Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	age_n	time_n	year_n	5,388	5	4.9453	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A28888	An admirable treatise of solid virtue ... by Antonia Bourignon ; written in 24 letters to a young man, who sought after the perfection of his soul ... ; translated from the original French.; Traitté admirable de la solide vertu. English.	Bourignon, Antoinette, 1616-1680.	1693 (1693)	Wing B3840; ESTC R8922	180,128	310

your Soul and dispose it to recover that Union while I shall endeavour by mine that shall follow to shew you what true Virtue is and of whom you are to learn it that you be not deceived by any body and that you may discern truely between true and false Perfection in which many well-meaning Persons are deceived of themselves and others and your self has not yet gotten that light of true discerning to know things as they are before God taking them only as they appear to mens judgments who often deceive for it is written that all men are liars yea we lie often even to our selves perswading our selves that we know and understand mystique things while we are wholly ignorant of them Here follow some CONFERENCES Taken out of the THIRD PART Of the LIGHT OF THE WORLD CONFERENCE XI Declares how we must be regenerated to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven and that we must return into the Dependance of God which is the only thing which God requires essentially of Man I asked her How that Regeneration could be performed for persons already advanced in Age and Doctrine SHe said Sir we must take wholly a new Life as if we were newly born to day because all the Good which we esteem our selves to have done heretofore is evil or at least good for this life for all our good works have always been accompanied with Self-love or with human Considerations which can never be recompensed in eternity because we have here received their Reward What we do by Self-love is recompensed by our satisfaction and what we do by human Considerations is recompensed by the complacency of men so that we can never in justice pretend any thing else being fully satisfied in this World after the pretensions and ends which we have had in doing our good works Although they have been covered with the cloak of the Glory of God or Charity toward our Neighbour all hath been in effect but vanity Therefore is it that he who will be converted must assume a life wholly new and believe that he hath never done one only action purely for the Love of God Which he shall know sufficiently by examining all the sins against the Holy Spirit and them which we commit in another with the eight Beatitudes and the other solid Virtues Every one may thereby see how far he is alienated from the state of the Blessed which Jesus Christ hath declared in these eight Beatitudes and if he hath the will to acquire them how he must take up a wholly new life and become as a Child newly born who suffers himself to be governed by his heavenly Father Neither age nor learning can hinder that we abandon our selves unto God suffering our selves to be ruled as it pleaseth him because the more we are advanced in age the more must we make haste to recover our Salvation because we have but the small time that our life endures The conversion of persons in age should not be deferred one day lest their life escape and there be no more recovery because after death there is no more remission The Learned must also acknowledge that all their Wisdom is but Ignorance before God which is often an impediment unto his Graces and that the time is come when he will destroy the wisdom of the wise and abolish the prudence of the prudent that all may receive the Kingdom of Heaven as little children I said unto her That it was very desirable to be of the number of them who shall be converted and that I would be the first to abandon my self wholly unto God as a little Child She said Sir no person can be entirely converted if he do not know the sins and also the true vertues These two things are necessary For otherwise men should think they were converted while they were yet full of sins and had not yet acquired any solid Virtues Therefore is it that I have spoken unto you so particularly that you should not remain in the darkness which invirons all the men in the World There should yet be found many who would turn and be converted but very few who know their internal sins and yet fewer who know what true Virtue is All these would make conversions false before God for if they do not know their hidden sins they cannot amend them and if they do not know what true Virtue is they cannot practise it The ignorance of these two things hinders that they cannot be converted unto God nor yield themselves to be governed by him That then must be learned first of all to know the state of their Soul in what degree of sin it is and also in what degree of true Virtue If these things were known there should be yet many who would embrace the spirit of penitence and abandon themselves unto God as little Children but because they know not the state of their Conscience many perish insensibly not knowing their miseries If you will Sir be abandoned unto God as a Child think that all that you have done hitherto is of no value and cast your self in Gods Arms who is your Father as a Child who cannot speak that he may teach your every thing He shall do it assuredly For it is his desire that we be converted unto him when we withdraw from him by our sins he suffers it because he will not retract the free will which he hath once given us for he is immutable in all his works but so soon as we return unto him by penitence he receives us as the father did his prodigal Child accepts us for his Child and Heir of his Glory But if you think to continue in your proper wisdom you shall never receive the Holy Spirit You must become simple as a Child and not will any more to use your proper will remitting and reposing it wholly in Gods hands giving him the reins of your proper will that he may guide it and conduct it whither he pleaseth and that you may no more be able to abuse it as hitherto you have done which you must confess with regret for if our will had been ruled by God we had never come into such Extremities of all Evils I said unto her That I must confess that my will had not been ruled by God because I had not known as at present the manner of abandoning my self unto God She said Sir no man can ever be saved unless he know that he must be entirely abandoned unto God because that is the first and last Commandment which he hath given unto man and to speak better it is the only thing which God requires of man If we would absolutely depend upon God we should fulfil all the Law and the prophets That is the only thing necessary All that I can ever have said Sir is comprehended in the DEPENDANCE which we ought to have upon God because he hath never required any thing else of man and also shall

