Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A04284
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The true guide to glory A sermon preached at Plympton-Mary in Deuon, at the funerals of the right vvorshipfull, and ...
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Barlow, John, b. 1580 or 81.
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1619
(1619)
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STC 1440; ESTC S114791
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30,821
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66
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and billowes of the Sea proudly passe by the dangerous Rockes and polling Pyrates in hope that his Barke shall one day returne filled fraughted with the richest Spices What Patient so flegmatique desperate but will swallow the most bitter pill suppe off the most loathsome potion being before-hand perswaded that it will not kill but cure him Shall we then be dead on the nest want spirit and haue no heart to vse the meanes that might either beget it awake it or preserue it Doth not hope of the end set all men aworke in their seuerall proceedings and shall wee haue such a prize as this in our hands and haue no hearts Consider then what Faith is and be idle if thou canst Is not Faith a Prince that wheresoeuer he pitcheth his Tents is accompanied with royall attenâ—â—nâ—s Doth it not purifie the heart settle and secure the soule quench Sathans darts and ouercome the world I say more Faith is the very essentiall forme of a Christian Are we not by it from all other persons distinguished what action good before God but from it as it proper cause hath proceeded By faith we are enliued moued iustified and finally saued Therefore heare reade pray conferre and receiue daily the signes and seales of thy Masters comming the very foode and nourishment of it out-face sinne out-liue sinne seeing thou art assured that thy labour is not lost vaine in the Lord. And thus wee proceede to answer an Obiection that some might cast in the way Obiect If Faith neuer faile then it continues for euer Sol. Some hold it ends at death others at the day of iudgement because all things till then as the Resurrection of the body the revnion of the soule and fulnesse of glory are not in perfect vision And we want not those who thinke that it abideth for all eternity In briefe I answer that it shall neuer faile thee or forsake thee so long as it may make for the glory of thy God and the good of thy soule So let vs come more directly to the words themselues where we note this second Instruction that Doct. 2 God guideth man in his spirituall iourney There be inferiour and subordinate leaders but in this voyage the Lord is the principall conductor we may all of vs thus farre safely confesse with Balaam Numb 24.13 that We cannot passe the commandement of the Lord to doe good of our owne minde And that which the Prophet speaketh of Nebuchadnezzar or Ashur may be in generall applied to all the sons of Adam The way of man is not in himselfe Ier. 10.13 neither is it in man to direct his owne steps Dauid knew it well as you may see in the 119. Psalme the point proued neere 119. times and Paul about to trauell with his friends to Thessalonica praieth 1 Thes 3.11 Now God euen the Father of our Lord Câ—rist guide our iourney vnto you and how easily may Reasons be brought to confirme it Reason 1 Why hath not man the eye of his minde put out 1 Cor. 2.14 is he not borne with a veile ouer his vnderstanding hâ—w can he then finde out the right way or discerne betwixt pathes that differ If any demand how came thâ—s strange thing to passe wee may truely answer Rom 3.11.23 Our Parents haue sinned and wee too in them so that wee are all borne blinde Ionathans eye waxed dimme by fasting but ours and our fathers too Rom. 5.12 were cleane put out by feasting And though Man be in honour Psal 49 vlt. yet he hath no vnderstanding but is like the perishing beast Euery man is a mole Reason 2 Againe hath he any power to trauell is he not lame too are not his anckle-bones crooked and the feet of his affections turned backeward The Creeple who lay at the poole of Bethesda was no more vnable to step into the water of himselfe then we to walke in the pathes that lead to the kingdome of heauen we must first be cured and healed Therefore the Prophet so often as one that had experience of his owne infirmitie prayeth Giue me the Spirit of life and power Psal 119.32.37 