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
A86523	A briefe exposition of the Lords Prayer: wherein the meaning of the word is laid open to the understanding of weake Christians, and what the carriage of their hearts ought to be in preferring each petition. / By Mr. Tho. Hooker preacher of Gods word.	Hooker, Thomas, 1586-1647.	1645 (1645)	Wing H2642; Thomason E273_1; ESTC R212190	49,778	95

deale of envie though some mercy yet mingled with a great deale of cruelty and a great deale of darknesse with this little starre-light but the Lord hath all love without any hatred all mercy without any cruelty there is no hinderance in the Lord to hinder him Now the soule saith Lord if I that have a great deale of malice can forgive my brethren then how much more thou that hast all mercy and no spleen if men humble their soules before thee wilt forgive Thirdly that mercy that is in us it is but little but it is infinite in the Lord what we can doe is but the first fruit a drop a graine a mustard-seed but abundant in the Lord. Then the soule saith Lord thou art boundlesse and bottomlesse in mercie how much more wilt thou forgive True LORD the talents and debt whereby we are ingaged unto thee are many and great but if wee poore creatures that have but from the Fountain and that we have is mingled with a great deale of malice and that but a drop and yet can forgive how much more thou that hast all first from thy selfe and purely without all mixture of envie and in an infinite abundance how much more canst thou forgive whom thou wilt therefore LORD forgive us for we forgive others How ought the soule to be framed in putting up this Petition Quest It appeares in foure particulars Answ First the soule must see and acknowledge it selfe guilty of those sinnes that appeare in this life wee must see our selvs stand in need of forgivenes now we cannot doe this till we see our selves faulty He that owes nothing what need he crave forgivenesse So forgivenesse of sinnes implyes that wee are guilty of sinne and lyable to the punishment due to sinne They that confesse sinne and forsake it shall finde mercy pro. 28.14 first finde out thy sins then find Gods mercy 1 Cor. 11. If we would judge our selves we should not be judged He that would have GOD forgive him must not forgive himselfe if we judge our selves GOD will not judge us As a Malefactor that sticks to his owne innocencie and will not acknowledge any guilt in vaine hee desires to bee forgiven So a sinner or Malefactor before GODS Tribunall if hee will not confesse his sinne hee shall never finde mercie at the hand of the LORD Therefore I cannot see how a Papist can beg this when as hee thinkes he can satisfie GODS Justice himselfe Secondly we must labour to have the heart see its owne inabilitie to satisfie for sinne or to beare Gods indictment he shall passe upon the soule that is guilty The soule acknowledgeth it selfe unable to answer one of a thousand Behold saith the Psalmist Lord if thou shouldest enter into judgement who were able to abide it but there is mercy with thee that thou mayst be feared Wee are Bankerupts wee cannot answer the debt nor beare the suit if the debtor be able to answer the debt or pay the money hee cares for no kindnesse the sinner is the debtor and if hee can satisfie Gods Justice what need he care If I can abide it what need I crave favour but when it is come to this who can abide it then the LORD will pardon whatsoever is amisse Where-ever the sinner goes he cannot avoid the suit hee needs no pursevant to follow him conscience is arresting the Devill accusing therefore he falls down and cryes mercy mercy to pardon the suit the soule is not able to beare the suit This the Church complaines of Behold our righteousnesse is as menstruous cloath and they Ezek. 36.31 judge themselves worthy to be condemned Now in that I say forgive I imply that I cannot satisfie for sin my selfe Thirdly we should seeke to the free mercie of GOD and of his Grace for what wee need wee should acknowledge his free mercie When the soule sees there is mercie in GOD for him then it is fitted to pray this petition for should I conceive GOD were severe holy just c. though I renounce my sinne yet I could not seek him God is not extreame and rigorous but hee hath mercy in store for those that seeke him in truth and sincerity therefore we should apprehend two things First that God desires not to deale rigorously we should perswade our hearts that God is desirous to welcome our prayers Exod. 34. The Lord is ready to succour our infirmities If we be in misery the Lord will abound in mercy the phrase is multiplying mercy therefore the Apostle calls him the father of mercies and the God of all compassions we have new vexations he hath new compassions nay God hath more good then we can desire he performes more then he promiseth he is abundant in truth above all that he hath revealed himself to be in his Word Isa 55.7 Our God is mercifull and abundant in forgivenesse He multiplies pardons he hath pardons in store mercy to pardon any poore soul But saith the soul what my sinnes committed and continued in marke what he adds though you cannot comprehend it yet he can conceive it his thoughts of mercy are larger in giving then ours in craving Eph. 2. He is able to do above what we can think or aske It was but a cold comfort Isaac gave to Esau he had but one blessing so if Gods mercies come to an end it were but a poor comfort when the soul saith Lord give me and the Lord should say all is drawne dry But there is enough in God to do us good What availes it if a father have a good heart to his child if he hath not to give it what it askes or stands in need of but our heavenly Father abounds in goodnesse Secondly God as he hath abundance of good so he is free and ready to bestow it Esa 55.1 Ho Every one that thirsteth let him buy milke and milke without money or price We would be content to have wine but we have no money to buy it therefore God adds though you be not able to pay for it yet take it Mich. 7.18 Who is a God like our God who pardons sin because mercy pleaseth him The pardoning of our sins is like the overthrowing of Pharaoh in the sea God doth it not because we please him but because his mercy pleaseth him he doth it freely Fourthly we must be content to waite for his mercy that we stand in need of we must both waite for it and be confidently perswaded of it else we crosse the tenure of forgivenesse Heb. 11. God gives mercy to none but those that waite for it In that we aske pardon we are resolved to waite for it for so much is implyed A pardon in law is not authenticall untill it be sealed so God saith he will pardon us but this is not authenticall untill we have set to our seale he saith he will give freely we say we will waite constantly Psal 37.5 Commit thy waies to God and he will care for

