Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	angel_n	soul_n	zion_n	28	3	8.5993	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A29663	A sermon at the funeral of the Worshipful John Symonds, late of Great Yeldham in the county of Essex, Esq. preached in the parish-church of Great Yeldham aforesaid on the 24th of February, 1692, by John Brooke ... ; with a short account of his life.	Brooke, John, 1633 or 4-1716?	1693 (1693)	Wing B4906; ESTC R12467	25,737	32

die they shall rest from their labours and their works shall follow them therefore they are and must needs be thenceforth blessed Yea that I may descend to and instance in a few particulars here such as die in the Lord must needs be truly though not compleatly blessed and happy immediately after death for they shall then be blessed with perfection in resp●ct of their S uls with the comforta●le soci●ty of the blessed Angels and Souls of just men made perfect and which is more still than all these with a clearer more immediate and never more to be interrupted enjoyment of God and Christ 1. Such as die in the Lord will be immediately after death blessed with perfection in respect of their own Souls their Souls shall be then no longer clog'd down with their bodies But shall be elevated and exalted to their just 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to the highest pitch of perfection that they are in their separated Estate capable of and that in all the powers and faculties of them as to instance and but to instance in them 1. Their understandings shall be then extraordinarily enlarged and enlightned to see into those mysteries of nature and divinity which are now hid from them Now I see saith the Apostle through a glass darkly but then face to face now I know but in part but then I shall know even as also I am known 1 Cor. 13.12 The good mans understanding shall then be nevermore deceived or mistaken shall never more be troubled with misconceivings or misapprehensions all those mists of ignorance and errour which do now so much cloud his mind shal● then be scattered and blown over all those groundless fears and scruples which by reason of the weakness of our understandings and the imperfection of our knowledge do now so rack and gravel tender hearts shall then be laid aside for ever abandoned all those laborious studies controverted problems and polemical disputes which do now steal away so much of our time all to so litle purpose shall then have their final decision and full determination and the meanest understanding of them that are dead in the Lord shall then probably be able to confute the now ignorant sentiments of the learnedest Scholars And as their understandings so 2. Their wills shall be then Perfected with a perfect and indefective Holiness with an exact conformity to the divine will and with a perfect freedom from all servitude to sin they shall then be no more troubled with doubtful choise but with a perfect freedom shall steadily embrace the chiefest good and shall find it too as easie to do good as to will and desire it as one expresseth it And as their wills so 3. Their affections too shall be then all composed and placed aright and that too by an unalterable regularity in which too they shall receive the greatest content and satisfaction All those furious waves which do now many times rage in Mens hearts by reason of the turbulency of their passions and affections and do make them too too often like the Seas to foam forth their own shame shall then be reduced to an Everlasting calm Ye all those peevish passions and brutish affections which do now so often dethrone Judgment Conscience in Mens hearts and set the whole world as it were on a sire shall then be for ever cashiered and abandoned And we shall love fear desire delight and rejoyce in nothing but what is good And as their affections so 4. Their memories also shall not then be idle or useless but they shall perfectly remember the miseries that they were in the rock and shelves the dangers that they have escaped as likewise the mercies and good things which they met with here on Earth and all to inhance and heighten the worth of their Happiness and present enjoyments in Heaven Thus 1. Such as die in the Lord are immediately after Death blessed for they shall then be blessed with all that perfection which the nature of the Soul will admit of in its separate Estate 2. They are Blessed for they shall then be blessed too with the happy Society of the blessed Angels and of the Souls of just Men made perfect ye are come saith the Apostle Heb. 12.22 23. speaking indeed of the members of his militant Church in the dayes of the Gospel upon Earth and therefore it s much truer of the members of his Triumphant Church in Heaven unto Mount Sion and unto the City of the living God the Heavenly Jerusalem a●d to an innumerable company of Angels to the general Assembly and Church of the first-born which are written in Heaven and to God the Judge of all and to the Spirits of just Men made perfect and to Jesus the Mediator of the n●w Covenant 1. Then such as die in the Lord shall after their death be immediately blessed with the Society of the blessed Angels ye are come to an innumerable company of Angels and how sweet and comfortable how pleasing and taking their Society is the Saints in Heaven can only tell us but doubtless it is very lovely and amiable they being all creatures of such a noble Extract and of such an Heavenly make as they are 2. They shall then be blessed as with the Society of the Blessed Angels so with the Society of the Spirits of just Men made perfect as the Apostle tells us in the place fore-quoted this tends not a little to the making up of their Happiness The of God are Excellent persons even whiles they are here upon Earth The righteous saith Solomon is more Excellent than his Neighbour Prov. 12.26 And my delight saith David is in the Saints those Excellent ones upon Earth Ps 16.3 Their company even in this life is very taking and pleasing notwithstanding that by reason of that Body of Death which they carry about with them here they are even loaded with many imperfections which may and do breed sometimes real grounds of distaste to those that converse with them But O how excellent are they in Heaven How pleasant and taking will their company be there when they shall be disburdened of all these when they shall be made perfect as then they will be And shall all joyn together with one heart and with one voice to Offer up Everlasting Halelujahs to God and to the Lamb that hath re●●emed them as we are told they sha●l and will Revel 19.1 2 3 4. But then 3. And lastly which is still more than all this the Dead that die in the Lord are immediately after their death though not compleatly yet truly blessed because they then shall be blessed with the blisful fruition of God and Christ they shall come then as to th● Spirits of just Men made perfect so to God t●e judge of all and to J●sus the Mediator of the new Covenant as the Apostle assureth us in that place so often mentioned Heb. 12.22 23 24. According also to that of our Saviour to the penitent

