Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	speak_v	true_a	word_n	8,834	5	4.4618	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A53271	Sincerity, or, The upright mans walk to heaven in two parts shewing I. that sincerity is the true way to happiness, II. that the keeping of our selves from our own iniquity is the true way to sincerity / delivered in several sermons in the parish church of St. Michael in Long-Stratton Norfolk by James Oldfield, late minister there.	Oldfield, James.	1687 (1687)	Wing O218; ESTC R28747	141,831	348

That every true and sincere hearted Christian will above all other things endeavour to keep himself from his own sin his own Iniquity 'T is a most plain truth but if I may speak without comparison the most profitable truth in all the Bible Here you see the nearest cut to Heaven the shortest path to Glory the surest way to be secure from all other sins If a man should keep a Thief in his house and this man should have his pockets pickt every night and finding himself grieved as it should to prevent it buy new locks and bars to his doors and make all the Walls of his house strong that no Thief might enter in why you would say this man doth very simply he may loose all his money though his house be never broken up and further you would say it were his only way to examin the Thief that dwells with him and put him out of doors If any of you should have your own houses on fire you would not be so foolish as to carry buckets of water and fling them on your Neighbours houses for fear they should be set on fire and neglect your own why as Nathan said to David you are the men People now adays do wonderfully complain of other men and their sins as if they should fear the worse for them but look not into their own hearts and see sin lying and gnawing there every man should begin at home If a man hath a Son at home that is an idle and unhappy Boy and should break all his Glass-windows you would say this were a strange course for this man to go to his Neighbors and complain to them of their idle Children that do always fling stones and never correct his Child at home that did him all the mischief Friends I pray let me persuade you to look into your own hearts and you shall see that you have some sin or other there that doth you all the mischief you will see then that the only way for you to get peace and comfort is with David to keep your selves from your own Iniquities David had many Enemies abroad as his Father-in-Law Saul who sought his Life his own Son Absalom who sought his Kingdom but none so great as his sin within him Saul banisht him from his Court Absalom banisht him from his Kingdom but none brought him so much trouble as his sin within him 51. Psal 1 2 3. oh this was that which broke his bones nothing grieved him and vexed him so much as this and therefore 't is worth the while to observe the Title of this Psalm and when David penned it To the chief Musician a Psalm of David the Servant of the Lord who spake to the Lord the words of this Song in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul David could never say thus before before he had cleansed himself from his Iniquity within him he always found one Enemy or other one trouble or other without him but when once he had turned his sin out of doors then came peace and comfort to dwell with him sincerity is the highest pitch that a Christian is able to attain unto in this life and this is the nearest way to sincerity for a man to keep himself from his Iniquity In the prosecution of this truth I will lay you down and treat of these following particulars I will shew you 1. What that sin is which a man may call his own sin or his own Iniquity 2. What we must do when we have found out our own sins to keep our selves from it 3. Why we should above all things keep our selves from our own sin 1. What is that sin which a man may call his own sin Answ I gave you a hint of it in the explication that it is Original sin the sin of our Natures 1. The word it self signifies so much 2. This sin is that which may be most properly called ours as first formed with us 2. No Temptation or occasion to it as to other sins and so none in the fault with us but our selves as in other sins This in the general 2. But more particularly to describe that sin which is as the Reuben the first born and strength of it 1. In respect of constitution that sin is a mans own sin which is the sin of his Nature with which he was born or bred that sin to which a man is carryed out by his own Nature though he had no temptation at all to it as for example the sin of swearing is so natural to some men that they will swear though no man hurt them anger them or provoke them to it they cannot speak without an Oath some men are naturally angry and touchy they will be angry without a cause some men are naturally covetous though they have no Children nor Heirs nor any in the World that they care for yet they love to be scraping up of money and hoarding it up they love to be hard and gripple in their dealings some mens very Natures carry them to the sin of lust and uncleaness though they have Wives which for Beauty are Rachels for bearing Children are Leah's yet they must hunt Bawdy-houses and follow strange Women the Apostle Jude describes such Persons v. the 10 th he compares such men to bruit beasts every beast hath his particular quality so every man his particular sin the Lion by nature is fierce the Goat lustful the Sow naturally loves to wallow in the mire the Fox to steal and so every one of us in this sence are like beasts till we be renewed we have some sin or other which even our very natures carry us out unto though the Devil should never tempt us we have all in us till grace come and sanctifie nature some sparks of some sins in our own breasts that are of our own kindling Now this is our own sin 2. In respect of Habitation that sin is a mans own sin which he suffers to dwell in him A man may lodge a stranger for a night or two but none but his own family will he suffer to dwell with him A man may invite many Women to a dinner or a banquet but he will suffer none but his own Wife to lye with him 11. Luk. 7. so that sin that lies down with thee and riseth up with thee that goes to Church with thee that dines and sups with thee that is with thee in thy trading and calling that is most properly thy own sin Sauls malice against David went with him wherever he went 4. Jer. 14. they are thy vain thoughts if they lodge in thee so that is thy sin whatever it is if thou give it house room and heart room 3. In respect of provision that is a mans own sin that he makes provision for A man will provide for his own Children and provide the best for them so you may know which is a mans own sin which he

