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	spiritual_a	6,851	5	6.9124	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A20173	The new creature A sermon preached at Pauls Crosse, Ianuary 17. 1619. By Stephen Denison, minister of Gods word, at Katherine Kree Church, in the citie of London.	Denison, Stephen, d. 1649 or 50.	1619 (1619)	STC 6607; ESTC S120525	30,181	101

put for the whole we are to vnderstand all sinne from the greatest to the least from grosse crying reigning sinne euen to our very infirmities The like figure is to be obserued in the words of the third commandement Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vaine for the Lord will not hold him guiltlesse c. Where it is not meant that we should onely make conscience of taking Gods name in vaine by light vse in common talke and in the meane time make no conscience of periury before a magistrate but the true meaning and scope of the cōmandement is to teach vs to make conscience of all profanation of Gods name euen from the very sinnes of periury and blasphemy to the least oath Euen so in my text by transgressions we are to vnderstand all sinnes both great and small For we must not fauour or abet our selues in our very infirmities And make you a new heart and a new spirit By heart and spirit here is meant the whole inner man For by the heart is meant the memory the will the affections and the conscience and by the spirit is meant the spirit of the mind or the vnderstanding So that that which God requireth here to be renewed is the whole inner man according to that holy Prouerb My son giue me thine heart But here a questiō may be demāded Will God therefore be content with the bare renewing of the inner man or is he indifferent whether the outward man be renewed or no Not so For we are bought with a price therefore we must glorifie God both in our bodies and in our spirits for they are Gods But the Lord nameth the inner man because the true renouation begins there namely at the heart and in the mind Secondly because God knew full well that if once the inner man were throughly renewed the outward man would quickly be reformed According to that speech of our blessed Sauiour to the Pharisee Thou blind Pharisee cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter that the outside of them may be cleane also Why will ye die There is a threefold death mentioned in the holy Scriptures First naturall and that is nothing else but a separation for a time of the soule from the body Secondly spirituall and that is a separation of the soule from the life of God Thirdly eternall and that is a finall separation both of body and soule from the comfortable presence of God Of the first kind of death is spoken in Heb. 9. 27. It is appointed vnto men to die once Of the second is spoken in Luke 15. 32. This thy brother was dead is aliue again Of the third is made mentiō in Reu. 21. 8. The fearfull and vnbeleeuing abhominable murderers and whoremongers and sorcerers and idolaters and all lyers shall haue their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death My text is meant of the third kind of death why will ye die that is why will ye incurre the danger of the second death which is eternall damnation both of soule and bodie to be tormented with the Diuell and his Angels for euer O house of Israel By the house of Israel in this place is meant the Church of God both among the Iewes and among the Gentiles For the name Israel is giuen to both peoples in Gal. 6. 16. And I am sure the matter of the exhortation concernes vs Gentiles as much as euer it did the Iewes For I appeale to euery mans conscience haue not we as great need to be exhorted to cast away all our transgressions as euer had the Iewes Haue not we as much need to be stirred vp to become new creatures as euer had the Iewes Iudge we in our selues Furthermore this name Israel is taken from the Patriarch Iacob who was named Israel by the Angell which wrastled with him because as a Prince he had preuailed with God And it is a very fit name for all Gods people because they are a generation that can wrastle with God in prayer and also preuaile Thus much of the literall meaning of the words Cast away all your transgressions Before I come to the points of doctrine which I principally aime at two questions are first to be answered First whether repentance be in a mans owne power or no because the Church is here exhorted as by her owne action to cast away her transgressions and to make her selfe a new heart and a new spirit And the second question is whether a man haue free will or no because it is said here Why will ye die ô house of Israel As seeming to imply that it was in the free choise of Israel her selfe whether she would be saued or damned Concerning the first question I answer that true repentance or that repentance which is neuer to be repented of it is not in mans power but it is the especiall gift of God according to that in 2. Tim. 2. 25. In meeknesse instructing them that oppose thēselues prouing if God peraduenture will giue them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth And furthermore euery vnregenerate person man or woman is a very blacke More yea a Leopard and therefore as the blacke More cannot change his skin nor the Leopard his spots no more can any vnregenerate person do good which is accustomed to do euill We do not denie but natural men and women may attaine some degree of sorrow as Iudas did some degree of outward humiliation as Ahab did and some degree of confession as Pharao did and some degree of the restraining spirit as Abimelech did and some degree of satisfaction vnto men for iniuries done as the same Iudas did But to the sauing sight of sinne or to the contrite spirit which God wil not despise or sound inward mortification vnto sin which is by the Spirit or to true conscience of sin and louing endeuour after righteousnesse hereunto a meere naturall person can neuer attaine by his owne naturall strength For it is spiritually and not naturally attained it is the worke of God and not of man And therefore Ephraim is heard bemoning himselfe to God in these termes Turne thou me and I shall be turned for thou art the Lord my God Wherein he doth secretly acknowledge that he had not repentance in his owne power but that it was the gift of God But here remaineth still another difficultie For it may be obiected further If repentance be not in a mans owne power then why doth God exhort vs here to cast off all our iniquities and to make our selues new hearts and new spirits God doth not this because he presupposeth an ability in vs to perform that which he requireth but because he himself is ready to do that for vs which he requires at our hands For the word of God is not as the word of man to wit a bare sound or voice