Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	body_n	holy_a	soul_n	6,930	5	4.9898	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A66102	Impenitent sinners warned of their misery and summoned to judgment delivered in two sermons, the former on the Sabbath, Nov. 6, the other on the lecture following, Nov. 10, 1698, occasioned by the amazing instance of a miserable creature who stood condemned for murdering her infant begotten in whoredom : to which are subjoyned the solemn words spoken to her on those opportunities, published for the warning of others / by Samuel Willard.	Willard, Samuel, 1640-1707.	1698 (1698)	Wing W2281; ESTC R30203	31,791	66

life while men are in this world conversant in the body they are upon probation for Etetnity they are laying in and making way for their account and all that they do here bears a proper respect thereunto for they are the works which are done in the body which must be called to an after reckoning 2 Cor. 5. 10. hence sinners are said in this time to be treasuring up into themselves wrath against the day of wrath Rom. 2 5. It is evident that neither good men nor evil men are in this life openly distinguished in the observable Providences of God except in some special instances love and hatred cannot be known by all that is before them Eccles 9. 1. yea the wise man hath an observation as if often times the outward face of things look with a contrary aspect Eccles 8. 14. there be just men to whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked there be wicked men to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous What shall we say It is for the present a day of patience forbearance with which God sees meet to treat men even the worst of men withal in which he lets them alone for a while suffers them to go on till they have filled up their measure and though they give him uncountable and very grievous provocations yet he falls not upon them But yet he is brought in laughing at them all the while and we are told the reason of it Psal 37. 13. The Lord shall laugh at him for he seeth that his day is coming Since then men are not called to their reckoning here it remains that they be summoned to it afterwards inasmuch as it is certain that God will sooner or later manifest the glory of his Holiness and Righteousness and make it known that he is the great Potentate and Ruler of Angels and men III. That there is a particular Judgment to which every man shall be called immediately after Death It is true the general Judgment is reserved for the great and last day when after the whole affair of time is wound up God will call all reasonable Creatures to an account and having raised up their dead bodies to life and re united them to their Souls of which Resurrection also the word of God gives us the assurance he will cite them before his Tribunal and dispose of them in their whole persons eternally which day is peculiarly Celebrated in the Book of God which though it also follows after mans death yet it will not be till a long time after a great many have dyed and seen Corruption and that because there were other Generations to be born and live and dy until the whole Series of them according to the Divine appointment be consummated But there is besides this another more particular one which passeth upon the Soul on its departure from the body which though it be not so frequently or expresly spoken of in the Holy Scriptures yet there are also sufficient intimations of it there 〈◊〉 be found enough to confirm our faith in the belief of it This is an indubitable truth that the Soul of man doth not dy a proper natural Death nor is it capable of it The man indeed is said to die by reason of the dissolution of the bond of Union and the separation which is thereupon made between the Soul and Body whereupon the body remains a Carcase and must suffer Corruption after which there must be a powerful Resurrection bestowed on it in order to its being made capable of standing forth in Judgment But it is otherwise with the Soul that in its separate state still retains its Spiritual and Immortal nature which it is in no other way able to lose but by an Anni●ilation and it is accordingly disposed of presently to its unchangable state whether it be of weal or wo. When Lazarus dyeth his Soul is forth with carryed by a Convoy of Angels into Abrabams bosome and that is no other but a place and state of actual Felicity When the Wicked Rich man dyes the next news that we hear of his Soul is in Hell whether it is carried and where it is disposed of and that not only as in a Prison but as a place of Execution where it suffers the penalty which its sin had procured for it for this reason we have him pouting out his doleful complaint Luk. 16. 24. I am tormented in this flame And we have Abraham brought in declaring concerning them both Verse 25. He is comforted and thou art tormented When the penitent Thief dyes he is the same day entertained with his Saviour in Paradise for so Christ himself promised to him Luk. 23. 43. which must needs intend a state of actual blessedness enjoyed in that place And why was Paul in such a strait and so desirous to depart Phil. 1. 