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	pain_n	soul_n	8,495	5	5.3269	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17079	The vertuous daughter A sermon preached at Saint Maries in Warwicke, at the funerall of the most vertuous and truely religious young gentlewoman, Mistresse Cicely Puckering, daughter and co-heire to the right worshipfull, Sir Thomas Puckering, knight and baronet, the fourteenth day of Aprill, 1636. By Iohn Bryan, parson of Barford.	Bryan, John, d. 1676.	1636 (1636)	STC 3955; ESTC S114258	15,760	30

heard th●se foure evidences 1 She was sensible of Gods correcting hand Ioh 1.20 Ier. 5.3 and affected with the smart of his rod as appeared by this speech J am almost even tyred with my sicknesse but my hope is J am going to a better place as for this world it is full of misery 2 She was silent and free from murmuring and ●●owardnesse I heard them about her say Lev. 3.10 Io● ●● 2.40.4●5 that notwithstanding the long continuance of her sicknesse and the paine she suffered by purging and letting bloud yet she was never seene to open her mouth in discontent 〈◊〉 to be angry or pettish with any that were about her 3 She did justifie God Psal 119.75 Lam. 1.12.18 Eze. 9. ● 3. Micha 7.9 and cleare him in his dealing with her for being asked Doe you not thinke God deales very hardly and severely with you in afflicting you so sorely No truely doe I not said she but I thinke he deales with me very well because I have beene so wretched a sinner 4 She did submit willingly and obediently to Gods will and pleasure as appeared by these words of hers Lev●● ●6 41 〈…〉 J am very willing said she either to live or dye for if J live I hope J shall live a more godly life and commit lesse sinne of I dye I shall be freed from all sinne and ●●sery whereof this world is very full And so she ●●ose 〈◊〉 had the better part And God was pleased to give her full assurance before her death for hearing mention of the happinesse of heaven she spake thus I know that I shall very shortly see and enjoy it which she did Sic mihi contingat vivere sicque mori I thought it my duty to mention these vertues and graces of this sweet childe of God my Text calling upon me so to doe As for her birth Verse 30. and favour and beauty and riches the holy Ghost telling us they are deceitfull and vaine I thought them not worthy so much as of mention Let that which hath beene said in her commendation first cause us all especially those who are of more yeares and farre longer standing in the Schoole of Christianity to blush and be ashamed and confounded in our selves that we should be thus outstript in knowledge selfe-denyall sanctification devotion and patience by such a babe in Christ such a childe in yeares 2 Let it stirre us up and provoke us to imitation we reade that our Saviour tooke a childe and set him in the midst of his Disciples Math. 18.2.3 and said unto them Except ye be converted and become as little children ye shall not enter into the kingdome of heaven I have after our Saviours example set a childe in the midst of you and doe assure you that except ye become like it in those graces vertues formerly mentioned ye shall in no wise be saved yea this childe shall rise up in judgement against you at the last day and so shall all her gratious speeches which I have uttered from her mouth I will shut up all with a few words of exhortation unto the worthy Parents of this vertuous childe Foure things I have right Worshipfull to exhort you unto 1 To search and try your wayes This we are to doe in what affliction soever we are Lam. 3.39.40 Wherefore saith the Church doth the living m●n complaine a man for the punishment of his sinnes Let us search and try our wayes and turne againe to the Lord. Desire of God Iob 10.2 as Iob did to shew you wherefore he contended with you It may be the sinne was overloving of your childe for that is an ordinary fault even in the best Parent we see it in David how exceedingly did hee love a naughty sonne as appeareth by his excessive griefe at his death And the king was much moved 2 Sam. 18.33 and went up to the Chamber over the gate and wept and 〈◊〉 he went thus he said O my sonne Absalom my sonne my sonne Absalom would God I had dyed for thee O Absalom my sonne my sonne It may be you had a male love to your childe and offered a female to the Lord. 2 To be thankfull to Almighty God Saint Paul exhorts us in all things to give thankes 1 Thes 5 1● Phil. 4.6 Iob 1 2● and to make our requests knowne unto God by prayer and supplication with thankesgiving Iobs example is most worthy of your imitation who at the losse of his Cattell Servants and Children said The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the name of the Lord. More especially let me exhort you to thankesgiving to God for these three b●●ries 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 7.4 1 For making you instruments of bringing forth such a childe 〈◊〉 hath beene described I may say to you as Saint Paul in another case did to the Romans Yee have brought forth fruit unto God 2 For arming you with such courage and patience in bearing so great a losse so quietly and obediently and that you are come to see her committed to the ground with as much cheerefulnesse as the Husbandman sees