Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A69644
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The life of faith in times of trial and affliction cleared up and explained from Hebrews X:XXXVIII ... / by Ioh. Brown ...
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Brown, John, 1610?-1679.
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1679
(1679)
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Wing B5034; ESTC R7844
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214,019
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528
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assert an Vniversal Subjective Grace that is Grace and Power granted to every One to hearken to the voice of God calling in Nature and in the Gospel to convert and turne themselves to believe and repent if and whensoever they will because they see not how it is consistent with Gods Wisdom and Goodness to require any duty of man but what he giveth him full ability to performe not regairding the stock of strength that was once given to man and was dilapidat by Adam But as to this how crooked so ever we suppose it to be we must rest here that the Carnal mind is enmity against God for it is not subject to the Law of God neither indeed can be Rom. 8 vers 7. And that the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned 1 Cor. 2 v. 14. and that Faith is the gift of God Ephes. 2 v. 8. And that it is God that worketh in us both to will and to do according to his own good pleasure Phil. 2. vers 13. And that Christ is a Prince exalted to give Repentance Act. 5 v. 30 And that God is a free Dispenser of His grace as being obliged to none and shewing mercy to whom he will 4. That work of the Lord 's covenanting with Adam as the Head in the name of all mankinde and his imputing his sin unto his posterity who were in his loines so that all become borne and conceived in sin and obnoxious to the wrath of God because of that transgression of Adam according as the Apostle speaketh Rom 5 vers 12. Wherefore as by one man sin entrâ—…d into the world and death by sin and so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned And againe Vers. 14. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adams transgression And Vers. 18. Therefore as by one mans offence or by one offence judgment came upon all men to condemnation This Dispensation I say seemeth so crooked to some such as Pelagians Socinians Arminians and Quakers that they must absolutely deny it and say there is no such thing as original sin though Paul saâ—…eth Ephes. 2 vers 3. that we were by nature including himself the Children of wrath And David telleth us in his humble Confession of sinnes to God Psal. 51 ver 5. Behold I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my Mother conceive me And Iob sayeth Chap. 14 v. 4. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean Not one And to the same purpose Bildad Iob. 25 v. 4. How can he be clean that is borne of a Women 5. For further setting even what otherwayes men think crooked in the way of the Lord they imagine assert and defend an Universal Redemption saying that Christ hath died for all equally say some with some difference say others because it seemeth a crooked thing with them and inconsistent with the Nature and Goodness of God not to seek the Salvation of all and not to prepare meanes of life for all so not to send Christ to die for all and every mothers son though we be plainly enough and expresly told in Scripture that the Father gave not all to the Son to redeem but some and that Christ laid down His life a ransome for those alone who were given to him to save and of whom he must give an account to the Father as having undertaken to redeem them from Hell Wrath Satan and all their Enemies and by His Power and Grace to bring them saife home at length as being their Head their Husband their Shepherd their Cautioner their Lord Ransomer their Intercessour and Advocat with the Father and that these are an all and called the â—…orld to point out their natural Original that Grace may the more appear to be grace and to pointe out their being scattered through thâ—… world and taken out of all Kindreds Tongues Nations People Languages especially now under the Gospel in distinction from the dayes of the Old Testament when the Iawes were only the peculiar people of the Lord and in Iudah only was God known and his name great in Israel 6 Further to make God's supposed crooked wayes straight the Enemies of the free Gâ—…ace of God imagine that the will of Man must be left Free to be Lord of all and absolute disposer of the decrees and purposes of God of Redemption and of Salvation so that the Lord must not by an Irresistible Power draw any home to Christ contrary to Ioh. 6 44. Nor create in any a new heart and take away the heart of stone and give an heart of flesh contrare to Ezech. 11. 19. and 36 26 27. Because they cannot see how it can consist with Gods Love to mankinde to preferre one to another they imagine that God layeth the matter alike to all mens door standing equally and knocking at every mans door and so leaving it to them alike to choose or refuse to become happy or miserable as they please and so they say that when God hath done all He can or will do to save people their will is at perfect freedome to accept or reject the Grace of God and that there is no special saving work of grace upon the heart of one more then of another O what real crooked work do foolish men make here How do they darken deforme and make crooked the glorious straight work of the free grace of God wherein absolute Soveraignity glorious Grace and the free Mercy of God shineth forth with such a Soveraigne Lustre Beauty and Glory Paul had other thoughts of the matter when he said Ephes. 1 vers 3 4 5 6 7. Blessed be the God and Father of ouâ—… Lord Iesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Celestials in Christ according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him in love having predestinated us unto the adoption of Children by Iesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of His will To the praise of the Glory of his grace wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved c. 7. To salve this same Diana of Free will the same Persons do deny the Free and Absolute Decrees of God touching any thing to be done by Man whether good or evil because they cannot see how God's Absolute Decrees concerning this or that can consist with the free Actings of mans will not impose an absolute necessity on man to do or not to do according to what is decrâ—…ed as the stone must absolutely and naturally move down-ward and the Sun shine and all Natural causes act and work therefore to make this supposed crook straight they see no other way but to deny all such Decrees and Purposes in God not knowing that as God's decrees determine the event
