Selected quad for the lemma: sense_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
sense_n	good_a	speak_v	word_n	3,582	5	4.2248	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A94171	Hypocrisie discovered in its nature and workings. Delivered in several sermons, by that faithfull minister of the Gospell, Mr Cuthbert Sidenham, late teacher to a Church of Christ in Newcastle upon Tyne.	Sydenham, Cuthbert, 1622-1654.	1654 (1654)	Wing S6300; Thomason E1504_3; ESTC R208667	84,791	234

inward desire of applause to be somewhat in the world he will be most curiously exact in all his frames such a man will cut to a hair and he will observe the least thing in others that may be as a blot in them and him I called a stately and curious hypocrite he will not be blamed in the world that is all his designe he will keep all plots and spots off him if out of mistake he be wrung he will mend it next time his name lies at the stake for it and all his comforts lies only in a faire handsome neat carriage in his duties to the Sons of men that he may be able to be blamelesse in his reputation in the world and some men have been so curious in their actings and observances that they have shamed many precious people that was Pauls temper and care alwaies that he might be without blame to the world as to the Law he was blamelesse Phil. 3. and it is as great a thing as a man can speake and doubtlesse the Pharisees had a handsomnesse and neatnesse in all their observances that they were very much admired by the People A strictnesse that they looked at a Point at a Latchet though the great and eternall things lay with no weight on their spirits such kind of hypocrites will go on smoothly in the world that a man shall admire them and check his own heart say I am a hypocrite certainely I never came up to those frames This man dazels the eyes of men and all his designe is to carry on a handsome garbe and go for somebody in the world Oh! this is that that many in these times had need looke to their own hearts in Tithe mint and cummin and neglect the most weighty things of the Gospell they have handsome apparell without but never look within to the eternall workings of their poore soules and that state that must be before God for ever And againe If a man be of a crafty cunning temper of a naturall subtilty and he begin to professe the Gospell he will play the part of a hypocrite to purpose he will shift at every turne and change every time he will not be found at any time unsutable he will tell you he must change with providence he will be sure to mannage all that naturall subtilty in Religion to his owne designe perfectly and truly there are no persons so perfectly hypocrites as these that out of craftinesse begin to be hypocrites upon subtle principles are privy to their own deceits they are out of intention hypocrites and they know they can shift and comply with any occasion there are thousands of these hypocrites in these times in England that conclude with the times that make use of the time and occasion and have no more grace in them than Heathens So take it as to any other temper whatever you will if a man be not throughly converted and enter upon Religion looke as his temper is naturally so will his hypocrisie be and that I may go on a little clearer take it now as to the temper of feare on a man and the workings of God upon him If a man be apt to feare and God lay any thing upon a mans conscience for God sometimes keeps such all their life-time in feare you shall find that there will abundance of hypocrisie appeare in those actings and such a man shall be a terrified hypocrite he shall live under terrours and make abundance of worke through his feares for feare may put a man exceedingly on to duties and be but a hypocrite all this while Now of these there be two sorts that live under terrours and I will especially speake to these for many thinke if they be under trouble of conscience and terrour they are past the worst and in the best frame that can be Therefore First there are some that are but more generally touched with the sense of some sin that God meets them with and laies upon them and at every turne checks them for and lets in glimpses of his wrath now and then upon his conscience and they get into a strange kind of temper of complaining and whining and whimpering in their owne spirits and go on in their duties for they dare not but go to duties but yet it doth not worke so much upon them as to cry out with hideous noyses of damnation yet are kept under feare and bondage of spirit and cannot get out of it and all their design is to whine at it and complaine of it to others abroad that as we say in griefe to open a mans mind is a mighty ease so you shall find them open their hearts and say they are under these and these sins talking of their corruptions telling how they are under such trials under such feares of their passions and tell you of hypocrisie and thus they go from doore to doore and from Professor to Professor and all to no purpose for they never knew nor never found the weight and power of the Gospell lying upon their spirits never see the depth of a deceitfull heart for all this But only say alas I have such and such corruptions I am afraid of my estate and condition and so take a pleasure in their complaining Now there are three waies wherein they shew their hypocrisie First By this way of complaining they thinke to get off from suspition of hypocrisie Such Soules such creatures are alwaies complaining of their conditions and so they thinke to be free of hypocrisie by this kind of whining though they never knew what the hatred of sin was never knew what it was to be pierced through with the darts of the Gospel for sin Secondly they thinke by this to get the pity and compassion of other Saints to pitty and bemoane them and we ought say they to speak a good word to comfort them Though Saints nor Angels cannot speake a good word to soules yet they looke for it Thirdly they shew their hypocrisie by this They looke upon themselves by it as poore in spirit alwaies in sense of sin and under a sense of their lost condition and would have others thinke so too there is a poore spirit nothing but poverty of spirit never come to him but he hath low esteeme of himselfe Fourthly But the great straine of hypocrisie lies in this they perfectly rest in this straine of complaining and never look after Christ they get ease by opening their minds and if they can but get a good answer to quiet them for the present they go away content I have abominated this frame of any frame in Professors A strange ugly whining frame of spirit constantly upon a soule which should not be upon a Professour but in the absolutest cases of necessity and extraordinary occasion for he shews he hath not been at Christ and opened his condition to him but he must have this and that outward help first and if he cannot help himselfe then go to him It is