his pretious seed cast into the earth and covered with cloddes which he values at as high a rate as that which he reserves at home as knowing that though her body lye a while in the grave yet it shall shortly rise a glorious body as the Apostle teacheth Phil. 3.21 Phil. 3.21 Who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like his glorious body and shall shine forth as the Sunne Math. 13.43 in the kingdome of her Father 3 For giving you such cause of patience and ground of comfort 1 In that he hath removed that thing from you which might have stollen your hearts from him 2 In that he gave you such assured evidences of grace in her before her death and her assurance of salvation 3 In taking her away so swee●ly without the least paine or strugling 4 In infusing such comforts into your soules even in the time of her dissolution that you m●●● rejoyced for her gaine then sorrowed for your owne losse 3 To draw nearer unto God and to have more fellowship with him in his ordinances and you shall finde the comfort of your childe in God who will be better to you then ten daugthers y●● he will recompence your losses to you if not in the same 1 〈◊〉 1 1● yet in some other kinde as he shall see it best●● his owne glory and your comfort 4 To bury all your sorrow for her in the grave with her and let it rise no more Put on Davids resolution While the childe was yet alive I fasted and wept 2 Sam. 12.22.23 for I said who can tell whether God will be gratious unto me that the childe may live But now he is dead wherefore should I fast can I bring him backe againe Goe hence with as much comfort as if you had matched her to the greatest prince on earth Doe as the wise man counselleth Goe thy way eate thy bread with joy Eccles 9. ●8 and drinke thy wine with a merry heart for God accepteth thy works Let thy garments alwaies be white and let thy head lacke no oyle You rejoyced on the day of her birth why then rejoyce now for the day of death is the soules birth-day And the Preacher telleth us speaking onely of such as she was That the day of their death is better then the day of their birth Eccles 7.1 I will conclude all with that advise of Nehemiah Nehem. 8 10. Goe your way mourne not neither be sorry for the joy of the Lord is your strength FINIS Her Epitaph by the Author BIrth breeding beauty grace carriage sweet In thee deare Saint did all together meet The Sunne ne're saw a lovelier face than thine Nor heaven receiv'd a spirit more divine Thrice happy Parents such a childe to breed Begot againe of Gods immortall seed Cease sorrowing then sith Saints Angels sing To see her match'd with an eternall King

This doctrine is pregnant of profitable uses It may serve by way of inference to informe our judgements Inference 1 1 That it is not sufficient to have the theory or knowledge of vertue onely but practice must be added to speculation It is not vertue to know good and evill but to doe good and eschew evill Our Saviour saith Jf ye know these things Iob. 13.17 Luke 11 2● happy are ye if ye doe them Againe he saith Blessed are they that heare the word of God and keepe it implying that the knowledge of Gods word and bare understanding of the mysteries of salvation maketh no man happy but who so looketh into the perfect law of liberty James 1.25 and continueth therein hee being not a forgetfull hearer but a doer of the worke this m●n shall be blessed in his deed Reade Matth. 7.24 to the end Inference 2 2 That it is not enough to speake well but wee must also doe well The Scribes and Pharises have this brand of hypocrisie set upon them by our Saviour Christ (a) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Epict●tus They say and doe not Matth. 23.3 (b) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Arl. Eth. lib. 2. cap. 4. Too many in our dayes are like those Scribes and Pharises for though their tongues be steept in religion yet their lives are stained with foule abhominations to the great scandall of their glorious profession Let not these men thinke that God is any whit at all pleased to heare them speake piously of him and his kingdome and the righteousnesse thereof while they refuse to admit his kingdome into their hearts and to expresse the power of it in their lives Nay he is greatly herewith offended (c) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Agell lib. 17. cap. 19. Deut. 5.28 29. T it 1.16 What hast thou saith he to doe to take my covenant in thy mouth seeing thou hatest instruction and casteth my words behinde thee and livest unjustly and unchastly The Israelites spake well to Moses by Gods owne testimony They have well said in all that they have spoken but he wisheth Oh that there were such an heart in them that they would feare me and keepe my Commandements They proved afterward such as Paul speakes of who professed they knew God but in their workes they denyed h●m being abhominable disobedient and to every good worke reprobate Inference 3 3 That we must not content our selves to doe vertuous and religious workes but wee must have a care that we doe them in a vertuous and religious manner First therefore they must proceed from a good root and fountaine even a principle of regeneration within A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit And