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A10061
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The laver of the heart; or Bath of sanctification Preached at Pauls Crosse the first of September last, 1615. By Gabriel Price, minister and preacher of Gods word.
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Price, Gabriel.
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1616
(1616)
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STC 20306; ESTC S102929
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54,546
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178
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THE LAVER OF THE HEART OR BATH OF SANCTIFICATION Preached at Pauls Crosse the first of September last 1615. By GABRIEL PRICE Minister and Preacher of Gods Word ISAY 1.16 Wash you make you cleane take away the euill of your workes from before mine eyes cease to doe euill learne to doe well c. AT LONDON Imprinted by Felix Kyngston for Thomas Man 1616. TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE HIS VErie good Lord and Patron ROBERT Lord RICH Baron of Leez GABRIEL PRICE wisheth all grace peace and ioy in beleeuing with increase of Honor in this life and eternall happinesse in the life to come I Haue presumed which I haue loÌ„g purposed to offer vnto your Honor some poore token of that dutie which bindeth mee vnto your Lordship while life lasteth hauing gotten some fit occasioÌ„ to expresse my loue I thought not to pretermit the same but therin to shew my minde and poore abilitie wherein I may doe your Honor any seruice Therefore after I had yeelded to publish this Sermon I remembred the blessed holie Euangelist Saint Luke penning and publishing the heauenly storie and blessed Gospel of Iesus Christ did dedicate the same to one Theophilus a noble man of singular credit and authoritie which moued me to make choice of your Honour to become a Patron refuge vnto my poore and simple meditations in a Sermon preached at Paules Crosse as the title sheweth and is a Treatise tending to sanctification which according to the time I haue amongst others brought my present and as I hope contrarie to Mithridates sword is more pretious and richer within then it is without and which with the New yeere as a New-yeeres gift I humbly present vnto your Lordship that vnder the shadow of your Honorable acceptance it may finde some rest and reliefe To whom being diligently read and often meditated vpon I doubt not but it will be fruitfull to inflame a zeale of Gods glorie and furtherance of his religion Wherefore my humble desire is your Honour would vouchsafe the patronage hereof then I doubt not but more learned then my selfe will accept my good will and good men will helpe mee with their prayers to God for the encrease of his grace to the further inloâ—ging of the kingdome of his holy sonne Iesus Now the very God of peace sanctifie your Honour throughout and in the perusing hereof to measure the commendation to the glorie of God by the liking and feeling of your own heart so shal I haue what I desire and my paines shall bee more then sufficientlie recompeÌ„ced Praying vnto God that you may liue long to the benefit of your Countrie the aduancement of your Honour the comfort of learning and aboue all that your whole spirit and soule and bodie may bee kept blamelesse vnto the comming of our Lord Iesus Christ to his glorie who shall glorifie you in the Heauens Amen TO THE GODLY and well disposed Reader HAuing taken in hand to entreat of this place of Scripture according to my poore talent wherewith God hath enabled me at the sundry motions earnest requests of some of my friends such as feare God I was earnestly desired to put the same in print for the benefit as they said of others whose christian desier I take in this case as a sufficient calling hereunto neither do I yet see how I could haue made them a denyall without some preiudice to their soules and some checke vnto mine owne conscience For the matter it selfe containing The Lauar of the heart or the Bath of Sanctification I confesse is of that excellencie that it requireth both large and deepe discourses wherein both learned and godly haue not bin wanting In this corruption of nature it is not possible to do any thing so exactly well but will bee carped at depraued and slandered so that who offereth any thing to the sight of the world must make ready his backe for the deepe surrowes of euery byting censurer Psa 1.9 3. Therefore who am I that I should take vpon me to set forth and publish any thing the vnworthiest I confesse of many hundreds and the vnablest of many thousands yet seeing many things more simple