Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	heart_n	lord_n	sincerity_n	1,662	5	9.7763	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A43200	A seasonable vvord, or, A plain and tender-hearted epistle to all sincere hearts in Parliament, Army and countrey, who have any willing, though weak desires to glorifie their Heavenly Father in their holy conversations : wherein is briefly urged, that Gods doing calls for the saints duties, experience of divine love requiring Christians seriously to eye it, and in their hearts and lives to act in a suitableness to it by Thomas Hearne, a friend to the truth.	Hearne, Thomas.	1650 (1650)	Wing H1309A; ESTC R10367	8,963	14

A Seasonable VVord Or a Plain and Tender-Hearted EPISTLE TO All Sincere Hearts in Parliament Army and Countrey who have any willing though weak desires to glorifie their Heavenly Father in their holy Conversations Wherein is briefly urged that Gods doing calls for the Saints Duties Experience of Divine Love requiring Christians seriously to eye it and in their Hearts and Lives to Act in a Suitableness to it By Thomas Hearne A friend to the Truth Luke 1. 74 75. That we being delivered out of the hands of our enemies might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness all our dayes 2 Chron. 32. 25 26. But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit received for his heart was lifted up Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself Jer. 7. 9 10. Will you walk after other gods and say we are delivered to do all these abominations Matt. 15. 8 9. These people honor me with their lips but their heart is far from me but in vain do they worship me Judg. 5. 8. They chose new gods then was War in the gates Printed at London in the Year 1650. A Word to the People and two Words to the ARMY Dear friends YOu whose hearts God hath touched into whose hearts the glorious light of the Lord Jesus hath shined cannot but and that with grief of of soul confess with me That as it was foretold by our Saviour who knew things as well in their events as beings That the love of many should wax cold So may we say now in our sad and dismal dayes that love to and zeal for God and godliness is quite decayed Christians alas every where falling into spiritual consumptions apace Holiness that glorious ornament of the Gospel is now by some laid as a garment out of fashion watchfulness over our corrupt hearts and crooked wayes is by some who I think not presumption to say were never fully acquainted with the pretious excellency of Gospel truths nor the deceitfulness of their self deceiving hearts laid aside As a poor legal carnal imployment but t is no wonder to see the father of lies to insnare such who are easily turned aside from the good old way of spirituall stedfastness Such as are of roving minds do seldom bottom on any thing whiles such that may be called eminent and solid Philosophical subtleties do most take with aiery and criticall spirits empty notions quiet that heart though different from the rule too who is ignorant of the glory of the Lord in truth resting on his soul Satan transforms himself into the likeness of an Angel of Light to keep poor souls from knowing and injoying that light at whose right hand are pleasures for evermore Seeing now that vanity so abounds and folly hath gotten a fear which hereto fore was a footstool to truth although I am conscious to my self of mine own weakness and not ignorant neither how in laying out my self to publique view I shall be exposed to the judgment of many outside Christians and therefore critical spirits yet notwithstanding all these pleas of Satan and mine own carnal heart to the contrary I have adventured abroad referring the event of this my sincere and retired endeavors to advance the glory of God to him alone who by his Arm makes weak things strong Did not many able Christians both for parts and experiences as I hope more consult their own concernments then the glory of God they could not be so dull in such a day as this is when so few in sincerity plead for truth I am sure there was another spirit in those sons of God to appear for truth of old Moses aimed so at Gods glory that he had rather dye then Gods hand should fall upon the Israelites which would so redound to Gods dishonor So Paul of the Jews Rom. 10. 1. The Lord lay not this sin to their charge Who are furnished with all suitable accommodations and yet will not appear but to my business Friends many of you have a long time tasted of mercy How do you prize the God of mercy Is he your praise who hath been your Saviour I am fearful of many of you that you are almost drowned in forgetfulness of God Christ was lovely to you Is sin deadly now The Cavaleers are gone out of your Counties Doth corruption raign in your hearts Doth the injoyment of peace ingage you to bless the God of peace if not what 's the cause of this dismal change Surely I see by your life what you love Souls be serious and ask your hearts these questions 1. Whether you walk as a people that own and remember the mercies of God you have been a long time under the wing of divine love are you now warmed by the beams of the Sun of righteousness you have much given from God in a way of grace ah what do you return in a way of practise you have your desires granted are your promises of glorifying God made good Surely friends rebellion still owned and acted in such an age of so much light against a God of so much love is lamentable indeed 2. Whether your hearts and resolutions are now as much ingaged against the unfruitful works of darkness as once they were Is sin lovely now which once was deadly Is that your crown now which once was your contempt Is holiness your tryumph now Is God your end is Scripture your rule Try your hearts and see whether you can say that Gods Word is your solace sins ruine your rejoycing Truly to know God and not to affect God is a knowledg which will bring miserable experience on us all at the last t is a sad sign of a declining soul when the pretious things of the Lord Jesus are lookt on as things indifferent taken or left all alike surely such never saw Christ in his Robes of gladness who are more glad of sins raign then of sins ruine holy activity for God and Truth once deadned that soul is almost past recovery 3. You my dear friends tell me and put this to your hearts whether such have any room in your hearts who to our eye and conscience appear holy exact sincere though not of your judgment as to the circumstantials of the Gospel time was when that pretious predsient was followed by you Mal. 3. 