23. it was to be with Christ which he saith is best of all which it could not be if he did not presently enter into communion with Christ in blessedness Now certainly mens going actually to receive rewards and punishments necessarily infers a Judgment that is past upon them in order thereunto for those things are beyond all question disposed of by God in the exercise of his Government over the Creature as he is the Judge of all Besides there is such an Indefinite assertion used by the wise man which amounts to an universal and hath a respect to all sorts of men Eccl. 12. 7. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was and ●he Spirit shall return to God who gave it These two returns are put together as contemporary and all Souls do not return to God as their Father to be admitted into his Kingdom and to dwell with him and enjoy his favourable presence for ever that is a priviledge proper only to the Godly and none shall enjoy it but those whom Christ hath Redeemed and Saved As for the ungodly it is said concerning them Psal 9. 17. The wicked shall be turned into Hell and all the nations that forget God It is therefore to God as a Judge to be doomed and disposed of by him according to his righteous Judgment IV. That this is an awfull consideration to men while they live and peculiarly so to such as are just ready to dy I may not tarry at these things to give a distinct and particular account of them but must only give some brief glances at them And there are two asser●ions in this Observation 1. It carryes awe in it to men while they live to put them on the greatest Circumspection to themselves in their whole course If there were no Judgment to come what need would there be for men to take any care how or after what manner they lead their lives The Epecurian Doctrine let us drink and drab let us revel and swagger and give every sensual lust its freest scope to satisfie it self might plead if not reason yet immunity and security

Impenitent SINNERS Warned of their MISERY And Summoned to Judgment Delivered in Two Sermons the former on the Sabbath Nov. 6. the other on the Lecture following Nov. 10. 1698. Occasioned by the Amazing instance of a Miserable Creature who stood Condemned for Murdering her Infant begotten in Whoredom To which are subjoyned the Solemn Words spoken to her on those Opportunities Published for the Warning of others By Samuel Willard Minister of the Gospel and Teacher of a Church in Boston N. E. Deut. 17. 13. And all the People shall hear and fear and do no more presumptuously Boston Printed by B. Green J. Allen. Sold by Michael Perry at his Shop over against the Town House 1698. TO THE READER Reader IF ever there was a time when God solemnly calls his Servants to Cry aloud and not to spare but shew his People their transgressions it is now when Iniquity so abounds and love waxeth so cold And as the Philosopher once said that Evil manners occasion the making of good Laws So the hor●●d wickedness of some notorious sinners gives occasion for the Preaching of Sermons more peculiarly serviceable for the rowsing and awakning of secure ones and loudly calling them to Repentance when God toucheth the hearts of his Ministers with a feeling sense of the ●anger of and tender compassion towards those that are going without regard in the path of destruction That which gave birth to the ensuing SERMONS was the prodigious example of a forlorn young Creature that had defiled her self with Whoredoms and been the unhappy mother of two illegitimate children successively and became the barbarous Murderer of the latter of them for which Crime she there stood under a sentence of Death upon due Conviction and that before she had seen full Nineteen years in the World and for the which she hath been since righteously executed My Soul was the more deeply affected with her condition partly because she belonged to my Flock and had received the Seal of the Covenant from my hands and was under my Charge in which I could not but feel an heart thrilling rebuke in the Holy Providence of God Partly because of the most amazing and scarce paralel'd induration of heart and tremendous Wickedness which she discovered in and under her Imprisonment to the deep consternation of all serious ones that were acquainted therewithall Which will I hope plead sufficiently for the suitableness of the Subjects treated of and the severity of the Words used in the prosecution of them But she is now gone and hath given up her account to the Judge of all Yet her example remains and stands for the Warning of others And doubtless God expects that the living should lay it to heart and learn lessons of Caution thereby I have therefore endeavoured according to the Grace given me to Level these Discourses for the Admonition of others least they also provoke a Sin hating God to give them up to be more astonishing Monuments of his righteous severity And there are I fear more abominations as great as these which have not yet seen the light and may her example and these warnings drawn forth by it drive such to a timely Repentance and making of their peace with God Let young Ones more especially learn by her To Remember their Creator early and beware of such sins as were leading to the bringing of her to a fearful end in particular let all Children and such as are under the Command of Parents and Family Government beware of disobedience to their Parents and those that have the Authority over them let them be warned to ●ake heed to themselves of being linked in ●ain company and take the wise mans counsel Prov. 1. 