to them that are defiled and unbeleeving is nothing pure but their best workes are defiled in Gods eyes Math. 7.18 Tit. 1.15 Secondly they must be done in obedience to Gods command Respect to his will must be the ground and motive of our working Thirdly Gods glory must be our utmost end 1 Cor. 10.31 1 Pet. 4.11 Whatsoever we doe we must doe all to his glory Jf any man speake let him speake as the Oracles of God if any man minister let him doe it as of the ability which God hath given him that God in all things may be glorified Fourthly wee must be abundant alwayes in good workes unwearied in wel-doing And finally when we have done all that we can we must say we are unprofitable servants wee have done but that which was our duty to doe Inference 4 4 That we ought not to content our selves with an ordinary measure of grace and vertue but we must seeke to excell others like this woman in my Text who excelled all other daughters that did vertuously It is the Apostles injunction 1 Cor. 14.12 Eph 5 ●5 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mat●h 5.47 Seeke that ye may excell And againe See that ye walke exactly or precisely not as the ordinary sort of Professors walke Our Saviour saith That if ye salute your brethren onely what doe you more than others implying that wee must exceed others in weldoing Math 5.48 setting God himselfe before us as our patterne Be ye perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect Inference 5 5 That we ought not to praise but rather to reprove and condemne vitious persons The Apostle speaking of some disorders among the Corinthians saith thus 1 Cor. 11.22 Shall I praise you in this I praise you not As who should say I have no warrant to commend such as walke disorderly Pro. 2● 4. Salomon saith That they that forsake the law praise the wicked branding them with a marke of Apostasie from Gods law that speake well of evill men Pro. 5.20 Against these the Prophet pronounceth a woe Woe saith he to them that call good evill and evill good These doe what in them lyeth to make Gods commination of none effect Pro 10 7. For he hath threatned that the name of the wicked shall rot and stinke Let not therefore ungodly ones who have neither the habit nor the exercise of any grace or vertue in them whose soules serve for no other use then the soules of swine to keepe their bodies from putrifying as if they were borne for no other end than to consume Gods good creatures expect any praise either in life or death Fruges consumer● na●i except it bee from flatterers for as to them who continue patiently in weldoing shall be glory and honour so to them who obey not the truth but obey unrighteousnesse shall be shame and confusion of face both here and hereafter Reade Ierem. 22.17.18.19 Job expostulates thus with his friends Iob 13.7 Will you speake wickedly for God and talke deceitfully for him If wee may not speake falsly to glorifie God much lesse may we to glorifie men Thus should we justifie the wicked and so make our selves abhomination unto God Nay 't is dangerous for men to affect and receive praise and glory when they deserve it not Reade Acts 12.22.23 Inference 6 6 That such as unfainedly desire and endeavour to doe vertuously shall not faile to have praise both of God and men First of God who hath promised that although the credit of his servants may for a season be covered with a cloud of reproach as Iosephs was yet hee will bring forth their righteousnesse as the light and their judgement as the noone day The Apostle Paul saith Rom. 2.29 hee that is a Iew inwardly that is really religious who hath the inward power of godlinesse as well as the outward forme shall have praise of God And this indeed is the true praise 2 Cor. 10.18 For not he that commendeth himselfe saith Saint Paul is approved but whom the Lord commendeth Secondly of men Men will praise thee Psal 49.18 saith the Psalmist when thou dost well to thy selfe Now a man then doth good to himselfe when he doth vertuously And not

take heed of offending God by murmuring doe we not daily pray that Gods will may be done and therefore wh●● it is done we should bee content Heare also some passages in her sicknesse which prove that she was indeed indued with sound knowledge and judgement Being asked occasionally whether Christ would heale her of her sicknesse seeing he never refused to heale any She answered J beleeve that hee can doe it but J cannot beleeve that he will heale the sicknesse of my body but by death Againe being asked whether she thought God afflicted her in anger or in love She answered Truely J cannot tell but J know he hath cause to doe it in anger Againe telling us how Satan had long tempted her to doubt of her salvation She said her hope was that she did belong to God because Satan was so busie with her The second grace or vertue that evidenced it selfe in her and wherein we should all labour to imitate her was piety or godlinesse 1 Tim. 4.8 which ●●th the promise of this life and that which is to come And it consists of three parts or there are three graces required to make one truely pious viz. 1 Selfe-denyall 2 Sanctification 3 Devotion 1 Selfe-deniall the necessity whereof appeares by these speeches of our Saviour Luke 9.23 Luke 14.26 If any man will come