Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	believe_v	die_v	life_n	6,038	5	4.8496	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85894	Stella nova, a nevv starre, leading wisemen unto Christ. Or, A sermon preached before the learned Society of Astrologers, August 1. 1649. in the Church of S. Mary Alder-Mary, London. By Robert Gell D.D. minister of the Word there.	Gell, Robert, 1595-1665.	1649 (1649)	Wing G473; Thomason E568_15; ESTC R204208	25,557	39

Beloved how neerly the Wise mens Question concerns us So do their Reasons First they saw His Star Whence we may First observe the method of our God in bringing men unto Christ He takes men at their work The Shepherds were feeding of their flocks by night and the Angel of the Lord brought them the first glad tidings of Christ coming in the flesh Luke 2. The Apostles were at their trade a fishing and Christ called them These Wise men were beholding the Stars and giving glory unto God and God by a Star leads them unto Christ Secondly take notice of Gods gracious condescent unto Mankinde He takes men by their worke and by their profession Psal 78.70 He chose David his servant and tooke him from the Sheepfolds from following the Ewes great with yong He brought Him to feed or to rule Iacob his People and Israel his inheritance He tooke the Apostles being Fisher-men and made them Fishers of men Luke 5.10 Thus Dionysius the Areopagite was first brought on his way toward Christ the Sonne of righteousnesse by the beholding that supernaturall Ecllpse of the Sun at the Passion of Christ as He brought these Astronomers by a Starre And this I take to be one principall reason why Christ himselfe his Kingdome his Word the Ministers of it and all meanes of Salvation are represented unto us by so many Metaphors God graciously condescending to come home unto us to take us at our trades at our callings at our severall professions and all to bring us as He brought the Wise men here by a Star unto Christ Thirdly God cals not men per saltum nor all at once and extempore but by degrres The Shepheards had an Angell to preach the Gospel unto them the immediate outward meanes of salvation these Wise-men had a Starre a meanes also but more remote The Shepheards lived in the Church were well prepared the Wise-men were strangers to it yet utraque lingua de coelo erat stellae Angelorum as one of the Ancients speakes God taught from heaven both by Starre and Angels Fourthly these had a Starre and but a Starre and they came to worship Him That 's the second reason of these Wisemen O the sloathfulnesse of most men in these dayes we have not onely the booke of Nature open to us as these Wise-men had but the Grace of God also hath appeared and the Gospell and glad tidings of Christ hath been preached unto us now all our dayes yet how few alas how few obey the Gospell of Christ God gives us his Word and great is the company of those who publish it and a great deale of Preaching we have and a great deale of hearing and a great deale of talking yet how few alas how few come unto Christ as these Wife men did to whom God gave neither Preacher nor Word Onely it is probable a tradition they had and but probable they thention it not onely they saw a Starre and came along journey to worship Christ Beloved I blame not now our want of diligence in coming to Church nor in seeking Christ any other way abroad and without us These things we may do and good means they are in their kinde and degree yet may we use them all and that diligently and yet 't is possible we may not come unto Christ Mark I pray what our Saviour saith to the Iewes Iohn 5.39 40. Yee search the Scriptures so the Greeke word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is rather Indicatively then Imparatively there to be understood as the Text will appeare to any judicious man who shall well consider it Yee search saith he the Seriptures for in them yee thinke to have eternall life and they are they which testifie of me and yee will not come unto me that yee might have life To come unto Him is to beleeve on Him Iohn 6.35 to conforme themselves unto his death that as Christ lives they might live also This is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a faithfull saying if we dye with Him we shall live with Him 2 Timothy 2.11 12. even that life of God from which we are estranged Ephes 4. Thus the Iewes came not unto Christ nor I feare many of us These Wise-men came unto Christ by the guidance of a Starre and their example may justly blame the unwise who ascribe their not comming unto Christ to fatall necessity or influences of the Stars As Tertullian reports of ignorant men Deonerant seipsos malae mentis impetus vel fato vel Astris imputant They excuse themselves and lay the blame of their evill minds upon fatall necessity or upon the Starres As for fatall necessity let them answer satisfie these complaints who are ignorant of Gods Government of the world by Starres and Angels and therefore of all other men most oppose Astrologie These are they who faigne a compendious and peremptory decree of God without consideration of sinne voluntarily committed to save a few and damn all the world beside Let these if they can satisfie those who complain of fate and destiny I shall rather endeavour to satisfie their cavill who lay the blame of their not comming unto Christ upon the Starres and their influences yea and upon Astrologicall judgements of their effects True it is Astrologie is that Art or Science which enables and teaches men to judge and foretell naturall effects and changes to come in the Elements and Elementary bodies by their motions configurations and influences of the Signes Starres and Planets yet neither are the influences merell lesse the judgements and predictions of their effects the causes of finne or any hinderances why we may not come unto Christ as these wise men did It cannot be denyed but influences there are of the heavenly bodies benigne and comfortable to the inseriour creatures as those of the Pleiades Job 38.31 Those of the San and Moon Deut. 33.14 Yea of the whole Heaven Hos 2.21 There are influences destructive unto wicked men Judg. 5.20 The Starres in their courses sunght against Sisera And all these influences are conveyed unto this lower world acted by them Whence the Cabalists say that there is Grater superior an heavenly Vessell which empties it selfe in craterem inferiorem into the lower Vessell even all the elementary world which receives what is emptied from heaven unto it that Omnes res inferiores representativae suntisuperiorum that as every herb hath it's visible signature which discovers it usefull for one or other part of the body so hath every one an influence from it's proper Starre and Angell governing it yea Omneores animdto habet à caelo stellam ad se instuneem yea that there is neither herb nor plant nor stone nor minerall nor man nor beast which receive not the influences from the Starres Now though there be such powerfull influences yet doe not these hinder our comming unto Christ For howsoever by our fall according to the first Adam our nature is depraved and that primative Symmetry harmony between