Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	believe_v	faith_n	know_v	8,213	5	4.2899	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A32783	Via lactea, or, The saints onely way to true blessedness opened in a sermon from Matth. 5, 8 : also the danger of neglecting gospel-salvation, from Heb. 2, 3 / by Thomas Cheesman ... ; with his epistle to vindicate himself from those absurdities of method and language and little less then blasphemies, with which he was abused by a mercenary pen, in the former impression.	Cheesman, Thomas.	1663 (1663)	Wing C3776; ESTC R43092	18,787	38

Secondly why we should labour to get purity of heart Thirdly what means we should use to have our hearts purified Fourthly in what particulars this purity of heart will especially discover it self I. There are many things implyed or comprehended in this purity of heart First the justification of our persons civilizing morality doth onely furnish men with some sweet sented flowers which may perfume their outward conversation rendring it more acceptable to humane society though still their hearts may continue as filthy and impure as ever they were before Moral men commonly have a high conceit of themselves and yet they may be abominable in the sight of God as Solomon speaks Prov. 30.12 There is a Generation that are pure in their own eyes and yet is not washed from their filthiness but no true purity can be effectually produced in our inward parts until we come to be sprinckled in the blood of Christ Rev. 1.5 Who hath loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood We can never be clensed from our sinful abominations until we be washed in the blood of that immaculate Lamb which takes away the sins of the World when the soul is brought into a state of justification it is cloathed in the wedding Garment of Christs imputed righteousness which is large enough to cover all its natural deformities and then though it were never so black and filthy before it presently appears full of amiable lustre and shining excellency bright and clear beautiful as an Angel without spot or blemish in the sight of God Secondly Purity of heart doth imply a renovation of our nature We are all defiled in our very birth and conception the poysonous Leprosie of Original sin hath spread it self over every faculty of the soul and member of the body therefore if ever we obtain any acceptable purity this corrupt depraved nature must be changed hence is that Petition of the Prophet David which you may read in Psal 51.10 Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me Tit. 3.5 we are said to be saved by the washing of Regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost And the Apostle Paul likewise prays in the behalf of his Thessalonians that they may be sanctified throughout both in body soul and spirit 1 Thes 5.23 The soul and the spirit are here to be distinguished The Spirit here signifies the most Noble sublime and Angelical part of man comprehending his will conscience and understanding the soul that signifies the inferiour faculties of sensitive desires and affections and the body that is the outward man the instrument of the soul In Ezek. 36.25 26. you have an excellent Gospel promise I wil sprinkle clean water upon you and you shall be washed from all your filthiness and from all your Idols will I cleanse you a new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you Oh that men were generally more convinced about the excellency and necessity of this sanctifying work Thirdly purity of heart requires the casting out of defiling sins all sin is of a very defiling nature therefore it s shadowed forth in the book of Leviticus under the notion of a spreading Leprosie t is compared likewise to the vomit of a Dog and to that filthy mire which Swine delight to wallow in But more particularly sinful pleasures must be cast out of the heart In the 47. of Ezek. there you read concerning the River of the Sanctuary that is the Doctrine of the Gospel which is dispersed amidst the wilderness of the Gentiles and most places where it came received a healing vertue from it but in the 11 vers the Miry places and the Marishes thereof shall not be healed By the Marishes and Miry places some fitly understand those men women that have given themselves over to sinful pleasures these kind of persons are very unlikely to be healed by the waters of the Sanctuary what gross defilement do many contract while they let loose the raines to vile affections and drown the masculine activity of their spirit in a loathsome pudle of sensuality Also earthly-mindedness is another sin which must be cast out if we desire to have a pure heart When a thing is mingled with that which is of a superior nature it s thereby made more rich and precious as when silver is mingled with gold but if it be mingled with that which is of an inferiour nature as silver mingled with lead such a heterogeneus mixture doth debase and impoverish it thus when the soul of man is as I may so speak mingled with the graces of the spirit this makes it more Noble exalting it to a higher degree of perfection But if it be mingled with the drossy vanities of the world this makes it base and vile The Scripture tells us concerning the pollutions of the World 2 Epist of Peter Cap. 2. vers 20. and in James 1.27 saith he This is pure Religion and undefiled before God and the father to visit the fatherless and the widows in their afflictions and to keep himself unspotted from the world the things of the world they are a dirty defiling nature they are like Pitch t is hard to touch them and not contract some defilement or other How is it possible that that man should have a pure heart that can be contented from morning to night to entertain nothing but the world in his soul John 17.15 saith Christ I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil Fourthly Purity of heart requireth that we should adorn our selves with purifying Graces First Hope 1 Joh. 3.3 He that hath this hope purifieth himself even as he is pure Raised expectations of future happiness should stir up in the soul strong and vigorous endeavours after present holiness because a defiled heart and a undefiled inheritance cannot stand together Secondly Faith that 's another purifying grace as you have it Acts 15.9 Purifying their hearts by faith Those which perswade themselves that they doe believe in Christ and yet their hearts are as carnal and corrupt as filthy and impure as ever they were before They may know that their faith is but a fantastick dream or deluding shadow there is nothing of truth nothing of reality in it Faith having tied a marriage knot between Christ and the soul layes a strong engagement upon her to keep her self chast and pure till the approach of her glorious Bridegroom when she shall be taken into the everlasting embraces of his love Thirdly Repentance that is another purifying grace Repentance pulls off the mask from the face of sin causing it to appear in its proper colours so that it hath no alluring paint nor counterfeit dress by which it should ensnare or delude the soul any longer Repentance fills the soul of a sinner with hatred and detestation against sin making him restless in his desire till he can procure an