lesse needfull and profitable are not only suffered but alowed to come abroad I am â—â—t altogether discouraged neither hath any man iust cause to accuse me in this my honest enterprise And so much the lesse because my care hath been to bee sound and plaine for the benefit of the simplier sort and especially for the satisfying of such honest and good hearts as desired to peruse that with their eyes which they heard with their eares that so better meditating and remembring that which otherwise they forget they might make their hearts as rich in grace as Sermons according to the truth of God are full of goodnesse If thou gentle Reader meete with any thing in any part of the Sermon that thou shalt iudge worthie the censuring as me right in vnderstanding me as I expresly spake it and let me before aâ— vncharitable opinion be setled I pray thee haue some brotherly signification thereof and I shall be most ready God willing to satisfie thee therein or to alter or to better my iudgement if any man out of the word of God shall offer to instruct me for as I desier to teach what I know without grudging so I disdaine not to learne that wherein I am ignorant without blushing we know nothing yet as we ought to know saith the Apostle therefore I doe not presume of perfection I confesse much imperfection euery way and in this do wholy and humbly submit my selfe to the iudgement of the Church as I do for my sinfull life in Christ craue mercy of God The Lord enforme vs all with all profitable and conuenient trueth and frame all our affections thereafter And the Lord giue vs all grace to turne our hearts from the world vnto God our contentions into the peace of the Church and our mindes into loyall obedience vnto Soueraigne authority and our prayers and thanksgiuings for our gratious and dread Soueraigne King IAMES Amen Amen THE LAVER OF THE HEART OR THE Bath of Sanctification IEREM 4.14 O Ierusalem wash thine heart from wickednesse that thou maiest be saued or helped or kept THe blessed Apostle S. Paul Hebr. 5.13.14 coÌ„pareth the Scripture to the Store-house of a rich and plentifull house-keeper wherein is laid vp variety of victuals fit for all persons and estates both milke for babes that are vnexpert in the word of righteousnesse and stronger meate for them that are of riper age which through long custome haue their wits exercised to discerne both good and euill And our Saurouâ— Christ Matth. 13.52 compareth it to a treasurie wherein are things both new and old so that euery one may receiue hence what is conuenient for him new garments and new vessels may bee filled with new wine new cloth and old garments and old vessels may bee filled with old wine and old cloth
and repentance is an action pressed vpon vs and that from God For it is his coÌ„mandement we must wash therefore we are vncleance Doct. 1 From whence the instruction is that there is not any thing in al this world that doth defile the soule and body in the sight of God as sin doth Proued here That which is not defiled need not to be washed But here man is commaÌ„ded to wash himselfe therefore he is defiled Sinne is called rottennesse and corruption and is that which wee haue drawne either by propagation from our parents in originall sinne which hath defiled and corrupted the whole nature of man that he is blinded in vnderstanding froward in will and rebelling in all his actions against the will word of God or else it is the increase of this vncleannesse which wee haue greatly augmented by our owne euill practise and wicked conuersation and is that which the Apostle calleth old leauen to be purged 1. Cor. 5.7 that it may be a new lumpe This vncleannesse of sinne was prefigured in the ancient washings of Aaron and his sonnes with water at the doore of the Tabernacle Exodus 29.4 And in the typicall and signifying washings of the old Testament foreshewing the cleansing and purifying of our hearts in the Gospell Mat. 5.8 For Gods Altar and seruice must bee compassed with innocencie the Lord will be sanctified in those that come neere him Leu. 10 The purification of the soule and bodie is the fruite of sauing hope 1. Ioh. 3.3 For euery one that hath this hope in him purgeth himselfe as he is pure This vncleannes is deciphered in Ezek. 16.6 for the Lord vnto whose eyes all things are naked Heb. 13 4. seeth euerie one polluted in his own blood Luk. 10.30 It is the spirituall pitch that who so toucheth is defiled therewith Sin doth mortifie vs and maketh vs dead to grace and goodnesse And in the old Testament he that touched a dead carkâ—se was vncleane and might not come into the Sanctuarie till he was cleansed Vse 1 The first vse is to teach vs to labour with our owne hearts to hate and abhorre sinne in all but specially in our selues and that with a perfect hatred euen more then the diuell of hell for he cannot hurt vs till sinne doe staine vs. Sinne is that which much delighted the diuell and therefore it is the Tempters office and continual endeuour to prouoke vs to sinne Therefore he is called an Enemie Apocal. 