Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	bring_v	lust_n	sin_n	9,234	5	6.5125	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26121	[The life of St. Antony originally written in Greek by St. Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria ; faithfully translated out of the Greek by D.S. ; to which the lives of some others of those holy men are intended to be added, out of the best approved authors.]; Life of St. Antony. English	Athanasius, Saint, Patriarch of Alexandria, d. 373.; D. S.	1697 (1697)	Wing A4107; ESTC R1937	47,348	99

from excess of Pleasure and rears up the Soul when it begins to stoop Wherefore having set foot in the path of Vertue let us advance faster and faster and that we may be Masters of all Opportunities before us let none of us look back as did Lot's Wife for our Lord hath positively said that No one that puts his hand to the Plough and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of Heaven Now by the Expression look back is meant nothing else but to change our Thoughts and to relish the Things of this World Be not startled when ye hear any thing of Vertue neither think strange of the Name for 't is not far from us nor without us but the work is in our Power and an easie matter if we have but an hearty Resolution The Greeks travel and cross the Seas to learn Letters but we need not travel for the Kingdom of Heaven or to cross the Seas for Vertue for our Lord has told us before hand ●●k 17.21 The Kingdom of Heaven is within you Wherefore Vertue stands only in need of the Will since 't is within us and built up out of us For Vertue consists of a Soul which has a primitive Natural Temper Now the Mind is so when it has that Temper wherein it was created 'T was created very beautiful and upfight for which reason Jesus the Son of Nave bid the People Joshua 24.23 Incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel as John also Make strait your paths for the Soul 's being strait or upright does consist in its having its intellectual Faculty in that posture in which it was created Again When the Soul bends or is crooked from Nature's posture then the Soul has Evil imputed to it Wherefore the Business is not so difficult as some make it for if we continue as we were made we are in a State of Vertue But if we purpose things that are wicked we are arraigned before God for wicked Persons If this Accomplishment were such as that it must necessarily be procur'd from without us it would be difficult But since 't is within us let us keep our selves from evil filthy Purposes and having received so great a Trust from God let us keep our selves for God that he may own his Work when he sees it such as he made it Let us contend earnestly lest Wrath tyrannize or Lust domineer over it for 't is written The Wrath of Man worketh not the Righteousness of God But Lust when it hath conceived brings forth Sin and Sin when it is finished brings forth Death But since the Case is so with us let us be sincerely sober and as 't is written Keep our Hearts with all Diligence for we have shrewd and subtile Enemies even wicked Devils To which I add with the Apostle We wrestle not against Flesh and Blood but against Principalities and Powers against the Rulers of this World against Spiritual Wickednesses in high places for there is a vast rout of them in the Air against us Nor are they far from us But there is a great difference in Devils But to speak of their Nature and Diversity would take up too much time A Narrative of that kind must be the work of greater Abilities That which lies upon us as necessary to be known is their various Subtilties against us And here be it known that the Devils were not by Nature what they are by Name For God made nothing Evil But they were created Fair and Good But having fall'n from an Heavenly Prudence and now wheeling about the Earth they deceived the Gentiles with their Phantasies And now that they envy us Christians they leave no stone unturn'd to hinder us from Entring into the Kingdom of Heaven lest we should get thither whence they fell therefore we stand in need of much Prayer and Exercise till we obtain the Gift of discerning of Spirits for when once a Man has obtain'd that he may be able to know which of them is more and which less Wicked and whither their different Endeavours mostly tend and by what Means every one of them may be conquered and cast out For they have several Wiles and Stratagems Hence came that Saying of the Apostle and his Followers For we are not ignorant of his Devices 2 Cor. 2.11 Since therefore we are tempted by them we should be setting one another's Souls to rights Wherefore I having partly experienced their Wiles do now but as a Child speak something to you about them Well then If they observe any Christians especially Monks labouring hard to make a considerable Progress in Vertue they assault and tempt them by laying continual obstacles in their way viz. evil Thoughts But however we should not be afraid of their Threats for by Prayer and Fasting and Faith in God they quickly fall But after they have been thrown they don't desist but presently come again subtlely and deceitfully for if they cann't cheat our Hearts by gross Pleasures they will assault us another way striving to terrifie us by false Appearances and transforming themselves into the Shapes of Women Beasts Serpents Bulky Bodies and Armies of Souldiers Even then our Hea●●● should not mis-give us for they are nothing and presently dis-appear especially if the Christian immures and fortifies himself with the Faith and the Sign of the Cross But still they are very bold and impudent for when they have been thus vanquished they set upon us another way and pretend to Prophecy and foretell things to come Also to scare us they will represent themselves so Tall as to touch the Cieling and proportionably Broad that they may steal those away by such Delusions whom they could not deceive by their Sophistry But if they find a Soul so secur'd with Faith and that Hope which attends true Repentance as to resist them still at last they bring the Prince of the Devils 16. He said also that the Devil often appeared just as he is described in Job 41.18 19 20. His Eyes are like the Eye-lids of the Morning Out of his Mouth go burning Lamps and sparks of Fire leap out Out of his Nostrils goeth Smoke as out of a Seething-pot or Caldron When the Prince of the Devils makes such a figure the old Impostor strikes Terrour upon Flesh and speaks very big And therefore he is upbraided where we read He esteemeth Iron as Straw and Brass as rotten Wood and looks upon the Sea as a Pot of Oyntment and the deep Abyss as his Conquest even the Abyss is to him as a Walk And by the Prophet Ezek. 15.9 the Enemy said I will and will overtake And again by another Prophet Isa 10.14 I will grasp the whole Earth in my hand like a Nest and take it up like forsaken Eggs. And to speak all in one Word they often make such Brags and Promises only to deceive those who worship God But we that are Faithful should not fear his Appearances nor give ear to his Words for he is a Lyar

