Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	body_n	soul_n	time_n	1,787	5	3.7088	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A02735	Deaths aduantage little regarded, and The soules solace against sorrow Preached in two funerall sermons at Childwal in Lancashire at the buriall of Mistris Katherin Brettergh the third of Iune. 1601. The one by William Harrison, one of the preachers appointed by her. Maiestie for the countie palatine of Lancaster, the other by William Leygh, Bachelor of Diuinitie, and pastor of Standish. Whereunto is annexed, the Christian life and godly death of the said gentlevvoman.	Harrison, William, d. 1625.; Leigh, William, 1550-1639.	1602 (1602)	STC 12866; ESTC S117329	105,988	243

members of his body And as the husbandman doth make as great reckoning of that corne which he hath sowne in his field and lies hid vnder the clods as he doth of that which he hath laid vp safely in his garner because he hopeth it will come vp againe and yeeld increase so Christ Iesus doth as highly esteeme of those bodies which are laid in their graues as of those which yet remaine aliue because he knowes that one day they shall rise againe vnto glory They are sowne in dishonour but they shall rise againe in honour Their life is but hid for a time and will be found out againe Christ is able to restore that which nature hath destroyed God doth herein deale no otherwise with the bodies of the righteous then a Goldsmith will deale with a picture of gold or a peece of plate that is brused and worne out of fashion he will cast it into the fire and melt it not to destroy it or suffer it alwaies to lie in the fire but to make it a better picture or peece of plate then it was before and therefore will take it out of the fire againe and fashion it according to his mind Wherefore let not the condition of our bodies after death make vs vnwilling to dye If any man entending to reedifie an old rotten house doe first put the inhabitants out of it and then pull down the house and prepare for the building of it againe haue the inhabitants of the old house any cause to be grieued Will they not rather be glad that it is pulled downe because they hope that it will be made better then euer it was before and they may dwell in it with more safty and delight Now our bodies are as old rotten houses for our soules to dwell in if God cause our soules to depart out of them for a time and then destroy them that afterward he may reedifie them and make them fitter habitations for our soules what cause haue we to lament Nay rather if we looke not so much on the present estate of our bodies after death as vpon the glorious estate which they shall haue after the resurrection wee may reioyce and praise God for this his worke towards vs. 2 But another phrase is here vsed to expresse the death of the righteous are taken away The Hebrue word doth sometime signifie to be gathered though as some obserue it be neuer spokē of things scattered and in that sense it is vsed for the death of the righteous whē the place whither they be gathered is mētioned As it is said of Abraham that he died in a good age and was gathered to his people and likewise of Isaac As also the generation which entred with Ioshua into the land of Canaan is said to be gathered vnto their fathers Sometime this word doth signifie to take away as when Rachel said God hath taken away my rebuke and the Lord saith by Ieremie I haue taken my peace from this people And so it is rather to be expounded in this place because it is set downe without any addition Wee may here obserue a seuerall doubling of the same things in this verse two words to set forth the persons which died two words to declare the manner of their death afterward two words also to shew the careles regard of their death among the wicked It was vsual with the Hebrues to repeate things diuers times together either in the selfe same or in the like words Yet we must not thinke that there be any vaine repetitions in the Scriptures seeing Christ forbiddeth vs to vse vaine repetitions in our praiers and will call men to account at the day of iudgement for euery idle word that they speake Wee may not imagine that the holie Ghost did vse any vaine repetitions or idle words in penning the bookes of Scripture These repetitions serue for good purposes In prayers they shew the seruencie of him that prayeth and his earnest desire of the thing which he asketh In Prophecies they declare the certainty speedines of the execution as appeareth by Pharaohs dreame which as Ioseph told him was doubled vnto him the second time because the thing is established of God and God hasteth to performe it In narrations they serue either for cōfirmation to assure the hearers that the matter is true of great importance and worthie to be heard and marked or els for explication the latter clause expounding the former For as nature hath giuen vnto mans bodie two members of the same kinde and vse as two eyes to see withall two eares to heare withall two hands to handle withall and two feete to walke