Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heart_n	part_n	spirit_n	vital_a	3,441	5	10.7507	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A90660	The loyal non-conformist, or, The religious subject, yielding to God his due, and to Cæsar his right being a discourse from the pulpit touching true gospel worship and due subjection to magistrates / now printed, as it was preached (for the most part) in the month of August, 1662, by T.P.P---N-C.	T. P., P---N-C.	1644 (1644)	Wing P203B; ESTC R42780	86,090	259

in other matters because they indulge their own humours taking up unadvisedly that which best likes them or may suit best with their carnal aims and interests not weighing things in the Scales of an unbiassed Judgement or in the ballance of the Sanctuary not impartially considering which is the best indeed If we do consider we must needs be convinced that the way of God his appointment is better than the wayes that are of man's invention and that God is to be obeyed rather than man therefore let us consider Counsel 2 2. Let us not shut our eyes against the light or harden our hearts against conviction so as to give our vote for or give our selves up to any other Worship pleasing to the flesh or favoured by the times against clear Demonstrations of the betterness or bestness and onely goodness of this Worship in spirit and in truth Let us prefer in our judgements and adhere in affection and practice to that which appears really to be the best Consulting with flesh and blood and advising with carnal reason and attending to carnal policy is that which doth strangely blind mens eyes and byass their judgements carrying them the wrong way if this be best why should I enter into a consultation Whether it be better for me to fix here or elsewhere Counsel 3 3. When in our judgement we prefer this true spiritual Worship before other Worships let us single it out to our selves and single our selves out to it disclaiming all Worship that comports not with true Gospel-worship David having chosen the way of truth hated every false way Counsel 4 4. Let us resolve as to single our selves out to true spiritual Worship with a denial of all false hypocritical carnal sophisticated superstitious will-worship so to stick to it against all discouragements and opposition with a denyal of shame and fear resolving through God and by the help of grace herein to keep a good conscience Counsel 5 5. Let us be careful religiously and zealously to act that true spiritual Worship which we are convinced is the only good Worship and which we make choice of and resolve to stick to O let us be true Worshippers in practice as well as in judgement and profession seriously and zealously worshipping God in spirit in truth Let us labour to get our minds and hearts more renewed and let us see that our Religion be not defective in the vital parts that there be spirit and life true heart-devotion and fervency of affection in our Worship Let us manage holy work with a holy heavenly mind giving God the kernel of spiritual Devotion as well as the shell of Adoration and let us be pleased with the simplicity of Gospel-Ordinances and delight in the simple pure plain institutions of Christ and let us in our practice keep as close as may be to Gods Commands not turning aside to the right hand or to the left Let us be Scripture-men in this point making the Scripture both the Foundation and Rule of our Worship and adhering thereunto Then we shall be sure and constant in our way For as the truth is the same yesterday and to day and for ever so will the Scripture-man be of the same mind and the same frame and the same practice in Religion whereas they who build not upon this foundation will be like that Bishop of Alexandria who was called Euripus because of his ebbing and flowing his going this way and that way in matters of Religion For a Bishoprick he would swear to the Nicene Council and then to keep his place when the Tyde turned he would again forswear it But he that fixeth upon God's Word will be constant and this constant man shall have peace shall have peace in Christ as our Saviour saith to his Disciples though in the world he may have tribulations Gal. 6.16 As many as walk according to this Rule peace be unto them And that you may enter into and persevere in a right course of true Gospel-worship such as is pleasing to God 1. There must be a sincere desire to be true worshippers and so a seeking unto God by prayer to have your judgement rightly informed and well settled in this matter and to have your hearts carried to true and spiritual Worship and to be guided and managed by the Spirit of God in your Worship Beg of God that you may understand and affect and act that which is right 2. We must captivate our own fleshly wisdom and carnal reason which may judge this or that Worship to be lawful and convenient and prudential and approvable though not the very best Corrupt reason must not be set up in the place of a Judge to give sentence in the matters of God nor must it be suffered to dispute Christ his Commands but this must be brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ Where we have a clear Word we must learn to obey without reasoning not examining the matter by the judgement of corrupt reason Our corrupt minds will reason against duty and reason us off from it therefore reason must be subjugated to the Word of God to the Law of Christ 3. We must labour to work out of our hearts all inordinate love of earthly things Hag. 1.2 4. We shall find Haggai 1. that the peoples care and love to build their own houses made them to neglect the building of God's house Thus Covetousness put the Pharisees upon corrupt interpretations o● the Scripture When mens hearts are set upon the world they will part from their Religion rather than their Riches and they will take up any Worship for their wordly advantage When men delight more in the glory of their own houses than in the spiritual beauty of Ordinances no wonder if they stand little upon Christ his order Counsel 6 6. We must not attend to carnal policy which will make us to suit our selves to the times for the keeping of our selves in credit and in outward prosperity Some mens consciences are as a learned man hath well noted like Diogenes his Tub Mr. A. B. to be turned every way from the Sun and to the Sun and according as the wind blows Carnal respect is a Loadstone to a number of men Fac me Episcopum Romanum ero Christianus Make me Bishop of Rome said he once and I will be a Christian The carnal Politician so that he may be great and in favour with the Times will be for any Worship of any profession or party Carnal policy will make men to alter for their own carnal ends therefore we must take heed of this Counsel 7 7. That we may pitch upon the way of true spiritual Worship 〈◊〉 and may be fixed in it we must get our spirits fortified against temptations reproaches and persecutions There will be Scare-crows and there will be snares and our hearts naturally are fearful and we are too apt to catch at baits and to joyn with the world Now therefore here i●

