Selected quad for the lemma: soul_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A46795
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The blind obedience of an humble penitent the best cure for scruples
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Jenks, Sylvester, 1656?-1714.
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1698
(1698)
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Wing J629; ESTC R26825
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57,722
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231
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and therefore have just reason to conclude that they are unavoidably accountable for every mistake they commit And this is abundantly enough to make them always jealous that for ought they know God's Justice may be making towards them and his Anger levell'd against them But this cause ceases immediately as soon as they entertain the principles of Blind Obedience Because 't is evident when God has given them a Confessor to direct them it cannot be his will pleasure that this Guide should be directed guided by them T is true He may be mistaken But let him look to that T is none of their business to examine him On the contrary 't is commendable in them to submit (z) S. Bernard sup without asking any question for Conscience sake And therefore although his mistakes may perhaps be fatal to himself t is as clear as the Meridian Sun that they can never be fatal to them nor can they ever be accountable for any thing which he advises Another more secret cause of their inward disquiet is well express'd by S. Austin who says Thou hast made us O Lord for thy self our hearts are always restless till we rest in Thee All creatures are uneasy when they are out of their natural Element Nothing is at rest but whilst it is in that state which Nature intended for it Obedience is the natural state of the Soul it was made to obey its Maker and the constant practice of this Vertue is the condition to which God design'd it He gave us our Reason not to make us Rebels but to make us reasonable Subjects and therefore all our acts of Submission to the Authority of his Government are rational suitable to the first institution of our Nature Our Reason is a Ray of the Divivinity it imprints the image of our Maker on our Souls and writes the fundamental laws of our Submission in so plain a character that though our Passions now and then obscure it yet they never can efface it As long as (a) Rom. 13.1 our Souls are subject to the higher powers ordain'd by God (b) Hebr. 13.17 obeying them that rule over us submitting our selves to those who watch for our Souls so long our Souls are in their natural temper and are in very good health because they are in that State in which they ought to be according to the primitive intention of their Being But when we resist the power of Authority when we (c) Rom. 13.2 resist the ordinance of God when we revolt against the Government of Jesus-Christ by despising the Commission he has given to our Confessor and by refusing in doubtfull cases to acknowledge the sufficiency and safety of his Direction then it is that we act contrary to the inward light of our minds our Conscience checks us and makes us uneasy And how can we hope to be at ease as long as we have poyson within us which puts us in a sickly diseased condition Our Pride and Willfullness put all our spirits in a continual fermentation Our minds can never be serene as long as they are clouded with the fumes of our distemper All the common arts of diversion will never avail us we may change our place our posture our physick our Physician too but we shall still be restless till the cause be removed which creates our disturbance (d) Isai 57.21 There is no peace says my God to the wicked But as in our body we find an unexpressible ease pleasure when it is in perfect state of health So when Obedience corrects the proud and willfull humours of our Soul restores the even temper of our Mind smooths the way before us Then it is that All is easy to us We easily know what we are bid to do And being humble we as easily do it The Obedience which I speak of not onely removes the causes of our inward trouble disquiet but lays a sure foundation of interiour comfort tranquillity of mind by affording us the best Security that we can wish for during Life and the greatest Joy that we can think of at the hour of Death What greater Security can our hearts desire than to be under the protection of God himself the Shepherd of our Souls who knows a great deal better than we do what is good for us and will not suffer us to go astray because he loves us better than we love our selves He was our Enemy before whilst we rebell'd against his Government But by detesting our past pride folly submitting to his Ministers he now becomes our Friend All Friendship is comfortable but this is the best of Friendships and therefore is the greatest divinest comfort T is a great satisfaction to feel that we our selves love God and a double satisfaction to hope that He himself loves us Then it is that we may say to our Soul as David did (e) Psal 114.7 Return unto thy rest O my Soul (f) Psal 26.1 My God is my Light my Salvation Whom shall I fear My God is the Protector of my Life of whom shall I be afraid As 't is our best Security during life so 't is our greatest Joy at the approach of Death and yields most comfort then when we stand most in need of it T is a terrible thing to a departing Soul when it looks back upon a proud willfull course of life which instead of being spent in the service of God has been perpetually employ'd in idle reasoning disputing how to serve him when to serve him whether to serve him or no. What can such people plead in their behalf T is certainly no good excuse to say Lord we have always been rebellious against thy Government but the reason was because we were afraid to rely upon it and indeed we durst not take thy word for it because we thought it fitter for us in all our doubts to govern our selves according to our own fancy T is true we have seldome or never done our Duty but we hope thou wilt please to pardon our willfull omissions of it because we were always so mighty busy in thinking considering of it that we could never find time to do it Here it is their guilty Conscience lies in wait to accuse them never is more fierce than in the day of adversity When Eternity that terrifying object at the hour of death presents it self before their thoughts when they feel themselves beginning to sink into the regions of darkness when they are ready to die at the amazing apprehension of their final Sentence How will the Guilt of all their Disobedience then stare them in the face With what regret terrour will they then behold it in its own true shape What tumults and convulsions will it raise within their breasts when they observe a long black train of proud willfull practices which very well deserve to be attended with a longer a blacker train of everlasting miseries But it is not so with those who have in time repented of of their folly and have proved sincerely humble obedient In their greatest temptations all is calm serene within when there is nothing but darkness clouds about them All their their acts of Submission are so many seeds of peace comfort sown in their Consciences which never fail to spring up flourish most when the day of distress approaches When the pangs of Death are ready to lay hold of them and they are just going to step into the other world What a seasonable refreshment is it to their thoughts too look back upon an humble obedient course of life Then it is that the pleasure of it over-flows their minds the joys of Heaven begin to spring up in their hearts are a true solid comfort which will stick close to them stand faithfully by them in the day of Trial when they have most need of it O what a Joy it is to consider that their greatest Friend who has been heretofore the Shepherd of their Souls is now the Judge of their Actions to reflect that their Humility in hearing his Voice their Obedience in following it are the certain marks by which he knows the happy number of his Sheep and to remember that he will not fail to set them on his right hand when He comes in glory to pronounce the Sentence of their Everlasting Happiness To hear his Voice was once the Security of their life And to hear the same is now the Joy of their death My Sheep says he hear my Voice they follow me and I give unto them Eternal Life and they shall not perish for ever Come ye Blessed of my Father Come inherit the Kingdom which was prepared for you from the foundation of the World Amen FINIS