Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heart_n	put_v	spirit_n	stony_a	3,973	5	11.7036	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B06566	The experiences of God's gracious dealing with Mrs. Elizabeth White, late wife of Mr. Thomas White of Coldecot in the county of Bucks. / As they were written under her own hand, and found in her closet after her decease, she dying in child-bed, Decemb. 5. 1669.	White, Elizabeth, d. 1669.	1698 (1698)	Wing W1763; ESTC R186485	11,805	24

my spirit sometimes I was refreshed I could not tell how but I should be ready to think this was a delusion I remember the Scriptures were these Isa 50.10 Who is among you that feareth the Lord that obeys the voice of his Servant that walks in darkness and hath no light let him trust in the name of the Lord and stay upon his God Iohn 15.16 Ye have not chosen me but I have chosen you and ordained you that ye should go and bring forth much fruit and that your fruit should remain c. Lam. 3.25 The Lord is good unto the soul that waits for him and to them that seek him It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the Salvation of the Lord c. These words did support me very much therefore I write them out and laid them in my Closet that they might still be in my eye that I might when I looked upon them be incouraged to hope in and wait upon the Lord but these comforts were but transient but yet whiles they lasted they were very sweet supports but when gone I fell to doubting thinking all was delusions and thus I dishonoured God 〈◊〉 my unbelief I doubted much of my sincerity often saying I was an hypocrite but if at an● time I was asked in what I was one I could not tell but had this Scripture very often in my mind There is a way which seemeth right unto a man but the end thereof is death And so I thought I was but seemingly right and therefore must needs perish and in this condition I continued a long time but I heard that a hypocrite seldome or never doubted his condition and that it was a sign of sincerity to desire a sincere heart and this I durst not deny knowing that I did desire it rather than the whole world Thus being better satisfied I resolved to se● about my duty but all this while I did not see such a high price upon the Lord Iesus as I should but still I thought that I must do something to merit salvation not daring to venture my soul with all its concernments upon Christ therefore I should tye my self to pray six times a day and then I should be satisfied and thin● all was well with me then but if I at any tim● failed of my number then I was dis-satisfied and so in other duties so that my comforts did not flow from the blood and righteousness of Iesus but from my own duties but blessed be the Lord who likewise shook this foundation even because he had a favour to me for being in discourse with a friend he desired me to read Shephards sincere Convert which I did and here did I see as in a glass my folly for there were signs given whereby I might try my self whether I did rest in duties One I remember was this If I never saw I rested in Duties then it was a sure sign that I then did another was this If I prized the bare performance of duties so as to think when I had prayed with some life that I had done very well and again If I saw but little of my vile heart by Duties then it was a sign I rested in them and that I was yet in the way to Hell though in the cleanliest way and should certainly perish if I rested here Now this I plainly saw was my condition but how to get out of it I knew not for now I was in a worse condition than at the beginning finding it abundantly more hard to deny righteous self than sinful self I thought it wonderful strange that I must be saved by the righteousness of another if ever I were saved O this my proud heart was unwilling to yeeld to and yet I was very desirous of salvation But when the Lord had led me into my own heart and shewed me the vileness of that more and that if the Lord should leave me to my self I should commit all kind of sin and that with greedines such was the vileness of my nature and that if it were possible I should now live holily yet I could not satisfie the justice of God for what was past therefore I resolved to cast my self upon Christ Iesus that sure foundation which God had laid and not man and if I perished to perish here but much opposition did I meet with from Satan and my own heart before I could really do it I could seal to the truth of that scripture Eph. 1.19 That God did put forth his mighty power when a soul was made to believe but yet I was not at quiet but had many fears and doubts that all was false because I had been so often deceived and now I began to ●ee mine own vileness more than ever and ●ound my heart ran out to the Lord Iesus in love but doubted very much of his love to me yet sometimes I should have some perswasions of my interest in Christ and that his love was towards me and whilst this perswasion lasted I should be very comfortable be ready to think I should never be moved as David did but when God hid his face I was troubled and fell to doubting all again not having learned that heavenly skill of living by Faith but yet I did not wholly cast off my confidence but had some pin hole of hope in the worst condition I remember the consideration of this scripture Iohn 3.8 He that is born of God doth not commit sin filled me with many fears knowing how apt I was to commit sin notwithstanding my striving against it but a little while after I was satisfied understanding the place better that it was not meant of sins of infirmity but of making sins ones trade c. and this was I confident I did not but rather trembled at the thoughts of it but when this was over Satan and my own unbelieving heart will still be presenting something whereby to occasion doubts so that for the space of one year and a half I had scarcely any settled peace now and then a good word thrown in which would revive me for the present but the comfort would be soon gone as Ezek. 36.26 A new heart will I give and a new spirit will I put in you and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you a heart of flesh and will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes c. This Promise I should often plead with God very sensibly and with much confidence another was Iohn 11.25 I am the resurrection and the life he that believeth on me though he were dead yet should he live And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die This I remember was very sweet to me once when I was in great fear lest my heart should grow dead and when I was with Child I was much dejected having a sence of my approaching danger and wanting an assurance of my everlasting happiness

