Law that it may discover sin to you by the Law is the knowledge of sin Rom. 3.20 Therefore by the deeds of the Law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight for by the Law is the knowledge of sin Jam. 1.23 For if any be a hearer of the Word and not a doer he is like unto a man beholding his naturall face in a glasse Vers 24. For he beholdeth himself and goeth his way and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was The looking-glasse will shew you the blemishes in the face which the eye cannot else discerne beloved get a knowledge of the spiritualnesse of Gods Law of the extent of Gods Law that the Law doth reach the inward man that Gods Law reacheth to those very first motions of the soul those very inclinations to sin that are in thine heart be acquainted with the Law and by that thou wilt come to the knowledge of sin Physicians have used this remedy to their Patients In a Convulsion Fit they would wish them at that time to look their face in a glasse that when the Patient doth see what an ugly countenance he hath and what an ugly posture he is in at that time he might strive the more against it So do you look your face in a looking-glasse to see those deformities that are within you this will make you confesse and this will bring you on your knees Secondly If you would confesse sin aright observe diligently your own waies and hearts Prov. 4.25 Let thine eyes look right on and let thine eye-lids look straight before thee Vers 26. Ponder the path of thy feet and let all thy wayes be stablished Look right before you and ponder the waies of your feet and that is the way to have you established and keep you from falling keep a distinct knowledg over your hearts and wayes Thirdly Keep fresh in your remembrance some particular sin or other when you come to prayer it will help you in confession it is barrennesse as I told you that you do not see what matter you have to confesse that makes you so scanted in your confession would you but present some particular sin when you come to God you would be in better plight to confesse sin to God this the Psalmist doth 51. vers 3. For I acknowledge my transgressions and my sin is ever before me He means the sin of Adultery When David came to prayer he would put before his eyes the sin of adultery now set thy sin before thee Art thou a drunkard set thy drunkennesse before thee art thou an adulterer set thy uncleannesse before thee art thou an extortioner then set thy oppression before thee set sin before thine eyes when thou commest to prayer and that is the way to feed thy spirits with confessions to God in a prayer Fourthly Call to remembrance some old transgression of many years past before thy conversion and muster up these sins together that so thou mightest have matter of complaint and confession before God Suppose present guilt doth not come up before thee then recollect and review old transgressions sins of an old date this David did when he found his heart dull and sluggish he would call to mind the sins of his youth Psalm 19. When you see that your hearts grow barren of spirituall matter through heedlesnesse goe then and ransack your old wayes what did you 20 years agoe let conscience gawle you for that that so you may have matter enough to confesse unto God This rule doth not appertain to Christians under trouble of conscience but only to those Christians that are sluggish and barren of any spirituall complaints and confessions in Gods presence A word of Use further for direction If it be so that Justified persons are bound to make secret confessions unto God then First Christians keep a heedfulnesse over your hearts that you may not let sin go unconfest make conscience and be heedfull that sin committed by you may not be unconfest a sin unconfest as to the apprehension may be unpardoned a sin unconfest cannot be mourned for cannot be actually repented of Observe that a lesse sin unrepented of may damn a man when a greater sin that is confest to God may be pardoned if you compare Saul and David together 1 Sam. 15.9 But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fatlings and of the lambs and all that was good and would not utterly destroy them but every thing that was vile and refuse that they destroyed utterly Saul did there commit a farre lesse sin then Davids was to wit adultery

recorded in Scripture it is a Note that Hildersham hath on Psal 51. touching Davids foul sin I do not read of any expresse example in all the Scriptures of a godly man falling oft into the same grosse sins after repentance and after humiliation for that sin Observe this further that though it be possible yet it is but very rare and though there be instances that some men have done so yet there are more plentifull instances that good men have not done so I will give you a few instances Jehosaphat entred into a sinfull league with Ahaziah but when the Prophet rebuked him read the story 1 King 22. He had sinned once with his father but he would not sin a second time with him so that here you see a good man would not a second time join with an Ahaziah So likewise you have the instance in Judah that was father in law to Thamar Gen. 38.26 And Judah acknowledged them and said She hath been more righteous then I because that I gave her not to Shelah my son and he knew her again no more It was not again done he knew her again no more so as Divines doe usually