10. My Son if Sinners entice thee consent thou not Let them beware of prophaning Gods Holy Sabbaths of unnecessary absenting themselves from the Worship of God in his House or neglecting of any opportunities of attending on his Holy Ordinances and let them be advised to keep their feet when they come to the House of God and not suffer their hearts to wander into the corners of the earth when they should be learning what God the Lord hath to say unto them Let them be warned against the neglect of Secret Prayer and Meditation and be afraid of living content in an Unregenerate State trifling away a day of grace and putting off calls and counsels and the strivings of the Spirit of God with them as things that may be thought of soon enough when they have taken their full of their mad mirth and glutted themselves with sensual pleasures all of which Sins that poor Creature acknowledged her self to have been eminently guilty of lest if you be not admonished by her example an Holy God should be provoked to leave you up to your own hearts lusts Be sure therefore to read in her a confirmation of that truth that for these things the Wrath of God cometh on the children of Disobedience Let Parents be rouzed up by this to take more care and use more prudence in maintaining that Authority over their Children which God hath vested them withal and beware of an over fond indulgence in giving them an unrestrained liberty let it awaken them to lay themselves out with more industry and constancy in training them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord in instructing them about the great things of their Souls and Eternity let it make them more affectionate and importunate in praying with them and for them and put them upon the mor● watchful care over themselves in their whole conversation that they set no evil examples before them but write them a copy in their lives of all the counsels admonitions which they offer to them fearing lest if they by their neglect bring guilt on themselves their children should be forsaken of God and prove an heaviness to their Parents as this foolish Child did May all that Fear God and peculiarly his Ministers whom the Lord Jesus Christ hath given a special charge unto to feed his Lambs be excited hereby to more anxious solicitude and industrious endeavours for the Souls of all whom they are concerned withal and more especially for the Rising Generation that they may not become a stubborn and a rebellious Generation a Generation that set not their heart aright and whose spirit is not stedfast with God And may the following ●●●●ons be made any way serviceable to th 〈…〉 ends and purposes God shall have the 〈◊〉 to whose gracious Blessing I Commend 〈…〉 th my most hearty Prayers Who am 〈◊〉 than the Least of all Saints Samuel Willard THE FOLLY and MISERY OF Impenitent Sinners PSAL. V. 5. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight I shall not now spend time in inquiring after the Occasion of the penning of this Psalm or in Analysing of it Let it suffice to observe that David in verse 4 5 6. represents the miserable condition of wicked men on the account of the Holiness of God as it

stands engaged against sinners for sin The summ of it is that God takes no pleasure in them but hates abhors them and therefore will not admit them into his favour but will bring destruction on them and one would think that every word should be an envenomed arrow in the Heart or Conscience of the ungodly Our Text is one of those shafts taken out of Gods quiver and shot at every unregenerate Soul and Oh! that they might be throughly wounded by it The words before us are an assertion delivered by the mouth of Truth it self and may well terrisy and amaze every Christless Soul In them we may observe two things 1. The Subject spoken of the foolish I shall not insist on the various usages of this word in Scriptures it is sometimes improved in a good sense and sometimes it is made use of in a bad sense and in this latter it is here and thus it is frequently used for a Fool or a Mad-man and therefore many translations read it Insani the mad or distracted men that are out of their wits 2. The thing asserted concerning these they shall not stand in thy sight Hebr. before thine eyes i. e. Gods for of Him the Psalmist is speaking Eyes are ascribed to God after the manner of men for he is a Spiritual being and hath neither senses nor organs of sense and the word Stand signifies to be in a settled Condition and it is in the last conjugation which farther intends the signification To stand then in Gods sight or before his eyes intends an enjoying of or being settled in his favour It is a Metaphor taken from the favourites of Princes who are admitted into their presence and stand before them at all times And in this negative the contrary affirmative is included i. e. they shall fall before him and be thrust out of his sight and it also intends that he cannot bear the sight of them and will banish them his presence This may be referred to the present life and time but hath a more peculiar respect to the great day of Accounts Hence DOCTRINE All impenitent Sinners are foolish and mad and therefore shall not stand in Gods sight which will render them extreamly miserable There are three Propositions contained in this Doctrine Prop. I. That all impenitent Sinners are foolish and mad There are a sort of persons in the world whom God in his word is pleased to put the Character of fools and mad-men upon who are neither naturals or void of the use of reason considered as men nor yet bereft of their understandings through occasional dotage or frenzy in that respect and who are they we have a summary account of them Jer. 4. 