for himself to escape the sickness that God sends among us The great plague which raged so fiercely in all parts of this Nation but where are the Persons that seek to avoid the sins that are committed among us Alas poor creatures we are afraid of Infected Houses but we are not afraid of our own Infected Hearts while we carry our sins about with us we carry the Plague and the Wrath of God continually about us hear what God saith to Cain when he calls him to his Arraignment 4. Gen. 7. Sin lies at our doors wherever we live nay sin lies in our hearts wherever we are and what favour then can we expect from God when we carry sin about with us And therefore once more let us look upon David in the Text and see what he did And I kept my self c. The Text is the lively picture of a sincere and upright heart in it we have 1. The Agent I 2. The Act. kept 3. The Subject my self 4. The Object Iniquity 5. The particularity of the Object mine Iniquity Or we may divide it into 2 parts and then we have 1. The Act. I kept my self 2. The Object from mine Iniquity David in the first part of this verse tells us that he was upright and in the Text proves it to us I was upright saith he before God and that you may believe me I 'le tell you how viz. in this thing that I kept my self from mine Iniquity Junius and Tremellius render the words thus caveo mihi ne quid iniquè agam But our English Translation is exact according to the Original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And I kept c. both words have their Emphasis The first is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it signifies to preserve most properly to prevent or keep away that which is like to fall upon us and that before it hath happened It teacheth us the right way of keeping our selves from sin viz. by preventing it before-hand avoiding all occasions Prov. 22. 3. A Noun coming from this Verb signifies a Watch-Tower a place to descry a danger for preventing it It signifies to observe and keep our ways by taking heed to them so 't is used 1 Kings 2. 4. A Metaphor from a Watch-man in a City or the Garrison in a Fortress Leighs Critica Sacra so should we keep a Garrison against sin and be as Soldiers in a Watch-Tower if we would keep our selves from it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from mine Iniquity verbatim 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it signifies that which is unright unequal crooked and perverse and so fitly by a Metaphor used to signifie Iniquity or Sin for that is crookedness Psal 125. 5. 18. Ezek. 25. Here you see the true nature of sin 't is a crooked unequal perverse thing But further this word notes the vitiosity and crookedness of our nature and so sets forth Original sin Psal 51. 5. Behold I was shapen in Iniquity 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hen-begnavon cholalti the same word in the Text which is the Iniquity David calls his Iniquity even that Iniquity wherein he was formed and born this he kept himself from Here 's the root of all sin look to the corruption of Nature dry up the Fountain look especially to this sin Thus you see the Emphasis of the Text and Junius Translation may well serve for a good Comment upon it he that keeps himself from this keeps himself from all sin all other endeavours against other sins to wit actual are nothing unless you look to your Natures To suffer this sin namely original corruption to escape and strive against other sins is no better than for a Magistrate to give Licences to set up many Ale-houses the causes of drunkenness and then be strict to punish those that are drunk This is the continual running issue in the Soul the sin that lies always in our bosoms and is continually with us this is the Iniquity of the Soul against which we ought especially to watch and be upon our guard as Sentinels in a Watch-tower that are always looking when the Enemy comes that they may not be unprepared for him so let us preserve our selves from this sin and strive to make right and straight these our crooked Natures and then shall we be preserved from all danger of sin and shew our uprightness and sincerity in the sight of God and walk in the straight paths of his Commandments We ought to take care of other mens sins but above all we ought to have a care of our own sins I will explain the Text by a similitude Sampson was very careful to avoid the Philistines he always eyed and watched the Philistins and they could do him no hurt oh but Sampson had a Philistin a Dalilah that lay in his bosome Sampson was not careful of her and she at last ruined him The World is full of sins as the Country where Sampson lived was full of Philistins these sins beset us every day and lye in wait to catch us as the Philistins did Sampson now some men are so wary that they will avoid all companies and occasions that may bring them into these sins and seem to be like Sampson strong Christians Oh but friends every one of us hath a Dalilah some sin or other of our own in our own bosoms which we carry about continually with us and unless we beware of this sin though perhaps we may keep our selves free from all other sins yet this at last will ruin us Again suppose a man in a Consumption this man is very careful of all other sicknesses will not enter into any house where the Small pox is will not go near any that are Infected with the plague keeps himself from all other Infectious Diseases why you will say this man is likely to live Oh no he carries his own disease about with him and within him and the Consumpsion lies in his breast i●… rotting his lungs if he have no care of this this is enough without any other disease speedily to make away with him Thus is it the duty of every man that regards the Health and Salvation of his Soul not only to keep himself from sins without but from the sin within him not only from the sins of the times but from his own sins This is the sin the Goliah unless this be slain we shall never conquer the whole Army of these Philistins conquer this sin and you shall the more easily conquer all other sins while you keep your selves from all other sins you only shew your selves upright in the sight of men but he that keeps himself from this sin his own sin shews that he is like David sincere in the sight of God. And thus you see as plainly as I can express my self the force and meaning of these words I know now you expect that I should give you the Doctrine or Observation contained in them and to give you it in as plain words as I can 't is this Doct.