Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n
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A33935
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Liberty of conscience asserted, or, A looking-glass for persecutors being a plain deduction from scripture-history of the original grounds & pretences for persecution : the methods taken to put the same in execution : together with the sad consequences thereof, or, the reward that attends persecuting-spirits.
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Care, Henry, 1646-1688.
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1687
(1687)
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Wing C528; ESTC R31288
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50,834
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33
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use in all Ages to all Men for there is no New Thing under the Sun saith Solomon Eccles 1.9 Of these in their order And first of the Evidences and Instances which the Scripture hath given and â—oted Of the First to wit That the seated Enmity in the Hearts of the wicked and their bitterness against God himself Christ his Followers the Saints of God the Laws of God Holiness it self and the Light thereof the Light which did shine in Christ himself the Saints and followers of Christ which Enmity the Holy Ghost did fore-tell Gen. 3.15 should arise between the Seed of the Serpent and the Seed of the Woman and accordingly it soon appeared when Cain from that Principle slew his Brother Abel Gen. 4.8 The Prophet Habakuk in his time noted Chap. 1.13 That the wicked devoured the Man that was more righteous than he The Apostle also asserts that in those days also 't was so in the general Gal. 4.29 As he who was born after the Flesh persecuted him who was born after the Spirit so saith he there it is now that is in those days By which they then did evidence the highest Heart-Enmity imaginable And this Heart-Enmity the Holy Ghost hath throughout the Old and New Testament frequently in especial manner observed No sooner had the Enemies of the Jews in Nehemiahs days Nehem. 2. received Intelligence that Nehemiah was come with Authority to build the Walls of Jerusalem v. 8.9 But 't is said v. 10. That it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a Man to seek the wellfare of the Children of Israel their envious Hearts here boiled within them of it when there was one good Prophet in Israel Micaiah by name wicked Ahab said of him 1 Kings 22.8 I hate him Such was his seated Enmity against him there that he could not in that time forbear openly to declare it upon the very naming of him The Psalmist also testifieth that in his time it was so The wicked in wrath or as the Margent hath it with un intestine hatred saith he hateth me Ps 55. v. 3. And Psal 64.4 He complains of the numerousness of these two in these words They who hate me without a Cause are more than the Hairs of my Head Of which Enmity also the Prophet Amos takes notice in the general in his days They hate saith he rebuke in the Gate and they abhor him who speaketh uprightly Amos 5.10 They there could not endure Verbal Rebuke nor the convincing Life of an upright Man their Hearts abhorred them both So afterwards in New Testament days they testified their fixed Enmity Hatred and Rancour which was seated in their Minds against Christ himself and against all who did own Him or his Laws As Christ in the Parable before mentioned Luke 19. did hint that the Jews did when he there said of the Noble Man v. 14. His Citizens hated him and downrightly tells him by their Messenger there We will not have this Man to reign over us there they declared their Heart-hatred against him and his Government in the general and consequently against all who owned him and submitted themselves to his Laws they hated the Light which shone in him them and it as Christ himself expresly said John 3. That they hated the Light v. 19.20 Light is come into the World saith he there and Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil for every one that doth evil hateth the Light lest his Deeds should be discovered And this Christ told his unbelieving Brethren John 7.7 The World cannot hate you but me it hateth because I testifie of it Nay their hatred of Christ was so evident and well known that Pilate himself had taken notice of it Mark 15.13 't is said of him there That he knew that the Chief Priests had delivered Christ to be Crucified for Envy Of which the Hearts of the unbelieving Jews were full which also Christ did beforehand inform his Disciples of that they might be prepared to meet with the Effects thereof John 15.18 19. in these words If the World hate you ye know that it hated me first before it hated you c. I have chosen you out of the World therefore the World hateth you here they hated Christ and others also because they followed him and bore his image yea further saith Christ there v. 24. of the same Chap. Now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father Again John 17.14 he said of his Discipes The world hath hated them because they are not of the world c. Thus did Christ again and again inculcate this which afterwards they found true as the Scripture also hath noted Acts 5.17 18. 't is said That the High Priests and those who were with him rose up and were filled with Indignation or Envy and laid their hands on the Apostles The like Spirit the Jews discovered Act. 13. when they there saw the multitude v. 45. They were filled with Envy and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul their Hearts here were full of Envy and Hatred both against the Apostles and their Doctrin Again Act. 17. 't is said That the Jews who believed not being moved with Envy took unto them certain lew'd Fellows of the baser sort and made an uprore v. 5. And Paul doth acknowledge of himself Acts 26. That he when he was yet an unbeliever was also exceeding mad against the followers of Christ v. 9. I verily thought with my self that I ought to do many things contrary to the Name of Jesus and in v. 11. Being exceeding mad against them I persecuted them to strange Cities And herein was verified that which Christ had said John 16.1.2 3. That some should think that they did God good service in killing his Followers So far did Pauls blind Zeal then transport him That it filled his heart with madness against them So far were some of the Jews carried in this Enmity That when Judas repented and told them that he had betrayed Innocent Blood they say what is that to us tho they rejoyced and had given him Money to do it Mark 14.10 11. and they afterwards put Christ to death Mat. 27.34 35 c. Yea most desperately did they say when Pilate acquitted himself of that Innocent Blood His Blood be upon Us and our Children v. 24.25 of the same Chap. Thus hath the Holy Ghost recorded this Enmity that was naturally seated and fixed in the Hearts of the Sons of Men and evidenced by them in those days 2dly As to the various Ways and Methods these invidious Ones walked in and took towards and against the Saints against Christ himself and his Followers Or how these wicked Ones did in those Ages of the World express this their seated Enmity Hatred and Bitterness against them or which way it did evidence it self to be in them The Scripture hath also plainly taken notice of some of which were as followeth First They were studious and diligent by all
