Selected quad for the lemma: mind_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mind_n	law_n	member_n	wretched_a	1,364	5	10.8021	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A50480	En oligo christianos, the almost Christian discovered, or, The false-professor tried and cast being the substance of seven sermons, first preached at Sepulchres, London, 1661, and now at the inportunity of friends made publick / by Matthew Meade.	Mead, Matthew, 1630?-1699.	1662 (1662)	Wing M1546; ESTC R9895	121,691	343

the midst of laughter the heart is sorrowful Prov. 14.13 but now the comfort that flows from godliness is an inward comfort a spiritual joy therefore it is called gladness of heart Psal 4.7 Thou hast put gladness in my heart Other joy smooths the brow but this fils the brest 2. Worldly comfort hath a nether spring the spring of worldly comfort is in the creature in some earthly injoyment and therefore the comfort of worldly men must needs be mixed and muddy Iam. 3.11 an unclean fountain cannot send forth pure water But spiritual comfort hath an upper spring the comfort that accompanies godliness flows from the manifestations of the Love of God in Christ from the workings of the blessed Spirit in the heart which is first a Counsellour and then a Comforter And therefore the comforts of the Saints must needs be pure and unmixed comforts for they flow from a pure Spring 3. Worldly comfort is very fading and transitory Iob. 20.5 The triumphing of the wicked is short and the joy of the Hypocrite is but for a moment Salomon compares it to the crackling of Thornes under a pot Eccles 7.6 which is but a blaze and soon out so is the comfort of carnal hearts But now the comfort of godliness is a durable and abiding comfort your heart shall rejoyce Io. 16.22 and your joy no man shall take from you The comfort of godliness is lasting and everlasting it abides by us In life In death After death Isa 32.17 Phili. 1.2 Colos 12. First It abides by us in life grace and peace go together godliness brings forth comfort and peace naturally the effect of righteousness shall be peace it is said of the primitive Christians they walked in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost Acts 9.31 every duty done in uprightness and sincerity reflects some comfort upon the soul Psa 19.11 In keeping the Commands there is great reward not onely for keeping of them but in keeping of them as every flower so every duty carries sweetness and refreshing with it But who more dejected and disconsolate the Saints and beleivers whose lives are more uncomfortable whose mouths are more filled with complaints then theirs if a condition of godliness and Christianity be a condition of so much comfort then why are they thus Isa 50.10 Sol. That the people of God are often times without comfort that I grant they may walk in the dark and have no light but this is none of the product of godliness grace brings forth no such fruit as this there is a threefold rise and spring of it Sin within Desertion without Temptation without 1. Sin within the Saints of God are not all Spirit and no flesh all grace and no sin they are made up of contrary principles there is light and darkness in the same mind sin and grace in the same will carnal and spiritual in the same affections Gal. 5.17 there is the flesh lusting against the spirit in all these and too often the Lord knows is the beleiver led away captive by these warring lusts Ro. 7.23 so was the holy Apostle himself I find then a Law that when I would do good evil is present with me Rom. 7.21 and v. 23. I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin and this was that which broke his spiritual peace and filled his soul with trouble and complaints as you see in the 24. v. O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of death So that it is sin that interrupts the peace of Gods people indwelling lust stirring and breaking forth must needs cause trouble and grief in the soul of a beleiver for it is as natural for sin to bring fotth trouble as it is for grace to bring forth peace every sin contracts a new guilt upon the soul and guilt provokes God and where there is a sense of guilt contracted and God provoked there can be no peace no quiet in that soul till faith procures fresh sprinklings of the blood of Jesus Christ upon the Conscience 2. Another Spring of the beleivers trouble and disconsolateness of spirit is the desertions of God and this follows upon the former God doth sometimes disappear and hide himself from his people verily thou art a God that hidest thy self Psa 13.1 Isa 45.15 But the cause of Gods hiding is the beleivers sinning your iniquities have separated between you and your God and your sins have hid his face from you Isa 59.2 In Heaven where there is no sinning there is no losing the light of Gods countenance for a moment and if Saints here could serve God without corruption they should injoy God without desertion but this cannot be while we are in this state remaining lusts will stir and break forth and then God will hide his face and this must needs be trouble thou didst hide thy face and I was troubled Ps 30.7 Psa 116.3 The light of Gods countenance shining upon the soul is the Christians Heaven on this side Heaven and therefore it is no wonder if the hiding of his face be looked upon by the soul as one of the dayes of Hell so it was by David The sorrows of death compassed me the pains of Hell gate hold upon me I found trouble and sorrow 3. A third spring of that trouble and complaint that brims the banks of the Christians spirit is the temptaions of Satan Mat. 13.39 he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the great enemy of Saints and he envieth the quiet and comfort that their hearts are filled with when his conscience is brimmed with horrour and terrour and therefore though he knows he cannot destroy their grace yet he labours to disturb their peace As the blessed Spirit of God is first a Sanctifier and then a comforter working grace in order and peace so this cursed Spirit of Hell is first a Tempter and then a Troubler first perswading to act sin and then accusing for sin and this is his constant practise upon the Spirits of Gods people he cannot indure that they should live in the light of Gods countenance when himself is doomed to an eternal intolerable darkness And thus you see whence it is that the people of God are often under trouble and complaint all arises from these three springs of Sin within Desertions without Temptations without If the Saints could serve God without sinning and injoy God without withdrawing and resist Satan without yeilding they might injoy peace and comfort without sorrowing this must be indeavoured constantly here but it will never be attained fully but in Heaven But yet so far as grace is the prevailing principle in the heart and so far as the power of godliness is exercised in the life so far the condition of a Child of God is a condition of peace for it is an undoubted