it is performed in formality without any care of preparation for it without attention and affection in it when there is no Soul-labour no Spirit-work in all our Worship but a resting in the bare outward act and when that which people do in point of Worship is meerly out of custome or for fashions-sake without any true respect toward God or tendency of the Soul unto him And when people behave themselves carelessly irreverently and rudely in the place and time of VVorship and while they themselves pretend to be worshippers This is corrupt rotten Worship 3. VVorship is horribly corrupted in respect of the kinds and parts of it by taking away from or adding to Gods Institutions or making an exchange with God following our own fancies or other mens inventions instead of God his prescriptions Now Worship that is thus corrupted any of these wayes is not true Gospel-worship or that which is approved of God True Gospel-worship is pure VVorship Now that is pure VVorship for the Object of it which is exhibited to the true God alone conceived of according to the Revelation of him in Scripture And that is pure Worship as to the manner of it which is performed reverently conscionably spiritually and affectionately And that is pure VVorship for the matter in respect of the kinds and parts of Worship which holds strictly to God his appointments when nothing is done in the VVorship of God Contra vel praeter against or besides the VVord of God Thus you have the Demonstration of the point True Gospel-worship is a Worship in Spirit and in Truth For This onely will please God and This onely is a VVorship suitable to God and This is pure VVorship Now I come to application Applicat And I shall in the first place draw up three Inferences for Information 1Vse for Information Infer 1 1. If true Gospel-worship be a worship in Spirit performed with a renewed mind and a renewed heart and affections then the Worship of the prophane person and of the Formalist and Hypocrite is not Gospel-worship for it is not Spirit-worship These men are not renewed in the Spirit of their mind by the Holy Ghost transforming them into the Image of God which stands in Righteousness and holiness of Truth nor do they worship God with their Spirit Men that are notoriously ungodly who devote themselves to carnal pleasures and to the service of base lusts may sometimes act the part of those that seem to be Religious And many there are that put on a made face of Religion and that walk in a disguise seeming to men to be Worshippers of God but there is no truth in their inward parts There is some Religion before men who judge according to outward appearance but there is no Religion in the sight of God who searcheth the heart and trieth the reins Oh! how vain is the Religion of Formal hypocrites that pretend many times to exceeding great Reverence in managing the outward part of Worship and are very Zealous about Circumstantials and Ceremonies placing all or most part of their Religion in gestures and forms and other accidents of Worship and in External observances of humane Constitutions in a pack of Complements but have no regard to the inward Substance and life of Worship are so far from prizing and honouring this that they can reproach revile and rail upon the true tender conscienced sincere spiritual Worshippers and this in Pulpits with blood in their faces and fire in their eyes and the poyson of Aspes under their lips What sentence doth the Spirit of God pass upon such Worship and Worshippers Mat. 15.7 8 9. Ye hypocrites well did Esaias Prophesie of you saying c. Christ here condemns the Worship of the Scribes and Pharisees because they placed Religion in Ceremonies and made up a worship of humane Traditions and preferred these Traditions before God's Commands and he tells them that this is vain worship that which hath no approbation with God is of no advantage to them and is frivolous in it self It is but an idle Mock-worship in which there is not Spirit-work the labour of the heart and affections toward God and wherein men satisfie themselves with a few Superficial Hypocritical Complemental Services This is to offer to God● Sacrifice of husks and shells and lifeless carcasses and will God be pleased with this Let me here insert a word o● Caution to prevent mistakes I have not pitched upon this Text as aiming it or the Doctrine from it or any inference from the Doctrine against al Forms of Worship My Judgement stands not against the u● of a well composed Litugy o● Form of publick Worship I doubt not but there may be Spiritual Worship and heart Devotion and fervency of affection i● the use of a Form though experience may teach us that we a● apt to loose much of our affection by a constant use of the same words or Forms without any interposition of such matter or expressions as may serve to ca● home and quicken affection and attention But alas how many are there that are meerly for Forms without any heart-Devotion that not only are regardless of but even defie and deride Spirit-worship and are zealous for such or such a Form of worship meerly out of humour or haply out of design and in opposition to Gospel-worship and Gospel Worshippers And how many are there that worship God according to their own humours and in such a formal way of purpose to shift off God's Worship that which is Spiritual and Cordial who offer him the lips in repeating Prayers after the Reader that the heart may be excused who if they had not some customary Service to perform and some bodily Worship to be employed in would find little or nothing to do in our Assemblies And how many are they who I dolize the Liturgy and place all their Religion in it Now our Text and Doctrine lies against such Worship and Worshippers as naught as being far from Gospel-worship and Gospel-worshippers Infer 2 If Gospel-worship that which suits with Gospel-times and accords with the Gospel-rule be a Worship in Spirit i. e. a Spiritual Worship in opposition to that which is Carnal and Ceremonious if it be a Worship stript of the cloathing and dress of Ceremonies then hence may be inferred a just condemnation of a body of Ceremonies introduced into the Church of mystical signification by Institution humane appropriated to Divine Worship and made necessary thereunto and parts thereof Spiritual Gospel-worship stands in opposition to a pompous train of Ceremonies and to that Worship which confisteth so much of body What then shall we think of the Popish Worship which is as Ceremonious as ever was the Jewish which is indeed a very Mass of Ceremonies The Apostle Paul tells the Jews Gal. 4.1 2 3. that they were but children when their Ceremonies were in use and indulged to them so that it seems the Popish Religion is a childish Religion The