Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	behold_v	look_v	zion_n	45	3	8.4852	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A06514	A treatice co[n]teining certain meditatio[n]s of trew & perfect consolatio[n], ... Written in the Frenche tung, and translated in to Englishe by Robert Fills; Tessaradecas consolatoria pro laborantibus et oneratis. English	Luther, Martin, 1483-1546.; Fills, Robert, fl. 1562.	1564 (1564)	STC 16988.5; ESTC S118884	48,129	154

auaunce to know and to loue this benefite of death It is a hard saying and difficul to say that the death which is to others the greatist of all euelles shalbee to vs the moste excellent gaine and profit And if Iesꝰ Christe had not wrought this good in vs what profit were it for vs to habandon and forsake our selues But this wurke that he hath wrought in vs is a singuler deuine wurk For this cause no man ought to dismay for he hath made the euel of death to bee turned to moste good and profit Wherefore death is now to the faithful dead and is not terrible but only the outward apparence euen as a slaine serpent hath yet remaining the terrible figure or apparence of a serpent that hee had and yet is it but the figure or image So there is but one euel dead and it may no more noy or hurt vs. And also as Moyses cōmaunded to make a serpent of brasse and to beholde and looke vpon it did put away the stinging of the quicke serpentꝭ as it is said in the. 21. of Numery likewise if our death be looked vpon with a godly eye and stedfast in the faith of Christe it perisheth and nothing appereth but onely y e figure of death So louingly dooth the bountifulnes and mercy of God entreat vs which yet be weaklinges and infirme thorow these and suche like figures because of necessitie death must take vs away Neuerthelesse he hath so ouercome and brought to nought the strength and powre of death that to vs remaineth no more but the onely figure and for this cause the scriptures doo rather call it a sleepe then a death The second benefite of death is that not only it maketh an end of paines and euelles of this present life but also bringeth a more excellent thing that is an end of vice and sin the whiche cheefly maketh death moste desirable to the faithfull soulꝭ yea more then dooth any worldly felicitie as wee haue treated heere before For truly the euellꝭ of the soule whiche is vice and sinne be without comparison worse then the euelles of the body for if we were wise these onely euelles in deede should make to vs death more desirable and more louingly to embrace it whiche if it doo not it is a signe that we feel not that we ought to feel nor yet doo sufficiently hate the euelles of our soulles considering that this life is subiect to many daungers and the fallīg and sliding of sinne dooth compasse vs about with snares on euery syde And finally wee cannot liue without synne Beeholde then that death is a moste singuler good remedy for it deliuereth vs from these daungers it cutteth vs away and deliuereth vs wholy from sinne and therefore the authour of the booke of Sapience concludeth in the praise of the righteouse in the. 4. Chapiter saying Being made at one and beloued of God liuing amongest sinners was taken away and trāsported to the end that sinne and euell should not chaunge his vnderstanding or that deceitfulnesse should not begile his soule for the bewitching of lies and dremes maketh good thinges darke the vnstedfastnes of volupteous desire turneth away the vnderstanding of the siple O how true be these thingꝭ how doo we se this to come pas daily And in an other text Though he was soone dead yet fulfilled hee muche time for his soule pleased God therfore he hasted to take him away frō among the wicked So it cōmeth to passe by the mercy of God that the death whiche was the paine of sinne to man is now made the ende of sin and the beginning of life and righteousnesse to the Christian Therfore of necessitie hee that loueth life and ryghteousnesse loueth also death whiche is the minister and the shop of life and is in no cace afraid of it For otherwise he shall neuer attaine to life nor righteousnes and he that cannot so doo let him be diligent to pray to God that he may haue suche aminde For the cause why God teacheth vs to say thy will be doone is that we can not desire this of our selues but we rather doo abhorre death so that wee doo rather loue sinne and death then life and righteousnesse Therfore did God ordeine death for the destruction of sinne For we may gather by this that incontinent after sin hee set ordeined death to Adam as a deliuerance from sin and that before hee cast him out of Paradice to the ende that hee would shew vs that death neither dooth nor wurketh any euell in vs but is the causer of all good for it was set forth in Paradice in maner of a satisfaction But trueth it is by the enuy of the deuel death is entred into the world but thorow the mercy and goodnesse of God hee dooth cause that death is not hurtful