Selected quad for the lemma: knowledge_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
knowledge_n	law_n	sin_n	sin_v	2,207	5	9.5096	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

1 The first Defect in confession of sin unto God is this that when men come to confesse sin to God they have such a barrennesse and confusion on their spirits that they cannot call to remembrance their particular sins to confesse them Hildersham hath a good note descanting on them words in 1 Joh. 1.8 If we say that we have no sin we deceive our selves and the truth is not in us Saith he If we say that we have no sin there is no man so grosse to say that he hath no sin for his own practise will belye his tongue but it is when we come to God we do as in effect say so when we do not know what sin to confesse to God we are so confused and heedlesse in observing our own wayes that we do not know what to confesse in prayer unto God and that the Apostle condemns This was the fault of Bellarmine when his Confessor came unto him Bellarmine did protest unto him that he did not know one sin that he was guilty of to confesse unto the Priest this was heedlesnesse in him for if he had observed his own wayes he would have found sins enough to have confest many are heedlesse that they doe not take notice of their own evils Beloved this is a common and an ordinary Defect there are many when they come to prayer though they have manifold sins in them yet they are so confused so indistinct in the knowledge of their own wayes that they have only generall confessions Lord we have sinned Lord we have done evill in thy sight but cannot call to mind any particular sin they have done Was it never thus with you that ye did not know what to bewail to God and what to lament of in his presence this is a Defect that godly men are often plunged into Defect 2 A second Defect in the confession of sin to God is this when men in prayer do confesse many sins to God yet do leave out their master and predominant sins many men are large in confession yet do leave out their master sins Moses though a good man yet was faulty in this regard God commanded him to go to Egypt to deliver his people but saith Moses I am not eloquent I am of a slow speech he did complain of a naturall defect but he did not complain of a spirituall defect but God did answer all his pleas in Exod. 4.19 And the Lord said unto Moses in Midian Go return into Egypt for all the men are dead which sought thy life Vers 20. And Moses took his wife and his sons and set them upon an asse and he returned to the land of Egypt So that here God put his finger upon the sore Moses complained of the peoples incredulity of his own naturall infirmity but Moses did not complain of his slavish fear that if he should go to Egypt there were men that would kill him till God did assure Moses that those men that sought to kill him were dead Moses would not goe here a good man would not confesse his slavish fear that he did fear death therefore he would not goe on Gods command Beloved this is a Defect that doth many times cleave to godly men to leave out their predominant sins and to confesse sins but of an ordinary incussion Defect 3 A third Defect in confession of sin to God is this to have the heart to hanker after the committing of those sins you do confesse Austin doth ingenuously acknowledge this of himself saith he I did often beg strength of God against the sin of incontinency yet had often an unwillingnesse in my heart that God should hear my prayers lest I should leave my sins Indeed conviction of conscience doth force to a confession of sin yet the strength of thy depraved affection doth make thee hanker after the sin and cause a lothnesse to leave it Defect 4 A fourth Defect in confession of sin to God is this to confesse to God the sins of your life but not the sins of your nature many men will be large in confessing the sins of their life but seldome or never bewail the sins of nature that vicious inclination in the heart to sin very few but David in the Old Testament and Paul in the New who did sufficiently confesse originall sin David in the Old Testament Psal 51. there he begins to bewail the root of those sins which he was guilty of So Paul in Rom. 7. bewails the body of sin many men bewail actuall sin but not habituall sin but not originall sin many men bewail bad actions but never confesse unto God their vicious inclination This Defect good men many times are guilty of Defect 5 A fifth Defect is this to confesse grosse and open sins but not to confesse small and secret evils we are commanded to keep the Law as the apple of our eye Prov. 7.2 Keep my Commandements and live and my Law as the apple of thine eye Now you know a man that keeps his eye will not only keep his eye from great blowes but will keep it from small motes which may put out the eye as well as a great blow men should not only take heed of great blowes great transgressions but they should take heed of lesser motes small sins Now beloved good men many times commit those sins that are infamous that the naturall light of conscience can controll them for why those evils are complained of and confest but secret evils wandring thoughts in duties vanity of minde the deadnesse of the heart empty of spirituall meditations inward distrust these evils are seldome bewailed and confest this is many times a Defect found in good men good men are not so apt to confesse omission of good as commission of evill Defect 6 A sixt Defect in confession of sin to God is this to confesse sin more because of its guilt then of its spot my meaning is more because sin hath a damning power then a defiling nature more because sin damns thy soul then defiles thy conscience A child would touch a coal though it be smutty and soily but he forbears to touch it meerly because it is a burning coal we forbear sin because sin is a burning coal but we do not forbear to touch it because it is a defiling coal that is a Defect in many godly men to be found Defect 7 A seventh Defect in confession of sin to God is this to confesse those sins to God which if men should charge us with we should deny and be angry This holy Greenham doth take notice of in mens confession of sin thou wilt confesse thy pride to God but if a man should say that thou art proud thou wouldst be angry with him thou wilt confesse thy wayes to God but if men should tell thee of thy sins thou wouldst be angry with them this shewes there is much Defect in your confession Defect 8 The eighth Defect in confession of sin unto God is this not to have the

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