16. They that feared the Lord spake often one to another but now those that are not of your way they shall have none of that food from heaven which God hath made you therefore Stewards of that you might communicate to all of the houshold of Faith I once thought this Truth to be Orthodox that all that in sincerity love the Lord Jesus should be of one minde heart and resolution so far as to impart the minde of God each to other Not meeting together because not of one judgment hath almost drawn on a general vail either of carelesness or prejudice who otherwise are eminent and sincere if union with the Father be not a ground of communion with the Saints

let solid and experienced Christians judg 4. Whether your contending for Subjects Liberty though in its time order and season every way desirable have not more made you the servants of sin then before mistake me not I say not so pardon me if I say it be my fear of many of my friends what is freedom if we we are led by the devil at his will My dear friends let us not put the Cause before its Effect Liberty of soul must be first I know t is our best work I do observe in my walkings abroad that many cry O what Tyranny do we groan under T is true Oppression where found when felt is a burden I wish t were less where there 's any but yet let not us neglect our souls Who cries out upon its corrupt heart who sayes in seriousness in humility O I have the devil loading it within whiles I cry out for liberty to my estate my body in my heart I am the servant to corruptions Alas what infatuated souls have we thus to begin at the wrong end of our business this t is to be ignorant of that which if not known we shal be hurl'd from God as far as Satan and sin can cast us Ah do not mistake me I am far from censuring any my confidence drawn from experience of many of you is that God hath really begun his good work on you all that I contend for is this that you that have so long lived in the Court the Presence the special Presence of God that you should now look again with affectionate glances on your Dalilahs your bosom-corruptions shal not this Proverb be verified on you I hope it shall The burnt childe dreads the fire have you not smarted for sin heretofore if not call out your weepings sobs sighs bemoanings were not these on this account O my heart is hard my affections frozen my wil perverse was it not for this end that the pleasent face of God might shine on you have you an answer to your cravings and will you now be wanton Are you come so neer the Land of Rest and now will you to Egypt again Ah friends shall I write with Tears or Ink truly t is no time of dallying t is good to examine your selves take Pauls grave Exhortation Try your selves know you not that Christ is in you unless you are reprobates God must be the King of your hearts or else your walkings must have the character of hell on them you cannot but know that Christ scorns to have sin his irreconcileable Enemy his Competitor t is his design to destroy the works of the devil abroad in the world will he leave him your hearts if you are his to command in then Is it not an affront to Royal Majesty to have a Rebel raign in any of his Dominions It can never be that heaven should be in your hearts and hell in your lives that grace should be within and yet turn the Gospel of grace into wantonness without this is intollerable as you are in heart you will be in life there may be a form of godliness without the power the power of godliness can never be without the form many may make a shew in the flesh that are not sincere in heart none can be sincere at heart but will glorifie God in their souls and bodies such indeed as are as some to my grief are who fetch their principles from their brains have their experience in their brains too heart-experience flows from Gods power and presence in the heart Indeed I have in my retired hours seriously pondered what might be the cause of these sad departings of Saints from the faith and I finde these the causes 1. Our not watching over our hearts when these are not called to an exact account I can say this by sad experience they will quickly cast in such temptations as will either deaden or withdraw poor souls from a cautious exact conscionable walking before God a watchful Christian is not easily insnared as long as souls are on their watch Satan lyes close but when security hath entertainment then in comes Satan and gives if grace do not mightily work a dreadful foyl this is true in our experiences when we feared sin when we trembled at the least inclination to corruption O then how holy were we how eminent both in experiences and practice but since that time we are so stupified and benummed that we are rather like stocks then Saints a spirituall slumber fallen upon the best and a spirit of prophaneness upon the most of us no such way to soul ruin as security 2. Another cause is this Our pretended injoyment of God so in spirit as that which ingages us to live above ordinances surely I have a little traced this and all other pretended injoyments of God and have compared them with the Saints of old and I finde the Scripture to