and Then shall I runne the way of thy commâ—ndements when thou hast set my heart at liberty That sinne which put out our eyes hath also depriued vs of strength so that we cannot creepe or crawle in this our spirituall iourney vntill the Lord bid vs and giue vs power too to arise and walke Reason 3 Moreouer are not the imaginations of his heart euill Gen 65. hath hee power so much as to thinke a good thought 2 Cor. 3.5 can he of himselfe study to find out the way No he will not giue his mind to turne vnto his God Hos 5 4 Ier. 6.16 he saith in his heart I will none of thy pathes I will not and yet he cannot if he would walke therein 〈◊〉 â— 16 For it is not in him that willeth or in him that runneth â—ut in God that sheweth mercy Reason 4 Adde to all this that he is possest with the spirit of errour and what will you say then can ye denie the truth of the doctrine Alas Ephes 2.2 1 Tim. 2.26 doth not Satan rule in the sonnes of men take them captiue at his owne will and leade them at his pleasure to the land of darkenesse And let none obiect and say that these things are onely so in the children of disobedience 1 Cor. 13.9 for the best man doth but know in part beleeue in part Rom. 1.17 7.9 Gal. 5.17 and is but healed in part and who Christ onely excepted that hath not in his best condition been led out of the way plodded some by-path yea stumbled fallen and wounded himselfe in this his pilgrimage for no sooner can any get the least peepe of light but Sathan clappes on a vaile gather any strength but he labours to weaken it or haue so much as a minde to returne to his heauenly countrey but he hales him on by power policy or some pleasant obiect as the Shepheard or Butcher doth the poore lambe by a greene branch in his hand from the fold and it's bleating Dam vnto the house of slaughter and destruction So that this point is true concerning all persons Shall we make some vse of the same Vse 1 And here also is confuted another point of Popery which would make man the first mouer of himselfe in this his heauenly voyage They haue certaine distinctions as ex congruo ex condigno and compare a man to him that went from Ierusalem to Iericho and fell amongst theeues indeed this Text Luke 10.30 and wee too are fallen among Theeues for say they The eye of the mind is but dimmed the will wounded and the soule weakned but Christ saith Without me ye can doe nothing Ioh 15.5 Eph. 2 1. and his disciples that we are dead Now all men know that hee who is dead can neither see heare
20.7 Lord I am deceiued and thou wonder at this hast deceiued me Dauid picking a quarrell with his nature Psal 77.7.10 116.11 concluding This is my death and all men are lyars Didymus doubting Peter cursing and swearing Paul howling Spoiled man that I am Rom. 7.24 who shall deliuer me from the body of this death Yet for all this Faith shall winne the field infidelity be foiled grace conquer corruption loose the combat And although the Flesh be the first borne claime possession expect a day of mourning yet let him doe his worst he shall loose his birth-right serue the yonger for Faith hath beene blessed once it shall be blessed euer Art thou yet in doubt Doest thou demand How can this thing be Reason 1 Why is not Faith the gift of God and are not his gifts and calling without repentance Eph 2.8 Rom. 11.29 Iam. 1.5.17 Shall he bewaile his bounty recall his liberality No no he giueth freely and vpbraideth no mans person there is no variablenesse or shadow of turning with him Man may through errour of iudgement mutation of affection or some forced necessity withdraw and take possession of his former fauours conferred But God cannot erre be moued or brought to pouerty therefore his gift of grace that is once giuen 1 Sam. 16.14 is euer giuen Obiect But our aduersaries obiect that God tooke his Spirit from Saul Solut. It 's true he did so but we must know that the gifts of the Spirit are either common or sauing now of this latter kinde this King had not any for such are peculiar to his chosen people God for his sinne had a purpose to depriue him of his kingdome therefore of his Spirit by which he should haue gouerned it were the Lord purposed to depriue his elect of heauen as he was Saul of the scepter then we might feare Faith might faile and be tooke from vs but God hath a resolution to giue his little flocke a kingdome Luâ—e 12.32 and where he intends the end the meanes that tend to it shall certainly in some measure be continued Reason 2 Againe hath