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	word_n	4,388	5	4.1531	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44693	A sermon on the much lamented death of that reverend and worthy Servant of Christ Mr. Richard Adams, M.A. sometime fellow of Brazen-Nose Colledge in Oxford, afterwards, minister of St. Mildred Breadstreet, London, more lately, pastor of a congregation in SOuthwark, who deceased Febr. 7th, 1697/8 preached, February the 20th, 1698 / by John Howe.	Howe, John, 1630-1705.	1698 (1698)	Wing H3039; ESTC R15457	15,888	56

in this World would be much more a valuable Good unto the Christian Church and unto this or that Church in particular that had injoyed and might further injoy his most fruitful Labours His difficuly and straight was not either what was best for him or what was best for them but which of these two he should upon the whole prefer whether he should prefer his own Private Interest or prefer the common Interest of Christ in the World And upon weighing and pondering the Matter with himself he does prefer the latter so as without any kind of Hesitation to express a great complacency in it that he should be continued yet longer some time longer for common good in this World And it was a most noble piece of Self-denial that was exercised herein if you consider what the Apostles Priviledges had been He had been caught up into the Third Heaven he had there seen unutterable Things nor could he doubt his Interest in the Felicity and Glory of the Heavenly State On the other hand consider his Life here on Earth was no voluptuous Life it was not a Life of Ease and Pleasure See the Account that he gives of it in 1 Cor. 4. and in 2 Cor. 6. and in Chap. 11. of the same Epistle And to find amongst how many Deaths he converst as it were every Day of his Life how familiar Labours and Fastings and Watchings were to him yea Stripes and Imprisonments and that he was now at this Time a Prisoner as we see in some foregoing Verses of this very Chapter viz. ver 13 14 16. even in the very Lions Paw in the continual Expectation of being devoured and not long after to be offered up as he elsewhere speaks Yet he seems to take great Complacency in the Thoughts of having some Addition made to his Time in this World on the common Christian Account and that his own Blessedness and Glory should be for this Reason a little while deferred he was Patient of this he could indure it out of his Love to Christ and the Souls of Men. But as to himself for what he esteemed and desired accordingly as his best and most valuable Good he was in no Hesitation or Doubt concerning that but Pronounces without any more ado That he did desire to be dissolved or Depart the Words may be read either way and to be with Christ which is far better only he distinguishes what was his own most valuable good and what was the most valuable good of the Christian Church And though he give this latter the Preference as in it self the more considerable Thing Yet as to himself and his own concerns to Depart and be with Christ he reckons far better And accordingly he did desire it as such as better for him as having nothing to detain him or nothing which on his own Private Account he could so much Mind or Covet as that Now in this Comparison 't is this one side of it which the Words that I have read to you do call us to consider and confine us to at this Time As to that other Part it lies within the Compass of the Context but not of the Text and so we shall not Treat of that at present But consider what is the genuine Temper and Disposition of a Christian and more principally of a Minister of Christ in reference to what he is to eye and look upon as his own best and most valuable Good and that is to Depart and to be with Christ. This indeed the Apostle speaks of himself a great and eminent Minister of the Gospel of Christ. But though this Temper and Disposition of Spirit was agreeable it was not appropriate to such a one It is indeed very agreeable it is very suitable to the Spirit of a faithful Minister of Christ in reference to himself and any Interest and Concern of his to desire to depart and to be with Christ But it is not so agreeable to such a one as to be appropriate to him or to exclude the generality of serious and living Christians because it is upon one account principally common to Ministers and to other Christians that this Judgment is to be made and this Desire is to have Place in Reference to that Judgment And therefore that is what I will for the little Time that remains chiefly insist upon That it ought to be and in very great measure is the Temper and Character of gracious Persons or sincere Christians but principally of the faithful Ministers of Christ with Reference to any Interest or Concern of theirs to desire to leave this World and to be with Christ. And in speaking to this I shall briefly 1. Explain what requires to be explained in it and then 2. Shew you upon what grounds this Temper and Disposition of Mind is agreeable in the General to sincere Christians 3. Upon what more peculiar grounds it is more especially suitable to the faithful Ministers of Christ. And so make use of the whole 1. As to what requires Explication Here we must show you what the Object of this Desire is in the first Place and then secondly Show you what this Desire with the Judgment unto which it is conformable imports and carries in it Then we shall proceed to consider the grounds both with Reference to Christians in General and the faithful Ministers of Christ in Special of their having this as an habitual Temper of Spirit belonging to them 1. We are to consider the Object which this Disposition of Spirit here described has Reference to And that is Two-fold Privative and Positive There is 1. The Privative Object that this Disposition has Reference to and that is departing from hence Their desire is to be gone not to stay always here i. e. as to any Concern of their own Indeed upon other Accounts abstracted from their own and more important there may be Considerations that may induce their willingness to stay But as to their own Concerns the Privative Object of their Desire is to be dissolved or to be gone 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they would fain be dissolved take that reading and this is such a ones sense I would fain have my Bonds and Shackles taken off I would be loose not be always confined to a Body of Sin and Death and to a vain and wicked World For these are the things to which we are united Or take the other reading that are to be left in this departure To depart What are we to depart from Why the Gravamina the most grievous things are a body of Sin and Death and a vain and sinful World When God sees good I would depart says such a one from these irksome grievous Things that while they detain me Torment me every hour And then 2. There is the Positive Object that this Disposition has reference to and that is to be with Christ. This is a mighty thought if we had time to stay upon it It is generally to be considered here with

