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	soul_n	unite_v	4,194	5	9.8657	5	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A29101	The excellency of the Christian revelation, as it promiseth assistance, and compleat salvation to sinners a sermon preach'd in the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, November the 6th, 1699, being the eighth, for this year, of the lecture founded by the Honourable Robert Boyle, Esq. / by Samuel Bradford ...	Bradford, Samuel, 1652-1731.	1699 (1699)	Wing B4111; ESTC R19744	15,243	31

Virtue are confirm'd in them nor indeed till our Bodies also shall be raised again and united to our Souls For although the wisest of Philosophers and the best of Christians have justly complain'd of these Bodies of Flesh as clogs to their Spirits and therefore may have desir'd and chosen to be deliver'd from them in order to have their Spirits set at liberty from their present incumbrance yet the natural abhorrence which all Men have of the separation of their two essential parts made by Death and that ardent desire of life which is implanted in humane Nature seem plainly to intimate that we cannot be compleatly happy without consisting of Soul and Body united And the Gospel consirms this Notion to us by causing us to wait for our compleat Salvation till the Resurrection of the Body Rom. 8.19 20 21 22 23. Thus St. Paul having mentioned the earnest expectation which the whole Creation hath of being deliver'd from Vanity and that bondage of Corruption to which it is at present subjected he adds And not only they but our selves also which have the first fruits of the Spirit even we our selves groan within our selves waiting for the Adoption to wit the Redemption of our Body And to the same purpose again 2 Cor. 5.4 We that are in this Tabernacle do groan being burdened not for that we would be uncloath'd but cloath'd upon that mortality might be swallow'd up of life intimating that Christians will not be compleatly happy till their Bodies shall be redeem'd from Corruption and till their Souls shall be cloath'd with such Bodies as shall be prepar'd for them at the Resurrection till which time they will not be deliver'd from all the effects of the Divine Displeasure nor clearly manifested to be the Children of God Now 't is apparent past all dispute that we can do nothing of all this for our selves and that no other Institution of Religion besides the Christian hath discover'd to us how it shall be done for us But in this instance also our Blessed Saviour hath made abundant Provision The Gospel hath assur'd us and we Christians do firmly believe as fundamental Articles of our Faith that as our Lord died to made Expiation for our Sins so he rose again from the dead and that then according to his own Declaration Matth. 28.18 All power was given unto him in Heaven and in Earth Eph. 1.20 21 22. that God having rais'd him from the dead hath set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places far above all Principality and Power and Might and Dominion and every Name that is named not only in this World but also in that which is to come and hath put all things under his feet and given him to be the Head over all things to the Church as also that he will according to his Promise come again to perfect the great Work which he hath undertaken and which he hath been carrying on by all the Methods I have hitherto mention'd Now allowing all this to be true we have a plain account how we shall be deliver'd from all the remaining evil Consequences of our Fall and be made perfectly happy to the utmost of our desires and capacities For hereby we are assur'd That we have now a powerful Friend in Heaven in our own Nature Heb. 4. 15 16 One who can be touch'd with a feeling of our Infirmities having been in all points tempted like as we are and One who hath such an Interest in the Father of all that by him we may go freely to the throne of Grace obtaining Mercy and finding Grace to help in time of need who although he doth not think fit to deliver us at present from all the Calamities of this Life Rom. 8.28 yet will cause all things to work together for our good 1 Cor. 10.13 not suffering us to be tempted above that we are able but with the temptation also making a way to escape that we may be able to bear it 2 Cor. 12.9 affording us such a Measure of his Grace as shall be sufficient for us and causing his strength to be made perfect in our weakness Who although he permits us to remain liable to Death as the just Reward of our Transgression Rom. 14.9 yet being Lord both of the Dead and the Living will receive our Souls at the hour of Death and take care of them during their state of Seperation reviving them with his Insluences and filling them with the comfortable Expectation of their more compleat Happiness Finally we are assur'd that as he will obtain of the Father and confer upon his faithful Servants all that is truly good and fit for them during this state of their Tryal and preserve their Spirits which they have committed to his Custody till his second Appearance so that he will come again in Person redeem their dead Bodies and perfect their Souls reuniting them and fully instating them in the favour of God and bestowing upon them the Inheritance of Children of all which he hath given them at present his Spirit as the sure Pledge and Earnest This is that Provision which our Blessed Saviour according to the Declaration of his Gospel hath graciously made in this last instance of our Necessity after which I