Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	bread_n	cup_n	eat_v	7,692	5	7.7115	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93343	Symptomes of growth & decay to godlinesse in LX. signs of a living and dying Christian. With the causes of decay, and remedies for recovery. / By Francis Smith.	Smith, Francis, fl. 1657-1689.	1660 (1660)	Wing S4030; Thomason E2114_2; ESTC R212664	107,653	255

The necessity of believing this is evidenced by the sad consequence of the contrary for denying Christ Jesus to be a fleshly substance and converting him into a Spirit any Spirit or every Spirit and so in truth deny the Christ of God And then blind injudicious men may form to themselves and world what they will fancy to call their Christ This premised I shall now speak of offences what they are and what offences are not to hinder There are three sorts of Offences First Offences given and taken Secondly Offences given and not taken Thirdly Offences taken and not given First Offences given and taken are such as when Nations or Persons when not provoked by invasion to defend yet by invadeing others will offend now they that defend defending here Offences are given and taken Secondly Offences given and not taken when we bless them that curse us do good to them that do hurt to us pray for them that despightfully use us Thridly Of●●nces taken and not given are when at a seeming and no real cause persons are moved and disquieted Christ Jesus coming in the dayes of his humiliation not as he will come after the dayes of his exaltation or at his second coming proved a seeming cause was no real cause for the Jews to stumble at him his visage was marred more than any mans when they looked for him to come and presently restore Israel Now such Offences taken and not given is the intent of this sixt Sign under the terme Small so that when persons give way to their passions and are so moved at something which seems to be a just Offence to them from brethren or any other without or before they had duly weighed not suspending all kind of dislike till in the ballance they have tryed whether it be really an Offence or but seemingly so is a sign of great weakness proving that such are under some spiritual decay marked out though upon another account by Christ Jesus Mat. 13. 20 21. But he that received the seed into stony places the same is he that heareth the word and anon with joy receiveth it but when tribulation and persecution ariseth because of the word by and by be is offended Now persecution and tribulation is no real cause of Offences but rather an encouragement to hold fast the word being one common mark such are in the truth the Apostle Paul makes it an argument of this kind 1 Thes 3. 5. For this cause when I could no longer forbear I sent to know your faith least by some means the tempter have tempted you and our labour be in vain We would have no man moved by these afflictions for your selves know we are appointed thereto and instead of being offended we are commanded to glory in tribulation this may teach us to bemoan such and beg them be warn'd not to keep themselves from Christs Table because of this or that seeming or real miscarriage in others if in order to their reducement from it we have done our duty For any therefore to estrange themselves from Christs Table it being no less than a refusing the food he hath prepared because things go not just as they would have them doth greatly argue the stop to be in themseves though not by such heeded they being great wanderers abroad into the wayes of others perhaps more busying themselves than they ought and yet as great strangers at home to self-examination and due personal preparation which where ever it is is that indeed that so warrantably cals persons to come to Christ Jesus Feast of Bread and Wine purchased with his blood that negligence therein will prove no less than their great sin What is it therefore that should keep us from that service wherein by faith we are to feed as it were upon the flesh of the Son of God Whose flesh is meat indeed and whose blood is drink indeed Truly nothing but self-unworthiness or unpreparedness Surely surely the spiritual growing Christian whose hungrings and thirstings are after hourly communion with Jesus Christ can better forgo his natural food a thousand times than yeild to a stop from this performance Let us therefore examine our selves that we are meet subjects discerning the Lords Body and so let us eat that Bread and drink that Cup. Now the Causes of this decay or yeilding upon small Offences to absent from Christs Table may be these three First Too great Ignorance who are the Subjects Christ calls to this Service Secondly Too too great aptness to be easily provoked Thirdly Want of Love to Jesus Christ the Author of this Service First Too great Ignorance who are the Subjects Christ calls to this Service which consists in a misconstruing his general invitation to all penitent believing baptized Disciples who have had an orderly admittance thus far and by way of Precept are injoyned both to come to this Service and continue in it The same day were added to the Church three thousand souls and they continued stedfast in the Apostles doctrine fellowship breaking of Bread and prayer it is peculiarly unto such appointed and sanctified that they may keep in remembrance their Lord and Saviour So often as ye eat this Bread and drink this Cup ye do shew forth the Lords death till he come But I would not be mistaken here as that I mean the outward badge of these only makes right Subjects for Christs Call yet this outward must be but wo to it when it is alone The Kings daughter is to be all glorious within as well as her garment of pure gold The hungerer and thirster after his supply that sensibly sees all his springs to be in him and as the Hart panteth after the brooks of water hath his foul crying Oh when shall I come and appear before him negligence to be thus fitted causeth ignorance of Christs Call But Secondly Too too great aptness to be easily provoked Some Christians are so weak that they will be still forming discontent to themselves ill interpreting others actions and straining at every Gnat which generally comes through weakness in judgment and unaptness to be busying themselves with their high Calling the worth of Gods gracious priviledges afforded them by which means the inward man is too much raked or made raw and so apt to smart at every little touch as special care therefore must be had in Churches that none give just offence so that none upon too light account take offence for it doth but argue such Children or Babes in Christianity and greatly robs themselves of that spiritual refreshing strength that otherwise might be their present portion and fills their heart with disquieting thoughts to the hindring their spiritual appetite from taking in that rich refreshment Christ Jesus Table is furnisht with for every prepared guest But Thirdly Want of love to Jesus Christ the Author of this Service All those motives that provokes the heart to love Jesus Christ should be active now viz. The greatness of his love to purchase