His Love did meet with they durst not suffer a quarrelling thought to lodge within their heart but all their frettings and repineings would be turned into wonderings and praises 3. The Afflicted Beleever would hence draw this Conclusion Seing Christ was put to suffer such and such evils before me I may inferre that the sting venome and curse of these evils are taken away Seing He hath passed thorow the straits of Affliction He hath made the passage easier and wider for His followers He hath sweatened the passage and taken the sting away so that now it cannot hurt or harme so much as otherwise it would Christ hath gone thorow Sorrow Shame Paines Wants Temptations Mockings Spittings Scourgings Yea and Death it self and thereby hath paved a Way for His Followers and hath strawed it with flowres of fragant Love His footsteps all alongs the way have dropped fatness O how sweet hath He made an hard bed now He became poor that we might become rich even while poor and so might sanctifie Poverty to us He became a man of Sorrowes and acquanted with griefe that He might sweeten that lot unto His Followers and keep them from the evil of it from the hurt and poison of it May not this Consideration encourage His Followers to embrace the Crosse with Love Complacency and Delight when it is thus sweetened to them and in a manner no Crosse May not a Prison become an heartsome Palace unto His People when they consider how the Prince of Life the Absolute Lord of all the Chiefe or Standard-bearer amongst Ten Thousand was taken from Prison Esai 53 8. How welcome should an unjust Sentence from men be when our blessed Lord was taken also from judgment and was wickedly condemned for a Traitour How sweet should the most shamful and painful Death be to us that the wicked can devise as the expression of their imbittered malice and rage when Noble Jesus was crucified and so put the most shamful and cursed Death that could be seing hereby Death hath lost its sting and the curse is taken away for he was made a curse Gal. 3 vers 13. 4. The Afflicted Beleever may hence Inferre That seing Christ hath thus been exercised himself He knoweth how to Pity and Sympathize with such as are so handled Was He Mocked Vilified Maligned Despised falsly Accused Condemned for a Traitour to Caesar Buffetted Spit upon Scourged and Hanged as a thiefe He knoweth what it is to be so exercised and what such a condition calleth for and what they in such a condition have need of He knoweth what word of consolation will be fittest for them And this is no small encouragment unto the Beleever as was shown above Consid. 2. 5. The suffering Beleever may draw this Conclusion Seing Christ was put to all these sharp and sad sufferings I may well lay my hand on my mouth I may put my mouth in the dust be silent let the Lord lay one me what He will and by this meanes he may quiet all the insurrections of his spirit against the Lord and put a check unto all the insolent thoughts that arise in his mind against the Lord's procedour with him upon whatsoever occasion as 1. Doth this trouble and vex his spirit that he is innocent as to what is laid to his charge and is persecuted without cause And will he not be quieted when he remembereth how the Innocent lamb of God was handled how He was mis-used and persecuted who did never man hurt who never did sinne nor was guile found in His mouth 1 Pet. 2. vers 22. They hated and persecuted Him without a cause Ioh. 15. vers 25. as they did David who was a typ of Him Psal. 35. vers 19. and 69. vers 4. See also Psal. 35. vers 7. and 109. vers 3. and 119. vers 78 161. 2. Doth it vex him to think that he hath to do with unreasonable men worse than Heathens or Turks And will not this stop his mouth That they can be no more rude absurd cruel and unreasonable than those with whom Christ had to do What faire law or justice could Christ get They could not get so much as false witnesses to agree in any thing to accuse Him of yet they would persecute Him to the death Pilat was convinced of his Innocency and yet did deliver Him to be crucified What men more irrational than the brutish ignorant rabble set on by judicially-blinded and enraged Ring-leaders the Priests and Rulers 3. Doth it vex them to think that their own familiar friends and acquaintances turn their back upon them and refuse to comfort them And had not Christ this to wrestle against when all fled and forsook Him and His own Disciple betrayed Him Is it not said that He came unto His own and that His own received Hiâ—… not Ioh. 1 11. 4. Doth it trouble them to think that they are exercised with many troubles at once and which is worst of all when outward troubles are lying on the Lord is hiding His face And I pray was not this also Christ's lot was not He put to cry out even while on the cross and within a few minuts of expiring and of giving up the ghost My God my God why hast thou forsaken me And had He not a sadder inward exercise while in the garden where He was made to sweat drops of bloud than any that can befall them He had the weight of Law-wrath to bear that was due to all the Elect ones but the hidings which Beleevers can meet with are only fatherly with-drawings 5. If the duration and continuance of the trouble and affliction come into their mindes and vex them let them think that it cannot be worse with them than it was with the Lord Christ whose whole life was a life of suffering we read of His weeping but never of His laughing How oft was He in hazard of His life even from His Infancie How was He maligned slandered called a Devil a glutton and a wine-biber a profane Person How oft were snares laid for Him and how did Trouble follow Him to His grave 6. The afflicted Beleever may hence Inferre That it is his duty to study and to endeavour patience for in this did Christ leave us an example that we should follow His steps 1 Pet. 2. vers 21. In this passage of Peter we have some particulars which were evidences proofs or effects of Patience in Christ in all which we should labour to follow our Example as 1. As He was free of sin before He began to suffer His Enemies could lay no sin to His charge so while He was under their hands all the paine and trouble they put Him to caused Him not to sinne in thought word or deed So should the Sufferer labour strive against sin It is true we cannot be sinless and our corruptions will work yet it is our duty to wrestle against corruptions and to set a watch upon the door of our lips and to