adultery and yet come and appeare before me they had brazen faces for all that they never felt the power of conviction upon their spirits and if God should shew any man any one sin he would never act that sin but he would abhor the very sights of it But there are such poore common generall convictions meerly from conscience conscience hath a power within a man but it never stirs with terrour till God anew as it were shews his sin and his miserable estate by sin by a light from heaven and so sets conscience afresh a working God then gives it a new Commission to charge his soule he goes to duty though he knows himselfe full of hypocrisie yet he can go to duty as quietly as can be a man may know himselfe to be a hypocrite and yet go on in it because Secondly He thinkes he shall weare out his hypocrisie by his duties though he performe them in it though he contract guilt by them and most of his hypocrisie is in his duties and that is exceeding strange but it is most true for a hypocrite thinkes by his duties to weare out all his deceits as he colours his hypocrisie by it so he hopes to weare it out by it he hopes it is a worke of time though he have a bad heart yet he hopes to have a better heart though he never looks to Christ for it Fourthly He hath something at present that he gets by his profession something that is sutable to some end some lust or other of his own and that keeps him up notwithstanding those generall convictions I know not how to call them convictions they are so cold and poore upon a mans heart but he hopes to get something either applause of men to be a good Christian or something to be thought of by men or to get some peace of conscience that the violence and desperatenesse of wrath fall not upon him Aye but Fifthly which is most of all that I may shew you this God doth judicially give up those kind of hypocrites that have begun without him tooke up profession without any workings of God upon their soules he gives them up commonly unto a reprobate mind that you have so commonly named in the New Testament so injudicious as they cannot understand their own condition but go on still see no more in one condition than another but that I may speake of Gods dealing with hypocrites in this way First As I told you God delights to discover hypocrites so he hath most judgements upon them of any in the world and he discovers them commonly either First By some secret giving them up or withdrawing strength giving them up to some corruption or withdrawing strength from them absolutely that they find nothing of former strength at all so he doth many times with those that have lived upon parts gifts and endowments it is ordinary for God to leave them as you have it in John 15. they wither the life and sap that they were wont to have is withdrawn and the spirit is gone so it is with many and certainly that is the Reprobate mind taking away from the understanding that common light that the soule shall only looke after the outward part of a duty but never knew the life of it never understands nor distinguishes when he is in a bad or a good condition Oh! looke after the impression and sence of the things of God upon your soules Secondlie The way that God takes to discover hypocrites he gives them up to some eminent corruption to breake out as to discover them as it was with Judas he had many gnawings of conscience doubtlesse under Christs Ministry alwaies and under Christs eye but he was never discovered till he gave him up to that covetous heart that wicked corruption that lay most in his heart then he was discovered presently then thirty peeces of silver was enough for Jesus Christ Either God gives them up to deadnesse to be twise dead that is dead in their own hearts the meaning is they lost both their naturall affections and the affections they had on their hearts by common gifts and workings they lost both and now nothing takes hold of them or else he gives them up to some eminent corruption that all the world sees there is one never minded the Gospell now it is broke out or else Secondlie As to that head God gives them up unto a despaire which is very common and that is twofold First Either secret despaire they tug in duties may by night and day when they are prest in conscience and they get nothing go to Sermons and they find no blowings of the Spirit no breathings at all upon their hearts and so grow into a secret despaire insensibly Now there is a secret kind of intermission in Saints but this soule goes on and never finds any thing of God or Christ Secondly There is a terrifying despaire which sometimes God gives them up to whereby they are terrified with the hideousnesse of the wrath of God crying out they are damned they are damned and they never commonly get out of it you never heare of any hypocrite in the Scripture that ever got out when God laid a charge upon him because God would have soules walke so purely and clearely with him in all their duties Now as you see how he may know himselfe to be so to be thus and yet act so see the nature of his hypocrisie and take it in short First though he know himselfe to be a hypocrite and to be unsound yet he is loath to have it said so or have it discovered he cannot abide that he would not have any one thinke so though he knows it himselfe but yet would walke so exactly as he could so it was with Balaam Num. 21.22 23. all along how gladly would he have gone to curse the Israelites but God would not suffer him though he knew he was a most wicked notorious hypocrite and a witch too yet how would he pretend to Balack he would go to God he would gladly have done it but God had a mighty check upon him it was a Prophesie to all the world how all dealings with Saints should be though he spoke good things and he could not but speake them yet he would gladly avoid them for the money and still he had an over-awing of God upon him So it is with many hypocrites though they know themselves to be unsound at the heart and bottome yet they would have all thinke well of them what they want of integritie that they would make up in the handsomnesse of their deportment and cariage up and downe the world Secondly Though he know himselfe to be an hypocrite yet there is none will be more censorious of hypocrisie in others even to poore Saints but that is a common rule he will be severe in the censuring of others and he may thinke by that that others may thinke him far from hypocrisie Thirdly Nay what shall I say