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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
work_n	dead_a	faith_n	lively_a	5,187	5	10.6802	5	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A07287	The practice of repentance. Or A sermon preached at Pauls Crosse, the fifteenth of September last passed, by Radford Mavericke, preacher of Gods word in Devon	Mavericke, Radford, b. 1560 or 61.	1617 (1617)	STC 17682; ESTC S105958	30,434	48

them long sithence Therefore if there be any sparke of grace left within vs if there be any feare of Gods iudgements if any dread of hell torments let vs now turne vnto the Lord by true vnfayned repentance for the quieting of our consciences in this life and for the sauing of our poore soules in the life to come And so much for the first point I obserued That it is of Gods infinite patience and mercy towards vs that he hath so long expected our Repentance that we might be saued The second point The second point I obserued was The care that all good Prophets and Pastors haue to exhort vs to Repentance for the saluation of our soules But vpon this point there is no need to stand long Noah and all the Patriarks Samuel and all the Prophets CHRIST IESVS and all his Apostles all their whole care and trauaile was to call people to Repentance Iohn Baptist began with this doctrine Repent and beleeue the Gospell CHRIST IESVS the Sonne of God did the same Repent for the Kingdome of God is at hand And after Christ his resurrection he cōmanded his Apostles and all good Preachers to publish the vertue of his Death and Resurrection to this end as Luke reporteth it That Repentance and remission of sinnes Luke 24. should be preached in his name among all Nations beginning at Ierusalem euen the same Ierusalem though not the same people which our Prophet Ieremie exhorteth here to wash their hearts from wickednesse that they may be saued And elsewhere he saith Be instructed O Ierusalem c. Ier. 6.8 Vse 1 The vse of this point may be first to teach all Pastors and Preachers not to thinke it any disgrace vnto them though they do not alwaies soare on high vpon the wings of speculatiue Diuinitie garnished with plumes of Rethoricke and Philosophie though either of them may well attend on Theologie but sometimes if not oftentimes to touch vpon the point of Repentance for the preaching of that doctrine did neuer that I reade of breede any Schisme in the Church of Christ Mens hearts rather then Christ his coate will be rent in pieces by the preaching of Repentance Vse 2 And a second vse may be here to warne all people to expect and desire no doctrine rather from the mouth of the Preacher then the preaching of Repentance though I grant such Preachers are called the playne Preachers now-adayes and indeede they that preach the doctrine of Repentance well had neede be playne that is haue no need to spare any Persons or Professors nor to colour or couer any vices whatsoeuer But it is not to heare such playne preaching that all people flocke so much to Sermons in this Age but it is either to heare newes or nouelties or invectiues that makes many people to presse so neere this place But beloued Christian one thing is necessary namely the saluation of thy soule and no doctrine more necessary for the sauing of soules then the preaching of Repentance The third point And so come we now to the third point lately proposed that is Though there be neuer so much preaching of Repentance except we repent with it and by it we cannot be saued The saying of our Sauiour is right well knowne Except yee repent yee shall all likewise perish Luke 13. Noah preached a long time to the old World and no doubt earnestly perswaded people to Repentance but it was not Noahs preaching that could saue the world from drowning because they repented not The like may be said of Sodom and Gomorrah where Lot doubtlesse gaue many good lessons of Repentance but that did not preuaile with them therefore were they fearefully destroyed with fire from heauen Now as it was in the dayes of Noah so is it come to passe in this last Age of the world as Christ foretold there is now much preaching and calling of people to Repentance but the not practising thereof is still the cause that so few are saued for except we repent we cannot be saued It was the preaching of Saint Peter that pricked the peoples hearts in the second of the Acts and made them to crie out What shall we doe Acts 2. meaning what shall we doe to be saued Then Peter said vnto them Repent and be baptized euery one of you in the name of Iesus Christ for the remission of your sinnes for without repentance there is no remission of sinnes and without remission of sinnes there is no saluation Further this must be noted by the way that when we vrge Repentance as chiefly necessary to saluation we exclude not faith and good workes for true Repentance is the Child of Faith and good Workes are both the fruits of Faith and the true tokens of Repentance Therefore Iohn Baptist preaching Repentance to the people did bid them to bring forth the fruits of Repentance because each tree is knowne by his fruit And when the Iaylor demanded of Paul and Sylas What he should doe to be saued They said vnto him Beleeue in the Lord Iesus and thou shalt be saued and thy houshold Acts 16.31 Now that faith of his brought forth Repentance with the fruits thereof otherwise he could not haue beene saued For albeit it be true as our Church rightly teacheth that we are freely iustified before God by faith yet our Repentance and good Workes must testifie our faith to the world that it is no dead faith as S. Iames speaketh but such a faith as worketh by loue as S. Paul exhorteth Gal. 5.6 whereby it is manifest that the doctrine of S. Paul and S. Iames doe not differ touching our free Iustification by faith as many Papists pretend for that which S. Iames calleth a dead faith Iam. 2.20 is the same faith which S. Paul meaneth that worketh not by loue And howsoeuer our Aduersaries the Papists slander vs Heauen and Earth Men and Angels can witnesse with vs that we vrge good workes in our Sermons as much as they and to better purpose then they by good workes we meane bona opera benè operata such workes as are true tokens of our conuersion and fruits of our faith in Christ by whom only we are saued And we affirme with Saint Austen that bona opera non praecedunt iustificandos sed sequuntur iustificatos Good workes goe not before them that are to be iustified but follow them being iustified for first the person must be accepted with God before any thing that proceedeth from man be pleasing to his Maiestie And whatsoeuer is not of faith is sinne We say also with S. Bernard Bernard that bona opera sunt viae ad regnum non causae regnandi Good workes accompany vs towards heauen but are not the causes of our comming thither And to conclude this point which by way of digression I haue pursued thus farre we all say with Saint Paul By grace we are saued through faith not of our selues it is the gift of