not your self to be deceived when you could discover the Deceits they would put on you Now if you had such vigilance for the goods which pass away so swiftly and can give no help at death how can it now be difficult for you to use the same diligence to discover the Devil and the sure way of true Virtue that you may thereby gain Goods that shall never end Ought you not rather to double your Diligence Care and Study to acquire eternal Goods than to find difficulty in it which you found not to acquire the goods of this world Think you them more worthy than the eternal I do not think so of you seeing there is no comparison betwixt them For temporal goods afford nothing to our souls but care to preserve them and regret to leave them whereas vigilance to acquire eternal Goods brings an inward Joy Hope in God and repose in the Soul And beside we cannot live in spiritual Negligence without being in that mortal sin of sloath I know you desire not to live in sin but you have not sufficiently discovered in what that sin of Sloathfulness consists It appears to you a repose to live without tentations and without watching so precisely over your words and actions but that small Repose you might have in this life should cause you eternal Disquiet For we are not come into this world to rest but to be careful to watch and to labour for our Salvation ever until we have obtained it We must not then go to change the order of God He hath sent us into this world as unto a place of Banishment or into a Prison of Penitence to satisfie his divine Justice And we would yet live here in ease without Care or Diligence or watching against our Enemies Though worldly persons watch sometimes night and day to gain a little Money some vain and empty Honour or infamous Pleasure Believe me these Worldlings shall rise up against us in the day of judgment and confound us that they have watched laboured and cared more in the service of the world than you have done in the Service of God Apply your self then to the Diligence necessary for discovering the Wiles of the Devil your sworn Enemy for he will not cease to tempt you and endeavour to surprise you as long as you live in this world so you must not cease to watch over your actions and words that you may resist him always And that is the reason why the Scripture says Our Life is a continual Warfare Nor must you take that Spiritual Diligence for a difficult thing for it will become easie by use and it is most necessary useful and profitable far beyond that of things temporal and corporal As things durable and eternal are much more estimable than transitory and mortal ones And yet we see the men of the world take so much care for the present life which is of so short continuance For a Gentleman will take heed to all his words and actions that he do or say nothing against his Reputation He hath also always his spirit occupied to perceive if others carry that Respect and Honour to him which he desires and all his care is intent to perserve his reputation in this world neglecting no occasion to maintain it He exposes sometimes even his life for a point of Honour or takes away the life of another of whom he thinks he hath received some affront And what care study and fatigues do they take who would perfectionate themselves in some Sciences whether in Divinity Law or Medecine what frequenting of schools How many Books must they buy and how many Masters must they seek And care to observe things well to come to some reputation of a learned man Now though all such Honours be vain and perishing yet you know my Son how much care a Merchant must adhibit to order his affairs There are many who neglect often their eating and drinking and sleeping to attend constantly their profit How much care takes a Labourer or Tradesman to gain their food And God gives you yours so liberally without Care or Trouble that you may the better take care of your Salvation and labour the more for the perfection of your soul Is it then just that you should complain of a little difficulty you have to watch over all your words and actions to find true Virtue and discover the Snares of the Devil Methinks that is the least a Christian can do to attain to eternal life and happiness For man is created for no other end but that happiness and eternity If then he is capable as it appears that he is to watch be careful and labour for things temporal and transitory how much more ought he to do the same for eternal things we see that Merchants go by Sea and Land and put their life in hazard to gain a little Money We see Tradesmen pained and sweeting by excessive labour and that they do mean abject and nasty works to gain their poor nourishment We see hired Servants subject to the will of their Master and watch and attend with diligence the services they owe them and that to gain a small wage or fee. And a Christian will not do all these things to keep himself out of the Snares of his Enemy and to acquire true Virtue which conducts his soul to eternal life Were it not a great weakness to say that it is difficult to watch always over our words and actions to become agreeable to God While we see all men doing the same thing upon accounts that no way deserve it How much care takes a faithful Page to serve his Master Hee 'l study almost night and day to do what he knows is pleasing to him and performs with diligence what he knows to be his will And when he hath served him well and gained his friendship he obtains nothing but a pitiful temporary Wage I have heard a Story related of a Servant who had faithfully served a Prince so that he was well satisfied with him And for that promised that he would give him whatever he should demand It happened a long time after that promise that the Servant fell sick and was in great danger of death and when he felt himself at the extremity he entreated earnestly to be visited by his prince The Prince being come to his bed-side askt him what he would demand of him The Servant demanded that he might not die of that disease and that he might live yet some years The master Answered that it was not in his power and that he must demand of him something else After the servant demanded of him one years life or a Moneths or in end one days life But the Prince continued to answer that he could not do what he demanded since it was beyond his power and that he must demand of him things possible as Money Medecines or other Benefits that were in his power But the servant replied that he needed neither