Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	heart_n	love_n	soul_n	15,430	5	5.0411	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A49874	The wounded-heart, or, The jury-man's offences declared and ingeniously acknowledged for the satisfaction of those who were thereby troubled by Thomas Leader.	Leader, Thomas.	1665 (1665)	Wing L793; ESTC R11077	8,130	12

say into these following particulars First as unto the frame of my own heart before I was on the Jury and that was thus I was too too confident in my self and of my own strength and thoughts judging the Prisoners were not guilty of the breach of that Act and from that consideration concluding that I should not be an Instrument to bring them in guilty of it and here let me tell thee too much of my own strength did appear and herein I was too much like unto Peter when he said that though all men forsook Christ yet he would not but when he came unto the tryal he became another man From hence learn That a mans own strength is his exceeding weakness and a mans own confidence is great foolishness Be therefore put in mind alwayes to stay upon God and observe this as a certain Rule That a man being given over to follow his own understanding and to leave the Counsel that proceedeth from above is ready to work his own ruine and is like unto a Lamb fed in a large place subject to every devouring Wolf to be led into every temptation and snare of Satan but the man that doth make the Lord his strength who giveth himself up to be led and guided by him is a safe man for if floods of temptations arise against him yet he hath a Rock under him And from hence David's confidence did proceed Psal 46. That as his confidence was in God and not in his own strength he would not fear though the Earth was removed Now the end for which I write these things is that no man might be as I have been too too confident in my own strength but in all things of concernment little or much every man may have his expectations from Heaven that he may walk surely therein Now from the consideration of such an estate and condition in which I was in as by woful experience I speak it to my shame in being so confident in my own strength doth put me upon an enquiry into the cause and reason of these things that I should fall into such a snare which doth indeed make me jealous of my own heart that it hath not been so right to God as it ought and I desire to deal plainly in this thing time was that it was the rejoycing of my heart to follow the Lord whithersoever he went but of late it hath not been so time was that I had greater discoveries of God's Love unto my soul but of late I have seen to arise Mists and Clouds and have been as one that hath lost his first Love and indeed the sinfulness of this wickedness is so great that it may give great jealousies to think I am one that i● spued out of the mouth of God but as to my self I am not altogether left without hope because I did it ignorantly And Christ is held forth in the Gospel not only to be a Saviour from small offences and sins but great sins also not only to give Grace to restrain from them but if any are overtaken by them he is an Advocate to plead their cause and to save from the guilt and punishment of sin if they truly repent These things I write not to encourage any in sin but to avoid all the appearances of sin and not to give way unto a spiritual decay for it will end in misery Peters confidence was a forerunner of greater miseries he denied his Lord and what followed Peter went out and wept bitterly And so I would it might be a Caution to others from my experience to take heed what they do in matters of so great concernment Secondly When I was on the Jury and the Verdict brought in I was exceedingly troubled in my self yet at that time not thereby sensible wherein I had done amiss and that because the Judge told is that we had no more to do but to find whether they were at the Bull and Mouth and they confessing of it was the great thing that stopped my mouth but as to the Indictment it self never otherwise perswaded but that they were not guilty but being ignorant of my duty in such a work I held my peace yet however my ignorance will not excuse me my own peace hath been and is disturbed by it and how I may recover my self and do good unto those that I have offended by my so acting I know not the Lord hath convinced me that I have been an Instrument of Unrighteousness in this thing my heart hath been as an Anvil for Satan to work on not only to imprison but also to banish as who knoweth what may happen unto them their wives and children they may cry for vengeance from Heaven and herein I may say as David It s I that have sinned and O that God had blessed me with that happiness to have prevented me but now it is too late to recal the thing past but I must bear the Indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him Which leadeth me to the next particular thing To desire others that they would sympathize with me I do not mean in the sin but in the sorrow desiring those that have an intrest in God would improve it upon my account that the Guilt might be taken off from me and that God would satisfie me with his Love whatsoever he should do to me upon any other account When Job was in trouble he called unto his Friends to assist him Job 19.21 Have pitty upon me have pitty upon me O ye my Friends for the Hand of the Lord hath touched me But on the other hand it was matter of grief unto him and the adding of sorrow unto sorrow when that they had forsaken him Job 19.14 19. All my inward friends abhorred me and they whom I loved are turned against me Therefore I desire that you would assist in the bearing of the burden with me and that if it be the will of God the Judgment which I may look for may be prevented but in a special manner the Sin forgiven Now that which I have mor to say is That all men might have a care that whensoever they may be called unto any work of Concernment especially when the Honour of God lieth at the stake that you would look well to your hearts and although you may think you stand yet to tak heed lest you fall as I have done into snares and temptations and so come to lose your peace which is as a precious Jewel of great price threfore keep your hearts with all diligence for the neglect thereof leadeth into snares Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward but he that keepeth his soul shall be far from them The heart of a man is very deceitfull therefore it is time for a man to look about him and to have a care of his heart when he thinketh himslf most confident And God is more honoured by a man that hath a low esteem of himself than of the other If he be going about any thing of Concernment he is very fearful of dishonouring of God he is often with God to ask counnsel often with Friends to take advice and all is because he knoweth but a little He is afraid of dishonouring God and therefore he is very jealous over his own heart It pleased the Lord when he heard Solomon say that he was but a Child and therefore he gave him the things he requested This I speak to that end that you may be advised to lean upon the Lord for advice and counsel which is the way to keep your eyes from tears and your feet from falling but because I took not this counsel my self I shall rather desire to conclude onely say this That I look upon what I have here written to be my duty first to condemn my selfe for my silence and that I should be surprized in such a manner as I was secondly that as I have herein committed a publick Offence so I judge it my duty to make a publick Acknowledgement of the same and although as it is possible these lines may come into the hands of men of several Opinions and Perswasions yet that they would judge charitably of me that I do it not to please any man's humour neither thereby intend to offend any but as I have offended through my weakness and my soul burdened by reason thereof I hope they will all bear with me considering what the Scripture saith Prov. 18.14 The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity but a wounded spirit who can bear THE END