withall that if the one should faile in his office the other might help it so the holy Ghost hath giuen two words of the same kind and signification to many sentences of Scripture that if the one shal faile in his office and not fully expresse the meaning the other might help it And this is the reason why the words are so often doubled in this verse least any should gather by the former phrase that the righteous so perisheth that he hath not any more being at all he now saith that he is but taken away And he may be said to be taken away both in respect of body and also in respect of soule In respect of body for although his body be not translated in such a manner as the body of Henoch was that he might not see death nor as the body of Moses which the Lord took and buried no man knowes in what Sepulcher nor as the bodie of Elias which was carried from the earth in firie Chariots nor as the bodies of them which shall be found aliue at the comming of Christ vnto iudgement which shall not die but be changed and presentlie ascend with Christ into heauen yet is the body of euery righteous man taken from amongst men to be laid amongst wormes from the liuing vnto the dead from aboue the earth to be laid vnder the earth from his house to his graue from a place of watching to a place of sleep frō a place of care labour and trouble to a place of ease and rest from a place of pleasure and pain of ioy and sorrow mingled together to a place where he shall be void of sense to feele any of them 2 In respect of his soule consider terminum à quo terminum ad quem whence and whither he is taken From his body to be brought vnto God from an house of clay to an house not made with hands but eternall in the heauens from men to Angels from sinners to them which be perfectly righteous from his greatest enimies to his best friends from the Church militant to the Church triumpliant from earth to heauen from a strange countrie to his own home from a prison to a place of libertie from bondage to freedome from miserie to happinesse from sorrow to ioy Whence

yet was he heard in that which he feared God deliuered him After this he read vnto her the 22. Psalme wherein Dauid complained partly of his owne but principally of the most bitter anguith which our Sauiour Christ indured and suffered in bodie and soule putting her in minde that her case was not so bad as Dauids nor much vnlike our Sauiours who indured all that and more for her therefore she had no cause to feare seeing Christ had obtained victory and would vndoubtedly be with her deliuer her eternally glorifie her with himselfe for euermore and so continually hee propounded to her such comfortable places of scripture as might meete with her infirmities This greatly refreshed her and gaue her occasion many times to call vpon God for increase of grace and deliuerance from her grieuous temptations The which God of his accustomed goodnes vouchsafed on Tuesday about three a clock in the afternoone what time shee felt herselfe in very good measure deliuered from all her former feares and afflictions But on Saterday next after which was the day before her death she was wholy released and filled with such inward comfort that it greatly affected vs that saw it This is the summe of that temptation which she had wherein what can any man see that might giue iust occasion to report our religion comfortles or the Gentlewoman dyed despairing This wee are sure of that to bee without temptation is the greatest temptation as also that nothing befell her which hath not befallen the holyest of the children of God And she that considered her owne corruption which how great it is in the best of Gods Saints I neede not say and bethought her selfe of the punishment due thereto if God in iustice should reward her no maruell if shee brake out sometime into heauie complaints I make no question it was the worke of God in her to suffer Satan to accuse her and afflict her for her sinnes that so she might the better see them and consider the haynousnes of them and before her departure repent her of them and betake her wholy to Christ for the sauing of her soule And if it pleased God thus to make her possesse her sinnes before she dyed let those which neuer yet knew the waight of their sinnes be wise in time and remember that hee shall neuer haue his sinne forgiuen which first or last doth not vndergo a holy despaire for it and acknowledge nothing to remayne in himselfe but matter of iudgement and condemnation and comfort and eternall life to flow alone from Iesus Christ. And as for those which haue learned to scoffe at the terrors of Gods children to censure such as a●e at somtimes cast down with feeling the anger of God against sin let them consider the blessed ●s●ue that God gaue to the troubles of this Gentlewoman and let them acknowledge his worke in her And if they will not do this but proceede to traduce the dead then let them call to minde those of the Popish crue and persons of greater note among them then this Gentlewoman was which haue dyed most fearefully indeede