Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	bury_v	dead_a	sin_n	5,094	5	5.2194	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A72251	The conditions of Christianity, or, The termes upon which Christ will be followed a necessary consideration for them that otherwise would bee apt to take up religion upon trust, and only keep company with Christ awhile for fashion sake / by Mr. Christopher Harvey, sometime minister of Gods word at Bunbury in Cheshire.	Harvey, Christopher, d. ca. 1602.	1636 (1636)	STC 12897.5; ESTC S5223	17,435	83

kingdom of heaven and those eternall joyes which heart cannot thinke nor have ever entred into the mind of any man to bee blessed and happy for evermore I will not endeavour to ●ell you the excellency of them that shall follow Christ my tongue cannot utter it the tongue of any man is but the tongue of a ●abe to tell you these things a small tast thereof in our soules will en●lame us with a longing after it one glimpse therof is sufficient to ravish us with a desire of it Our Saviour in a word telleth his Disciples asking him what they shall have that have left all and followed him Mat. 19.28 that they shall participate with him in his soveraigne glory and in his kingdome shall sit on thrones like Princes and Iudge th● twelve tribes of Israel Ye● shall bee made Kings not o● earth or earthly things bu● of heaven 1 Cor. 6.3 yee shall judg● the tribes of Israel yea th● very Angels themselves ● as Paul teacheth Tha● thing which wee see th● greatest in this world to bee a King Matth. 20.23 a Iudge tha● which Zebedees Children desired in this life that and farre greater shall every one of them have that follow CHRIST not Zebedees Children but every one of us that follow Christ shall sit on his right hand in his heavenly kingdome But let us see what condition is required of them that must come to this exceeding glory what the price thereof is and what wee must lay out if wee will attaine it Two things Christ requireth First that wee should deny our selves that is utterly to renounce whatsoever is naturally in us whether it appertaine to our wit or knowledge or whether it belong to our affections actions deeds and practices For our owne wit not to credit it to refuse our own counsell to renounce what flesh and bloud putteth in our heads and to bee content to know nothing to understand nothing but what Christ hath taught us and willed us to know 1 Cor. 3.18 Which Saint Paul declareth when he saith that if any will be wise the onely way is to become a foole a foole to the world a foole to flesh and bloud a foole to all that have not submitted themselves to Christ this is the way to be wise this is the first steppe which we must make in following Christ The first thing when wee come into Christs Schoole that wee must tread upon is our owne necke A hard lesson deare brethren for flesh and bloud which naturally is puffed up with a selfe-liking of it selfe and of those things which belong to it which is the cause indeed 1 Cor. 1.26 that so few wise so few noble so few mighty are called to follow Christ for that they are hardly brought to this passe to deny and defie themselves to account of their wisedome as folly their strength weakenesse their nobility basenesse to esteeme all things in them as dung to winne Iesus Christ. And yet so it is that until we be brought to this passe to deny all that is in us to lay even our crownes at Christs feet we cannot follow him Neither must wee onely deny our knowledge wit and understanding to learne and know onely what Christ hath taught us but we must also deny our owne deeds such thoughts and works as wee are naturally given unto For hee that will follow Christ 1 Pet. 1.15 2 Cor. 6.14 15. must be holy as he is holy for what fellowship can there be betwixt light and darknesse Christ and the sonnes of Belial wicked and ungodly persons Amos 3.3 and our Saviour Christ Can two walke together except they bee agreed By nature wee are all sinners our hearts are set on fleshly lusts and ungodly deeds which God hateth and his soule hath no pleasure in and all sinners are his enemies whom his soule hateth Wherefore till such time as wee have denied these ungodly lusts and naturall transgressions wherein we walk even from our birth we are enemies to God and therfore being not agreed and made friends wee cannot walke together with God we cannot follow Christ 1 Ioh. 1.6 Wherefore Saint Iohn telleth us that whosoever saith that he hath fellowship with Christ that he is his companion that he followeth him and walketh in darkenesse in his owne way he lyeth there is no truth in him For none can follow CHRIST but hee that hath denyed himselfe forgone his wicked life which naturally he is inclined to and is become a new Creature Here we may mark that our Saviour biddeth us deny our selves Hee saith not deny ungodly workes deny the wisedome of the flesh though he meaneth as hath beene said such things but deny our selves to shew unto us the great corruption which is in our nature Rom. 6.6 that wee are not only sinfull but even sin it selfe as it were this body of sinne wee must deny our selves Col. 3.5 So Saint Paul calleth them our members Mortifie your earthly members To which purpose also the Scripture speaketh when it