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	pleasure_n	unrighteousness_n	2,527	5	11.3215	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A76748	The grand triall of true conversion. Or, Sanctifying grace appearing and acting first and chiefly in the thoughts. A treatise wherein these two mysteries are opened. 1. The mystery of iniquity working in mans thoughts by corrupt nature. II. The mystery of holiness working in the thoughts of sanctified persons. Together with precious preservatives against evill thoughts. / By John Bisco, minister of the gospel in Thomas Southwarke.	Bisco, John, d. 1679.; S. S. Man in the moone discovering a word of knavery under the sunne.	1655 (1655)	Wing B2987; Wing S147B; Thomason E1620_1; Thomason E1620_2; ESTC R209672	192,198	465

Yea Paul in his Pharisaicall condition was possessed with this Pharisaical error as appears by his own confession Rom. 7. 7. therefore he once thought himself able to live without blame in a legal Righteousnesse Phil. 3. 6 and to keep the Law till the Commandement came unto him in its spirituality at his conversion Rom. 7. 9. 2. This hellish conceit that thoughts are free produceth most dangerous damning effects in mens conversations 1. It causeth them to blesse themselves in their external negatives in their freedome from open offences and outward abominations as that Pharisee did Luke 18. 10 11 12. This is the practise of meer civil persons and formalists who make no conscience to be holy in their thoughts but onely they take care with the harlot to wipe the lips with Pilate to wash the hands and with the Pharisees to cleanse the outside as for their thoughts they suffer them to run riot to have their full swinge especially in matters of pleasure profit and carnal contentments 2. This false opinion of thought-freedome draws men to place Religion in outward services and bodily exercises without giving to God a thought-worship hence it is that they rest in the work done without the concurrence of the heart and thoughts they draw near to God with their lips and bring the outward man when their Thoughts are far from him Isa 29. 16. their chiefest care is to appear to men and to be appproved by men and not by God who seeth and searcheth the heart and so they vanish in bodily service and outward devotion of lip-labour and lost labour 3. When men upon this conceit that thoughts are free do give up the rains to their own Imaginations and take liberty in vain vile and prophane thoughts it is just with God to give them up to vile affections abominable actings and a Reprobate sense so that as they cast off the yoke of Christ in their thoughts and will not have him to rule in their hearts so the Lord gives up them to walk as sons of Belial as men without yoke after the vanity of their minds and lusts of their own hearts and so these that make no conscience of internall thoughts are come up now to this height of iniquity as to make no conscience of abstaining from external abominations they can swallow camels without fear or remorse 2. Or else they are given up to efficacy of error to believe the lying doctrines of corrupt Teachers that so they might be damned who do not receive obey the truth in their minds but take pleasure in acting unrighteousnesse and uncleannesse speculative filth and folly in their thoughts They that partake with adulterers by a spiritual thought-pollution will at last come to partake with them in bodily defilements This is most evident in the men of the old world Gen. 6. 1. 2 5. they professed themselves sonnes of God and joyned themselves to the visible Church yet being possest with this cursed conceit of thought-freedome they lodged evill thoughts in their hearts continually till at length they were given up to the open committing of all manner of sinne with greedinesse and great delight untill the Flood came and swept them altogether into Hell 1 Pet. 3. 19. 20. And this is the case of divers Professors in this present licentious world who are fallen into error of judgement and practises if they would seriously search and survey their own hearts they should find that loosenesse of thoughts is the chief cause of their giving up to loosenesse in opinion and conversation This corrupt conceit of liberty of thoughts in the tendency thereof opens a gappe to all wicked licentiousnesse and makes way for incurable obcecation and obduration of heart for men being once possessed with this pestilent perswasion they now take their fill of all inward filth as being invisible to man and in the end they let loose the bridle to all external wickednesse because this being presupposed that thoughts are free it will easily be inferred that works are free also if men take liberty of conscience to think any thing they will in time pretend liberty of conscience to act any thing 2. Upon this licentious life follows the height of hardnesse of heart their Conscience being now seared as with an hot iron and past feeling 1 Tim. 4. 2. Ephes 4. 19. 3. All light and sense being totally lost they now come to justifie any sin to take light for darknesse and darknesse for light to put good for evil and evil for good truth for error and error for truth Isa 5. 4. Hereupon follows the height of impenitency an impossibility of repenting so that these sinners are now sealed up under condemnation without remedy all this mischief and woful misery flows originally from this wicked conceit that possesseth their hearts that thoughts are free 4. This vile opinion of thought-freedome doth exceedingly exalt and idolize mans corrupt nature by ascribing that priviledge power and perfection to man which is inconsistent with rationall creatures for if thoughts be free then our affections which are acted by them are free and our words and visible works which are streams flowing from our thoughts are also free and hence it will follow that intelligent creatures are free from subjection to any Law and so their own wills must be the rule of their own actings which is a deifying of mortall worms and setting up mans will in the place of God which is Idolatry 5. This pernicious Principle of thought-freedome doth abolish and take away all internall piety heart-purity and thought-worship and so turns all piety and divine worship into a meer outward form of Pharisaisme and a dead carcasse of devotion whereby men rob God of his chiefest service Quere What is the true ground and root of this Atheisticall conceit that thoughts are free Answer 1. Speculative vanity and uncleannesse is suitable and sweet to carnall hearts they love to solace and sport themselves in the thoughts of their sensual pleasures riches and creature-contentments hereupon men willingly come to this conclusion that thoughts are free because themselves so willingly give way to their own Thoughts we are very apt to close with any Principle which tends to the allowance of those actings that we allow in our selves 2. Carnal men and women are ignorant of Gods Law in the spirituality and latitude thereof they measure and judge of the compasse of the Commandements by the outward letter onely fancying to themselves a Law which reacheth onely to the outward man as did the Pharisees from these false premises thy conclude liberty of thoughts 3. They discern not the spirituality of Religion and repentance which is primarily and principally acted in the heart and thoughts 4 The ungospel general way of preaching of divers men tends very much to the settling and fixing of this pestilent opinion in carnall hearts that thoughts are free For 1. Some there be who strive to please the itching ears and fancies of their hearers