Mr. HOWE 's SRERMON On the DEATH of Mr. RICH. ADAMS A SERMON On the much Lamented DEATH OF THAT Reverend and Worthy Servant of CHRIST Mr. Richard Adams M. A. SOMETIME Fellow of Brazen-Nose Colledge in Oxford Afterwards Minister of St. Mildred Breadstreet London More lately Pastor of a Congregation in Southwark Who Deceased Febr. 7 th 1697 8. Preached February the 20 th 1698. By JOHN HOWE Minister of the GOSPEL LONDON Printed by S. Bridge for Tho. Parkhurst at the Bible and Three Crowns in Cheapside near Mercers-Chappel 1698. To Mrs. Anna Adams Widow and Coll. John Adams Brother to the Deceased Mr. Richard Adams My Honour'd Friends DEath is too common a Theam and too obvious to our Sense to be thought strange any more than that we live But that the Course of our Life as to the Rise Progress and Period of it is at the dispose of one common Lord of all because it belongs to a Sphere above Sense is little considered by the most To you I doubt not it s far from being a new or unfamiliar Thought And thereupon that the Precious Life you have lately seen Finished was measured by Him who could not therein be unkind to him who is gone or to you who stay behind We do indeed Tempt our selves if we expect from his kindness unreasonable Things As that he should to Gratify us alter the Course of Nature or recal the Vniversal Commission of Death or only let it stand in force with an Exception as to our selves our Relatives and Friends or that he should tear his own most inviolable Constitutions by which the present State is to be but Transitory and the future the only fixed State which were to subvert the whole frame of Religion to nullify the design of Redemption to take down his Tribunal to abolish and lay aside all thoughts of a Judgment to come and finally to make the Kingdom of His dear Son to terminate in a Dunghil While no such wish hath place with you your Reconciliation is easie to the Providence that hath for the present bereaved you of so delectable a Relation And the Love of God which prevailing in you will prompt you to compliance with his will must be the evidence of your title to the best Blessings of both Worlds For both the things in the other State the Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard c. And the Concurrent Operation of all things for good in this present State do all belong to Persons of the same Character The Lovers of God 1 Cor. 2.9 Rom. 8.28 Which that you may constantly and fully experience to the end and in the end is the serious Prayer for you of Your very Respectful and Affectionate Servant in Christ JOHN HOWE A Funeral Sermon ON THE DEATH OF Mr. Richard Adams PHILIPIANS I. latter part of v. 23. Having a desire to Depart and to be with Christ which is far better The foregoing Words are I am in a straight betwixt two And then it follows Having a desire to depart c. IF you should have no other Subject for your present Consideration than only That one in your Neighbourhood is Lately Dead Even that it self would deserve your very serious Thoughts The Translation of Humane Souls from World to World and out of this Present into their Eternal State is no light Matter and does claim and challenge more serious Thoughts than it is commonly wont to find and meet with Nor does the commonness of such an occasion at all excuse the slightness of Mens Thoughts upon it but rather aggravate it unspeakably more That which we find to be so common and universal a Case we may be sure will shortly be our own And as it is now matter of Discourse with us that such a one is Dead we shall ere it be long according as we have been more or less regarded in the World be a like Subject of Discourse to others But it is a greater Thing when it can be said a Good Man is gone there is a more special Remark to be put upon the Decease of such a one Mark the perfect Man and behold the Vpright the 〈◊〉 of that Man is Peace as Psalm 37.37 There is that Agreement between his Way and his End they are so much of a Piece and do so exactly Correspond a course transacted in a constant Serenity and Peace meeting at length with Peace as the End of it An even course still uniform self-agreeable ever equal to and like it self ending at last in Peace Mark this how he goes off mark such a Life so ending But it yet Challenges more intense Consideration when such a one is taken away from amongst us and the Progress and Period of his Course come to be viewed together whose Life was a continued Series of Labours in the Lords Vineyard from the earlier to the later Hours of his Day when such a one has finished his Course and fought out the good Fight of Faith and is entered into his Rest by the vouchsafement of his indulgent Lord and Master is made to rest from his Labours and receive the Reward of them the Reward of Grace with a Well done good and faithful Servant enter into the Joy of thy Lord And sure it cannot be ungrateful to you to be desired here to stay a little to make a stand and pause and entertain your selves a while with the Consideration of such a Theam and Subject as this Especially it cannot be an ungrateful Contemplation to such as have known the Doctrine and Purpose and Faith and Charity and manner of Life of such a one as the Apostle speaks so as to be told of nothing but what you knew before And so they are not dubious and uncertain Thoughts that you are to employ upon such a Theam you are well assured of the Truth of the Fact and when you know it to be true you cannot but discern it to be very considerable and important Truth and of very great Concernment to you What the Spirit of such a one has been through his whole Course you have a very high Example of in this Blessed Apostle And a Copy has been written out fair after such a Pattern by this lately Deceased worthy Servant of Christ. Besides the many Straights and Difficulties that great Apostle met with in the Course and Current of his Time he meets with this towards the end of it to be in a straight between two and he does not know what to chuse viz. between these two Things The Consideration of what would be the best and most valuable good to himself and the Consideration of what would be the more valuable Good unto the Christian Church and particularly unto these Christian Philippians to whom he now writes He had no doubt at all in the Case but that to depart and to be with Christ would be the best and most valuable Good to himself And it was as little to be doubted of but that his continued abode and stay