need add no more this being the completion of our Felicity and of our Mediator's Undertaking And thus I have finish'd what I at first proposed with respect to the intrinsick Evidence of Christianity shewing its Credibility from considering the Persons whom Christ Jesus came to save the Nature of the Salvation which he proposeth and the Method in which he hath procur'd it If in doing this I have laid down a true Scheme of our holy Profession as I am verily persuaded I have according to the Doctrine of the Holy Scriptures and the general sense of the Christian Church and if through this whole Scheme there is nothing but what is highly worthy of God and extremely beneficial to his Creatures nay if according to this Representation of Christianity it not only infinitely excels all other Institutions of Religion but is such as that we are not able to frame an Idea of any Institution comparable to it as I firmly believe upon impartial consideration it will appear to be it must then be granted that This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the World to save Sinners This therefore I heartily offer to the serious thoughts of all such Men as have a just sense of God and of natural Religion upon their Minds and have accustom'd themselves to think seriously of matters of importance The external attestation which God hath given to the Gospel by Prophecies Miracles and an wonderful Success in its Propagation will tend where duly observ'd not only farther to confirm this intrinsick Evidence but also to awaken and excite the minds of those who are not us'd to serious thinking or are strongly prejudic'd against Religion in general through the violence of their corrupt inclinations But when all is done here we must fix being assur'd that as no Revelation can be from God which is not worthy of him so whatsoever is so highly worthy of God as the Christian Revelation is must be credible upon its own account May we who profess to believe the Gospel both on account of its intrinsick Evidence and the external attestation it hath had and to be sensible of the excellent Method therein propos'd for the Salvation of Sinners prove to the World the reality and the stedfastness of this our Faith by its influence upon our Spirits and our Lives Then shall we our selves yield a farther attestation to the truth of our Blessed Saviour's Religion by demonstrating its Virtue and its Excellency to the unbelieving World And may Almighty God who hath thus graciously revea'ld himself to Mankind by his Son Jesus Christ our Lord send forth his holy Spirit to accompany the preaching of this his Gospel so that it may be more universally receiv'd and more thoroughly obey'd in all the Nations of the Earth to the Glory of his Holy Name and the Salvation of Sinners Now to the One God and Father of all and to our Lord Jesus Christ the only begotten Son of the Father with the Eternal Spirit our great Creator Redeemer and Sanctifier be ascribed as is most due all Honor Praise and Glory sorever Amen FINIS Advertisement THE Author of these Lectures having in the Second of them taken notice of an Objection which he has not been able to consider within the compass of these Eight Discourses without interrupting the Order which he had propos'd to himself designs God willing to publish a Ninth by way of Appendix to these as a reply to the said Objection

were design'd And if we will yet farther look into the design of them we shall find that they are moreover appointed by our Lord as means of deriving and conveying the Grace of his Holy Spirit to our Souls Thus Matth. 28.19 20. when our Lord commission'd his Apostles to make Disciples out of all Nations baptizing them and teaching them to observe all things whatsoever he had commanded them he immediately subjoyns And lo I am with you always even unto the end of the World which can import no less than his assisting and blessing them and their Successors in the faithful discharge of their Ministry He else-where declares in general Matth. 18.20 that where two or three are gathered together in his Name there is he in the midst of them viz. by the presence and assistance of his Holy Spirit As to the Sacrament of Baptism St. Peter is very express in the place before cited where exhorting his Hearers to Repent and be Baptized Acts 2.38 39. he encourages them by proposing the Benefits which they should receive thereby namely remission of Sins and the Gift of the Holy Ghost the promise of which he says was not to that Generation only but to their Children and to all that were afar off even as many as God should call John 3.5 For which reason our Saviour himself in his discourse with Nicodemus joyn'd together Regeneration by Water and by the Spirit and St. Paul speaking of the same Rite says that Christians were sav'd Tit. 3.5 6. according to the Mercy of God by the laver of Regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost which was shed upon them abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour implying that Baptism with Water was the way of entitling Christians to that Divine Gift and a means of conveying it to them And so likewise as to the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper it is intended not only to exhibit to Christians the Elements of Bread and Wine in Memory of our Saviour's Passion 1 Cor. 10.16 but according to St. Paul's Expression the Cup of Blessing then blessed is the Communion of the Blood of Christ the Bread then broken is the Communion of the Body of Christ viz. a Communion or