speak to this sense that all such as injoyed God most in spirit were most of all others active in duty to have any thing from God and yet have no longing to bless the name of God to injoy on earth so much of God as not to crave for daily and constant supplies in my judgment savors of a soul that hath lived more upon reports then injoyments none know the sweetness of duties but such as still live above them in their faith never without them in their practice He that will not speak to the father by prayer will hardly in the constancie of his life adorn the Gospel that 's not the Saints burden which is none but the Saints priviledge he deserves and that justly to be a stranger to grace who never put up his requests to the God of grace for the pouring grace into his heart daily addresses to the throne of grace are the instrumentall means to procure sins death and the Saints joy 3. Another cause is An affectate desire we have more consulting with Satan then the Scripture to turn plain truths chiefly such as come closest to the heart into confused Allegories and here we rest all 's a mistery excluding hereby such words and exhortations as do most call on us for a holy and circumspect walking T is true Scripture is so deep that an Elephant may swim so shallow and plain that a Lamb may wade profound lest prophane ones slight it plain that the ignorant may imbrace it Souls have you not learned this yet that t is Satans policy chiefly this way either to divert our hearts from or darken our understandings in the eying any solid eminent truth lest when the snare is discovered we escape plain truths take most with honest hearts Take this All truths that do not in their interpretation point out Gods nature holyness and mans duty are of the devils stamp But 4. Another cause of this is when we call all exhortations serious cautions in Scripture as legal and carnal who is so blinde as not to see Satan here let him possess our hearts with

will not go to sinful courses to effect their ends he that makes hast without God makes too much hast to speed well tempering with policy hath almost lost your glory good means are proportioned to upright-hearted ends I have been long but t is that you and I might no longer tamper with sin I have but a word of desire to you pray take it as intended it comes from my heart the Lord put it on yours 1. Make sincerity as t is your strength surely this will make you invincible t is a garment best pleases God of any remember that precious place in the Proverbs He that walks uprightly walks surely 2. Be serious for God come to talk of serious things with solid hearts levity of spirit very ill becomes Christians none are so soon insnared as those that are flashy Pauls advice might be useful to us Be sober and watchful shewing none are more watchful then sober serious Souls 3. Take heed your lives do not give your tounges the ly to cry up God with the mouth and cry down holiness in the practice is lamentable he that knoweth Gods will and doth it not shall be beaten to purpose Ah live not by the dictates of this prince in the world who is the God of the world are you members of Christ remember then your head is holy gratious loving love one another let union be your strength let holiness appear in your conferences ends walkings 4. Be constant in your professions he that holds out is crowned perseverance is that grace that wears the crown you have gone through many hardships to get peace you must go through more before you come into the Arms of the God of peace take not holiness only for a season but let it be your daily dress prefer God above all self-advantages 5. Appear against sin in your nearest relations connive at sin in none disclaim it appear against it in all love to God will loose a friends love rather then see God dishonored if God be indeed in you nothing will more gall your souls then his dishonor more revive you then his glory 6. Prefer principles before persons love none so much as the lovers of God close with none so intimately as with those that conform to God let those that be like God be loved not verbally but really as such 7. Be sure that you have a reverend esteem of and put a weight upon the least of Scripture-truths every word there came from God and hath glory and majesty in it Now friends I have done take heed lest by us Gallio's carnal plea be taken up He cared for none of these things I shall say but a word or two and so conclude I may speak to your ear t is Gods work to speak to your heart words may be in print but God must imprint truths on your heart or t will never be powerful my discourse is weak yet no more nor less then truth love to you hath made me deal plainly with you those that sooth you in your sins are but poor friends to your souls some may despise me and scorn my indeavors but I will indeavor with my God to pray them into a better liking of God and truth Many pamphlets may come to your hands O that truth might come to your hearts fancies and fables are for babyes wise men love truth Now my dear friends if there be any heart in you for God any love to zeal for God and truth any longings to stop these bleeding wounds that are on the land lay out lay out all your powers experiences activities improve every advantage let nothing be wanting Surely Gods presence with us Gods spirit in us Gods word guiding us is that or nothing that must solace and secure us if we cast off this and follow the devices of our hearts Wo and alas the Lord have mercy on us we are undone then for ever My dear friends consider Iohn 14. 6. Christ is the way to the Father so as we cannot come to God but by him Ah the Lord keep us so in this way that we way assuredly attain at last to the salvation of our souls To which sincere request let all the lovers of the Lord Jesus say Amen Holiness O Lord becometh thy house for ever Psal. 93. 5. FINIS