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	world_n	13,005	5	4.9109	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A81105	A sermon preached in the parish-church of St Nicholas, in the city of Bristol, August the 27th, 1691 Being the anniversary festival of the natives of that city. By Thomas Cary, M.A. and vicar of the parish of St Philip and Jacob, in the city of Bristol.	Cary, Thomas, 1648 or 9-1711.	1691 (1691)	Wing C743BA; ESTC R222493	16,665	34

hands be the Executors of our Charity while we live and then a Death-bed Charity will be rendred acceptable Let us consider the uncertainty of all things in this World thou who now aboundest mayst shortly be reduced to want Fortune storms a losty Castle and passeth over a low Cottage a blustring Wind shakes the top of a tall Cedar while the humble Shrub remains unmov'd an ambitious Mountain that aspires up to Heaven is sooner thunder-struck than the Valley Let then the Rich sympathize with the Miseries of the Poor because they are subject to them Remember them that are in bonds as bound with them and them which suffer adversity as being your selves also in the body Heb. 13. 3. 4. The happiness of Humane Life consists in a good Conscience towards God and Man Without Peace with God all Temporal Blessings are but Vanity and Vexation of Spirit there can be no Calm within when God is angry without and when the Mind is uneasie within the whole World cannot give the least Contentment A good Conscience crowns the Blessings of God with Comfort it is the Soul's Health and the Body's Cordial the Salt that seasons Earthly Blessings and makes them relishable it gives Joy in Sorrow Comfort in Afflications and is a hearty Friend in the Day of Adverisity Whether we are Rich or Poor we can carry nothing out of the World with us but a good or an evil Conscience one of those will abide with us for ever Holiness is the life of the Soul and a good Conscience its proper Comfort As he that is in Health will feed on ordinary Diet with delight while the sick Stomach loaths the most delicious Meats so to a good Conscience the worst Condition is pleasant but to an evil Conscience all worldly Pleasures are but vexatious Torments A good Man will be contented with much or with little or with nothing because he finds a full satisfaction in the All-sufficient God Life is then happy when we can look backward without shame and forward without fear when we can expect Death with Comfort and meet it with Courage when we can meditate on the Terrours of Judgment without being afraid of them and have a sense of our Reconciliation with God by Christ A good Conscience will make our Beds easie and our Pillows soft it will fortifie us against the Fears of Death and Judgment and revive our Souls when our Bodies languish under our last Pangs God only and his Grace content us in every State God being immutably the same he that enjoys him hath always enough In all the Ebbings and Flowings of the World a good Man is fixt upon a solid Foundation because the Object of his happiness is not subject to change Godliness with contentment is great gain and godliness is profitable to all things having the promise of the life which now is and that which is to come 1 Tim. 4. 8. Let us not then seek Happiness from the vain and empty World its Pleasures are deceitful fugitive and fading its Comforts are allayed with Sorrows its Joys are mixt with Grief its fairest Days have their Clouds to darken them The World is of little use to the Soul while it lives in it and of no use at all when it goes out of it it is confined to the Body in this state of Probation to prepare itsself for a blessed Eternity and then to go hence and dwell in a World of Spirits separate Souls have no use of any thing that worldly Riches can purchase How then do they debase their Souls who make them Slaves to their Bodies How do they undervalue them who give them away for the World Time is but an Instant if compared with Eternity our Lives are but a Point if compared with the whole Line of Time our pleasant Hours are but a Moment if compared with our whole Lives What folly is it then to part with our Souls for fading things which we must leave when we die and may leave before Temporal things are to be used not enjoyed God is the Object of fruition the World of use the World may have our hands God ought to have our whole hearts But this I say brethren the time is short it remaineth that both they that have wives be as though they bad none and they that weep as though they wept not and they that rejoyce as though they rejoyeed not and they that buy as though they possessed not and they that use this world as not abusing it for the fashion of this world passeth away 1 Cor. 7. 29 30. When the Disciples admired to our Saviour the magnificent Buildings of the Temple he diverted them with this Consideration See ye not all these things Verily I say unto you there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down Mat. 24. 2. So when we are tempted with the Riches of this World let us fortifie ourselves with this meditation See ye not all these things they shall shortly be found no where but in the Ashes of an Universal Dissolution To conclude Let us seek happiness there where only it may be found God only is the proper satisfaction of Spirits the Home of Souls and the Center on whom alone they can rest Let us then present our Hearts to God make his Will our Rule and imitate him in holiness there is no true happiness without Union with God by Faith and Love let us then serve him with pure hearts adore him with all the powers of our Souls meditate upon him and live to him and then when this World shall be dissolved we shall have a Building of God a House not made with hands eternal in the Heavens Now to God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Ghost Three Persons and One Eternal God be all Honour Glory Love and Adoration henceforth and for evermore Amen FINIS