22. My people is foolish they have not known me they are sottish Children and they have no understanding they are wise to do evil but to do good they have no knowledge The summ is all sinners remaining in their natural estate belong to this Character and hence Sin and Folly are in Scripture terms equivalent Here we may in particular briefly come at this in three steps 1. All sin is folly And hence so much sin as remains in the Godly so much foolishness there abides with them This the Psalmist confesseth of himself Psal 69. 5. O God thou knowest my foolishness Every time a person commits any sin he hath just reason to say of himself as he 1. Sam. 26. 21. I have sinned I have played the fool and have erred exceedingly And it must needs be so for every sin is an act of disobedience to that God on whom we have our entire dependence and to whom we owe our selves and our whole lives it is an act of rebellion against that God whom we are bound to subject our selves unto and is able to destroy us for that rebellion It is a forsaking the fountain of living waters and digging of broken Cisterns that can hold no water Jer. 2. 13. It is a preferring of lying vanities before everlasting Mercies Jer. 2. 8. It is a provoking of God to jealousy 1 Cor. 10. 22. And we are not stronger than he It is an entring of the lists of contention with him a running upon him even his neek on the thick bosses of his buckler Job 15. 26. It is for a worm to bid a challenge to Omnipotency it self yea what shall I say there are uncountable follies attend the commission of every sin and no wisdom at all 2. That hence all they that are under the Dominion of Sin are egregious fools There is folly cleaving to the best of Gods Children here as long as they have a body of death to carry about with them and it shews it self in every stirring of the corrupt part but yet they have the principles of the true wisdom in them they are such as are made wise to Salvation But as for those in whom there are no seeds of saving Grace sown but they yet remain in their natural estate folly is bound up in their hearts they have no other principle in them As to their Understandings they are foolish and perverse they call evil good and good evil Isai 5. 20. As to their Wills and Affections they are engaged Eccl. 8. 11. The heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil They do nothing at all with a sincere aim at the glory of God and the furtherance of their own salvation yea their whole life is a continual progress in the way that leads to destruction hence we have that put into their description Rom. 3. 16 17. Destruction and misery are in their ways and the way of Peace have they not known 2. That Impenitent Sinners are the greatest fools of all The Word of God often useth these words Sinners Fools Wicked emphatically for such as are peculiarly so and then it intends either 1. Such as live in most notorious and prodigious sins thus a common Whore is called a Sinner more than once in the Gospel or 2. Such as remain obstinate and impenitent in thei Sins under and notwithstanding means used to win them to repentance Now the means used with them are of two sorts 1. Such as are afforded to the Gentiles who have not the Gospel viz. the light of a natural Conscience and the common strivings of the Spirit of God in them they are therefore said to be a Law to themselves and their Consciences to bear witness and either to accuse or excuse Rom. 2. 14 15. and the Providences of God which ought to be improved by that light to excite them to repentance thus the Goodness of God is said to lead to it Rom. 2. 4. and his common benefits are called witnesses Acts 14. 17. his Judgments also are that the Inhabitants of the World may learn righteousness Isa 26. 9. 2. Such as those enjoy who sit under the means of Grace wherein God shews them the evil and danger of their sins and not only invites them to Repentance but also gives