to vs but hath ordeined it from the beginning to bee the punishement and death of sinne for he signified the same when he spake before of death to Adam in the cōmaundement Neuertheles he stayed not in his wurds but pronounced death and qualifyed the rigour of the commaundement But GOD did not in plaine wurdꝭ declare death but only said thou art dust and into dust thou shalt return Item thou shalt return into earth frō the which thou art come As euen then hating death would not name it as it is said Wrath is in his indignation and life in his wil. Now it may be said that if death had not bene necessary to put away sin God would not haue pronounced it But God taketh no other wepons against sinne whiche hath engendred death but death it self Heere is fulfilled that one said properly that the inuentor of death is dead by his owne inuencion also the sinne is destroyed by his owne frute and slaine by the death that he hath engēdred As a viper is slain by her owne yung serpentꝭ Beeholde a thing moste pleasaunt to heere and vnderstand that sinne is destroyed by no other meanes but by her own proper wurk and her throte cut by her owne knife and her hed cut of by her owne swoord as was Goliath Goliath was the figure of sin This Giaunt was fearfull to all men except to little Dauid that is to say the Sonne of GOD Jesus Christe the whiche hath ouerthrowen this terrible Giant and hath cut of his hed with his owne swoord Now it may be said that there is no swoord meter thē Goliath owne swoord 1. Samuel 21. Chapiter If now wee doo meditate these ioyes of the vertue of the Sōne of GOD and the giftꝭ of his grace how should any little euell torment vs seing so great euellꝭ whiche may happen is turned to so great good ¶ The third Chapiter of the third consideration whiche is the good passed or after vs. THis good is easy to consider by his opposit or contrary euel passed onely it is a help to him y t would consider heere Saint Augustine in his confessions

supper Who is he that dooth despise the least porcion of the bread the whiche likewise may not be saide that he hath despised the holy communion or supper Wherefore if wee be angred if we suffer yea if we dy cast our eyes vpon this and beleeue firmly be wee certaine that it is not wee that be sadde or heuy or that doo suffer or that doo dy no we be not alone but Jesus Christe and his Churche suffreth with vs. So is it that Jesus Christe hath willed that the way of death should bee to vs comfortable and that we should passe ouer all our miseries by the same the whiche all mē haue in horrour and be afraid of But now wee entring into the way of the passion and of the death hauing all the Churche to accompany vs and the Church dooth suffer more constantly then we can our selues so that we may truly appropriat take to our selues that whiche Elie sayde to his seruaunt Giezi whiche was taken with feare in the second of Kinges the sixt Chapiter Feare not for there are more on our sides then of our ennemies And after Elie had praied hee said Lorde y t it may please thee to open the eyes of this Lad that he may se and then the Lord opened the eyes of Giezi and he saw and beholde the mountaine was ful of souldiers and of Chariottes round about Elie. And now their lacketh no more to vs but that wee pray that God wil open our eyes that wee may see the Churche or congregation of GOD round about vs yea the eyes of our faith thē ther shalbe nothīg so horrible nor fearful that shall make vs a fraid as is said in the. 134. Psalme As the hye mountaines are round about him euen so standeth the Lorde about his people from this time forth for euermore Amen ¶ The seuenth Chapiter of the seuenth consideration of the good whiche is aboue vs. I Doo not speake of the eternall and celestiall goodꝭ whiche the blessed doo enioy as in a clear light and vision of God but rather or at the least I speake of those according to faith and after the meanes by the whiche these thinges may bee comprehended of vs. Also this seuenth consideration is Jesꝰ Christ the king of glory rising from death For as we reade in the seuenth consideration of euelles he suffred died was buried so heerewe may beholde y e souerein īestimable ioy of our hartꝭ and the strength of our felicitie and comfort The Sonne of God beeing raised frō death dieth no more death shall no more reigne nor haue domination ouer him This is the furnace of Charitie and the fire of GOD in Sion as saith Esay For Jesꝰ Christ is born to vs and not onely so but is also geuen to vs and therfore his resurrection is mine and all that he hath accomplished by his moste glorious resurrection And as Saint Paul in the. 8. to the Romaines dooth glory and reioyce saiyng How shall he not geue vs all thinges with him Now what hath hee doone in rising from death He hath destroyed sinne he hath raised the righteoꝰ and iust hee hath swalowed vp death he hath brought life hee hath obtained victory ouer hel and prepared for vs euer lasting glory