Selected quad for the lemma: sin_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
sin_n	harden_v	heart_n	pharaoh_n	3,527	5	10.7953	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96372	A treatise of the power of godlinesse: consisting of three parts. 1 wherein it consists. 2 cautions against, and discoveries of, several mistakes and hinderances, most common to the people of God. 3 several means and helps for attaining of it. / By Thomas White, preacher of Gods Word in London.	White, Thomas, Presbyterian minister in London.	1658 (1658)	Wing W1848; Thomason E1848_1; ESTC R209711	168,479	438

and may bee mingled with worldly imployments that they may bee almost innumerable every day and what they want in their magnitude they may have in number an Hair is but a small thing yet because of their multitudes they keep us very warm Misers feasts they say use to bee very great but very seldome but in his daily constant expences hee is very frugal and omits not the smallest gain and it is not such seldome extravigances that impoverish 3. Smaller duties and smaller sins do make way for greater as the point of the needle doth for the rest of it nemo repente fit turpissimus generally wee begin with lesser sins as omissions of duties as friends first begin to bee estranged and then they may easily become enemies for frequent committing of lesser sins harden the heart so that that sin which if it had been propounded at first would have startled one yet the heart being prepared by the omissions of duties and running into the occasions and temptations of the sin they come at last from being so far from abhorring of it that they commit it Davids murther of his friend began with his neglect to fight against his enemies and his adultery began with idleness with sleeping and gazing so you shall see by what degrees hee came to commit murther 1. Hee neglects the duty incumbent upon him at that season and so having little to do hee did nothing went to sleep when hee should have been meditating Gen. 24.63 his unseasonable sleep made him unfit for any thing that was good but fit for any thing that was evil one act of idleness puts him upon another and both of them fits him for adultery and that ingages him to murther to satisfie his lusts he commits adultery to conceale his lusts hee commits murther Sin is modest at first Solomon would not build his Wives house neer the Temple afterwards built an Altar for an Idol Eccles 10.13 4. If the sin bee so little or the duties so small is it not the greater sin for thee to offend God for such trifles If the love of God bee not strong enough to perswade them to do or abstain from that which is small how weak is thy heart towards God 5. Is it not a great sin in thee to offend God in small things It is a great sin for thee to stand out against God in small matters CHAP. XIV The next impediment is our ignorance and senselesnesse of the sins of Omission THe next great impediment is the not considering the sinfulnesse and the mischief that sins of omission do us few there are but make conscience of slandering their neighbour but make not conscience enough of preserving his good name more make conscience of sinful words than of sinful silence more make conscience of doing evil than of doing nothing therefore that you may bee more sensible of the sinfulness and sins of omission consider 1. That the greatest sins in the world except the sin against the Holy Ghost are sins of omission viz. ignorance infidelity impenitency 2. That at the day of Judgement the sins that Christ shall condemn wicked men for are sins of omission 3. Thy sins of omission are far more than thy sins of commission for every sin of commission includes in it sins of omission not è contra Consider how ma-many precious thoughts of God thou mightest have had the last hour which thou hadst not and so many thoughts not had so many sins of omission nay every holy duty has more sins of omission than it hath goodness of performance for there are three kindes of sins of omission one in omitting the duty it self the other in omitting debitas circumstantias and the third in omitting debitos gradus So that though you do perform the duty either you omit doing it for that end c. and so want sincerity or else do it not with such a high degree of love c. CHAP. XV. The next impediment is not to come fully off for God THe eleventh great impediment is that wee do not come off fully and wholly for God wee would fain have both the World and God which will never bee it is impossible to have ones treasures in heaven and in earth too This halting betwixt two opinions betwixt God and Baal and serving two Masters God and Mammon is that which hinders us from doing either effectually for while wee are thinking and endeavouring to enjoy the world the thoughts of heaven make us that wee cannot freely enjoy that and when wee are about to serve God the thoughts of the world take us off from him great mischiefes come by our thus having an heart for God and an heart for the world and the truth of it is 1. It is impossible as it is impossible for any body to have two centers either of magnitude or weight so it is for the soul to have two centers God and the world for as the first cause of all things can bee but one so the last end of all our desires and endeavours can bee but one subordinate end wee may have many but not co-ordinate 2. Hence comes all our mischiefes all our troubles and distractions come from hence For as it is in a Kingdome when it is divided and there are two which would strive for soveraignty there must needs bee continually civil wars so that soul can have no peace but must bee in continual war and disquiet when the world and God strive who shall rule From whence come wars and fightings within you Come they not hence of your lusts that war in your members 't is our lustings after the world that make all our inward perturbations in our services of God 3. This makes us that wee cannot run the Race that is set before us as not with joy as already hath been said so not with speed just as one that halts runs neither with that speed nor ease nor comeliness So hee that halts betwixt God and any thing else goes but slowly on in the waves of God therefore if God bee God follow him if the world bee God follow that Hee that is going from Sodom and looks back must needs make many a stop in his journey 4. Take heed for thy hearkening after the world though for the present it may bee they onely hinder thee in Gods service yet it will come to pass at last that they will hinder thee from Gods service thy sinning and praying will not last long for either thy sin will make thee leave off praying or thy praying will make thee leave off sinning So thy love of the world will either make thee leave off loving of God or the loving of God will make thee leave off loving the world For God will so order it by his providence that thou shalt bee forc'd to chuse one as it befell the young man that would needs know what hee must do to bee saved hee thought hee might love riches and follow Christ but it would not bee 5.