Judge did inform us was to prevent Insurrections by meeting together under a Pretence of Religious Exercise but as unto these People they could not be made guilty of the breach of that Act because there was not any Witness to prove that they were there upon pretence but as they confess really to worship God or upon the account of any Insurrection and as far as ever I could hear were not the people that ever had hand in any such thing 5. Fifthly I minded this unto them That the hand of God hath been seen in an extraordinary manner by them that had of late been transported Therefore did advise that they would not be rash but consider what it was that they were a going about to do These Reasons I did use as that which did satisfie me and I thought might have satisfied the rest of the Jury that the Prisoners were not guilty of the crimes charged in the Indictment But all would not signifie any thing Now in the consideration of these things the Officer came and said My Lord hath sent to know whether you are all agreed word was sent No. Many of the Jury said That they had confessed so much therfore they could do no less than carry them in guilty I told them often that I could never agree unto it The Officer comes again yet we were not agreed and goes and comes again and said My Lord hath sent me for to lock you up At this many of the Jury were troubled and how to help we could not tell but at last we did begin to consider how far we could agree together and about four of us came to this conclusion that we could carry them in thus That they were at the Bull and Mouth and upon a Religious account and no further and no more had we either from the Witnesses or themselves But here all parties were not agreed and about this time the Officer comes again and said My Lord hath sent me to know the Names of those that are not agreed I then told him my Name and told him that I could not agree to the bringing of them in guilty of the Indictment And in this condition we were in for about two hours about which time those that were for not bringing of them in guilty of the Indictment did begin to be of another mind and not only so but did also use Arguments for to perswade me so that with what the Judge told us That we had nothing to do but to find whether they were there or no and also with the Officers often coming unto us and about eight or nine of us that were never upon such a Jury before and as to my own part I underderstood but little in such things and so being in a great strait and reasoning with my self and others I was over-perswaded and deeply surprized so far as to hold my peace at the Bar notwithstanding when that we were a coming out of the room where we were together I told them that I was not agreed any further than is before-mentioned and to this some of them are my witnesses and the Lord of Heaven that knows all hearts is also Witness to the truth of this Now this I have to say and do before the Lord his People and the whole World declare That herein I was surprized and became an Instrument of great dishonour unto the Name of God and a trouble unto his People and the more I consider of it the more I do see the wickedness of it and the lowness and baseness of my own spirit that I should be silent at such a time and in such a case of so great concernment that was directly against my own understanding which giveth me great cause of grief and sorrow of heart and doth even cause my soul to bleed and the Lord knows it doth disturb me of my peace by day and of my rest by night That God should give me a Tongue and yet I should not have a Heart to make use of it in such a case and at such a time And it hath been often in my thoughts that if God should deal with me as I have dealt in this case he might deprive me of that member for whereas I have been a dishonour unto God a grief unto the Righteous a trouble unto my own Soul and a means of sorrow and affliction unto many innocent Souls for want of bearing a Publick Testimony when the Lord had put it into my hands the consideration of which makes my soul to cry out O Lord God what may be done in this case Sos being under this trouble and sorrow of heart for which I may a I have just cause to mourn all the dayes of my life it came into my heart to write these things following to the end that it might be a Warning unto all men in the like case that when they are called unto such a work as this was that they may have a care how they are either perswaded against their own understandings which as I conceive no mortal man will require and also to know when to speak how to speak and when to be silent Again That all men may know I never consented unto any other Verdict to be brought in against those people called Quakers no otherwise than by my silence at the Bar which for the want of a good understanding in the work I was then upon with the Arguments used by others and by often sending to and threatning withal I was surprized and led into a snare but yet I thank God that it was not done with premeditation as Judas betrayed his Master yet I dare not excuse my self but say I have sinned and as Eve was surprized by the subtilty of the Serpent yet it was sinful in her and the sin lay heavy upon her Peter was brought into a snare to deny his Master yet was not to be excused from sin in that case David was tempted to number the People of Israel yet he was not excused from sin notwithstanding he was provoked and tempted unto it and indeed this instance of David hath la in heavy upon me that as David did number the People of Israel 2 Sam. 24.1 10. it 's said that Davids heart smote him and his heart smiting him was a plain discovery that he had not done well Our hearts do not smite us when we do those things that are good and right in the sight of God And at that very time in which these things were done I was not without a smitten heart and great jealousies I had that I had not done well and yet deprived of that reason and courage as I ought to have had to say those things which was really my Judgment before I shall not make it my business to say any thing of the faults of others having too much to say of my own and because I would not be teadious nor burthensom I shall for the instruction of the Christian Reader comprise what I have to