Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n
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A97249
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A hopefull way to cure, that horrid sinne of svvearing. Or an helpe to save swearers, if willing to be saved: being an offer or message from him, whom they so daringly, and audatiously provoke. Also a curb against cursing.
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Younge, Richard.
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1645
(1645)
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Wing Y160AB; Thomason E24_2; ESTC R211952
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24,628
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17
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A Hopefull way to Cure that horrid Sinne of SVVEARING Or an helpe to save Swearers if willing to be saved being an Offer or Message from HIM whom they so Daringly and Audatiously provoke Before you lay it by at lest read the Postcript at the End Messenger SIr methinkes you sware and curse as if he that made the eare could not heare Or as if he were neither to be feared nor cared for who for sinne cast the Angells out of heaven Adam out of Paradice drowned the old world rained down fire and brimstone upon Sodome commanded the earth to open her mouth and swallow down quicke Corah and his company he who smote Egypt with so many plagues overthrew Pharoah and his host in the Red Sea destroyed great and mighty Kings giving their land for an inheritance to his people And can as easily with a word of his mouth strike you dead while you are blaspheming him and cast you body and soule into hell for your odious unthankefullnesse Yea it is a mercy beyond expression that he hath spared you so long What because you are displeased with others will you fly in your makers face and tare your Saviours name in peices This is worse then frenzy this is to send challenges into heaven and make love to distruction consider of it least you sweare away your part in that blood which must save you if ever you be saved yea take heed least you be plagued with a witnes and that both here and here after for God who cannot lye hath threatned that his curse shall never depart from the house of the swearer as it is Zach. 5.1 to 5. And I doubt not but you are already cursed though you know it not That either he hath cursed you in your body by sending some foule disease or in your estate by suddainly consuming it or in your name by blemishing and blasting it or in your seed by not prospering it or in your mind by darkning it or in your heart by hardning it or in your conscience by terrifying it or will in your soule by everlastingly damning it if you repent not Wherefore take heed what you doe before it prove too late Or if you regard not your selfe or your owne soules good yet for the Kingdomes good leave your swaring for the Lord as now we find to our smart hath a great controversie with the inhabitants of the land because of swaring Hosea 4.1.2 Yea because of oaths the whole land even the 3. Kingdomes now mourneth or rather lyes a bleeding and that to death as you may see Ier. 23.10 Neither object that ye are so accustoâ—ed to swaring that you cannnot leave it for this defence is worse then the offence as take an instance Shall a Thiefe or Murtherer at the barre aleadge for his defence that it hath beene his use and custome of a long time to rob and kill or if he doe will not the Judge so much the rather send him to the Gallowes Besides the objection is false and frivilus for weare you forced to pay 12. pence for every oath you sweare as the law injoynes or if you were sure to have your tongue cut out which is too light a punishment for this sin damnation being the due penalty thereof as the Apostle sets it downe James 5.12 You both could and would leave it Wherefore I beseech you by the mercies of God who hath removed so many evills and conferred so many good things upon you that they are beyond thought or imagination to leave it especially after this warning which in case you do not will be a sore witnesse rise up in judgment against you another day Swarer Did I sware or curse Messenger Very often as all here present can witnesse and Satan also who stands by to take notice reckon up and set on your score every oath you utter keeping them upon record against the great day of asize at which time every oath will prove as a daggars point stabbing your soule to the heart or as so many waights pressing you downe to hell Revelat. 12.10 As also the searcher of hearts who himselfe will one day be a swift witnesse against swarers Mal. 3.5 For of all other sinners the Lord will not hould him guiltlesse that taketh his name in vaine as the third commandement tells you Exod. 20.7 But woe is me it fares with common swarers as with persons desperately deseased whose excrements and filth comes from them at unawars for as by much labour the hand is so hardned that it hath no sence of labour so there much swaring causeth such abrawny skin of sencelessenesse to overspread the heart memory and conscienee that the swarer swareth unwittingly and having sworne hath no remembrance of his oath much lesse repentance for his sin Swarer Alasse though I did sware yet I thought no harme Messenger O foole what Prince hearing himselfe abused to his face by the reproachful words of his base and impotent Subject would admit of such an excuse that whatsoever he spake with his mouth yet he thought no ill in his heart And shall God take this for a good answer having told us beforehand Deut. 28.58.59 that if we doe not feare and dread his glorious and fearfull name the Lord our God he will make our plagues wonderfull and of long continuance and the plagues of our posterity Besides how frequently doest thou polute and prophaine Gods name and thy Saviours The Jewes greviously finned in crusifying the Lord of life but once and that of ignorance but the times are innumerable that thou doest it every day in the yeare every hower in the day although thy conscience and the holy spirit of grace hath checkt thee for it a thousand and a thousand times Doest thou expect to have Christ thy Redeemer and Advocate when thy conscience tells thee that thou hast seldome remembred him but to blaspheme him and more often named him in thy oaths and curses then in thy prayers Swarer Surely if I did sweare it was but faith and troth by our lady the masse the roode the light this bread by the crosse of the silver or the like which is no great matter I hope so long as I sweare not by God nor by my Saviour Messenger That 's your grosse ignorance of the Scriptures for God expresly forbids it and that upon paine of damnation James the 5.12 First our Saviour Christ in his owne person forbids it Mat. 5.34 35 36.37 I say unto you sware not at all neither by heaven for it is Gods throne nor by earth for it is his footstoole nor by Jerusalem for it is the City of the great King neither shalt thou sweare by thine head because thou canst not make one haire white or black but let your communication be Yea Yea Nay Nay for whatsoever is more then these commeth of evill and then by his Apostle Above all things my breathren sware not neither by heaven nor by earth â—or by any other oath but let your