none knowes but the Spirit of God and as it is not made known so we have nothing to doe with it in this place What is the revealed will of God Quest It is the purpose of God that hee hath made known to us by his Word Answ and revealed to us in his workes whatever is done in heaven or earth is the will of God I did not know God would destroy Bohemia and the Palatinate before I saw it this is the will here meant I did not know of such a friends death before he dyed and then we must say Thy will be done What ever God hath made known either by workes or words that we pray to have done What is this doing of the will of God Quest It consists in Answ and implyes two things First that whatever God makes known to be his will to bring upon us we should willingly submit and yeeld unto it If God would have me poore when it is done we should approve of the accomplishment of Gods will It is the breach of many commandements that when God thwarts our desire we are unwilling it should be done The wife is unwilling her husband should dye and the husband that the wife should dye never lost a man such a wife as I this is professedly against this petition We must imitate that of the good Prophet David Psal 39. I held my tongue and said nothing Will the Lord have it not a word more then his spirit yeelds presently takes the stroke doth not thwart the good will of the Lord this is the practice of David Eli Hezekiah It is the Lord let him doe what he will Nay our blessed Saviour himselfe saith Not my will but thy will be done But this is the folly of our hearts we take up Armes against Gods will God would have us to be poore and we will be rich This is not to doe the will of God Though God force us to doe it yet that is no thankes to us Thus we sinne desperately Secondly the heart is not only content with what God will have us suffer whether losse of life friends liberty and the like but there is another will must be done by us what God reveales to be a duty must be discharged by us If there be a truth to be made known to us we must acquaint our selves with the will of the Lord and then with all diligence practice it Make my heart one with thine that I may ever feare thy Name Let thy will be mine Oh saith the soule that I might ever feare thy Name this is to do the will of God We doe not say let it be spoken of and considered of by me but let it be done let it be accomplished by me Wee must not lift at it and give God good words and talke and leave it undone but labour to doe it It is not enough for the childe to say I know what my father commands but I must doe what I list Such hearts cannot pray to expect any thing at the hand of the Lord now and then to look at a duty c. and to say I would it were so will not serve the turne Away with that sluggishnesse to wish the will of God were done and yet you will have your own wills To this precept belongs that we should set on others to doe Gods pleasure In vaine doe we wish it to be done and yet doe not provoke on others to doe it Paul when Agrippa and he was grapling together saith Agrippa thou hast perswaded me almost to be a Christian not almost saith Paul but I would have thee altogether as I am except these bonds I would not have thee fettered as I am but inlarged in heart to doe Gods will So that of Joshua I and my house will serve the Lord he that not onely neglects Gods will himselfe but hinders others that man doth not pray this petition aright he that saith Thy will be done and in the mean time withdrawes others by his secret allurements and saith what should I be such a foole to be at other mens bow and beck to sit howling in a corner as thou dost No no well be it known to thee thou that wilt not do Gods will here the Lord will have his will done on thee one day to thy cost He that will not doe Gods will here God will send him packing to Hell and there he will execute his will upon him whether he will or no How must we doe the will of God we doe now and then stumble at a duty and now and then take up a service Quest and we are neither whores nor theeves but yet we are now and then peevish and wayward c. is not this enough No Answ no you must doe it in earth as it is in Heaven not now to be something and then to be nothing now a Saint and then a Devill but you must doe the will of God as it is in Heaven But can a man doe the will of God on earth as the blessed Angels doe it in Heaven Quest A man cannot doe it in that measure the Angels doe it Answ but we may doe it as they doe and performe equall obedience with them though not in quantity yet in quality A childe followes the father though it cannot run so fast as the father A Scholler may imitate the copie and write after it though not write so fast and well So the servants of the Lord cannot doe the will of God here so in that measure that the Angels doe it in Heaven but in quality like them Let their obedience be our pattern not in the measure but in the manner of it In what things must it be done Quest and how can wee expresse any action like theirs This resemblance is in foure particulars Answ First they doe it readily they are prest and ready at hand to doe the good will of the Lord upon all occasions they doe not withdraw themselves but presently upon every occasion doe what the Lord requires We read Job 1. that the sonnes of God appeared before him they are ever in his sight to give attendance upon him as the handmaid is ever at the hand of her Mistris So that of Isaiah the Text saith they cover their faces before the Mercy Seat they cover their faces in token of awfulnesse and reverence and cry Holy Holy They are ever before him as a dutifull servant is ever at his Masters beck They are at hand in this readines of theirs to doe the will of the Lord we should imitate them to be ever prepared and at hand to doe the will of God not to have our affections stragling but with Ananias we must say Here Lord with Abraham Behold thy servant is at hand Thus it should be with the soule the Lord saith you must not have this sinne and that corruption we must reply Thy will be done LORD we must not say as Moses when