Participation of all the Benefits purchas'd by breaking the Body and shedding the Blood of Jesus of which a principal one is the Grace of the Divine Spirit to strengthen our Souls To conclude this particular The Gospel is styl'd Rom. 8.2 as I before observ'd the Law of the Spirit of Life 2 Cor. 3.6 the Ministers of the New Testament are said to be Ministers not of the Letter but of the Spirit When they perform the Offices of their Function one is said to Plant and another to Water 1 Cor. 3.5 6. whilst God giveth the increase viz. by the Operation of his Holy Spirit accompanying these external Ministrations and finally the Church is said to be the Temple of God forasmuch as the Spirit of God dwelleth amongst and in the Members of it all which passages do evidently import that the external Ministrations of Religion in the Christian Church are design'd as so many means of deriving the internal Grace of the good Spirit to those who faithfully make use of them And as to this I may presume that it will not be pretended that any other institution of Religion hath afforded the like means The Jews indeed abounded in external Ordinances which they were commanded to observe as the Prophets themselves intimate and the Apostles more fully assure us not as good in themselves but as suited to their temper and present circumstances which to free and generous Minds were indeed unpleasant and burdensome Nor were they attended with that Promise of internal Grace and Assistance which is annexed to the Christian Institutions For as the Author to the Hebrews at large Discourses Heb. 9.10 The Jewish service stood only in Meats and Drinks and divers Washings and carnal Ordinances impos'd on them until the time of Reformation all which were only Examples and Shadows of heavenly things ch 8.5.6.10 But Jesus hath obtain'd a more excellent Ministry by how much also he is the Mediator of a better Covenant which was establish'd upon better Promises viz. such as these that God would put his Laws into their Mind and write them in their Hearts and that he would be to them a God and they should be to him a People Every other Profession of Religion had likewise its external Rites and Ordinances belonging to it but I think I may fairly leave it to the Judgment of any serious Deist whether the Christian Institutions already mentioned are not much more rational decent easy and every way better adapted to the ends for which they are design'd than those of any other Religion and consequently whether in this instance also our Blessed Saviour hath not made the best Provision for us There remains yet one farther Difficulty which fallen Men lay under which I am to consider in the last place and to shew that our Lord hath in that instance likewise made due Provision for us viz. Fourthly An incapacity of removing those other evil and mischievous consequences to which their Sins had expos'd them and of obtaining for themselves that compleat Salvation which they stood in need of The remaining Consequences of our Apostacy from God which I took notice of in a former Lecture Lect. ij p. 21 22. are all the Calamities of this present life concluded at last with a Seperation of Soul and Body by Death and followed in a future state with all those Evils to which an immortal Soul seperated from its Body is there liable which are more than we are able to enumerate or so much as to conceive in the state in which we now are That Men were of themselves altogether unable either to avoid these Evils or to deliver themselves from them is evident No humane Wit or Power as Experience proves can ward off abundance of those Calamities to which all Men are obnoxious from the present state of things in this lower World nor can the wealth of the richest Man upon Earth purchase an Exemption from them The wise Man must die as certainly as the Fool the Prince as the Peasant and the Rich Man as the Beggar Nor have any of these the least power to dispose of their Souls when they are dismis'd into the World of Spirits Much less are they able to obtain for themselves that Salvation which will compleat their Happiness All that is done for us in this life even by our Blessed Saviour himself is but the beginning of our Salvation we are by him put into a sttate of Salvation and guided in the way which leads directly and surely to the completion of it But we cannot be said to be saved till every evil disposition be perfectly rooted out of our Souls till our Spirits are restor'd to their perfect Health and all the Habits of Piety and

Good together with strong Habits of Sin The Spirit having once given way to the Flesh lost its Authority and Government which it cannot easily reassume In order therefore to a recovery from this state to effect which is the great design of Christianity there must be a supply of new strength some extraordinary influences from the Divine Spirit to reduce the Soul into good Order and to preserve it when so reduc'd And for this we are beholden to the Undertaking of our great Mediator 'T is true good Men in all Ages of the World such I mean as have had a becoming sense of God and of natural Religion have profess'd their reliance upon God and there hopes of his assistance and I question not but they have in some measure partaken of what they thus hoped for which was in truth though not clearly understood by them the effect of God's Mercy and Grace through Jesus Christ whose Undertaking as we Christians believe had its effect for the benefit of Mankind ever since the first Promise made to Adam