he has not let him not glory but let him continue in that which is Good and not be Negligent or contemn his Neighbour neither Let him justifie himself till as the Blessed Apostle says the Lord come who searcheth into the most secret things for we are often even to our selves in the dark as to what we do we are ignorant But the Lord comprehends all things Wherefore yielding and ascribing Judgment to him let us be Patient one with another and bear one another's Burthens and Judge our selves and whereinsoever we are behind hand let us strive to fill up our Defects And pray let me desire you to take this Rule as a Preservative against Offending Let all of us mark and write down all our Actions and Motions in order to declare them to one another and ye may be confident that if we always blush to be known we shall forbear offending nay so much as thinking any ill thing for Who would Sin a Sin for which he must presently undergo open Shame By this Means who-ever offends cann't be secret without lying By this Means we should never fornicate as being always in one another's Sight But by writing and communicating our Thoughts we shall keep from inward Impurity through Shame of having it known Let our Paper therefore serve us instead of the Eyes of our Fellow-Asceticks that our blushing when we write them down in order to be seen may prevent our Lusting amiss in any case By keeping close to this Model of Discipline we shall have Power to subdue the Body and so please the Lord and to tread the Wiles of the Enemy under Feet This he said to all that met him He us'd to sympathize and pray together with all Sufferers and in many Cases the Lord heard him When he was heard he did not boast and when he was not heard he did not murmur But he always and in all Circumstances gave Thanks unto the Lord. He exhorted Patients to Long-suffering and made them know that Healing was not from him or from Men but of the Lord who acts as he pleases both as to what he does and as to the time when he does it Such Discourse as this was to them as a Cure none despising his Lectures But those whose Illness continu'd learnt from him to be patient and those that were Cur'd not to give Thanks to him but to God alone Among others one Fronto a Courtier having a terrible Sickness which eat his Tongue and just affected his Eyes came in the Mount and desir'd Antony to pray for him St. Antony at his request pray'd to God for Fronto and bid him be gone and he should be Healed 29. But Fronto having got into his Cell by Violence and tarrying a whole Day there Antony said Whilst you tarry here you cann't be cur'd Be gone and by that time you come within Sight of Egypt you shall see a Sign wrought upon you St. Antony speaking so positively he was satisfy'd and went his way and as soon as he saw Egypt he was rid of his Malady and became a Sound Man as Antony had assur'd him There is another Remarkable Cure which I must not omit 30. A certain Virgin of Tripolis had a very terrible and foul Distemper for her Tears and her Snot and the running of her Ears turn'd into Worms after it fell upon the Ground besides too she was very Paralytical and had very unnatural Eyes Her Parents having been inform'd of St. Antony by some Monks that were travelling to him and trusting in our Lord who as we read Matt. 20. cur'd an Issue of Blood requested that she might travel with them They granting her request the Child and her Parents went with them and when they came tarry'd without the Mount with Paphnatius a Confessor and a Monk The other Monks went in to St. Antony and just as they were going to acquaint him with it he prevented them and told them of the Child's Disease and her Travelling with them Hearing this they requested the Child might be permitted to enter but St. Antony deny'd their request and bid them go out and they would find the Child either Heal'd or Dead For said he Healing is not an Act of mine Why should she come to me who am a miserable Man To Cure is the Property of our Saviour who exercises Mercy in every Place over all that call upon Him and therefore has favour'd her and her Prayer and has manifested this particular Instance of his Philanthropy to me viz. that he will cure the Child's Disease there This caus'd great Admiration amongst them and they went out and found the Parents Rejoycing and the Child Healthy from that time 31. About this time there had Two Brethren entred upon a Journey and for want of Water one dy'd upon the way and the other was not far from Dying too and therefore having no Strength to travel he also lay upon the Ground expecting to die Now Antony was sitting upon the Mount and call'd Two Monks to him that were hard by and said to them Pray take a Pitcher of Water and run Egypt Road-way for one of two Fellow-Travellers is already dead and the other will die too unless ye make haste for this was discover'd to me as I was a Praying Accordingly the Two Monks went and buried their dead Brother and reviv'd the other and brought him to their venerable Father who was at the distance of a whole Day 's Journey from them If any one should ask Why Antony did not speak before the other dy'd he asks an improper Question for the Sentence of Death did not belong to Antony but to God who determin'd Death for the one and a Recovery by Antony's inter-Agency for the other That which is to be admir'd in Antony is That he had a Soul so stay'd and sedate as to be shew'd things at such a distance by the Lord upon the Mount 32. And a little after as he was sitting again upon the Mount he saw one lifted up on high from the Mount and a great deal of Joy in all that met him He could not but admire and call the Company Blessed and pray'd to know what that might be Then presently came a Voice and told him that 't was the Soul of Ammun a Monk of Nitria Now the distance between Nitria and that Mount is Thirteen Days Journey The Monks seeing the Old Man for he continu'd an Ascetick to his Old Age in such a Maze desired to know the reason of ●t St. Antony told them that Ammun was dead For this Monk was very well known among them because he often came thither and many Miracles were done by him of which this is one Having once an Occasion to go over the River Lycus which was a great Inundation of Waters he desired Theodore to go at a distance from him that they might not see one another Naked as they swam over Then Theodore withdrawing he blush'd to see himself again Naked And as he was blushing