after me let him deny himselfe and againe if any man come to me and hate not his Father and Mother and Wife and Children and Brethren and Sisters yea and his owne life also he cannot be my disciple That this grace was not onely in truth but in a great measure in her will appeare if we consider five sorts of things wherein she had denyed her selfe 1 All earthly profits and contentments It was my first question to her are you willing to leave the world her answer was yea truely for I see nothing in this world that should move me to desire to live 2 Bodily ease and freedome from paine for being almost tyred with a lingring sicknesse and this question put to her Whether had you rather continue in this misery still or commit a sinne to be released of it Shee answered cheerefully J had rather continue thou sicke as J am then commit any sinne to ●e well 3 Her Parents for being asked whether shee were willing to leave her Parents and goe to Christ She answered I love my Father and my Mother dearely but J love them lower then Christ 4 Her owne merits and righteousnesse for when I demanded of her what ground of hope she had to goe to heaven her answer was My hope is in the death and resurrection of Iesus Christ But have you nothing on your selfe said I to take comfort in No truely said shee I finde no good at all in my selfe but a great deale of evill 5 Her life She never smiled but twise in her sicknesse that I took notice of and both those smiles were at the mention of her death Once when I told her that death would cure her of al her infirmities oh I said she and smiled and my desire is to dye which is farre better than to live Againe I asked her whether had you rather if you might have your choise recover and be matched to the greatest Noble man in the world or dye and be matched with Christ She smiled againe and said I had rather dye for there is no difference betweene them you meane no comparison said I yea said she There is no comparison betweene the greatest Lord and Iesus Christ I meaned there is great difference The second part or branch of piety is Sanctification or regeneration which is nothing else but a stamping of the Image of God upon the soule 2 Pet. 1.4 and the writing of his law in the heart a partaking of the divine nature a spirituall principle or divine instinct inclining the soule upward unto God That she was partaker of this new birth and had an heart throughly sanctified will appeare by two things 1 She was throughly humbled for her sinnes for She complained that she had forsaken God and broken that covenant which she made with him in Baptisme and therefore deserved no comfort thence She feared that though she mourned for sinne yet God would not accept it because she was not grieved enough She said moreover that she was weary and laden with sinne more than with sicknesse Finally being exhorted to call to minde for her comfort the promises of the Gospell she answered with griefe and iterated it Truely I have beene much too blame in neglecting to reade the Scriptures These and many more signes she had of a soule savingly humbled for her sinnes 2 There appeared divers expressions of divine and gratious impressions in her which were infallible characters of sanctification as namely 1 Poverty of spirit she complained of her want of grace saying she had very little grace or rather none at all in her 2 Her hungring and thirsting after grace Oh I would give said she any thing for grace 3 Her hatred of sinne and love of Christ evidenced in some former answers 4 Her humility mixt with faith for hearing me say that her heavenly husband had prepared a place in heaven for her Psal 84 10. whither she was hasting Oh said she Let me have the lowest place there and I shall thinke my selfe happy Acts 10 2. The third thing requisite to make one godly is Devotion It is said of Cornelius that he was a devout man and so it may be said truely of this childe that she was a devout childe for shee held in her judgement and professed with her mouth the true religion of God which gives all to Gods free grace and leaves man none occasion of boasting in himselfe You heard before how freely she renounced all worth in herselfe and sought for all her comfort out of her selfe onely in Iesus Christ 1 Pet. 3.15 Againe she made conscience of the duties of religion was fearefull of an oath strict in sanctifying the Lords day She was frequent in reading the Scriptures and desirous to heare them read when she could not reade her selfe because of the sorenesse of her eyes and yet she thought her selfe too blame because she read no more as ye heard even now She would presse nigh and hearken diligently when any good conference was in hand where she was She was frequent in prayer and fervent and when it was painefull for her to speake she would aske may J not pray in spirit and answer being made that she might she did accordingly She would also praise God for his mercies to her and in particular for the spirituall comforts which he was pleased to afford unto her And thus shee held on till death deprived her of ability The third and last grace wherein she excelled I had almost sayd all other daughters was Patience and whether this grace had not it perfect worke in her I leave you to judge when you have