perish and go to Hell in the midst of all their performances and duties meerly for want of a little sincerity of heart to God Jer. 17.9 Now where there is not a change of state a work of grace in the heart there can be no sincerity to God-ward for this is not quid proveniens a natura it is not an herb that grows in natures garden the heart of man is naturally deceitful and desperately wicked more opposite to sincerity then to any thing as things corrupted carry a greater dissimilitude to what they were then to any thing else which they never were God made man upright now man voluntarily losing this is become more dislike to himself then to any thing below himself he is more like a Lyon a Wolf a Bear a Serpent a Toad then to man in innocency So that it is impossible to find sincerity in any soul till there be a work of grace wrought there by the spirit of God and hence it is that a man is but almost a Christian when he hath done all The fourth Question 4. What is the reason that many go no farther in the profession of Religion then to be almost Christians Reas 1 1. It is because they deceive themselves in the truth of their own condition they mistake their state and think it good and safe when it is bad and dangerous A man may look upon himself as a member of Christ and yet God may look upon him as a Vessel of wrath as a Child of God by looking more upon his sins then his graces more upon his failings then his faith more upon in dwelling lusts then renewing grace may think his case very bad when yet it is very good I am black saith the Spouse Cant. 1.5 and yet saith Christ O thou fairest among Women v. 8. So the sinner by looking more upon his duties then his sins may think he sees his name written in the book of life and yet be in the account of God a very reprobate Gal. 6.3 There is nothing more common then for a man to think himself something when he is nothing and so he deceives himself many a man blesses himself in his interest in Christ when he is indeed a stranger to him many a man thinks his sin pardoned when alas he is still in the Gall of bitterness and bond of liniquity Act 8.23 Many a man thinks he hath Grace when he hath none there is saith Salomon that makes himself rich Prov. 13.7 and yet hath nothing This was the very temper of Laodicea Rev. 3.17 Thou sayst I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing and knowest not pray mind that that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked Thou knowst not as bad as she was she thought her state good as poor as she was in grace she thought she was rich as miserable and naked as she was yet she thought she had need of nothing Now there are several rises or grounds of this mistake I 'le name five to you Gen. 27.36 Supplan tativum cor prae omni First The desperate deceitfulness of the heart of every natural man Jer. 17.9 the heart is deceitful above all things the Hebrew is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the same with Jacobs name now you know he was a supplanter of his Brother Esau he is rightly called Jacob saith he for he hath supplanted me these two times So the word signifies to be fraudulent subtile deceitful and supplanting Thus is the heart of every natural man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 deceitful above all things Ps 52.4 Ye read of the deceitfulness of the tongue And of the deceitfulness of riches Mat. 13.22 Prov. 31.30 Job 6.15 And of the deceitfulness of beauty And of the deceitfulness of friends Rev. 20.3 But yet the heart is deceitful above them all nay you read of the deceitfulness of Satan yet truely a mans heart is a greater deceiver then he for he could never deceive a man if his own heart did not deceive him Now it is from hence that a man presumes upon the goodness of his case from the desperate treachery of his own heart Prov. 28.26 How common is it for men to boast of the goodness of their hearts I thank God though I do not make such a shew and pretence as some do yet I have as good a heart as the best Oh do but hear Salomon in this case He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool will any wise man commit his money to a Cutpurse will he trust a Cheat It is a good rule 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 remember to distrust and it was Austins prayer domine libera me a meipso That man that trusts to his own heart shall be sure to find himself deceived at last Secondly This mistake arises from the pride of a mans spirit there is a proud heart in every natural man there was much of this pride in Adams sin and there is much of it in all Adams sons it is a radical sin and from hence arises this overweening opinion of a mans state and condition Salomon saith Eccles 7.16 Aug sent 36 be not righteous overmuch Austin speaking occasionally of those words saith it is not justitia sapientis but superbia praesumentis not meant of the righteousness of the wise man but of the pride of the presumptuous man Now in this sense every carnal man is righteous overmuch though he hath none of that righteousness which commends him to God viz. the righteousness of Christ yet he hath too much of that righteousness which commends him to himself and that is self-righteousness A proud man hath an eye to see his beauty but not his deformity his parts but not his spots his seeming righteousness but not his real wretchedness Ephes 3.8 1 Tim. 1.15 Lu. 18.11 It must be a work of grace that must shew a man the want of grace The haughty eye looks upward but the humble eye looks downward and therefore this is the beleivers Motto the least of Saints the greatest of sinners but the carnal mans Motto is I thank God I am not as other men 1 Sam. 21.14 Thirdly Many deceive themselves with common grace instead of saving through that resemblance that is between them as many take counterfeit money for current coyn so do too many take common grace for true in similibus facilis est deceptio Saul took the Devil for Samuel because he appeared in the mantle of Samuel so many take common grace for saving because it is like saving grace a man may be under a supernatural work and yet fall short of a saving work the first raiseth Nature the second onely reneweth Nature though every saving work of the spirit be supernatural yet every supernatural work of the spirit is not saving and hence many deceive their own souls by taking a supernatural work for