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	sin_n	spirit_n	9,196	5	5.3489	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A72376	The soules possession of Christ: shewing how a Christian should put on Christ, and bee able to doe all things through his strength. Whereunto in annexed A sermon preached at the funerall of that worthy divine Mr. Wimott, late minister of Clare, in Suffolke. By T.H.	Hooker, Thomas, 1586-1647.; Hooker, Thomas, (1586-1647). Spiritual Munition: a funeral sermon.	1638 (1638)	STC 13734; ESTC S125041	45,018	247

to master them take thou away the inquity of thy servant free my soule from the dominion of these lusts teare them from mee doe what thou wilt with mee onely slay this corruption in thy servant Thus a gracious heart seekes nothing so much as the death of sinne that there might be a new nature and through-change wrought in him therefore hee argues thus Lord thou hast said that thou wilt take away the heart of stone thou hast promised to subdue a stubborne spirit and master a malicious vaine minde I beseech thee let it be according to thy good Word take away these distempers as thou art faithfull say Amen to the desires of thy servant and help me against my strong corruptions When the truth of Christ layes battery against a good mans heart the soule willingly lies under the blow and closeth with the rebuke saying more of the Lord there againe good Lord. A man that is troubled with the tooth-ach when the Tooth-drawer comes to apply his Instrument and hee findes hee hath hold of him he saith that is it pull it out leave nothing behinde So when the soule is under the power of some violent lust when the Word comes home to the conscience and meets with that distemper the soule saith Lord pull it out all that I may never see that pride more nor that covetousnesse more leave not a stumpe remaining Lord but free me wholly from this vile accursed condition It is a fine passage Zach. 13. one meetes him and askes him Zach. 13.6 Where hadst thou that wound It was wounded in the house of my friend saith hee the messenger of God spake friendly to me he wounded my heart fully I saw the coare comming out and this is a speciall meanes of divorcing the heart from sinne when it closeth with such truths as tend to the awaking of it But this is not all 6. For as the soule wisheth and welcomes such powerfull truths 6 so is it restlesse till GOD be pleased to worke this till it see every corruption and the frame of every sinne tottered It is restlesly looking and waiting upon God Oh when shall this once be Such a mans heart is broken such a wretched liver is reclaimed and such a proud spirit is brought low Lord will nothing prevaile with me The Irish-man being malicious and fearfull never thinkes his enemy killed till he hath cut off his head he will bee sure to leave him past all hope of recovery So a gracious heart never thinkes sinne mastered till it see the very life and blood of his corruptions removed till it see the strēgth and power of sinne subdued more or lesse within him Therefore it is that the Apostle cries out O wretchedmā that I am who shall deliver me from this body of death Marke the waight of his complaint he doth not say who shal deliver me from this action of sinne but who shall deliver me from this body of sinne There is a body of pride there is a body covetousnesse and a body of anger which cleaves unto us Now a gracious heart is not content to be delivered from a tongue of pride haughty speeches and the like but Lord free mee from the body of pride and selfe-love from the frame and bent of this distempered spirit 7. Lastly 7 as the soule welcomes the truth that it may worke and is restlesse before it doe work so it is content that the Lord should bee pleased to worke upon sinne and subdue it upon the hardest termes in the world I remember the speech of a wise man having a cause in law that was like to bee out-bidden hee comes to his Lawyer and asks May such a thing be done who answered the thing may be accomplished it is possible why then said he let me have it done what ever it costs me So say thou Lord though I had as much pride as the devill I may bee humbled though I bee over-spred with sin as with a leprosie I may bee purged from my filthinesse It may be done Lord let it be done what ever it cost me If a man be covetous and if nothing but beggery will loose his heart from the world he ought to pray for a low estate and contentednesse with his condition If a man be unable to subdue the pride of his spirit there is no other way sometime to cure a man of this Timpany but with a desperate extremity there is no way to cure a proud heart but to blow upon its excellencies and lay all its honour in the dust This is harsh yet a gracious heart is content though it bee never so sharpe and cost never so deare though I bee the off-scouring of the world slighted and trampled upon by every one though I lie in the dust all my dayes and goe to the bottomelesse pit for the while I care not any thing rather than a proud heart Though I lose my parts and abilities am never so much loaden with disgraces free me from a lofty spirit and I care not This man now meanes in good earnest to part with his corruptions But what shall wee thinke of those that are content rather to part with their blood and lives than with their base corruptions I mean the prophane wretches of this age that are so sarre from being divorced from their sins that they are not willing to heare thereof or to have the Minister meddle therewith they will not endure the least reproofe to come neare them or touch them no meanes can prevaile to tear their distempers from their soules to plucke the cup from the drunkard or the pleasure from the Adulterer or greedinesse of gaine from the covetous worldling but upon the opposition to their lusts they are up in armes presently A man must beware how hee meddles with these things they will take away a mans credit and his life many times rather than they will suffer their corruptions to be removed by the power of the Word Iohn Baptist must rather lose his head than Herod his incestuous adultery Nay the league betweene these men and their lusts is so firme that they will not heare of any breach When the Prophet came early and late admonishing the people This is the good way Ier. 18.12 walke in it marke how they resolve We will walke in our owne wayes and follow our owne devices and as they resolved so they did for when he enformed them of their wicked courses and would have pluckt away their beloved corruptiōs They tooke hold upon their deceits saith the Text the phrase is strange Here is all the quarrell in the world betweene Gods faithfull Ministers and the people we come to pluck away your sinnes wee would pull downe a proud heart and subdue an unclean lascivious spirit but you take hold of your lusts you cling unto pride and will not part with it you nourish malice and hypocrisic in your soules in despight of God and his Ministers and all admonitions and