concur with his Providence believing that state of Life to be best which God judgeth fittest When we have this Principle of Contentment within our selves our hearts are at rest we are satisfied with the present and may cheerfully rely on God for the future we are then prepared for every Condition of Life because he whose will is swallowed up in the will of God doth always choose what God sends it sweetens Afflictions mitigates Sorrows and increaseth Joys when we can command our desires a little will serve to render this Life comfortable in short we cannot be happy without content we cannot be content unless we have our wills we cannot have our wills any other way than by making GOD's will our will and therefore without a hearty resignation of our selves to God Humane Life cannot be happy 3. The happiness of Humane Life consists in doing good Riches are good or evil as the Man is that enjoys them they are not laudably good or criminally evil in themselves but we make them good or evil by our management of them they are never to be desired but for those uses for which they were intended in a good Man's hands they afford means and opportunities of acting many excellent Vertues as Charity Liberality and Hospitality in a wicked Man's hands they are but the Vigour of Vice the Fuel of Lust the Snates of the Devil at the best but a Talent wrapt up in a Napkin Let us make a good use of God's Blessings and then we shall be happy here and hereafter The end of life is to do good all comfortable Reflections come from good Actions good Works justifie our Faith Charity to the Poor will sanctifie the Blessings of God to us we cannot do better than in giving to God what he hath bountifully given us this is to make an Offering to God of what others make an Idol To do good is to imitate the highest Perfection to be Benefactors to the Poor is to resemble our heavenly Father But love ye your enemies and do good and lend hoping for nothing again and your reward shall be great and ye shall be the children of the highest for he is kind to the unthankful and to the evil be ye therefore merciful as your Father also is merciful Luke 6. 35. It is the Character of Christ the Son of God That he went about doing good let us imitate him as we have opportunity in doing good unto all men especially unto them who are of the houshold of faith to do good and to communicate forget not for with such sacrifices God is well pleased Heb. 13. 16. The more good we do the more peace shall we have in our own Souls the more favour with God the more comfort when we reflect on our past Lives the more assurance of Heaven when we come to die and the greater reward in glory unto all eternity Charge them that are rich in this world that they be not high-minded nor trust in uncertain riches but in the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy that they do good and that they be rich in good works ready to distribute willing to communicate laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come that they may lay hold on eternal life 1 Tim. 6. 17 18. To do good is to live up to that Noble End for which we were born and to act according to the Dignity of our Beings He who comes into the World and goes out of it again without doing any good is born in vain and may be reckoned rather among the dead than the living yea he is as useless as if he had never been Riches are a Talent committed to our charge by God he expects we should imploy this Talent to good Uses The Rich are God's Almoners whom he hath chosen to distribute his Bounty He gave not Riches that Men should rust in Idleness and surfeit with Luxury but that we might have opportunities of doing good Nothing can procure a greater Reputation either with God or Man than Charity to the Poor to build an Alms-house is the best way to perpetuate our Memories Liberality commands Honour and Respect the only lawful way to grow Popular is to keep an hospitable Table to cloath the Naked is to give the richest Livery to seed the Hungry to give drink to the Thirsty to visit Prisoners and redeem Captives is a glorious and God-like Work Doing good doth affect the Mind with rational Pleasures it is a degree of Heaven to look back upon a Life full of good Works a reflection upon a good Action is as grateful to the Soul as Meat to an hungry Stomach It was Job's Comfort in his Adversity that he was charitable in his Prosperity I delivered the poor that cried and the fatherless and him that had none to help him The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me and I caused the windows heart to sing for joy I was eyes to the blind and feet was I to the lame I was a father to the poor Job 29. 12 13. When God had finished the Works of his Creation he rested with delight and satisfaction when he saw that all that he had done was good And when we have served our Generations by doing good what a pleasure will it be to reflect upon our past Actions it will be a Jubilee of Joy to us when we are going off the Stage of Life to be assured we acted our parts well while we were on it The increase of worldly riches increaseth sorrow the pleasures of Sense are short-liv'd and leave a sting behind worldly Honour is a Wind that will either blow a Man down or puff him up but good Actions give a sincere Joy solid Satisfaction and a lasting Peace If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry and satisfie the afflicted soul then shall thy light rise in obscurity and thy darkness shall be as the noon-day and the Lord shall guide thee continuelly and satisfie thy soul in draught and make fat thy bones and thou shalt be like a watered garden and like a spring of water whose waters fail not Is 58. 10 11. Charity my Honoured Country-men is the Work of this day it were not worth our while to meet unless in order to collect for the Poor while we feast it is most improper to suffer them to starve Let us then ennoble our Society by our generous Charity let us signalize our selves to our Fellow-Citizens by our liberal Distributions Let us give to the Poor in our Health for Charity on a dying Bed is not so acceptable to God it is no great Vertue to give that away which we cannot keep any longer or to surrender that which will be taken from us by force If we are charitable in our health the Poor will pray for us but if our Charity doth not commence till after Death their Prayers are vain and therefore cannot do us any good let our own