Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
cause_n death_n life_n sin_n 9,880 5 5.5192 4 true
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A49406 A sermon preacht at the funeral of Mr. Thomas Lamb July 23, 1686 by Richard Lucas ... Lucas, Richard, 1648-1715. 1686 (1686) Wing L3417; ESTC R5563 11,776 31

There is 1 snippet containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

constant and sincere practice of these we adorn the Gospel of Christ promote the Honour of God and shew forth the praises of him who called us out of Darkness into his Marvellous Light for nothing does more convincingly manifest and publish to the World the Honourable Notions we entertain of God the Purity and Power of our Christian Faith than a Life imploy'd and spent in these works for by this we openly proclaim to the World that we do not believe that a Holy and good God can be pleas'd with any thing but Holiness and Goodness or that any Sacrifice can be so acceptable to him as the Imitation according to our power of his Divine Perfections Besides these Duties common to all Christians there are others which flow from our distinct Professions and Callings Every man's Calling whether he be a Pastor in the Church or a Ruler or Officer in the State whether he be a Trader Physician c. doth more peculiarly exact some distinct kind of Vertue As Watchfulness in Pastors Integrity in Rulers Justice in Traders Tenderness in Physicians and such like and in all Industry and Diligence Nor doth it a little import the Honour of our Religion and the welfare of human Society that every man do faithfully discharge the particular and distinct Duty of his Calling nor can he neglect it without involving himself in the guilt of trampling underfoot the most powerful obligations for this the abilities God endow's him with this the trust God commits to him this the Dependencies others have reasonably fixt upon him this the general Covenant suppos'd entred into by every Member of a Community that he will be useful and helpful in his place this the Interest of the publick and the glory of God loudly calls and presses every man to it being impossible that Decency and Order in human Affairs should be preserv'd that the Beauty and Harmony of Divine Providence should be maintain'd that the mutual wants and necessities of Mankind should be ministred to and supplied or the Honour of God supported and upheld in the World unless men be faithful in the discharge of the Duties of their several Callings and Professions This is that the Apostle exhorts to Rom. 12.6 7 8. Having then gifts differing according to the Grace that is given to us whether Prophecy let us Prophesie according to the Proportion of Faith or Ministry let us wait on our Ministring or he that teacheth on teaching or he that exhorteth on Exhortation He that ruleth let him do it with diligence The same Faithfulness and Diligence men are elsewhere in Scripture exhorted to in their secular and Prophane Callings You see then what the works are which God prescribes us to walk in namely the works of our general Callings as we are Men and Christians and the works of our distinct Professions as we are dedicated to different imployments in Church or State You discern in the next place the natural Bent and Tendency of these works towards the glorifying God on the Earth This then is the Post which you are to make good this is the station you are to fill this is the Province you are to adorn you cannot otherwise acquit your selves with a good Conscience towards God or Man And hence it follows § 2dly That the Faithful discharge of our Duty is the only Rational ground of our Assurance towards God 'T is true and confessed on all hands that the Death and Merits of Christ is the great cause of our Peace and Reconciliation with God that through him through him alone all Christians are to expect the pardon of their sins and the acceptance of their performances That when we have done all we are unprofitable Servants And that the most unblameable and pious Life that ever was yet led upon Earth except that of Christ's himself could never be able to undergo the Test the Tryal of God's strict Judgment And therefore our Deceased Friend notwithstanding the nature and number of his good works not easily to be parallel'd though I wish they were by many Instances in this Age gave us this short account of his Faith and Hope the day before his Death I trust in the mercy of God But though all this be true 't is all nothing to the point in hand for though Christ dyed for all yet all have not a like or equal ground of Hope Tho the Death of Jesus be sufficient to attone for the sins of all yet all are not actually pardoned The Question therefore is what gives men a good Claim and a just Title to the Benefits of Christ's passion and what is the clearest proof of the goodness of our Claim and then nothing is more evident than that this is a faithful discharge of the Duties of Life a finishing the works God gives us to do These are the proper effects of saving Knowledge and a saving Faith These are the very Essentials of Repentance towards God These are the kindly Operations of Love unfeigned These are the proper tokens of the Divine presence and the Residence of God's Spirit within us These lastly are the natural and genuine fruits of an enligthned understanding and renew'd mind These therefore are the best proofs and evidences of our claim to all the Benefits of Christ's Death and Merits and consequently the most Rational Foundation of our Peace and Comfort in our Latter end This is evident from the Examples of all Righteous and good men whose Comfort in Death is wont to be proportiond to the Piety and Sincerity of their Lives hence not to multiply Instances that of Saint Paul 2 Tim. 4.7 8. I have fought a good fight I have finisht my Course I have kept the Faith henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness which the Lord the Righteous Judge shall give me at that day and not to me only but to them also that love his appearing Here we have the confident expectation of a Crown but 't is a Crown of Righteousness and if we examine the ground of this confidence of St Paul it is that War which he prosperously waged those conflicts which he had successfully maintain'd against the World the Flesh and the Devil his Indefatigable Perseverance in the Race of Vertue and Goodness set before him And finally his stedfast and unshaken adherence to the Faith of Christ in despight of all the malice and fury with which he was assaulted Thus have I briefly insisted on the words of my Text as reserving room for that which is a more fair and lively Comment on it the Life of our deceas'd Friend And here in pursuance of my method I should be obliged to begin with an account of his behaviour in his particular profession but having resolv'd to say nothing but what I either personally know or have full and unquestionable proof of I will pass over this part of his Life as that to which I am in a great measure a stranger though I cannot forbear recommending to