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	life_n	sin_n	23,098	5	4.9745	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26064	A discourse concerning a death-bed repentance by William Assheton ...	Assheton, William, 1641-1711.	1696 (1696)	Wing A4032; ESTC R4704	23,063	76

bed Repentance viz. The Labourers in the Vineyard who came in at the eleventh hour And The Thief upon the Cross But as Preparatory to my enlargement on these Particulars whereby it will be more distinct and instructive I must first premise what is meant by a Death-bed Repentance Now a Death-bed Repentance denotes Two things 1. A finishing that great Work of Repentance which we begun in our Healths and took some care to carry on amidst the Business and Diversions of this World But do now more solemnly compleat at our Deaths by reviewing the State of our Souls and perfecting our Accounts with God This kind of Death-bed Repentance is so far from being a mistake that it is a necessary Duty and is the commendable practice of good and pious Men. But 2. There is a Vulgar Notion of a Death-bed Repentance viz. When a Man then begins to Repent when he comes to dye When a Man hath spent all his Life in the gratifying of his Lusts and hath followed his own vicious Inclinations When he hath denied himself no carnal Satisfactions but hath taken his fill of sensual Pleasures And yet such a Man when his Body is disabled and Death approacheth so that he hath neither time nor inclination to Sin any longer will pretend to be sorry for his Sin and Repent This we call a Death-bed Repentance Now how unsafe and uncomfortable such a Death-bed Repentance is I shall endeavour to convince you by examining the formentioned Particulars I. What is meant by true Repentance The vulgar and common Notion of Repentance is evidently this When a Man hath committed a fault and hath done something amiss and is then sorry for it is grieved and troubled that he hath done it and doth heartily wish it had not been done Such a Man we usually say doth Repent of such an Action But this is not the full adequate Notion of a Gospel-Repentance of such a Repentance as shall find acceptance with God This is but the Repentance of Malefactors at the Gallows nay it is no other than the Repentance of Cain and Judas It is observed That the most profligate condemned Wretch when he comes to dye will be very sorry for what he hath done He will be much ashamed and will have great Indignation against himself to think he should be such a fool to part with his precious Life and all the Comforts and Satisfactions of this World in such a vile ignominious manner to be tied up like a Dog perhaps for the taking of a few Sheep How will such a Fellow fawn upon and flatter the Judge That if he will but spare him O what an honest Man he will then be And yet do but procure his Pardon and let him loose and he is quickly at the old Trade Nay 't is great odds but you have him again by the next Assizes Now will any one pretend that in such a Case as this there is true Repentance Which yet is more evident from those Scripture-Instances of Cain and Judas It seems very probable from the circumstances of his Story that Cain did repent of the Murther of his Brother My punishment saith he is greater than I can bear Gen. 4.13 But because in the Judgment of some Learned Men this is rather an instance of Despair than Repenting-Sorrow I shall not much insist upon this of Cain But as to the other instance of Judas 't is express and undeniable You read his Story Matth. 27.3 4 5. Then Judas which had betrayed him when he saw that he was comdemned repented himself and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief Priests and Elders saying I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent Blood And they said What is that to us see thou to that And he cast down the pieces of silver in the Temple and departed and went and hanged himself Here are as signal Instances that Judas did sincerely repent of what he had done as can possibly be given For besides the express Testimony of the Holy Ghost which in plain terms tells us he did Repent and that he himself declared He had sinned in betraying the innocent Blood He further gives this evidence that he was in earnest he not only restores the thirty pieces but in horror and consternation of Mind he went and hanged himself Here is I say in this instance as much Grief and Trouble and Vexation for the Commission of a Sin and as noted evidence that he was heartily sorry for it as can possibly be supposed And yet 't is as plain that this Repentance of Judas was not an Evangelical Repentance such a Repentance as was accepted by Almighty God Our Blessed Saviour who is Truth it self having passed this Decree upon him Wo unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed it had been good for that man if he had not been born Matth. 26.24 It appears from these premises that there is more required to a saving Gospel-Repentance than trouble of Mind When a Man hath committed a sault he may be sorry for it he may grieve and mourn that he hath done it he may heartily wish it had not been done he may make Restitution of his ill-gotten Goods All this may be done thus far he may proceed and yet his Repentance is but imperfect and shall never find acceptance with a pure and holy God But here you will say If Men may proceed thus far and yet their Repentance is not true and saving How shall we know that we have true Repentance and wherein doth the nature of it consist To this I answer God only can instruct us what is true Repentance That is it is very agreeble to the Majesty and Sovereignty of God to prescribe the Terms and Conditions of Salvation and to appoint his Creatures what they must do how they must behave themselves to be accepted by him Now there is no other way to be informed in this matter but to consult the Holy Scriptures In those Sacred Writings the Divine Wisdom hath sufficiently revealed his Will and hath plainly told us What it is that he required of us and what we are to do that we may inherit Eternal Life We are expresly admonished That without holiness no man shall see the Lord Heb. 12.14 That the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God Be not deceived neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor effeminate nor abusers of themselves with mankind nor thieves nor covetous nor drunkards nor revilers nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God 1 Cor. 6.9 10. If ye live after the flesh ye shall die but if ye through the spirit do mortify the deeds of the Body ye shall live Rom. 8.13 Be not deceived God is not mocked for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption but he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting Gal. 6.7 8. For the Son of