12.10 an Accuser a Compasser Iob. 1.7 a Sister Luk. 22.31 a Deceiuer GeÌ„ 3.13 Wherfore I beseech you trust him not for hee hath a minde to get all the members of thy body and all the affections of thy soule from out of Gods seruice into his slauerie and subiection Sinne greatly displeaseth God and therefore he hath euery where in his word threatned fearefull punishments against the transgressors of his law Leuit. 26.15 Deu. 28.15 And there hath been none so deare nor is any so beloued vnto God in heauen Paradise nor in the earth but for sin the Lord hath punished The Angels that kept not their first estate Iude epist they are reserued in chaines of darknesse for euer to be punished Adam for sinne throwne out of Paradise The Canaanites with their sixe bordering nations disinherited and cast forth of their countrie The first world drowned Sodome and Gomer burned Kings vnthroaned Iudges Magistrates strooke downe from the bench and the Mightie cast from their seates Yea the Lord forsooke his own inheritance euen mount Sion which hee loued because they sinned against him that so the saying of his Prophet might be true Psalme 5.4 Thou art not a God that loueth wickednesse neither shall euell dwell with thee The foolish shall not stand in thy sight for thou hatest all them that worke iniquitie Isai 1.16 Wash you make you cleane put away the euill of your workes cease to doe euill learne to doe well and then come and let vs reason together For wee must wash our hands in innocencie before we may come to compasse the Lords Altar Vse 2 Here also it serueth to informe our iudgements concerning sin and wickednesse namely that euerie sinne defileth and subuerteth the worke of God it turneth good into euill faire into soule forme into deformitie and life into doâ—â—â— And this doth the holy Ghost teach vs Tit. 1.15 saying Vnto the cleanâ— are all things cleane but vnto them that are defiled and vnbeleeuing Is nothing cleane but euen their minds and consciences are defiled Should not this deare Christians inforce vpon our consciences this doctrine of sanctification and cleansing of our flesh and spirits from wickednesse suh it defileth all things it commeth neere Let Gods word come to a sinful he are it is defiled as pure water in a foule vessell What is there in man or without man that sinne hath not defiled It hath made our tongues become Adders speares our lippes instruments of guile our hands to worke iniquitie and our feete to runne to euill and to shed blood But what speake I of the defilement of the members the Spirit saith sin defileth the very minds and consciences of men And how should it bee otherwise for if sin so abuse the naturall parts what will it doe with the minde It grieueth me to tell you but I will tell you that it may warne you It turneth prayers into cursing it vseth knowledge to beguile the Scriptures to couer prophanenesse it vseth their wittes to cauill which brings Lawyers much gold and siluer it vseth wealth to oppresse strength to steale to wine and to women It vseth naturall wisedome to maintaine vnnatural blasphemy It vseth hunger to gluttonie thirst to drunk â—â—ues garments to pride honour to disdome marriage to lust offices to briberie the Minssterie to contention saw to delay It vseth the day to open euill and the night to secret shame Shall I cease here I weepe to speake it It either despiseth or wresteth damnably the holy and sacred word of God and the ordinances of God it prophaneth wickedly For haue we not in this our age to fill vp the measure of vncleannesse haue we not Ribaldrie as in Playes and the like committed to the presse to be commended in print lest posteritie should want patternes of impietie Whoredome with some is good physicke honestie is but foolerie knauerie is commoditie dissembling is discretion and idlenesse is gentrie If this bee not cleansed with the winde of the law or cut downe by your sword of iustice or purged with the Lords fanne to what height of sinne shall we grow vnto But the thing which I admire is this that God Almightie for all this doth suffer vs stil to liue It may be hee doth it that his long patience might leade vs to repentance or that wee should fulfill the measure of sin in defying the grace of God as wee haue defiled the nature of man that so at last we may abuse death as we