after his Fall But as the greater part of Man were left to the suggestions of Nature and the conjectures of Reason in this case having no express Declaration or Promise which they knew of upon which they might depend so the Pious and good Men amongst the Jews themselves who enjoyed the Divine Oracles yet believ'd and hop'd for the assistance of the Divine Spirit rather upon the grounds of natural Religion than of their own Law the Promises of which as I before observ'd were chiefly of the good things of this life what was beyond this being rather obscurely hinted to them than plainly express'd For which reason St. Paul who very well understood the Jewish Law and was thoroughly acquainted with the sense in which his Countrymen generally understood it says Rom. 7 8 10. That sin taking occasion by the Commandment wrought all manner of Concupiscence and again That the Commandment which was ordain'd unto Life was found to be unto Death and again That the Law ch 8.3 4. in that it was weak through the Flesh could not effect that Righteousness in us which it aimed at By all which he plainly asserts that the Law of Moses as such only declared Mens Duty but brought no assistance along with it to enable them to perform it and consequently left them in a worse state than it found them without the addition of Gospel Grace The Prophets indeed utter'd many Predictions of a plentiful Effusion of the Divine Spirit Is 44.3 Ezek. 36.26 27. Joel 2.28 But this was to be in the Days of the Messiah as the Jews did and we Christians now do understand those Prophecies to import And they were accordingly fulfilled in the days of our Blessed Saviour there having been a very plentiful Effusion of the Divine Spirit upon the Apostles and first Preachers and Professors of Christianity to enable them to do extraordinary Works and to capacitate them to discharge and undergo their Employments and their Sufferings And not only so but we have moreover both from our Lord and his Apostles express and clear Promises of the Communication of the same Spirit to enlighten and assist the Minds of Christians in every succeeding Age. Our Lord to this purpose did in general declare the readiness of Almighty God to give his Holy Spirit to all those who should ask it of him Luke 11.13 arguing from the goodness of God and his fatherly care of Men infinitely exceeding that of any earthly Parent More particularly our Lord hath given a promise of the Divine Spirit to all such as shall come to him and believe in him At a Solemn Festival of the Jews John 7.37 38 39. Jesus stood and cryed saying If any Man thirst let him come unto me and drink He that believeth on me as the Scripture hath said Out of his belly shall flow Rivers of living Water And this as the Evangelists adds He spake of the Spirit which they that believe on him should receive For the Holy Ghost was not yet given not in that plentiful manner as afterwards because that Jesus was not yet Glorified And indeed it was after the glorification of Jesus that this Spirit was given first in so wonderful a manner as on the day of Pentecost as a pledge of his being thenceforward to direct and assist the Church of Christ in all succeeding Ages a Promise to that purpose being given to all the Members of the Christian Body For so St. Peter discoursing to the Jews upon that occasion Acts 2.38 39. solemnly declares Repent says he and be Baptiz'd every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of Sins and ye shall receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost For the Promise is unto you and to your Children and to all that are afar off even as many as the Lord our God shall call 'T is upon this account that St. Paul declares so amply the Power which Christians receiv'd by the Gospel to enable them to do what neither by the Abilities of Nature nor by the Assistance of the Law of Moses they could have done When in the place before-cited he had complain'd of the Law in the Members whereby Men are Captivated Rom. 7.23 24. and thereupon express'd very pathetically his Sense of the Wretchedness of Men by reason of the Body of Death which they carry about with them he concludes with triumphing in the Grace of the Gospel v. 25. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord farther explaining himself in the following Words ch 8.1 2 3 4. There is therefore now no Condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit For the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the Law of Sin and Death For what the Law could not do in that it was weak through the Flesh God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful Flesh and as a Sacrifice for Sin condemned Sin in the Flesh that the Righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit as much as to say that by embracing the Gospel of Christ he was not only freed from Condemnation on account either of his past Faults or his present unavoidable Infirmities but moreover received strength through the assistance of the Spirit of Christ which would enable him sincerely though not without all impersection to obey the Laws of God and to attain to that Righteousness which through the inordinacy of the Flesh and the weakness of the Mosaical Institution he could not attain to before For the same reason elsewhere comparing the Law with the Gospel he gives the preference to the latter in very significant terms The Law he stiles the Ministration of the Letter 2 Cor. 3.3 6 7 8 9. which killeth the Gospel the Ministration of the Spirit which giveth Life One