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	soul_n	zion_n	33	3	8.5898	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61197	The royal and happy poverty or, a meditation on the felicities of an innocent and happy poverty: grounded on the fifth of Matthew, the third verse. And addressed to the late and present sufferers of the times.	Sprigg, William, fl. 1657.	1660 (1660)	Wing S5081; ESTC R221805	40,412	115

imployment or profession rather than the Ministery that like Esau they sell their birth-right for a mess of pottage or as Christ said to Martha Martha Martha thy Sister hath chosen the better part So may we not say to these Gallants Your younger Brethren have chosen or rather gotten the better part that Iacob hath supplanted Esau and is gone away with the blessing In the Primitive and Virgin Age of the World before it was deflowred and debauch'd by ill customes and therefore celebrated by the wanton pens of Poets under the name of the Golden Age the Heads of Families both taught and govern'd the rest of their Brethren which as it was the first original Copy of Government so may rationally be presum'd the fairest and less blur'd with Tyranny than those more imperfect modern Transcripts that latter Ages have drawn in lines of blood It was a custome among the Romans if any Souldier had sav'd the life of a Citizen to reward his val or with their Corona Civica to bestow some special mark of Honor on him Of how great honor then may he be thought worthy that reprieves the life of a Citizen of the New Ierusalem that saves a soul not from a natural a temporal but an eternal death The gratitude of Alexander acknowledged himself no less beholding to his Master Aristotle than to his Father Philip as having receiv'd from him nothing but his being and simply to live whereas from Aristotle he had receiv'd his well-being and how to live well I am sure we are more indebted to our Spiritual Parents that have begotten us unto the Lord that have been the means and instruments of Regeneration of forming the New-birth and bringing forth Christ in us than we are to our Natural Parents that brought us into the world into this vale of tears and misery Oh! it s a glorious thing to save Souls to snatch poor Souls like brands out of the fire of Hell to rescue a soul from the jaws of Eternal Death to be an Index Mercurius to direct and shew men the way to Sion This is a holy ambition and worthy of the bravest spirit to save one soul being more glorious than to conquer a thousand worlds The profane adulation of the Romans Deified their Emperours and there being a new Star discovered about the time of Iulius his death the credulity of their Superstition prompted them to believe it Caesars Soul But we may without either flattery or Superstition safely believe that such Souls shall shine as bright and resplendent Stars in the Firmament of Glory the light of whose Life and Doctrine while here on earth lead many to Christ For certain were the Conversion of a Soul a slight business there would not be such solemn Triumphs in Heaven such shoutings and rejoycings among the Angels at the Conversion of one sinner And that this may fall with more weight and leave the greater impression on our spirits it may be worth our while to consider that whensoever we loose or let slip an opportunity of doing good whensoever we neglect reclaiming any poor wildred soul that is lost and intangled in his own inventions and straying after his own imaginations if he die in his sins and perish from the way of Life how if God should require his Soul at our hands It s said in the Law By whosoevers hands mans blood is shed his blood shall be shed Now if they that prevent not Murder when it s in their power contract much of the guilt and become accessary to the crime shall not we be stain'd with the guilt and become accessary to the Eternal death of our Brother if we put not forth our endeavours to convert and reclaim him especially of such as the hand of Providence hath deliver'd over to our care and as it were put under the wing of our protection May not God thus require of Masters of Families the blood of many that have perish'd that have miscarried under their charge and of Magistrates the blood of the People and their Subjects It will not excuse us to say that we are no Divines Divinity is none of our profession Is it not enough that we pretend to be Christians that we wear the Livery of Christs Name that we make profession of the Gospel ought not then Divinity to be every one of our Studies every one of our professions Did God require under the Law that if our enemies sheep fell into a pit we should help it out And will he not require that if our Neighbour our friend fall we should be so unchristian so unnatural so inhumane as not to put forth our hand to help him up Can we do one another a more friendly office a greater kindness a more rich a more Noble a more obliging favour than like the good Samaritan to poure Wine and Oyl into one anothers wounds than to wash dress and cleanse the spiritual soars of one anothers Souls Can we any way do a more charitable and Christian Office It s reported of a good Heathen that whensoever he had not gain'd a new friend or by some Noble Office of Love or Friendship oblig'd someone or other to him so great was the generosity of his mind he us'd to say at night diem perdidi alas I have lost a day as counting that day unworthy to be numbered and reckon'd to the Calender of his life in which he had done no good And shall not we Christians sit down every evening and take account of our selves what good we have done each day and with Iob curse that day and account it as altogether lost and unworthy to be numbred in which we have gain'd no opportunity of doing good Doth God require we should honor him with our substance and will he not likewise expect we should honor him with our parts and faculties Will he not expect that all our talents should be put forth to use that our whole stock should be laid out and improved for bringing in some Revenue some tribute of honor to the Exchequer of his Name and Glory though it be as small as the Widdows mite it will be accepted Let every one therefore take heed of hiding his Talent of laying it up in a Napkin of burying it under ground least it be taken from him Doth God require the seventh part of our time and the tenth part of our estates and will he not likewise require some tythe of our gifts and faculties Hath God opened to any one a door of utterance given him the Tongue of the Learned bestowed on him the gift of Eloquence let him not think he may do therewith as he pleaseth or that he can make a better use thereof than by becoming an Orator for God to court and woe men to come in unto the Lord Jesus and accept of the offers and tenders of Love Mercy and Grace that are made unto them in the Gospel as God shall put opportunities into his hand for is it not a Noble