urged in favour of a Death-bed Repentance is The Thief upon the Cross YOU read his Story Luke 23. from Verse 39. Our Blessed Saviour being crucified between two Thieves One of them railed on him saying If thou be Christ save thy self and us As if he had said If thou art what thou pretendest to be a Christ a Saviour if thou art not a Cheat and Impostor save thy self and us But the other answering rebuked him saying Dost not thou fear God seeing thou art in the same Condemnation And we indeed justly that is we were justly condemned and we justly now suffer the Sentence of our Condemnation For we receive the due reward of our Deeds but this Man hath done nothing amiss that is he is an Innocent Person whom the Jews and Romans do thus barbarously Murther And he said unto Jesus Lord remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom As if he had said Tho' these contemn and revile thee as mean and despicable yet I acknowledge thee to be a Great Lord and that thou hast a Kingdom to dispose on And Jesus said unto him Verily I say unto thee To day shalt thou be with me in paradise that is immediately after thy Death thou shalt go to a place of Happiness and there abide with me as a Member of that my Kingdom which thou ow askest for This is the Story of the Thief upon the Cross From whose Example Carnal Licentious Persons do thus encourage themselves in their extravagant Practices We are fully convinced of the necessity of Repentance And we do as fully resolve some time or other to Repent But why should we be so forward to disturb our Pleasures and neglect our Business as to do it now since we may Repent hereafter at better leisure And tho' we should be so far diverted as not to Repent till our Death yet we have here an encouraging Example we shall then be accepted This Thief had been very notorious and extravagant an Offender of the first Rate and yet when he calls for Mercy tho' it was with his last Breath his Lord remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom was comfortably answered with a This day thou shalt be with me in paradise And therefore tho' the greatest part of our Lives like this Thief 's may have been spent in Sin and Vanity yet if we can but say Lord have mercy upon us with our last Breath we shall likewise be accepted To this I Answer 'T IS a dangerous thing to presume on God's Mercy And so provoking is such Presumption that if the bare saying of these words Lord have mercy upon me would save thy Soul it may so happen through the just Judgment of God thou mayst not be able to do it Thou mayst dye suddenly or thou mayst dye Stupid or raving-mad But suppose thou hast both Breath and the use of thy Reason to say these words here is very slender encouragement from the Example of this Thief that a dying Sinner who never repented till his Death shall then find Mercy For to prove the Validity of a Death-bed Repentance from the Example of this Thief Two things are supposed 1. That this Thief was a very wicked Man 2. That he continued in his Sin and did not repent till the time of his Death Now if neither of these Two can be proved then the Case of this Thief is not parallel nor a firm foundation for the Validity of a Death-bed Repentance 1. It doth not appear That this Thief was a very wicked Man He is called indeed a Thief and dies as a Malefactor But now a good Man and who is so in the general Course of his Life may by surprise and the violence of a Temptation be guilty of a very bad Action of which he afterwards doth sincerely Repent The very Case of David and Peter But further he is called indeed a Thief in our Translation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Greek Latro in the Latin But what these words do properly signify we must further examine It was the Character of Barabbas that he was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Robber So we Translate it John 18.40 But what kind of Person he was may be infer'd from other places of Scripture It is said of this Barabbas That for a certain sedition made in the city and for murther he was cast into prison Luke 23.19 And St. Mark tells us Chap. 15. Ver. ● There was one named Barabbas which lay bound with them who had made insurrection with him that is at his Instigation and Procurement He was it 's probable the Ringleader and Captain of the Rebels The which conjecture is further confirm'd by the story of this Barabbas in St. Matth. 27.16 They that is the Jews had then a notable prisoner called Barabbas 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Now the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sigfies an Eminent Person a Man of Note and Quality This Barabbas then was the Head of the Party Who as Zealots for their Nation and Religion had made a rising against the Romans in which attempt being unsuccessful they were punished as Malefactors And yet this Barabbas tho' the Captain-General of a Party is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Latro a Thief And in Confirmation of this I must further observe to you That the word Latro which is now a term of Ignominy and Reproach and is usually translated a Thief or a Robber did anciently signify no more as the best Authors inform us than a hired Souldier And Latrocinari pro Militare is noted Language in Plautus So that this penitent Thief as great a Malefactor as he is usually supposed was no worse for ought we know to the contrary than a Souldier who hapning to be on the wrong side was punished as a Malefactor But now supposing 2. That this Thief had been a very wicked Man which is more than was ever yet proved against him yet How do we know that he did not Repent even long before he died And if so if he had formerly repented then his Case is nothing to the purpose nor can his Example with any shew of reason be urged in favour of a Death-bed Repentance But supposing 3. That this Thief was 1. A very wicked Man not a Souldier as the word may be render'd but a Thief and a Robber in the strictest Sense And supposing 2. That he did not Repent till his Death Yet I shall shew ex abundanti that his Example ought not to be urged in favour of a Death-bed Repentance As will more fully appear by examining the Circumstances of this Thief 's Conversion 1. 'T is possible he never heard of Christ till his Crucifixion If he was a Gentile and not a Jew 't is highly probable he never did For Christ at first was not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel And the Commission Go teach all Nations was not enlarged till the day of his Ascention If this was his Case How could he believe on him of