upon him by pouring out their wants before him Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil Mat. 6. What hath been said may teach two things First the lamentable condition of such as neither can nor will pray that are as unaccustomed to it as the Heifer to the yoak living absolute Athiests in the World saying in their heart if not in their actions too there is no God Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen and families that call not upon thy name Secondly This teacheth to strengthen the hearts and hands of such as fear God to this service of prayer it being part of their defence or Armor Ephes 6. Praying alwayes with all prayer and suppliaction in the spirit watching thereunto with all perseverance c. When thou saidest seek my face my heart said thy face Lord will I seek thou wilt hide me in thy Pavillion Psal 27. 4 5 6 7 8 9. Read and consider so pass to the next Sign CHAP. XXII Containing in it an Assertion of the Causes of Affliction and that without great provocation God is not wont to afflict his people and though provoked very unwilling to extremity With four Objections that seem to complain against this Doctrine Answered SIGN XXII VVHen you are mighty careless to Inquire after the spiritual cause of Affliction and mighty careful to Inquire after the natural cure The more or less spiritual any man is may be easily discovered under this Tryal Affliction being of that piercing kind that other tryals are not because of the great influence it hath upon the sensitive part of man where ever it comes while sense remains it makes the person restless either to find out cause or cure or both We may therefore first inquire after the word Affliction what that meaneth to afflict is to lay some burthen upon a person that is not ordinary Gen. 15. 13. There they shall afflict you four hundred years this is opened in Exod. 1. Israel is made to serve with rigor Lam. 1. 4. 5. The wayes of Zion do mourn because none come to the solemn feasts all her gates are desolate her Priests sigh her virgins are afflicted and she is in bitterness I have seen I have seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt by reason of his task-master Acts 3. 34. By these Texts it appears that affliction meaneth any grief or trouble that cometh upon soul or body name or estate for the punishment of sin or the tryal of faith so that sickness and diseases as feavor and ague consumption inflamation the like are all comprised under this word affliction it will therefore be necessary to open the word Spiritual cause it being in the Sign oposed to natural cure by spiritual cause is to be understood some provoking God in the subject afflicted to the procuring this affliction nothing some cause or other why the Spirit suffers it to come upon us Now every body will be ready to grant that these things before promised may be truly called affliction but not grant that there can be such a spiritual cause in themselves and so make the Sign of no force Now to clear up this doubt let us make this inquiry whether any affliction or death it self come upon any man but for some cause or other from the man active or imputive that is he either so acted in his particular person or some body else in his general relation and on him it is righteously come For the resolution of this question let us inquire what causes in Scripture the righteous God assigns afflictions or death unto Gen. 3. 9 10 11 12 13. Who told thee thou wert naked hast thou eaten of the Tree I commanded thee not to eat the things in this Chapter considerable are these vers 14. the Serpent must go upon his belly eat dust and be curst above every beast of the field vers 16. to the woman he saith I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children and to Adam he saith Cursed is the Ground for thy sake Thornes and Thisles it shall bring forth to thee dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return you see in these verses misery both upon the woman and the man is brought the reason by God assigned vers 17. Because thou hast done this in hearkning to thy wife cursed is the ground for thy sake so also Josh 7. 7. Israel Gods prevailing people that by day had a pillar of a cloude and by night a pillar of fire ministring unto them now cannot stand before their enemies Joshua that at another time commands the Sun and Moon and they obey him now by prayer cannot prevail for Israel Gods people against the cursed Nation But what is the matter vers 11 12. Israel hath sinned and cannot stand neither will I be with them any more except they put the accursed thing from among them Lam. 3. 1 13. I am the man that have seen affliction vers 39. Wherefore doth a living man complain a man for the punishment of his sin 1 Cor. 11. 3. For this Cause many are sick and weak and many sleep 1 Thes 2. 11. For this Cause God shall send them strong delusion that they all might be damned that believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness and let all the House of Israel know that without a Cause I have not done all that I have done saith the Lord Ezek. 14. 23. Much more might be said as to afflictions that attend both the body and mind together with the Causes and this left to consideration whether if Hell condemnation the highest of affliction be the fruit or reward of sin and unbelief much rather sickness and diseases with death it self which are the least afflictions must come from Creature Causes now if any man can assign any other Cause than God doth here assign let him do it if not by all this comparing of it with the eighth Sign of dying to Christ in which I have been more large upon affliction inward and outward with their Causes I shall therefore proceed to some Objections that seem to complain against this Doctrine Object 1. The first Objection is grounded upon 2 Sam. 12. 14. The Child that is born to thee shall surely die David is threatned with death in the child that hath not offended contrary to this Doctrine Answ This act of God to take away Davids Child if considered will be found mercy mixt with justice David by the Law was to die for the matter of Vriah now God in respect he bare to David for what good he had done and further were like to do being a man so after Gods own heart goes out of the ordinary way spares the person of David and imputes it upon the relation of David viz. his Child so in Davids seed he punished Davids person this is Gods usual way in Scripture and sets his Majesty out to be full of mercy in the middest of Justice