Cardinall Sadelot Iacobus Latomus the Diuinitie Reader at L●u●●ne Ho●me●ler the Frier Guardacus Bo●elius Crescent●●● the Cardinall Stephen Gardiner Bishop of Winchester and diuers the bloudy persecutors in Queene Maries time and some of the Popes themselues as namely Pope Sixtus Quintus of late yeers all which died most fearefully miserably and shewed manifest signes at their death that their popish superstition was the condemnation of their soules And if they will iudge of my religion by my death let them acknowledge their religion is the doctrine of desperation and that the truth faith which was able to fill the heart and tongue of this blessed Gentlewoman at her death with such heauēly comforts is the doctrine of Christ reuealed from heauen that wee might liue and dye in it From Tuesday till Whitson-eeuen her comfort still increased and temptations vanished away See would thē very cheerfully ioyne with the company in prayer and singing Psalmes as occasion offered and performed all such duties as was meete for her in that estate One day her brother Master Iohn Bruen of Bruenstapleford came from his house in Cheshyre to visit her and after some kind salutation passed betweene them he said vnto her Sister be not dismaid at your troubles but remember what the Apostle saith that iudgement must begin at the house of God To whom the answered as one that was also very ready in the scriptures with the very next words following True it is and if it begin at vs the righteous shall scarce be saued where shall the sinners and vngodly appeare After that she praied with him sung a Psalme with him as one that receiued great comfort by him acknowledged in him a hart set to seeke the things belonging to the kingdome of Christ. During this time in the night with such as waked with her she would pray and rehearse for her comfort many texts of Scripture and namely the 8. to the Romanes many times cōcluding and closing vp y● she read or repeated with prayer and most comfortable vses and applications thereof to her selfe with shew of such ioy and comfort that the hearers reioyced at it When she receiued any meate she prayed God not only to sanctifie those creatures for her bodily sustenance but also to fill her soule with the waters of life often repeating that of the Reuelation To him that thirs●eth will I giue of the waters of life freely One true she tooke her bible in her hand and ioyfully kissing it and looking vp toward heauen she sayd that of the Psalme O Lord it is good for me that I haue beene afflicted that I may learne thy statutes The law of thy mouth is better to me then thousands of gold and siluer Another time she called her Husband to her and said O Husband beware of Papistry keepe your selfe holy before the Lord. Yeeld not to the abominations of the wicked least they reioyce and so you dishonor God and destroy your owne soule Againe she said Let my little child be brought vp among the children of God and in the true feare and knowledge of his Maiesty so shall I meete her in heauen whom now I must leaue behinde me on earth Againe sometime she would pray with a low voyce to her selfe and that saying of Paule We haue not receiued the spirit of bondage to feare any more but the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba father was much in her mouth and the last words Abba father shee would double oftentimes ouer She would sing to herselfe the last verse of the 13. Psalme I will giue than ●● unto the Lord and praises to him sing Because he hath heard my request grāted my wishing Finally in these and such like exercises and meditations did she spend the whole time

professors In Sionis gaudium Anglo-Papistarum luctum Amen Amen FINIS A BRIEF DISCOVRSE OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE and death of Mistris Katherin Brettergh late wife of Master William Brettergh of Bretterghoult in the Countie of Lancaster Gentleman who departed this world the last of May. 1601. With the manner of a bitter conflict she had with Satan and blessed conquest by Christ before her death to the great glorie of God and comfort of all beholders Micha 7. 8. Reiovce not against me O mine enemies though I fall I shall rise againe And when I sit in darkenes the Lord shall be a lig●● vnto me Psalm 37. 37. Marke the vpright man and behold the iust for the end of that man is peace LONDON Imprinted by Felix Kyngston 1602. TO THE CHRISTIAN Reader grace and peace in Iesus Christ. WHen Achimaaz the sonne of Zadoc requested that he might be the messenger to bring Dauid word of Absoloms death Ioab would not suffer him Thou shalt not saith he be the messenger to day but thou shalt cary newes another time but to day thou shalt cary none for the Kings sonne is dead He knew Dauids affection was such that the newes of his childs death would be most heauie to him and the messenger himselfe not welcome for his message sake This is all our infirmity no tidings more grieuous to vs then when wee heare of the death of those whom wee loue The Parent bewayles his Child the Husband his Wife the