not to take the glorious name of God in vaine nor place any other creature in his roome though the Divell should say unto you as once he did to Christ all this will I give thee For it is not enough that we abstaine from evill unlesse we hate it also and doe the contrary good Sanctifie the Lord God in your heart 1 Pet. 3.15 Make a Covenant with your mâ—uth as Ioh did with his eyes and set a watch before the doore of your lips that you thus offend not with your tongue Psal 141.3 Which if you do rightly the like care to avoyde all other sins will necessarily follow because he that feares to commit one sin out of conscience and because God forbids it will upon the samâ— ground feare all that his law forbids and as heartily and unfainedly desire that he may never commit it as that God should never impuce it 2 Tim 2.19 Neither can a regâ—nerate mâ—nd consist with a determination to continue in any one sinne as when Christ cast out one Devill wee read that he cast out all even the whole Legion Marke 5 2 And he that makes not some conscience of all sinne makes no true conscience of any sinne And the same is to be understood also of duties commanded for the same law which injoynes us to hate and forsake all sinne commands us also to strive after universall obedience to every precept And it is a true rule he that hath not in him all christian graces in their measure hath none and he that hath any one truly hath all He that is not sanctified in every part is truly sanctified in no part 1 Pet. 1.15 2 Pet. 3.11 Mat. 5 48. 2 Tim. 3.17 2 Cor. 7.1 And the least sin alowed of be it but a vaine thought or one duty omitted is enough to cast thee into hell for the wages of sinne any sinne be it never so little is death Rom. 6 23. James 1.15 Yea admit thou hadst never acted any the least evill in all thy life it were not enough to save thee from hell much lesse to bring thee to heaven for we need no more to condemne us then what we brought into the world with us Gen. 2.17 Psâ—l 51.5 Rom. 5.12 Whence the new borne child in the law was commanded to offer a sinne offering Levit 12.6 Which grace if you would obtaine First lay to heart the things formerly delivered Beleeve thine estate dangerous and that there is but one way to help thee viz. to repent what thou hast done and never more to do wilfully or premedetately what thou hast repented not fostering one knowne sinne in thy soule For the only way to become good is first to beleeve that thou art evil and by accusing our selves we prevent satan by judging our selves we prevent God Scondly If thou beest convinced and resolvest upon a new course let thy resolution be pâ—remtory and constant and take heed thou hearden not againe as Pharoah the Philistems the Yong man in the Gospel Pilate and Judas did Resemble not the Iron which is no longer â—oft then it is in the fier be not like those which are sea sicke who are much troubled while they are on shipbord but presently well againe when they come to shore for that good saith St. Gregory will doe us no good which is not made good by perseverance If with these premonitions the spirit shall vouchsafe to stir up in thy heart any good motions and holy purposes to obey God in letting thy sins goe quench not grieve not the spirit 1 Thes 5.19 returne not with the dog to thy vomit least thy latter end prove seven fold worse then thy beginning Mat. 12.43.45 As it fared with Iulian the Apostate and Iudas the Traitor Oh it is a fearfull thing to receive the grace of God in vaine and a desperate thing being warned of a rock will fully to cast our selves upon it Thirdly Let not Satan perswade you to defer your repentance no not an houre least your resolution proves as a false conception that never comes to bearing for as ill debtors put off their creaditors first one weeke and then another tell at last they are able to pay nothing So deale delayers with God Besids Death may be suddain even the least of a thousand things can kill thee and give thee no leasure to be sicke 2. Or if death be not suddain repentance is no such easie worke as to be put off to sicknesse And though true repentance be never too late yet late repentance is seldome true And indeed there is small hope of repentance at the houre of death where there was no regard of honesty in the time of life and millions are now in hell who thought they would repent hereafter not being wise enough to consider that it is with sin in the heart as with a tree planted in the ground which the longer it groweth the harder it is to be pluckt up or a nayle in a post which is made faster by every stroake of the hammer Can the Blackamore change his skin or the Leopard his spots then may yee also doe good that are accustomed to doe evill saith the Lord Ier. 13.23 3. Or suppose after many yeares spent in the service of sinne and Satan thou art willing to relinquish thy lusts and offer to God thy service and best devotions at the last gaspe Will he accept of them No he hath expresly told us the contrary Pro. 1.24 to 32. Yea is 〈◊〉 likely that God will accept of thy dry bones when Satan hath suâ—kt out all the marrow that he will give his heavenly and spirtuall graces at the houre of deah to those who have câ—ntâ—mned them all their life Yea is it not most just and equall â—f God will not be found of those that were content to loosse him If he shut his eare against their prayers calling to hâ—m for pardon that stopt their eares against his voice calling upon them for repentance The Lord hath made a promise to late repentance not of late repentance If thou convertest to morrow thou art sure of grace but thou art not sure of to morrowes conversion If in any reasonable time we pray he will heare us if we repent he will pardon us if we amâ—nd our lives he will save us but for want of this consideration Dives prayed but was not heard Esau wept but was not pitied the foolish Virgins knockt but were denied And so thousands have cried unto God at the houre of death and found no acceptance but they died as they lived and went from â—ispayer unto distruction Wherefore as you tender the good of your owne soule set upon the worke presently provide with Ioseph for the Dearth to come With Noah in the dayes of thine heâ—lth build the arke of a good conscience aganst the floods of sicknesse Imitate the Ant who provides her meat in sommer for the winter following Yea doe it whilst the yearning bowells the bleeding wounds compassionate armes