will not dispute sure I am now the heart of man is the sinke of sinne as our Sauiour saith Out of the heart proceede euill thoughts Adulteries Fornications Murther and the rest And God himselfe who is the true 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and onely searcher of the heart pronounceth that the heart of man is euill continually And our Prophet in another place affirmeth that the heart of man is deceitfull of all other things who can finde it out Ierem. 17.9 there are so many concauities and hollow places in the heart so many hidings and so many turnings that it hath neede of a great deale of skill and care to cleanse and wash the same and much filth is left behinde in secret foldings which we know not of Insomuch that he must be a very wise carefull and diligent Man that can finde out but euen the corruption of his owne heart Hence is it that there are so many Hypocrites in the world that hiding many foule and secret sinnes in their hearts can yet make shew to the world that they are very holy and religious Many men there are that desire to be taken for godly and faithfull men yet the question may still be demanded Where shall one finde a faithfull man such a one as Nathaniel was euen a true Israelite in whom there is no guile Ieremie is commanded in the next Chapter to our Text to runne too and fro by the streets of Ierusalem and to enquire in the open places of the same if he can finde a man that executeth iudgement and speaketh the truth from his heart that God might spare that Citie to punish it Ierem. 5.1 And in the two and twentieth Chapter of Ezechiel God complayneth that he sought for a man among them that should make vp the hedge and stand in the gap betwixt him and the Land that he might not destroy the same but could find none Therefore saith the Lord haue I powred out mine indignation vpon them and consumed them with the fire of my wrath their owne wayes haue I rendred vpon their owne pates saith the Lord. Ezech. 22.30 And it is greatly to be feared how we should fare if the Lord should looke downe from heauen vpon vs that liue in this last age of the world as he did vpon the old world a little before he destroyed it to see the greatnesse of the wickednesse of men vpon the earth and that all the imaginations of mans heart are euill continually And who knoweth whether the Lord be ready to come out from heauen or to send his Angels because the sins of our Land are exceeding grieuous and the crie thereof very great to inquire whether we haue done altogether according to the crie that is euen ascended to the heauens or no Let vs therefore beloued if we will haue any care to preuent the fierce wrath of the Lord which is readie to fall vpon vs returne speedily vnto the Lord by true and vnfayned Repentance or to vse the wordes of our Text Let vs wash our hearts from wickednesse that we may be saued Obiect But Christ saith vnto Peter He that is washed needeth not saue to wash his feete Ioh. 13. 10. Answ I answere that by feete there is meant all our filthy affections which proceede from the heart of man therefore with Christ to wash our feete and with Ieremie to wash our hearts from wickednesse is all one The Iewes about the time our Prophet preached this and afterward were very ceremonious and superstitious too in their washings they thought and perswaded themselues if they did or could obserue the outward rites or customes of their Fathers touching their eternall cleansings and washings it was well enough nay rather very well But Ieremie here wisheth them to wash their hearts because they drew neere vnto God with their mouthes but their hearts were farre from him Esay 29.13 Our Sauiour himselfe reproueth these Iewes very sharply Matth. 23. as we reade in the Gospell for this their hypocrisie for that they were ouer-carefull to make cleane the vtter-side of the cup and platter but their hearts were full of all rauening and wickednesse Therefore wisedome willeth vs to consecrate our hearts vnto God Not that God wil not haue the hand as wel as the heart the worke as well as the vvill the body as well as the soule and all the members and faculties both of body and soule sanctified vnto his seruice As St. Paul exhorteth to giue our bodies a liuely sacrifice vnto God but because the heart is the chiefest part and the fountayne from whence all our thoughts wordes and workes doe arise therefore the heart must first be washed and cleansed purified by faith in a good conscience to serue the liuing God For if the fountayne be foule the waters that issue from it cannot be cleane And as St. Austen saith well Deus magis cordis intentionem quàm actum operationis intendit God doth more respect the intention of the heart then the operation of the worke whatsoeuer Man iudgeth according to the outward appearance but God seeth the heart For he is the only searcher of the hearts and reynes All things are naked before him Can any hide himselfe in secret places Ierem. 23.24 saith the Lord He vnderstandeth all thy pathes yea euen thy priuy pathes of pride of dissimulation of disdayning thy brother of fornication of couetousnesse of briberie theft extortion and the like though acted by thee neuer so secretly God saw and discouered Achans vvedge of gold though hid in his Tent God saw Achab sicke at the heart for Naboths Vineyard God saw Gehesies heart and made Elisha to see him also Did not my heart go with thee saith the Prophet that is did not I see thee when thou rannest after Naaman for a bribe God grant we haue not among vs too many Achans too may Achabs too many Gehesies that couer many foule sinnes vnder their gownes or cloakes of hypocrisie that make a goodly shew to the world that they are godly but their hearts are full of wickednesse that wash their hands cleane euery day but their hearts scarce once in the yeere scarce once by their liues with the water of true repentance yet still my text saith Wash thine heart from wickednesse Wash thine heart If Pilate had washed his heart as cleane as he washed his handes he would neuer haue condemned an Innocent to death for feare of the people The feare of man chased away the feare of God as the Wiseman saith contrary wise As the face of the King chaseth away euill from his Throne so the feare of God driueth out wickednesse from the heart of man Prou. Vse The vse of all this is to haue God and his feare alwayes before our eyes so that what sinne soeuer we are tempred to commit wee may say with godly Ioseph How shall I commit this wickednesse and so sinne against God Therefore the Scripture sayth Blessed is