Friend laments the death of his Friend and we thinke it the losse of another friend to depart with this our griefe Iacob mourned for Ioseph his son that he would not be comforted of a long season but thought he would weepe for him as long as he liued When the Amalekites had burned Ziklag and led away captiue the mens wiues and their children Dauid and his company wept till they could weepe no more When Lazarus dred his sisters Martha and Mary were much discomforted for him G●egory Nazianzen reports that when Basil the great died euen the wisest men in the city stroue to exceede one another in weeping and complaining for his death And as for my selfe saith he now I am bereaued of the fellowship of such a man what shall I do but either dye or liue in miserie Which way shall I turne me What shall I do What counsell shall I take now I haue lost him that was my comfort So heauy a thing we see it is to be seuered for a time from those that are deere vnto vs. One only thing there is which is able in this case much to temper our affections when we see our friend to die in the Lord that is in comfort of conscience assurance of saluatiō through Christ. And this his comfort he expresseth outwardly vnto vs by performing those duties which are required of a man when he dyes and so he makes a ioyfull and a holy end When our friend departeth this life in this maner we haue iust cause to take his death the more comfortably And thus it pleaseth God many times to stirre vp some especiallie such as in their life time haue a care to pursue Religion and to keep themselues vndesiled of the world at their death to expresse wonderfull comfort of spirit and to shew forth such fruit of Religion that we wonder at it and acknowledge the extraordinary worke of Gods spirit in them They wrastle against temptations they confesse their faith feele the assurance of their saluation condemne their sinnes exhort the beholders praise God sing Psalmes wish to dye that in their death they are better Christians then euer they were in their life This blessed departure God giues to many for diuers good purposes 1. That the world may know that peace is the end of the iust and comfort in death is the portion of the righteous 2. That his eternall truth in our holy profession may appeare to be able to comfort vs not onely in our life but in our death also when all other comforts forsake vs. 3. That our enemies may see our faith is not in vaine 4. That the weake by their example may be incouraged to a holy life when they see it bring with it so happie a death and that they may be strengthened against the feare of death seeing it is alwaies comfortable to those that leade a godly life 5. and finally that the friends of the departed by their heauēly departure may be admonished not to mourne so much for their death as to reioyce for their life and to thanke God that euer it was their lot in any degree to be ioined or matched with so blessed seruants of God This Gentlewoman Mistresse Katherine Brettergh was one of this number her life as long as God continued it was deere to those among whom she was as the life of a friend might be Her husband friends kinsfolks brethren sisters and all the godly that knew her inioyed a great blessing of God of her and her death no doubt was grieuous to her husband as the death of a vertuous yoke-fellow And if worldly affection would haue holpen it it was the same in him that Dauids was to Absolom his sonne when he mourned for his death O my sonne Absolom my sonne my sonne Absolom would to God I had dyed for thee ô Absolom my sonne my sonne But sure her death was such her behauiour in her sicknes so religious her heart so possessed with comfort her mouth so filled with the praises of God her spirit so strengthened against the feare of death her conquest so happy ouer her infirmities that such as loued her most haue greatest cause to reioyce in her death and by seeing the wonderfull worke of God in her to learne to renounce their owne affections This is the thing I thought with profit might be presen●●d to the view of others also that knew her not for when I had for my own priuate vse and the vse of my friends faithfully collected out of the fresh memories of those that were present and eye-witnesses as wel as my selfe and set downe the manner of her sicknes and death I considered that the knowledge thereof could not but be welcome to al those that desire to die the death of the righteous And so the same causes that moued me to collect it gaue me also occasion to publish it I remembred the saying of one That it is great pietie to set foorth the vertues of the departed if they haue excelled therein yea it is a meanes to increase grace in our selues I thought so great mercie of God shewed to one among vs ought not to be forgotten but should remaine to vs our childre an example to teach vs how good God is to them that loue him and to assure vs that he will neuer forsake vs but in like manner as he did her helpe and comfort vs when we shall by death be called vnto him I considered the vngodly