but whilst I was considering of these things I had this Scripture set home with abundance of sweetness Psalm 50.15 Call upon me in the day of trouble and I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorifie me and in the time of my extremity this word was set home upon my heart again and my good God made me to experience the truth of it in a wonderful manner for I had speedy deliverance beyond my expectation which filled my heart and mouth with praises to the Lord about three days after a friend coming to visit me I related to her how good the Lord had been unto me and how sweetly my heart was established but no sooner was my friend gone but I was tempted to think my faith was false but I labored what I could to encourage my self in the Lord my God But as I lay in my bed I thought I saw three men before me and it was presently suggested to me that these were the three persons in the Trinity O then I was very much troubled but I knew I was under a temptation and therefore cryed to the Lord for help but was not p●esently delivered from it but I had this Scripture brought to my mind No man shal see my face and live Exod. 33.20 But not being yet freed I began to consider what I had heard and read as means to help against such temptations at last I remembred that Mr. Bolton in his Book of instructions for the right comforting of afflicted consciences gave this direction after the party had prayed for help against the Tempter and done what they could in repelling him by the Word of God that if they were yet followed by Satan that then they should set about some honest imployment but now I was in Bed and knew not what to set about for the present at last I resolved to try to suckle my Child which I did and then lay down again and found that I was pretty well freed from that temptation and finding my self much distempered in my head I desired the Lord to give me rest and went about to compose my self to sleep but as I lay I thought Satan stood before me asking where I could find a promise for sleep at present I could not think of any but after some study this was brought into my mind The Lord will give his beloued sleep this word comforted me but yet I could not all that night get any sleep but still thought I saw Satan laughing at me because I had no sleep and yet trusted in his word thus all the night I continued weak in body and comfortless in mind so that in the morning I expected nothing but death then beginning to think more seriously of my change Satan as I then thought asked me where was my assurance of my everlasting happiness at this I was very much troubled knowing I had not full assurance but yet some good hope through the goodness of God I had therefore my heart made answer it is true I have no assurance but I have cast my self wholly upon the Lord Christ and in him only is my hope and here will I rest and if I perish I perish but sure I am such shall not perish for Christ hath promised them eternal life Thus being assisted by the Lord I vanquished Satan for that time and being thus at peace I quickly fell asleep and dreamed there was a Ladder set upon the earth whose top reached to heaven and I thought I was to go up that Ladder into heaven that as fast as I got up I was pulled down again which caused me to shed abundance of tears fearing that I should never get up and I thought something from above drew me by the arms but I could not see what but at last I thought I was in heaven where all tears were wiped from mine eyes and I was filled with rejoycing but when I had been there a little while I thoght I was to go back again to the earth and this very much troubled me but then I thought I heard a voice saying it would be but for a little while and that I should die in Child-bed and that the night before I dyed I should have full assurance this very much rejoyced me and I was very desirous to know of what child I should dye but that was denyed me upon this account because I should be always prepared but when I did awake I was filled with unexpressible joy earnestly longing to be dissolved and to be with Christ which was best of all and yet willing if the Lord pleased to suffer any thing which might be inflicted on me Then I remembred how Satan when I was about to turn to God would present the sufferings of Gods people to me thinking by that means to turn me back again and how I should be discouraged by them but being filled with the joys of Gods Spirit I thought I could suffer any thing not wondering as I had done how the Saints of old could bear up so bravely under their sufferings But after I began to amend my joys were not so full as they had been but I had a more setled peace than formerly I had blessed be the Lord I had many various changes in my spirituall state but once having a great sense of a hard heart and being desirous to have it molified I was tempted to do some great evil as the only means to break me and that it might be the readier entertain'd Satan put it into my heart to consider the condition of Nathaniel Butler whose heart was unbroken till the commission of that horrid sin of murder and then this great evil brought him to a sight and sense of all sin this temptation was very strong upon me but yet stronger was he that was with me than he that was against me for at that very instant did the Lord cast into my heart that happy word Rom. 8.3 Let us do evil that good may come whose damnation is just This word proved a happy means to repel the temptation but yet this mercy I had forgot till the Lord revived it upon my heart almost two years after as I was reading the Chapter And since my Child was weaned I was in such a state of deadness and darkness that I thought if I was ever raised out of it I should never question my condition again I was tempted to think that the Scripture was not the word of God I had let out my affection in a wonderful measure to my Child and yet my Lord forsook me not but dispelled my darkness and filled me with rejoycing O What shal I render to him After this I grew into another damp and was raised again and I trust the Lord will keep me notwithstanding all the mist which shall be raised in my heart by sin and Satan even by his power through faith unto Salvation These Scriptures revived me 〈◊〉 several times when I was in heaviness fo● want of the presence of God at the