Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heart_n	apostle_n	preach_v	word_n	3,267	5	4.6936	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A89499	Englands spirituall languishing; with the causes and cure: discovered in a sermon preached before the Honorable House of Commons, on their solemn day of fast, at Margarets Westminster, June 28. 1648. / By Thomas Manton, minister of Stoke-Newington.	Manton, Thomas, 1620-1677.	1648 (1648)	Wing M523; Thomason E450_4	33,495	42

forth corruption if it be in the body into the skin God hath beene reforming the Land and our wickednesse appeareth the more Hos 7.1 When I would have healed Israel then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered and the wickednesse of Samaria God hath been correcting and amending us and wee have been the more vile and sinfull Oh then how may the Kingdome fit downe like the Church in Micah and mourne Micah 7.1 2. I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits as the grape gleanings of the Vintage the good man is perished out the of earth there is none upright upon the earth they all lie in waite for blood and hunt every man his brother by a net Zeale is decayed the power of godlinesse gone the Word despised and wee are even growne as the people whom God hath cast out before us Religion hath received wounds in the house of her friends and is made a pretence to every base designe few seek to propagate it and it meets with much snarling and opposition every where and iniquity is now grown impudent And thus I have done with my first work which was to shew wherein Religion is decayed My next businesse is to shew you the occasions and causes how we came thus to languish and decrease that so the guilt may lie at the right doore and truly wee need not contend about that but may every one of us smite upon the thighs and beare the shame of our own iniquity Briefly then For the occasions the knowledge of them may serve to shame us with our unthankfulnesse they are two One is the late prosperity which God of his mercy had given to his people the Church (m) Ecelesia haeres Crcius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nazian orat 3. de pace who is the Heire of the Crosse is seldome able to manage and wield an outward happy condition I remember n Nazianzen observeth that it hath ever with more honor endured misery then with safety improved happines and successe that maketh us alwayes degenerate or divide sometimes degenerate when Constantine favoured Religion poyson was sowen in the Church Christians began to loose their ancient severity and to looke after ease and honours and pleasures in the World When we have any thing in the World we neglect out high hopes and so by little and little holinesse decayeth and degenerateth into a meere pretence which is onely retained the better to colour over some carnall pursuits and projects whereas those Christians that meet with nothing but hard things in the world and from the world are more heavenly and holy for the inward exercises of Mortification are much advantaged by their outward condition and the world being crucified to them they are the better crucified to the world as Paul speaketh Naz. ibidem Gal. 6.14 i. e. it neither smileth upon them nor they upon it and as successe maketh us to degenerate so to divide 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as hee said assoone as the Church grew prosperous it grew factious like timber in the sunshine wee are apt to warpe and divide from one another or like (ſ) Quam reportassent tandem coronam si perstitissent in eadem m●litia nec ut efferati Elephantes ab hostibus conversi contrivissent suos Brightman de Luthero Melancthone Elephants returning from the heat of the battaile wee tread downe our own troopes prosperity begets wantonnesse and wantonnesse novelties so the people of God come to bee scattered and to goe into distinct heards and divisions an evill ever fatall to Religion and yet it seemeth connaturall the Apostles themselves though Oracles infallible could not wholly prevent it in their dayes outward prosperity then was a great occasion Another may bee opennesse of Visions carnall hearts are soone cloyed I cannot tell how it commeth to passe but so it is the Word hath lesse power when openly preached a Gospell-glutted stomach doth often force God to provide sharpe remedies either some great outward misery accompanied with the want and famine of the Word and then any little thing is pretious as see two places one is Zech. 7.7 Yee should have hearkened to the former Prophets when Ierusalem was inhabited and in prosperity and the Cities thereof round about her and men inhabited the South of the plain Mark there is their full condition described the Temple stood the City flourished the Suburbs was great but then they hearkened not but despised the former Prophets that is the Prophets that prophecyed before the captivity but now looke upon them in their emptinesse the other place for that is Ezra 9.8 And now that the Lord hath shewed us such grace to give us a naile in the holy place c. Marke how welcome every little thing is to them then a nayle in the holy place is such a mercy that is to see one pin or nayle driven into the rafters of the Temple whereas before they would not know their owne mercies whiles that stately Edifice stood in all its glory and beauty times may come when these dewes will be pretious and Sermon showres sweet to thirsty soules or if this bee not God may send a darke Ezekiel when a plaine Jeremy is despised Ordinances may bee carried in such an obscure notionall aery way as to yeeld no efficacy and comfort These are the occasions but what are the causes of the languishing and decay of godlinesse I Answer That great division and dissentiency that is among Gods owne people when the language was divided the building ceased when Religion is controverted it loseth its awe and force 't is observable that Acts 4.32 33. when the people were of one heart and of one minde then with great power gave the Apostles witnesse to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ Marke that with power the Word came with command and authority upon the hearts of men the World easily stumbleth at this rock of offence the Assent is more loose and doubtfull when things are committed to the uncertainty of disputes and so doth not commandingly check vitious inclinations when the wayes of flesh and blood are backed with wit and parts and made to seeme a valuable opinion men are hardly gained Besides godly men themselves while they ingage with too much heat and zeale in their particular opinions grow coole in piety and practicall duties the strength of their spirits being diverted and carryed out so disproportionably to the lesser matters God placed the Flaming Sword about Paradise and the Gospel calleth for violence in the matters of the Kingdome Matth. 11.12 but wee usually mistake our object and misplace our zeale upon such matters as have more of interest in them then godlinesse and are rather busied in disputing much then doing much The embasting and emasculating the Ordinance of Preaching hunger seeketh food but lust dainties and quailes when Preachers provide for mens lusts rather then their consciences Religion is embased loseth power A Ministery that stayeth in the paint of words