what is the Rule according to which all will proceed and that will be the exact Law of Justice unless I am under Grace and so delivered from the Dominion of it Think what shall be the happiness of those that shall then stand and receive the sentence of absolution and what will be the woful infelicity of those that must ●all Think how sin hath exposed us all to condemnation where our only hope and help is even in Jesus Christ who alone can deliver us from the wrath to come Think now is the time for us to seek and secure a part in him by getting into him by a living faith it will be too late for this when death hath delivered us up to the Judgment Think what a fearful thing it will be then to be mistaken to go out of this life with hope that will prove a a spiders web to lean on an expectation that will fail and break under us Think if I make not the more hast it may be too late I stand on the very edge and brink of eternity the Judge is at the door Am I ready for it if not shall I dare to dally in an affair of such infinite concernment one moment will it not expose me to unconceivable hazard and when we see any such as have despised Gods Grace and run themselves desperately into self-destroying sins and are now ready to be posted away to their fearful account let any such Object before us put a suitable solemnity into our hearts and make us reflect and say I may go away as soon as or before such an one and am I in a better readiness have I done any thing more to lay in for a comfortable trial and let this drive you to him who is the God of all Grace to ask of him with the most intense importunity to work you up unto a meetnaess for this Appearance And now give me leave to add one word of advice to the poor Condemned Creature who is under a Sentence of Death Who if God had not put more pitty into the hearts of her pious compassionate Judges than she had for her own Soul had now been hearing the last Sermon that ever should have been Preached in her ears and the Lord grant that this respite given you may turn to the account of your Salvation else know it it will add a fearful Item to your astonishing account Oh that I might now have had the occasion and encouragement to have spoken a consolatory word to a broken heart wounded to death under the Arrows of the Almighty and sensible of her miserable condition humbly asking after the hopes of Salvation the Lord knows how my heart would have rejoyced might it have been so But since it must be otherwise I pray God that his Terrors may make you afraid and drive you yet before all hopes of mercy be past and gone in deepest sense of your own unworthiness to take Sanctuary in the Blood of Christ where only how much soever you have despised it you can obtain safety Your Humane Judge hath told you that you must Dy and that very quickly and you have no hope that this Sentence will be reversed But I am now to Cite you in the name of God to a more dreadful Judgment upon that as soon as ever you are dead you must be called to it and what preparation have you made what have you been doing in order to it alas a fearful deal you are but a young Creature but ah an old sinner grown ripe and must be cut down before you have seen twenty years in this world What a fearful Indictment hath the All-seeing God ready drawn up against you what uncountable bloody Items is it filled up withal I have already given you the most solemn advice in the name of God about these things on the last Sabbath and all the encouragement to seek for a pardon which the Word of God affords and many of Gods faithful Servants have been in publick or private or both solemn and serious in their applications to you and what do you now mean to do are you resolved to harden your neck till you be remedilesly destroyed will you add Impenitency to Iniquity trample on the precious Blood of Christ that hath been and is offered to you do you think to plead with God as you have done with men that you are guilty of Murder only according to mans Law and not ●is Shall the all-knowing God so be put off do you hope thy your lies which men have detected you of not only before but at your Trial and since your Condemnation will shelter you from the Vengeance of that God who is a Witness and ●ath said Rev. 21. 8. That all Liars shall have their part in the Lake which burns with fire and brimstone Do you think that your abominable Whoredom committed in the Prison under the apprehension of being quickly to be thrust out of the World as an Execration will help forward your repentance or make your account more easie is this the provision that you are making for your standing before God let all that hear me this day take notice and tremble and learn by this amazing instance what sin persisted in under calls and counsels warnings will expose them to how righteous a thing it is with God to leave them up to a feared conscience Who would not be instructed Well I know that the blood of Christ can wash away this guilt too and the Soveraign Grace of God can yet discover it self and my hearts desire and prayer to God in this behalf continually is that it may be so and let every soul that is affected with the misery of this poor Creature lift up a prayer in this regard But know it that if you appear before your Judge under the guilt of these Crimson and Scarlet Sins a few days more will fix you in Eternal Miseries and because you have despised mercy in the day of it you shall have Judgment without mercy and can your heart endure to be made the Subject of Gods Fiery Indignation and feel the Impressions of his Fury in Everlasting Burnings Hasten then the Avenger of Blood is just ready to give you the fatal stroak and if you do not with all speed get into the City of Ref●uge you are gone for ever The Lord give you an ear to hear and heart to consider lest this word also rise up in the Judgment against you and encrease your Eternal Flames FINIS