not Christ long agone prayed to his Father Lâ—â—â—e 22 32. Rom. 8.34 that it might not faile And is he not now at the right hand of God to make intercession for the Saints shall he not preuaile will his heauenly Father deny him any thing Psal 2.8 Why this were to deny himselfe to make Christ a lyar seeing wee haue his owne testimony That he is heard at all times Iohn 11.42 in all things Let Sathan therefore winnow the godly as in a sieue tempt plot vse his most profound depths and raise vp his most boisterous windes yet his fan shall neuer empty the Lords garner of this graine though it be no bigger then the smallest mustard-seede yet it shall grow vp in despight of him encrease flourish and be greene for euer Reason 3 Besides are not the faithfull the Temple of Gods Spirit be they not his owne building 1 Cor. 6.19 shall hee then suffer the corner-stone Faith I meane to be tumbled out and beaten to powder shall the Spirit of all truth be accused of that which he condemneth for a sinne in his Creature shall it be said to him Luke 14.30 that hee began to build and was not able to make an end What hinders a house begun from perfecting but either former ignorance or want of future ability shall we accuse the holy Ghost of either Take heede what thou doest for his wayes are not mans wayes Man is blinde and weake so that in processe of time hee may see that the scituation of his house was not good the foundation firme or the modell commendable or vsefull If all this be well yet Sanballats and Tobiahs may preuent him pouerty pursue him sickenesse may ceaze vpon him that his worke may not be finished But this builder wee speake of hee seeth all things in one act and together he is not Semel simul nor cannot be wiser at the second thought Prou. 11.30 and what power or wisedome can preuaile against the Lord Be thou therefore assured that as the Father for we in speciall manner appropriate the works of Creation to him till all was made very good neuer rested Nor the Sonne to whom in like manner we attribute the worke of Redemption vntill it was finished ceased No more shall the Holy Ghost to whom peculiarly we impute the worke of Regeneration vntill that honourable house be perfected rest from his labour for shall he not be equall to the other in himselfe and towards man out of himselfe for power wisedome and goodnesse Then hold the one and grant the other Reason 4 And finally may we not draw a reason from the subiects in whom faith is seated to confirme the doctrine Why are they not the Elect doth not that foundation remaine sure 2. Tim. 2.19 1 Ioh. 5.18 Are they not such as he freed from sinne that euill one comes not neere them Rom. 7. vlt. they sinne not to death neither with full consent or a setled resolution What may I more say they pray reade and vse all meanes to preserue it shall it then die and wither No for if we vse the meanes God shall conferre a blessing Obiect 1 Proceed we now to answer an obiection of the Papists 1 Iâ—m 1.19.20 Hymeneus and Philetus made shipwracke of faith Therefore it may faile finally totally Sol. 1. It was no true but a dead faith 2. The Apostle in the iudgement of charity till they became open persecutors and reuolted from their former profession deemed that they had faith And this is the true interpretation that they seemed to haue had faith but had not any sound faith at all Obiect 2 But what saith the Iesuite hee proceedes a step beyond the Rhemish how could they make saith he shipwracke of that which they had not Is this manner of speaking so strange Sol. doth not our Lord say from him that hath not Matth. 25.29 euen that he hath shall be taken away Luke maketh it plaine saying That which he seemed to haue shall be taken away Luke 8.18 Thus doth Christ resolue Antichrist Iesus the Iesuite We will omit the like obiections and so make vse of the doctrine Vse 1 And first it confuteth the errour of our Aduersaries and some others that be amongst vs who hold that a man may fall from faith totally Finally and so perish for euer But this doctrine as the Apostle saith of wisedome is not from aboue pure peaceable and easie to be entreated but from below sensuall earthly and diuellish and therefore as Paul speaketh of Couetousnesse let it not be once named except with detestation amongst you as becommeth Christians For variety of faiths existence doth not preuent the perpetuity of it's essence Vse 2 And in the second place by this doctrine wee may be informed what to iudge of them