of the times should put us forward not make us worse A godly man should be like fountaine water hottest in cold●st weather dead fishes may swimme with the streame and every carnall heart walke according to the trade of Israel it deserveth no thankes to be earnest in duties when there is no opposition against them but alas as soone as danger commeth how are men discouraged it should not be so when the wicked prevaile it 's said of the godly man Job 17.9 that hee shall hold on his way and hee that is righteous grow stronger and stronger true grace and true zeale by an Antiperistasis is best in the worst times but it 's otherwise with us for our Magistrates some of them when the day of God is prophaned his name dishonoured his truth questioned are like carelesse Gallio's troubled with none of these things doe not come forth to the helpe of Christ for our Ministery many act no further then they are incouraged and put on by an outward power and will not ingage till all difficulties be first removed by a secular arme others leave themselves at a loose liberty and indifferency to comply with all parties and launch forth no further then they may get to shore again if a storm arise our people are in an unsetled hesitation ready to draw back upon every trouble pleading for the stumps of Dagon and revolting in their hearts to the old wayes and truly as yet the evill dayes are not fully come so that this grace is not thorowly exercised however a cold ind●fferency in such times will in very evill times be a flat Apostasie certainly this is clear already that we are much gone off from our first love At the first breaking out of Reformation what heat and violence was there offered to the Kingdome of God what zeale against the little foxes every modest appearance of errour what an holy sorwardnesse Metuendum est in postrem mundi aetate magis hunc errorem grassaturam esse quodaut nihil sint Religiones eut differant tantum vocabulis Melanc postil de Bapt. Christi whereas now we are at a stand the old world like old men every day losing more of its heat and fervour Melancthons prophecy is almost verified for he though he were a sober and meek man and indeed his fault was too much connivence for by his silence Consubstantiation prevailed was so sensible of the decay of zeal in his time that he feared the world would come to account Religion a matter of nothing or a word-strife not worthy mens regard and engagement and truly it 's even brought to that passe By the insipid formality and dead heartednesse that is found every where we are without life in the wayes of God little beauty of holinesse little circumspection and strictnesse in life and conversation Religion is like a river it loseth in strength what it getteth in breadth now many come in to professe their walkings are not so awfull and severe when it 's a shame not to have some forme in Religion many have but a forme and do debase the holy profession by mingling it with their pride lust and avarice so that it 's not so daunting and hath no such Majesty with it as formerly it had a truly godly man is to be the worlds wonder the worlds reproofe the worlds conviction the worlds wonder 1 P●t 4.4 they thinke strange c. you are to hold forth such mortification and selfe-deniall that the world may wonder you are to weane your selves and bind up your affections from such objects as do so pleasantly and powerfully insinuate with them and ravish their affections he should be too the worlds reproofe Heb. 11.7 by building an Arke Noah condemned the world you should be Mirrours to kill Basiliskes and in the innocency of your lives shew them their owne filthinesse in short your lives should be a reall reproofe and upbraiding to them and then the worlds conviction 1 Cor. 14.25 you should walke so that they may see God in you of a truth your conversation should be nothing else but a walking rule and Religion exemplified but alas how vaine carnall sensuall are most men discovering nothing of the power of grace the beautie of holinesse and the efficacy of the new-nature we may see much of man but nothing of God in them it s even our description 2 Tim. 3.5 having a forme of godlinesse but denying the power thereof denying the power that is refusing and resisting that inward virtue and force of godlinesse by which the heart should be renewed or the conversation rectified Possibly there may be more light but lesse heat what Seneca observed of his times is true of ours Boniesse desierunt sicubi docti evaserint they were lesse good when they were more learned for now we rather dispute away duties then practise them Oh! 't is sad this when knowledge shall devour good life and notion spoile knowledge that of Hugo is but too just a character of us Amant lection●m Hugo lib. 2. Miscel cap. 52. non Religionem immo amore lectionis in odium incidunt Religionis mul●os video studiosos paucos religiosos c. many desire to know few to live yea knowledge seemth to make men lesse strict and holy for they dispute away Religion the more they understand of it Loathing of heavenly Manna there cannot be a more proper discovery of spirituall languishing sick persons loath their food and feed upon ashes See Shepards Sound beseever pag. 250. surely godlinesse is in the Wane when a people are Christ-glutted and Gospel-glutted and are all for ungrounded subtleties quintessentiall extracts and distillations Oh how welcome were the first appearances of light t is a blessing we know by the want of it when we came newly out of darknes whose heart did not say within him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 welcome sweet light when it was a new thing how strangely did it affectus but 't is the unhappy fate of the Word to be dispised upon acquaintance John 16.35 Yee rejoyced in his light 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for a season 1 Cant. 26. some small time when first hee began to shine in their borders to a gracious eye truths bed is alwaies green as fresh and flourishing at the last as at the beginning but most looke upon it with an adulterous eye and heart love it whilst 't is new nauseate it after some acquaintance and knowledge of it with what fastidious disdaine doe men despise sacred truths if discovered in their owne native beauty and simplicity 1 Cor. 2.6 we speake wisdome among those that are perfect saith the Apostle that is among growne Christians who can discerne beauty in a plain ordinance wisedome in an Evangelicke simplicity though there be no inticing words sublime speculations and exoticke conceits but now carnall men are all for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 depths as they say 2 Rev. 24. that is they account them great and deep mysteries whereas