urge it Noah was drunk but never but once and that before he knew the strength of the grape David was adulterous but never but once This therefore shall be one caution Secondly Take this Caution that you might not be emboldned to run often into the same sin if a man doth often commit the same grosse sin it argues a greater strength and prevalency that that sin hath over him then all other sins Physitians say that a disease that a man doth often relapse into argues the strength of these peccant humours that feed the disease if thou often fallest into lusts it argues the prevalency of a lustfull temper In the third place Relapses into the same grosse sin are very dangerous and deadly symptomes of a man in a lost condition I doe not say they are such symptomes that infallibly conclude a man to be an unpardoned man I may say as Physitians say of a relapse into the same disease the second time is more dangerous then the first disease the reason is because the first sickness feeds on the ill humors but relapse into the same ficknesse feeds on the vitall spirits Beloved the falling and relapsing into the same sin is a dangerous symptome it is a clear symptome of the prevalency of that sin It is worth your notice what symptomes the Lord doth give of the plague of leprosie for the Priest to judge that disease by Levit. 13. the first symptome was when the hair was turned white in the sore Divines accommodate that to a continuance in sin to old age that argues you are unclean Lepers Another symptome was when there was raw flesh in the scab Divines accommodate that unto a man being adventurous to sin against a raw a troubled and a wounded Conscience A third sign of the plague of leprosie was when after the sore was healed there should a new scab arise in the place thereof thus when after thou hast healed a fin by vows by fasting and prayer by holy purposes in Christs strength and after the healing the same sore breaks out and the same lust breakes in upon thee this is a dangerous symptome Fourthly That you might not be adventurous on this comfort consider that falling often into the same sin doth more harden the heart then any thing in the world habituating and indulging a mans self into the same road of wickednesse there is nothing in the world doth more harden the heart then when the same sinne hath the same inroad into thy conscience and life then all tendernesse and remorse of conscience will be taken away I speak meerly on this ground that seeing you have instances that men may fall often into the same grosse evils yet let these four considerations keep you from abusing this comfortable point I but you will say if I doe fall often into the same sin what may be to stay my heart up that I may be in a pardoned estate for all this I say this to you though thou dost fall often into the same sin yet if thy conscience bears thee witnesse thou dost exercise the same grace often in opposition to the same sin thou mayst have a great deal of comfort that thou art in a state of pardon The fifth case follows But whether may a godly man that is pardoned pray for pardon of sin Antinomians account this to be needlesse they account all prayer for pardon to be onely in this sense to wit for a sense of pardon and a manifestation of pardon Answ First Though it be true that God doth not call a man to pray for those things that are perfectly done so as never to bee done again yet God doth command us to pray for those things that are but imperfectly done I am not to pray to God to create the world it is perfectly done I am not to pray for Election it is so done as never to be done more I am not to pray for the incarnation of Christ Christ is come into the flesh but though I am not to pray for these things that are so fully and perfectly done yet I am to pray for those things that are imperfectly done pardon of sin is an act of God that is still in doing therefore the Apostle refers pardon Rom. 3.24 25. Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ Whom God hath set forth to bee a propitiation though Faith in his bloud to declare his righteousnesse for the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance of God And as sin is remitted and repented of it is pardoned therefore that Reason is not valid to take off men from praying for pardon of sin the Scripture doth expresse it I acknowledge my transgression and thou forgavest Matth. 6.12 And forgive us our debts as wee forgive our debters That Plat-form according to which we are to model our prayers the Antinomians would evade the Text and pretend that in that Text and such Scriptures wee onely pray for a sense and manifestation of pardon in the Conscience and not for actuall exhibition of pardon in regard of God To take off this first The next words in the Petition are to be taken for a reall forgivenesse not for a forgivenesse in sense and feeling for consider the whole Petition Forgive us our trespasses as wee forgive them that trespasse against us there can bee no reason shewed why the first part of the Petition should bee taken for sense and feeling of forgivenesse and the other should be taken so Secondly Consider this that in the same sense you must understand a sin to be forgiven as in Scripture language it is spoken not to be forgiven a sin is said not to be forgiven when there is an actuall guilt lies upon a man a guilt redounding upon the person of a wicked man