the Pride height of Spirit and revengeful Nature which was in them Such was their Pride that they would not seek God themselves nor bear with those who did as the Psalmist said Psal 10.4 That the wicked through the pride of his countenance will not seek God and in v. 8. 't is said of him That in the secret places doth he murther the innocent his eyes are privily set against the poor as their Pride here would not permit them to seek God so it set them against the Saints innocent Ones who did seek God The Psalmist again Psal 119.69 said The proud have forged a lie against me And again Psal 123.4 he saith Our Soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of them who are at ease and with the contempt of the proud Here the Holy Ghost takes notice that the Pride of their Hearts did render the Saints the objects of their Scorn and put them upon forging of lies against them This very thing set Haman into so great hatred against Mordicai and made him so resolute on revenge against him and all the Jews Hester 3. his proud Heart could not bear with Mordicai because he did not arise and do him Reverence as is expressed v. 5. in these words When Haman saw that Mordicai bowed not nor did him reverence then was Haman full of wrath and in the next verse He thought scorn to lay hands on Mordicai alone but sought to destroy all the Jews with him such were his revengeful Purposes from the dreadful Pride of his Heart Hence it came to pass that the Presidents and Princes in Daniels time so much hated him studied to revenge and took those courses to execute it upon him Dan. 6. He being now advanced by King Darius over all the Presidents and Princes v. 1 2. their proud hearts could not bear it and this put them upon seeking occasion against him concerning the Kingdom v. 4. and finding none so good a Subject and innocent Man was he they in the next verses resolves to take him in the matters of his God procured a Law and pursued him in the ways they had devised till they had gotten him into the Lions Den tho the King himself would have saved him From the like pride of Heart the Libertines and others who were disputing with Stephen Act. 6. and not able v. 9. to resist the spirit and wisdom by which he spake nor able to bear to be silenced by Stephen they in the next verses evidenced their Pride and revengeful Spirits they confute him by suborning Witnesses stirring up the People Elders and Scribes against him caught him and carryed him before the Council The like Spirit did the Jews evidence in those days in their Behaviour towards the Man who was born blind John 9. when he had by such convincing Arguments which they could not resist proved Christ to be of God v. 30. and so on The Pride of the Pharisees being such that they could not bear to be put to silence by such a poor unlearned Man as he was therefore they v. 34. took this course they first say to him Thou wast altogether born in sin and dost thou teach us And they Excommunicated him Having no better Argument they confuted him this way and revenged upon him after this sort Thus hath the Scripture noted that the wicked Ones envy against good Men often did arise from the Pride of their Hearts and revengeful Nature 4thly A fourth cause or ground from whence they so maligned and persecuted the Saints Christ himself and his Followers in those days did arise from their great ignorance of God himself of Christ and of the Saints in persecuting of whom they persecuted Christ as he told Saul Act. 9.4 As 't is said of Pharaoh Exod. 5.2 Who is the Lord that I should let Israel go I know not the Lord said he therefore I will not let Israel go his ignorance of God here made him oppress and grieve Gods People still and pursue them afterwards So it was with Saul Act. 9. when Christ had said Why persecutest thou me Saul answered Who art thou Lord v. 4 5. Here his ignorance of Jesus was the cause why he persecuted him and his Saints Christ intimates this also to be the cause why the Jews hated him and persecuted him to the death Luke 23. when they were Crucified of him he there prays for them in these words v. 34 Father forgive them for they know not what they do Had they known him saith the Scripture they would not have crucified the Lord of glory 1 Cor. 2.8 Their ignorance here was the cause of their persecuting Acts and of their malignant Mind against him and his The Psalmist took it for granted that in those days it did proceed from hence Psal 14.4 thus he said Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge who eat up my people as they eat bread Which Saying strongly implies that had they had knowledge they would not they could not have done so The Apostles also in their time did intimate the like and assigned the Ignorance of the Jews to be the cause of their malignity against Christ and his Act. 3. they tell them v. 15. That they had killed the Prince of life but v. 17. saith to them thus Now Brethren I wot that through ignorance ye did it as did also your Rulers And again Act. 13. said the Apostle to them in v. 27. That they who dwell at Jerusalem and their Rulers because they knew him not nor yet the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath-day they have fulfilled them in condemning him and in v. 28. Tho they found not cause of death in him yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain Upon the same Foundation of Ignorance Paul acknowledgeth that he went Act. 26. I verily thought with my self v. 9. that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus The Jews themselves John 9. did own their ignorance of Christ v. 29. said they As for this Fellow we know not from whence he is all the undeniable Evidences they had had that he was of God did not enlighten them nor convince them therefore they persisted to envy and persecute him and as to such who professed to own him many denied him Titus 1.16 being unto every good work reprobate or void of Judgment In like manner the Scripture declared that afterwards they persecuted and hated good Men upon this account or from hence that they knew not God Christ or them 1 Jo. 3.1 Therefore the world knoweth us not because it knew not him and as Christ had told his Disciples John 15.20 If they persecuted me they will also persecute you and in the next verses gives the reason of it in these words All these things will they do unto you for my name sake because they know not him who sent me So again John 16. The time cometh said Christ there v. 2. that whosoever killeth you shall think he doth God