1 Sam. 2. 3. eye He seeth and knoweth all the Creatures that we make in our hearts our thoughts and imaginations When vaine ungodly thoughts doe assault us we should think thus with our selves God is present he stands by and look on he seeth my thoughts This apprehehension will be a powerfull means to fence our thoughts against evill We have an excellent place for this Job 31. if we compare vers 1. and v. 4. together it is one continued speech I have made a Covenant with mine eyes why then should I thinke of a Job 31. 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Maid Doth not he see my wayes and number all my steps What was the reason that Job durst not yield to a vaine impure thought Because God seeth it saith he he beholds my wayes That is the secret wayes of my heart my thoughts God takes notice how many thoughts I think and what they are So that Job's eye was fixed upon Gods eye and this fixed and overpowred his thoughts that he durst not take liberty in his thoughts 1 Let this impression be alwayes upon our hearts that God stands by and takes a strict view of our thoughts and will call us to a reckoning for them This will be an excellent means to keep us from the prevalency of those evill thoughts that assault us 2 Consider that God doth not stand by as a meer looker on but he takes such notice of all the thoughts that passe through mens hearts that he ponders and weighs them as it were to give them the fruit of their thoughts Mens sinfull thoughts are laid in one ballance and the righteous judgements of God in the other To his Children he gives correction but he weighs out punishment wrath and damnation to wicked ones 3 Let us consider who it is that knows our thoughts it is the all-knowing all-powerfull God whose eyes are as flaming fire and his feet like brasse There is no man but needs an increase of faith in this truth for if the infinitenesse of Gods presence and knowledge were firmly believed it could not be but that we should be more carefull and eyefull of our thoughts and wayes then we be Therefore for a clearer conviction and plenary perswasion of this truth I will present two eminent places one is in Ephes 4. 6. One God who is above all and in you all and through all 1 God is above all he looks down and beholds all that men think and doe on earth as a man that stands above in a high place can see all that is done below But it may be objected though a Object man be above yet there may be some corners dens and caves wherein men may hide themselves from the eyes of him who is above them God is said to be above all and through Answ all and in you all he is in us in our hearts and spirits by his all-knowing eye and all-searching presence God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 seeth every corner of our hearts every thought and secret of our hearts He looks through us through our hearts as a man looks through a clear glasse This is more plainly held forth Psal 139. 1 2. O Jehovah thou hast searched me and knowne me thou knowest my downe-sitting and mine up-rising thou understandest my thoughts afar off 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 My familiar thoughts my neerest and most inmost thoughts as the Hebrew imports Jehovah knowes the thoughts of men afar off because he knowes the Principles that are within their hearts and what they would act if occasion were offered As a man that knowes what roots are in his Garden he can say this and this will come up in the spring though no Flower appear for the present Oh therefore let us labour to keep this apprehension alwayes present with us that God beholds and takes notice of all our thoughts The Tenth Preservative 10 WEE must be mainly carefull to give up our first thoughts to God at our awaking in the morning This will be a good means to keep our thoughts close to God all the day following This was Davids constant practice as appears Psal 139. 17. When I awake I am still with thee That is in my thoughts I am still meditating of thee When we awake we should first fill our minds with the thoughts of God 1 Of his greatnesse and goodnesse of his mercy that is renewed every morning 2 Of his presence with us his all-searching eye that is over us and his mighty hand that is with us to assist us in doing his work and to resist all evils and enemies for us 3 We should fix our first thoughts every day upon that great and glorious end for which we have our life and being and how every thing we doe and that befalls us may be reduced ordered and made serviceable to this high end Gods glory The setting of our thoughts in a holy order every morning will much conduce to the right ordering of our thoughts it will prevent and keep out those earthly sensuall vanities which doe attend at the door of our hearts to make the first entry and to take up our thoughts for all the day Those objects that doe first take possession of our thoughts in the morning do much prevaile with our thoughts the day after The perfuming of our spirits with some gracious meditations at our first awaking will much sweeten our thoughts all the day It is a thing much to be lamented and laid to heart that Christians who professe themselves Heires of Heaven having matters of that weight and excellency to exercise their hearts upon should spend their thoughts upon trifles vanity and nothing as all earthly things will ere long appear Now one chief cause why mens hearts and heads are so fill'd with earthly sensuall thoughts is because they doe not season and strengthen their minds with thoughts of God and heavenly things at their first awaking The Eleventh Preservative 11 IT will be a precious means to keep us from evill thoughts if we be constant in holy fore-thoughts and after-thoughts every day 1 In the morning fore-thinking and resolving in the strength of Christ Jesus to watch over our thoughts all the day and to keep our hearts above all keeping that we offend not in our thoughts 2 We must keep a strict watch over our hearts the day following and though vaine vagrant thoughts doe crowd in yet take notice of them abhor and repell them complain to God against them 3 At night we must try examine our thoughts call them to account what they have acted how they have carried themselves the day past Take that course with our thoughts that men doe with idle Servants they set them their task in the morning and at the end of the day they call them to a reckoning this makes them carefull to doe their work The Twelfth Preservative 12 IF we would be kept from idle impure thoughts we must keep our bodies and minds close to the