Beholde the inestimable goodes so that the vnderstanding of man can very hardly perceiue o●beleeue that they be geuen to him As Jacob in the. 45. Chapiter of Genesis hearing that his Son Joseph reigned in Egipt he as rising from a deepe and profound dreame myght not beleeue those whiche tolde him those thinges vntil they shewed him the Chariottes with stuffe sent from Joseph Also as difficil and hard a thing it is to vs to beleeue y t so great goodes is prepared for vs by Jesus Christe to vs whiche be so vnwurthy except he him self doo make vs beleue it by his wurd in many sure textes places And as he did appeere and declare him self to his disciples by many apparitions Also he dooth now allure and draw vs to him as by Chariottes by long experience and vsage and this is a Chariot moste gratioꝰ louing that he is made of God to vs righteousnes wisedome sanctification and redemption As Saint Paul saith 1. Corinthians the. 1. Chapiter I am a sinner but I am borne and lifted vp in his righteousnesse which is made mine I ā filthy shameful and miserable but his holinesse is made to me my sanctification and my purgation in the whiche I am moste graciously and louingly trained and brought vp I am foolish but his wisedome dooth sustaine and bear me I am wurthy of damnation but his liberty is my sufficient raūsome O Chariot moste sure so that y e Christian and faithful person whiche beleueth the same may asmuche glory and reioyce in all these goodes and merites of our Lorde Jesus Christe as him self had doone them They be his owne proper so that now he may boldely abide the iudgement of God the whiche without this is of all men importable This faith is a thing moste excellent for it bringeth to vs suche inestimable goodes so glorioꝰ that it dooth constitute vs the glorioꝰ Children of God for wee can not bee Children but wee must possesse and obtaine the goodes of our father and the enheritaunce Now the Christians may boldely say death where is thy victory O death where is thy sting that is to say sinne for the ●●ing of death is sinne ▪ and the strength of sinne is the lawe Thankes bee to our Lorde God whiche hathe made vs to obtaine victory by Jesꝰ Christe our Lord y t is to say The law dooth constitute and declare vs sinners sin maketh vs culpable of death and dāp nation Now who hath vanquished these thinges Is it our righteousnes Is it our good life No truly it is the Lord Jesus rising from death cōdemning death and sin making vs partakers of his righteousnesse resigning to vs his merites putting his hand vpon vs and taketh vs to him and fulfilleth the law and ouercommeth sinne and death Now for all these thinges honour geuing of thankes and praise bee to our good God for euer and euer Amen This is the moste souereigne consideration in the whiche we be all redy so by lifted vp not onely aboue our euelles but also aboue our goodnesse and be all ready in possession of the goodes of others gotten by the labor of other in place where we were couched before in the euells of other and conquered by the sinnꝭ of other and augmented by our owne ▪ We be now couched and set in the place of the righteousnes of Jesus Christe y t whiche is to him righteousnes for as muche as we are ioyned to hi which is agreable to God and as a mediatour dooth intercede make request for vs and this moste holy sacrificator and aduocate is made whole altogether oures These thing doo make the Christian to be ful of all strength Lorde of all thinges hauing all ●●●nges

to say Into the bitter passions and were made sweet There is nothing but this passion that can make sweet y t is to say death as saith the espouse His lippꝭ be as y e distilling lilly drawing out soueraigne mirrhe y e whiche proporcion of lillies and tippes signify the act of misticall thinges For as y e lilly is white the lippꝭ red that is y e wurdꝭ of the Lord Jesꝰ be moste white moste pure in y e whiche is no bitternes nor bloody slaughter but sweetnes plesauntnes from whom distilleth soueraine mirrhe these lippes moste pure moste sweete haue powre to put away the great bitternes of death and to conuert it into sweetnes puritie whitenes sweet sauour as the excellent mirrhe putteth away all stinckingnes of sinne that is to say When we heare that Jesus Christe the sonne of God hath clensed and sanctified by his moste holy suffringes all persecutions and passions yea the very death he hath blessed the curse hee hath glorified y e shame and ignomini and inriched the pouerty so that death is constrained to be the gate of life the curse is constrained to bee cause of blessing and the ignomini mother of glory Now how can wee be so ingrate and vnthankful that we doo not earnestly desire yea and loue all these passiōs and afflictions dipped and sanctified by the moste pure flesh and moste holy blood of the Son of God the whiche be made to vs moste helthful blessinges For if by the touching of his moste pure flesh hee hath sanctifyed all the waters to be holy and