gone but now how will you helpe this man and bring him to himselfe againe the onely way is this wee use to chafe his body and put in some Aquavitae into his mouth and so at last he gathers heate lookes up and speakes and in the end he walkes thus a weake body may bee strong for a time Just so it is with our old man which we have all in us Suppose a man before his conversion were given to drunkennesse or uncleannesse and howsoever God hath been pleased to draw him to himselfe one would thinke hee should never bee uncleane or drunke more yet notwithstanding the old man is not wholly dead hee is almost going away hee lyes even a dying and it were a blessed thing for that person if the old man were utterly dead in him But woe unto us what paines doe we daily take that this old man may live within us wee chafe him and keep him warme we quicken up that cursed disposition that is in us by Meditation we stirre up that wickednesse that is in our hearts and bestow our mindes upon it As the drunkard oft thinks of his wonted daliances how sweet and pleasant they have beene unto him and so he that hath beene an adulterer by meanes whereof the old man begins to gather life againe hee stands up and walkes in so much that the poore soule begins to feare and is forced to say Good Lord was I ever truly wrought upon was my heart ever throughly broken for these sinnes Alas brethren it is no wonder you make too much of the old man you powre life into him and are still contriving for him and ever thinking how pleasing this way these fleshly meanes and sinfull courses were the ground is here you give strength and ability to corruption to prevaile against you As it is with fire if a man have plenty of wood though there were but a little coale of fire every man would say that by blowing it will bee a great flame in the end So there is still a coale of corruption in us all there is a coale of pride and peevishnesse idlenesse and untowardnesse a cursed body of death remaining in the best of us wil be whilst we carry these houses of clay about us But a man by Meditation and Consultation kindles this coale they bring the wood and blow up the fire and make a man fall in love with his parts and his place and if he be not regarded then hee is all on a flame with anger and the fire burnes abundantly and then he cryes out of his misery Why doe you blow the fire then When an enemy lyes in the field to besiege a City if hee have neither meate nor any munition hee will not tarry long but if the people within send him provision it is no wonder though they be overthrowne by him so this Meditation makes provision and Consultation sends it to the enemy The second part of this Reason is this as we adde strength to our corruptions so meditation is as an invitation of the devill to come and tempt us thereby we give money to the devill and subject our selves and our soules to the powers of temptations as occasions are offered to us so that wee must either be captivated or overtaken by them When wee conceive highly of our owne abilities wee wish pride to come and exalt us and Consultation of the means to accomplish our lusts is as it were the setting open the doores for the devill to come and welcome Looke what ever the Meditations are set upon the heart is under the power and strength of that sinne and looke how farre a man meditates on it so farre it prevailes with him and domineers over him As it is with a paire of flood-gates when they are set open it lets in the Streame amaine that carries all before it so Meditation upon any base occasion sets open the flood-gate that it carryes the soule amaine to the practice of any sinne hee as it were invites the devill to come and supp with him Iudas that covetous wretch when hee saw the boxe of oyntment broken said What need all this waste But alas hee did it not because he cared for the poore but because he was a theefe and had the bagge Where wee may observe this by the way Hee that is a covetous man indeed that is under the power of that lust give him opportunity and he will theeve more or lesse The devill full well saw Iudas his covetous heart oh thought hee if I had this hundred pence in my pocket I were made for ever therfore in another place the Text saith The devill entred into Iudas How is that The devill cast into the minde of Iudas to betray his Master Goe thy wayes saith hee betray thy Master and thou maist have so much money and thy Master will escape wel enough Thus Sathan tooke possession of him and prevailed with him to doe that for which hee had formerly consulted about And hee went out and betrayed his Master By giving way to the devill at last hee was overcome by him The Reason is this If by Meditation and Consultation of our corruptions we give strength to corruption and yeeld to the flesh then the devill will overcome us but so it is that by this provision we give force and put more power into our lusts and make way for them and submit our selves to them and therfore shall bee overcome by them The second Reason is Reas 2. taken from the hinderance of the worke of grace whereby we might bee fortified against our corruptions and that we doe these two wayes 1. By daily musing of our sinnes and corruptions wee dead the worke of grace in our hearts in so much that it is either dead and will not work or else it is crowded that it cannot worke This Meditation and Consultation so take up the soul that the heart hath no liberty to worke there is no roome for faith and patience and heavenly mindednesse As it is in some great places when there is some great provision to be made then every man is busied one man is sent one way and another man another and the Noble-man is without attendance and he wonders what is become of all his men when as they are all gone to make provision for his guests so it is with the soule when a man lets out all his minde and thoughts his reason affections and desires after his lusts it is no wonder such a one cannot beleeve why what is become of faith and hope and patience in him They are all making provision for the flesh and there is no attendance for faith that sits alone in the soule because all the whole streame of the heart and minde is imployed in hunting after vanities Now in this extremity aske the poore soule if he have any assurance of Gods love or any stirrings of grace he will answer no no the reason is they have spent all their thoughts