that look out at the Windows are darkned in a fourth the D●ughters ●f Musick are brought down Phys●cians tell us of hundreds of diseases at leas● that are thus Incident to Mans Body and by reason of these he spends his Days many times in Pain and his Nights in Sorrow But here is the comfort of good Men death will be a remedy against them all It will deliver them or set them at rest from them all there shall be saith St. Jo●n Speaking of the New Jerusalem no more Death nor any more Pain R●vel 21.4 As the Blind Martyr told the Lame when they met at the Stake y●● may throw away your Crutches now if you please D●●th will ●u●e us both you of your Lameness and me of my Blindness The great Physician of Souls the Lord Jesus Christ will by Death cure all the Diseases and remove all pains from good Mens Bodies And consequentially they shall then be at rest from all sufferings with respect to the Body 2. They shall be at rest too then from all sufferings with respect to the Soul Many and Sore are the sorrows and troubles of a Christian in this Life in this respect also Sometimes the Afflictions of the good set him on weeping By the Rivers of Babylon we sate down and Wept when we remembred Zion Ps 137.1 viz. The Afflictions and Desolations of Zion and of Gods People that had once lived there Sometimes the Transgressions of the wicked fetch tears from his Eyes Rivers of Waters run down my Cheeks Saith David because wicked Men keep not thy Laws Ps 119.136 Sometimes the Sense of his own corruptions stabs him as it were at the very Heart When they heard this they were pricked in their Heart And said unto Peter and to the rest of the Apostles Men and Br●th●ren what shall we do Acts 2.37 And O Wr●tched Man that I am cries St. Paul who shall deliver me from the Body of this Death Rom. 7.24 Sometimes God hides his Face and he is troubled thou hidest thy face and I am troubled Ps 30.7 And Tears have been my Meat Day and Night whiles they continually say unto me where is thy God saith he Ps 42.3 Thus the Christians whole Life here many times is as it were a field of Sorrows but now Death will set him at rest from them all It will be the Funeral of all his sorrows and the resurrection of all his joys The Day of Death is the good Man's Marriage-day and at that Marriage day of his Christ will turn again as one Expresseth it all his Water into Wine all his Sighing into Singing all his Mourning into Mirth Then indeed shall the ransomed of the Lord return and come to the Heavenly Zion with Songs and Everlasting Joy upon their Heads They shall obtain Joy and Gladness and all Sorrow and Sighing-shall flee away that I may Allude to and Conclude this particular in the Prophets words Isa 35.6 But that is the first reason that is given in my Text why the dead that dye in the Lord are Blessed Because they dye that they may rest from their Labours And that both in respect of all further sinning and all further suffering I come now to the second that is here given us why they are Blessed and that is 2. Because their works shall follow them their works i. e. the good fruits and good e●fects of their works or rather the reward of them the great reward that God will then give them though not for yet according to their good works and this is and will be indeed very great so great as that no mortal can declare the greatness of it for Eye hath n●t seen nor ear heard neither did it ever yet enter into the heart of man to conceive what great thin●s God hath prepared for them that love him As the Apostle tells us 1 Cor. 2.9 The Eye of man hath seen wonderful things in nature and the Ear possi●ly hath heard of more and as for the heart or mind of man what almost can't that conceive And yet it can no way conceive the greatness of the glory which God hath prepared and laid up in the other world for those that love and fear him in this and yet that hath been and will be still done by all that have love shall die in the Lord therefore all that die in him are and shall be blessed 'T is true indeed this blessedness that I may prevent all mistakes will not 1. Be given out to all alike as there are different degrees of grace upon Earth so there will be different degrees of glory in Heaven There is o●e glory of the Sun another glory of the M●on another glory of the Stars for one Star differs from anot●er in ●l●ry i. e. shines more gloriously than another so also shall it be saith he in the resurrection of the dead 1 Cor. 15.41 42. And they that be wise saith Daniel speaking of the same thing shall shine as the fi●mament and they that turn many unto righte●usn●ss as the Stars for ever and ev r Dan. 1● 3 Now there are we know different degrees betwixt the light of the firmament and the light of the St●rs and so there will be betwixt the glory of one Saint and the glory of another in the future life 'T is true indeed all good Men when once got to Heaven shall have glory enough He that hath the least glory there shall have enough to make him unspeakably and unconceivably happy every Vessel of glory shall be full but some shall have more of it th●n others as being more capacitated to receive it God will then and there reward every m●n accord●ng to his w●rks as the Scriptures do abundantly assure us Now look as there are diversities of gifts and graces amongst Gods people here upon Earth so there are of works some do and suffer more for God others less and therefore some shall have more glory others less because every mans glory shall be proportion●ted according to his works since mens labours are different in this world their reward and glory will be different also in the world to come This happiness therefore I say will not be given out for degrees alike to all 2. Nor secondly will it be consummated or compleated to any till the last day till the general day of Judgment when their bodies shall rise again be reunited to their Souls though good men such as die in the Lord are immediately admitted to happiness after their death yet not to all that happiness that God intends hath designed for them in the other world this is indeed reserved for that great and general day of Judgment so often menti●ned in the Holy Scriptures when Christ to whom the Judgment of the world is committed shall come in the glory of his Father with his Holy Angels to render to every man fully according to his works as you have it Mat. 16 27. But in the interim and as soon as they