guilty of neglecting this great salvation when they will not lay to heart the things of the Gospel when they count it a burthen to be engaged in meditating upon them when they will not consider nor allow the Gospel any room in their serious thoughts but rather do what they can to banish and cast it out of their minds how can you more evidently discover that you despise a thing then when you do not judge it worth the thinking upon Oh! how many are there that melt themselves into luxury and wantonness rufling it out into pride and bravery and wasting their precious time yet they never took any successful care for their impartial souls they never set apart one hour seriously to consider how they might provide for their everlasting state Alas what will become of those men do they not think that they shall taste of Death as well as others and then how can they look their Judge in the face I beseech you sinners take notice of the indispensible necessity that lies upon you to practice the duty of consideration Is Christ before you is grace and a crown of glory before you and will you not consider why is Death ready to seize upon you is the judge at the door and yet will ye not consider why have you any better things to consider upon then the Gospel doth afford what is not a God and a Christ is not the state of your souls worth the considering upon why Crowns and Kingdoms Lands and Lordships they are but toys and trifles but chaff and stubble dross and dung if compared with those everlasting things and yet will you not be perswaded to consider Alas doth not Conscience tell you that you can entertain wanton and covetous and revengeful thoughts from morning until night and that is no wearisomeness to your spirits and have you no leisure no time to think how you may make your peace with God and procure the pardon of your sins That is the second Men are guilty of neglecting this great Salvation when they will not meditate upon the Gospel Thirdly Men are guilty of neglecting this great Salvation when they will not put forth their strength to work out their own Salvation when they resolve to be at no further cost for the saving of their souls then the laying out of a few cold customary desires and sluggish wishes why consider what work you have to do if ever you will enter into life you have a dark understanding to be enlightned an hard heart to be softned a stubborn will to be subdued defiled affections that must be cleansed strong corruptions that must be mortified violent temptations that must be resisted and can all this be done while you sleep in the bosome of brutish security and slothful negligence why doth not the Scripture tell you that if you will be saved you must strive to enter in at the straight gate for many shall seek to enter and shall not be able you must wrestle with Principalities and Powers so run that you may obtain and fight the good fight of faith that you may lay hold upon eternal life and do such expressions as these give the least encouragement to sloath Oh! that men should take more paines to get a morsel of bread then they do to get an immortal Kingdom of glory that they should go to bed late and rise early and eat the bread of carefulness as if they never could take too much pains for the getting of earthly riches yet think every hour too much that is spent for the things of eternity those which will not put forth their strength in working out Salvation they are guilty of neglecting it But in the fourth place what are the causes from whence the general neglect of this salvation may proceed Why first ignorance many are so ignorant as that they do not understand the common termes of Christianity though Ministers do cloath their matter in the plainest and most familiar expressions yet they hear all as if the discourse were delivered in an unknown language Secondly another cause is unbelief why men neglect this great Salvation though they have a competent measure of knowledge yet they do not believe the Gospel of Christ to be true they dont heartily believe that t is the word of God though perhaps with their tongues they may profess to believe as well as others least they should be shamed by the company with whom they converse yet in their hearts they have no stedfast perswasion concerning the truth of these things if there were not so much unbeleif men would be a great deal more diligent in working out their Salvation Multorum fides natat in labris dum nulla est in corde aut vehementer languet as saith Cyprian many profess to have faith when nothing but the works of infidelity appear in their lives Thirdly Hardness of heart that is another reason men are hard enough by nature but by customary continuance in sin and by grieving the spirit and by slighting the means of grace they grow harder so that their hearts will not be broken under the threatnings of the Law nor melted under the promises of the Gospel A broken heart can no more neglect the Gospel than an hungry man can neglect his food But Fourthly The greatest cause of all in the generality of men is earthly-mindedness they are so taken up with the things of the world that they have no leisure to think of heaven their thoughts are earthly their project and endeavours are earthly their affections earthly head heart hand and all conspire to carry on those designs on which their temporal advantages do especially depend You know in Mathew 13.22 those hearers that are compared to the thorny ground they received the word but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choaked the word so that it became unfruitful they were never the better for it If a person goes aside to consider about the matters of his salvation presently some worldly business or other steps in and interrupteth his thoughts The young man in Matthew 19. was very fair for heaven yet notwithstanding the world that was a bar to him for saith the text he went away sorrowful because he had great possessions Christ and the world they are contrary Masters and they set their servants about a contrary work therefore none can serve both of these together I come to the first and last thing which is to wind up all in some usefull application And first If those which neglect the salvation of the Gospel must unavoidably perish then let all take heed how they do attend and give ear to the preaching of the Gospel For first there is much of God and Christ in the Gospel there are thousands amongst the glorified saints and Angels blessing the Name of God for ever for that which they met withal in the preaching of the word if it were possible that sin should be committed in heaven that would be