invincible As when one first begins to bee angry one may easily refrain but after it becomes outragious and will neither follow nor hear any counsel nay advice in the height of fury is as Physick in the Paroxism of a discase dangerous The third advice is in principio respectu consuetudinis before thy sin grows customary for when once thou art accustomed to do evil then the Blackmoor may as soon change his skin and the Leopard his spots as thou thy sin saith the Prophet So then there are three wayes in respect of the beginnings of sin to conquer it 1. In respect of the root and spring from whence it ariseth and then as hath been said your main application must bee to the root not to the branches for many times that which seems to bee the Master sin is not but is rather like Joseph who acted all but hee did it by the authority of Pharaoh who though hee appeared not yet Joseph could do nothing but by commission and power derived from him So Anger that makes the great noise and seems to bee the Master sin in those that are passionate but the spring of it is pride which though it appears not yet by its power and influence anger does what it does therefore thou art to seeke out the root of that which seems to bee the Master sin And there are three grand sins from which generally all others do proceed Pride Covetousnesse Voluptuousnesse though indeed all these come from one which is self-love therefore do but learn that singular lesson which Christ gives and thou shalt destroy both root and branch of sin viz. He that will bee my Disciple let him deny himself saith Christ Self is the great enemy that every man has 2. As for the beginning of sin in respect of his degree watchfulness is the singular remedy For if we have a continual watch over our words and actions nay even our thoughts wee shall see sin in its beginnings nay even in its first motions and occasions and temptations and so wee may either prevent or at least take it before it comes to its Paroxisme And the beginnings of sin as of all other things are weak and easily subdued 3. And as for the preventing of sin that it comes not to bee customary the remedy for that is frequent examination for by often examining our selves wee shall discover our sins as soon almost as wee commit them and so they will bee kept from being habitual and customary therefore let the examination of thy self be at least Diurnal so that no sin can be above a day old before thou perceivest it and so if thou canst not strangle it in its birth thou mayest in its cradle I suppose one need not bee a Giant to encounter with a Lion as soon as it is whelpt or to pull up an Oke when the Acorn first sprouts forth 5. The fifth advice is concerning temptations and three advices there are concerning temptations 1. Concerning the foreseeing of temptations it is good in every action to consider what temptations wee are like to bee encountred withal in that action as when you go to hear the Word consider what temptations are incident to that And so in all holy duties Ordinances and worldly imployments For if a temptation takes us unawares a weak temptation will prevail more than a strong foreseen 2. The second advice concerning temptations is to prepare and provide for them as one advises that if you know you are to speak with a passionate man you are not only to foresee that you are likely to provoke him and hee you to passion but you are to provide remedies against both either by preparing mollifying words or taking with you some person whose presence may awe or such like 3. But you are to avoid all the temptations that you can so that you do not neglect a duty to avoid a temptation for it is presumption to run into unnecessary temptations and it is spiritual cowardise to neglect our just imployments because a Lion is in the street And as I have elsewhere said when one has once found ones self overcome with such a temptation frequently then it is a sin to go into that temptation though one bee not overcome by it And it is a great fault in parents when they dispose of their children not to consider what callings have the most temptations accompanying them and they should consider of what callings there are few that are religious in and utterly avoid disposing of their children to such a calling for if the calling bee not in it self unlawful yet it shewes the temptations that accompany it are so many that it is almost impossible to avoid and overcome them 6. The next adivce is concerning thy speech As often as occasion is given speak against the vice thou would'st overcome and three advantages you shall receive from it 1. By often speaking against it thy heart will bee brought into some measure of hatred of it for as by evil communication good manners are corrupted so by good communication thy heart will bee inclined to the best things 2. It will keep thee from many a temptation for when thou shalt bee known to speak against such a sin people will more hardly entice thee to commit it or commit it themselves in thy presence As it is reported of one that shee was so great an enemy to censuring and speaking ill of others that it came to a Proverb that if such an one was present they were sure that they were not standered at that time 3. It does strongly ingage thee not to commit that sin which thou so frequently condemnest 7. Another advice is to divert thy thoughts and speech to some other thing and this advice takes place in lusts censuring or speaking ill of others and blasphemous thoughts for the Apostle bids us not so much to resist as to fly fleshly lusts Other sins wee are to resist these to fly from for a chaste Matron rather avoids the room when a lewd man solicites her to uncleanness than stands long to dispute the question So Joseph flies from his Mistress And so also in blasphemous thoughts they are to bee abhor'd not to bee disputed withal they are not to bee thought over again for the benefit in abhorring of it will hardly recompence the horror that such thoughts bring with them 8. The next advice is concerning vowes and resolutions concerning which since in that which I have already published concerning vowes in my Treatise of my Meditations I have given rules I refer to them CHAP. III The next help for the attainment of the Power of Godliness are Ejaculatory prayers THe next thing that I shall speak to which is of unspeakable spiritual advantage are Ejaculatory prayers which do first honor God much in his Attributes 1. In his Omnisciency I mean mental ejaculatory prayers for generally all mental prayers are ejaculatory and by this we profess that God is Omniscient that hee knows our