Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	appear_v	life_n	sin_n	4,010	5	4.7063	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96858	Gnōston tou Theou, k[a]i gnōston tou Christou, or, That which may be knovvn of God by the book of nature; and the excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ by the Book of Scripture. Delivered at St Mary's in Oxford, by Edward Wood M.A. late proctor of the University and fellow of Merton Coll. Oxon. Published since his death by his brother A.W. M.A.	Wood, Edward, 1626 or 7-1655.; Wood, Anthony à, 1632-1695.	1656 (1656)	Wing W3387; Thomason E1648_1; ESTC R204118	76,854	234

togeither their letters read God in a monstrous prodigious manner and become vaine in their imaginations and their foolish hearts were darkened Rom. 1. As men that read in an old moth-eaten broken manuscript may easily mistake the originall meaning so methinks the Gentiles having nothing to study God in but the dull and darke print of the Creatures presently fell into grosse mistakes and multitudes of errors concerning him for they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like unto coruptible man and to birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things Rom. 1. v. 23. but now Christ is so cleer a representation of his Father that if we know him aright we cannot mistake God at all He and his Father are one so that you may comprehend and know him as it were for he that seeth him seeth the Father and he that cometh to him cometh to the Father as in St John 't is every where exprest 2. This knowledge of Christ discovers our selves also unto our selves the knowledge of our selves is one of the best and most divine knowledge that is Ecaelo descendit the heathen could say now we cannot know Christ aright but we must know our selves also know in what a miserable and wretched estate we are without him how vile and loathsome we are in our own natures how base and worthlesse our best performances how ugly and deformed our persons and our services are in the eyes of God As when the beames of the Sunne come into a roome they discover all the dust and filthinesse in the roome so when Christ beames in upon the soule the filthinesse and corruption of our hearts and lives doe straight way appeare we then see what a horrid thing sinne is that put so blessed a Saviour to so cruell a death we see what a cursed slavery we are all in by nature to the law to sinne to Satan till the Son doth make us free before we know Christ the Divell doth cast a mist before our eyes so hood-winks our soules that we cannot see where we are what we are or whither we are going till he takes the veile from off our eyes and then by our present light we know what it was to be in darkenesse Through Grace we know what sinne is how to debase our selves and advance Christ First Is it so that the knowledge of Vse Christ is the most excellent knowledge more to be desired then gold yea then most fine gold more pretious then Rubies is it the glory of a Christian to be more perfect in this to teach this to learne this then it should reprove all those who make not this the main end scope of their studies and endeavours As 1. Such carnall dispensers of the Word that use rather to speak in enticing words of mans wisedome then in demonstration of the Spirit and power and that dresse their discourses in the Apish foolish conceptions of mans wit neglecting in the meane while the sacred Word which alone is able to make both themselves and their Auditours wise unto Salvation such in the language of S. Paul doe make the Crosse of Christ of none effect 1 Cor. 1. 17. whilst they labour to possesse men with the love of their affected streines more then with the naked and simple truth of the Gospell and therefore the good Apostle professeth that he did determine to know nothing amongst the Corinthians save Jesus Christ and him crucifyed He could have flaunted as well as the best of those seducers and have trimmed his speeches with as much elegancy as any but saith he away with such trash to the herd of mankind that had rather feed upon such husks then the bread of life let others vaunt as they please and you expect what you will from me yet this is my resolution not to know any thing saving Jesus Christ and therefore exceedingly to be blamed are all they that contrary to his Word preach to the eare and not unto the heart seek rather to gratify the sensuall corrupt affections of men then to implant in them the saving knowledge of Christ O beloved we are to deale with the soules of men to rescue them from Hell and to pluck them out of the paws of the Divell by whom they are led captive We meet againe too too often with poor ignorant wretches to instruct who scarce know whether there be any Christ any Holy Ghost more-over we are not to deale with flesh and blood but with principalityes and powers the lusts of men they are to be blasted and beaten down by us the consciences of men to be wrought upon and satisfied sins to be convicted the righteousnesse of Christ to be pressed the Crosse of Christ which is foolishnesse to the world to be preached this is our labour this our worke what need we then to daube with untempered morter and to mixe humane inventions with sacred truths why is that zealous thirst after applause and to set up our selves more then our Saviour why is it then men desire oftentimes more to display their own reading then the knowledge of Christ and him crucifyed not as if there were no use of humane learning in the mystery of the Word Paul himselfe made use of a Poet to convince the Athenians Act. 17. nor doe we speake this to countenance those that doe the worke of the Lord negligently and bring the lame saplesse undigested notions to this sacrifice doubtlesse God that requires the whole man requires the braine as well as the heart in this service and he gives us talents not to lay up in a napkin but to bring themforth as occasion shall require for his Glory and the Churches good we all know by sad experience into what disorders and inconveniences the contempt of secular learning hath brought many giddy soules of this Nation and how prostituted and disregarded the carelesse management and wanton itch of preaching hath made the office of the ministry O that God would be pleased to convince all of us especially the forward youth of this University of the tremendous burthen that lyes upon the shoulders of a Minister Opus Angelis formidandum but to return I say we do not hereby discountenance learning or learned and painfull preaching especially in due place and time but only we ought to take heed that Hagar doe not justle out Sarah that the handmaid secular learning doe not take place in our affections above the free woman the knowledge of Christ that our Sermons savour not more of learning then of grace and that our designe be not to get more admirers of our parts then Disciples of Christ 2. This would reprove all those in generall that are more in love with humane knowledge then that the knowledge of Christ are more taken with an Aristotle a Plato perhaps a Romance or play-booke then a Prophet or an Apostle suffering in the mean while poor illiterate men to rise up and carry away Heaven from them whilst they