needful to baptisme yea all creatures how muche more hath he sanctified by baptism of y e spirit or of blood all death all passions all iniuries all outragies all maledictions all ignomini that by the blessed touching of his flesh and blood whiche is moste precious as hee saith in the. 12. of Saint Luke of this baptisme namely the passion I shalbe baptised with a certaine baptisme and how am I pained vntil it be ended Heere we see with what ardent desire hee desired to sanctifie the passions also dooth and hath made them sweet and amiable to vs for he knew wel that wee would be astonied at the afflictions did wel foresee that we would be afraid of death and abhorre it also willing to make an end of this our euilles as a moste meek and prouidēt pastor and as a moste faithful phisicion he hasted him self and prolonged not the death that hee might make y e afflictions passions yea the very death good to vs by his holy suffring so that wee may estéeme the death to a Christian as the brasen serpent of Moises whiche had the fygure of a serpent ouer all and in all pointes and yet was nothing lesse then liuing he was without venim without mouing without byting so likewise it seemeth to the eyes of the foolishe that the faithful dy but truly they be in peace we be like thē y t dy and the apparence of our death is none other but as others bee Neuerthelesse the trueth is otherwise for to vs death is dead also all our afflictions and passions bee like to their afflictiōs but it is only by apparēce For verely our passions be the beginninges of impassibilitie as the death is the beginning of life And this is it that the Lorde Jesus saith in the. 8 of Saint John If any keepe my woord he shall neuer taste of death How shall he not see death Because that in dying hee beginneth to liue and so the life that he be holdeth causeth that he doothe not see death The night is heer made bright as the day for asmuche as the brightnesse of the life beginning is clearer then the death departing These thinges bee moste certaine to all those whiche beléeue in Jesus Christe but not to the vnfaithful Now if they doo kisse if they loue and embrase the apparrel the vesselles the cuppes and finally those thinges whiche Jesus Christe hath touched or that he vsed so they honour thē as great reliques with great deuociō because they say that he hath sāctified thē by the touching therof But wherfore doo we not the embrace kisse and loue rather the the paines the shames rebukes the opprobries the euilles of the world and the very death the whiche were not onely sanctified by his holy touching but also be blessed dipped in his moste precioꝰ blood embrasing them with a moste ardent zeale and great charity euē to the very death Beholde in these thingꝭ wee haue much more reward helth goodnes then in reliques For truly by these thingꝭ wee doo optain victory ouer death hel and all our sinnꝭ not by reliques O good God if we might look into the hart of y e Sonne of God and se perfectly whē he was strained on the crosse y t he might rēder death dead ouercome and w t what ardent zeale affection he embrased y e death and the paines therof for those y t bee fearful for those y t abhorre death the paines therof and w t what redines wil hee hath first drunk of this moste bitte● cup after hath somonid y e weak diseased to drink therof to the end y t they should not feare to drink after him Beholde se that no euell is happened vnto him but rather a great inestymable benefyte hath followed in that he rose again It is moste certain that this pretious mirrhe is made moste sweet and amiable distilling by the lippes and the woordes of Jesus Christe praising them as the sweet sauour and beauty of lillies Also Saint Peter saith in his 4. Chapiter in his 1. Epistle For asmuche as Christe hath suffred in the fleshe arme your selues with the same minde And to y e hebrewes 12. Chapiter Thapostle saith Consider diligently him that hath suffred suche gaine saying of sinners against him self to the end that you should not bee wery nor slack in youre mindes Wherfore if we haue learned to suffer paciently the euellꝭ that be about vs and enclose vs beholde in this last considerations of our afflictions shadowed in Jesus Christe surmountith all euelles and maketh y t we not onely endeuouring our selues to suffer but also to loue to wish and serch for it And the farther that one is from this affection and zeale the lesse strength hath the passion of Jesus Christe in him And those that wil worship the Roodes Baners and Crosses of Christe for to put away death and afflictions that they may not suffer them and so not to dye beholde they vse meanes cleane contrary to the crosse of Christe and his death And for this cause it is necessary in this seuenth consideration y t all y e afflictions whiche we suffer should bee consumed that it may not greeue vs to suffer but rather to pleasure in sufferīg This ought euer to bee in our hartes and to be liuely rooted in our