Turke may know Christ so farre as by hear-say and History yet he cannot be said savingly to know him because he denies his assent unto the Gospell which is the ordinary way of discovering him to a man As when those that pretend to be disciples of any great Phylosopher or Schollar doe wholly submit themselves to his dogmata writings and opinions as for example the Peripateticks to Aristotle the Scotists to Scotus the Thomists to Thomas his Doctrine insomuch that they doe even sweare to resigne up their judgements to the words of their Master why so much more ought Christians to give their assent unto the Word of their Lord master Christ therefore John 10. 't is said that his Sheepe heare his voice and follow him they presently adhere to his word and accordingly obey him in it He that heareth my Word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting Life Joh. 5. 24. we must first hearken to his Word before we can believe on him and have everlasting life Secondly it implyes affection to Christ For as Gods knowing his people implyes his love towards them in Scripture the Lord knows the way of the Righteous Psal 1. v. 6. so his peoples knowing of God implyes also affection towards him hence Christ saith that he knows his sheep and is known of them John 10. 14. which implyes on both sides a mutuall love to each other for so expressly v. 15. he saith he will lay down his life for his sheep Hence ignorance is every where in holy writ made the ground of mens hatred and disaffection to Christ and his people had they known it they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory 1 Cor. 2. 8. and John 15. 21. and c. 16. v. 3. All these things meaning persecutions saith Christ they will doe unto you because they have not known the Father nor me did a man throughly and savingly know Christ he would be more in love with him for there is such an intimacy and union between the truth and goodnesse of divine objects that whosoever rightly understands the one will presently imbrace the other so that be sure that is but a vaine empty knowledge of Christ where the characters of it are not imprinted in our hearts and affections even in common discourse when we say I know such a one is of excellent parts of a sweet and good disposition this implies our secret esteem and respect unto the person and how can we be said truely to know him as the fairest of ten-thousand as our Saviour Reconciler Lord and God unlesse our hearts be carryed forth in a high esteem and love of him 't is said Jam. 2. 19. The Divells do believe and therefore tremble certainly did they know there was any mercy in store for them as now there is nothing but vengeance as they now tremble and feare so they would then love and admire Christ and did we but justly understand the admirable goodnesse and excellencies of Christ we should be more taken with him we should keep his commandements with more observance and feare more to displease him then we doe O let us never say we know Christ that we have intimacy and acquaintance with him when our hearts are farre from him when we have an Idea of him in our Braine and not so much as a lust Crucified by the Knowledge of his death not one grace the more implanted by the knowledge of his Resurrection when we pretend to know him yet grieve his Spirit wound his glory trample under foot his blood disobey his precepts and preferre a Barrabas a robber a sinne that dispoiles him of his Glory before the Lord of life believe it this knowledge of Christ is scientia affectiva it must sinke deeper then so into our affections and transforme the whole man into the image of Christ otherwise it is but a counterfeit not a reall knowledge of him Thirdly this practicall knowledg of Christ implies a particuliar application of him to our own soules what good will it doe me to know there is gold in the Indies unlesse I had it in my coffer or to know when I am hungry that there is in such a place hony and food unlesse I did tast it my selfe no more good will the knowledge of Christ doe us unlesse we doe eate him and drinke him by faith and can say with Paul in the text I know him to be my Lord that hath redeemed me and will save me you will not count him a good Physitian that knoweth only the name figure and shape of an hearb in Gerhard or Mathiolus and not the use and application of the same and so neither can ye call him a knowing Christian that can discourse only of Christ in generall being in the meane while ignorant of the benefits and the comfortable application of them he may still for all this lay under the curse under the pangs of conscience the sence of the wrath of God the tyranny of sin and Sathan unlesse he can feele Christs spirit as Thomas did corporally and say My Lord and My God Joh. 20. 28. in all true knowledge the Acts of the understanding are reflexive the soule will start back and rebound upon its selfe it will first goe out unto Christ its direct object and then turne in upon its selfe and examine its own interest in him Hence saith Saint Paul in the 2 Cor. 13. v. 5. Examine your selves whether you be in the Faith let your soules retire into themselves and there diligently examine the matter and you will quickly find whether you believe in Christ or have any communion with him which cannot be rightly known unlesse you so examine your selves and so much shall suffice to be spoken of the first point The second is the qualifications of this knowledge 1. 'T is a revealed supernaturall knowledge Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee saith Christ of himselfe to Simon Peter but my Father which is in Heaven Mat. 16. v. 17. neither carnall reason nor humane wisedome can ever suggest Christ unto us 't is God alone that reveales his Sonne in us Gal. 1. v. 16. Nature can rise no higher then things within its own bounds and spheare As water cannot runne above its own fountaine now the knowledg of Christ doth much exceed the reach of naturall disquisition 't is the wisedome of God in a mystery hidden wisedome which none of the princes of this world knew 1 Cor. 2. we attaine usually unto naturall knowledg by much industry turmoile of body minde when our understanding doth out of some imperfect hintes and blushes of the causes of things by degrees hack and hew out the truth of them and by much labour and toyle we get and serve out of nature the small knowledge that we have whereas now all the toyle and study in the world will never advance a meer naturall man to the knowledge of Christ because I suppose he hath not so much as a hint