saith that we are not only sick in sinnes and trespasses Eph. 2.1 or wounded or maymed but even dead of no more power and ability to doe that which GOD liketh then dead men to performe the actions of this life Ioh. 5.25 28. And our Saviour Christ teacheth that it is the power of his Gospell to raise not such as are fallen not such as are a sleepe but even those that are dead yea such as are in the graves over whom death hath dominion who are buryed as dead men Ps 51.10 in sins and transgressions Which also the holy Prophets acknowledged when David prayeth not to reforme or amend as a thing in which some small fault was but to create a new heart within him to frame him again and cast him as it were in a new mould Create in me a cleane heart O Lord and renew a right spirit within mee If you aske of me how can this be This is an hard speech that wee are dead that we can doe nothing to what purpose then is Gods word preached to us Why are wee commanded to serve God to follow Christ If wee be dead we cannot doe it it is in vaine to command any such thing Nay God forbid we should so think Our Saviours words bee truth and life Hee saith his Gospell is preached even to them that are as dead men in the graves And how then Is that to any purpose Yea sure Ioh. 5.28 for hee saith that the power thereof is such that they shall heare which are in their graves We be dead in sinnes not able to move one whit to any good thing yet is the Gospell preached to us c. that it will quicken us it will revive and set us on our feet it will raise us from the death of sinne and create us anew to serve God and walke in his Commandements Which point the Lord openeth in the Prophet Ezekiel speaking of

sister in Law had returned but requested her not to will her so Intreat mee not saith shee to leave thee neither to depart from thee for whither thou goest I will goe where thou dwellest I will dwell thy people shall bee my people thy God my God where thou dyest will I dye and there will I be buryed the Lord doe so to me and more also if ought but death depart me and thee Did the curtesie which Naomi had shewed her daughter in law so tye her heart unto her that she was content to leave her owne people and her fathers house and her gods to go into a strange land to strange people yea to sweare solemnly that nothing but death should depart them What could Naomi do for Ruth a woman a widdow deprived of her husband and children now not Naomi beautifull but Marah bitter to whom GOD had given much bitternes whom hee had humbled and brought into adversity whom he had loaded with an heavy Crosse yet would not Ruth leave her shee would take up her Crosse and follow her till death should depart them Oh that faithfull soule which hath taken such delight in Christ as to love him as Ruth did Naomi that forsaketh father and mother wife and children all the world to goe after Christ who intreateth us not to leave him nor to depart from him but willeth us to follow him O happy man that hath said in his heart Lord Iesus which art sweet and in whom is no bitternesse whose love is pleasanter than Wine thou call est me after thee draw mee good LORD and I will runne after thee thou biddest mee take up my Crosse see LORD I am ready I rejoyce in all adversity I thinke my selfe happy that I suffer for thy names sake I will not leave thee O LORD nor depart from thee whithe● thou goest will I goe i● into banishment I leav● mine owne Country if into prison I refuse all liberty if into reproach an● reviling I give my cheeke● to the scorners where thou dwellest I will dwell thy people shall be my people thy God my God the Lord doe s● to me and more also if tribulation or anguish or persecution or famine or nakednesse or perill or the sword yea if death it selfe depart thee and me Death must depart Ruth and Naomi death cannot depart us and CHRIST Nay where their comfort ended there doth ours begin for death joyneth us most neere to Christ it taketh the Crosse from our shoulders and setteth a Crowne on our heads It maketh an end of all the love of this world man and wife that are one flesh are but tyed till death come death undoeth all knots but this wherewith the faithfull soule is tyed to Christ for this death maketh most sure which never shall bee loosed Ye see then that by the name of Crosse is meant all affliction which God layeth on us for our tryall and that this name is used to teach us that we must endure it how full of paine or shame soever it bee and that in it Christ doth after a sort partake with us Now it followeth in our Saviours words let him take up his Crosse daily and follow mee Take it up when or how long daily This is not added by our Saviour without just cause for such is our blindnesse and overthwartnesse in such things as God commandeth us that wee seeke for starting holes to shrinke out at and either make doubt of the matter or most commonly define of our selves what sence the things must beare which it pleaseth us to call in question So our Saviour having taught his Disciples and in them us to forgive our brethren if they offend or trespasse against us as wee pray our heavenly Father to forgive us Peter in whom yet flesh and bloud and the wisdome therof remained maketh a doubt where none was what our Saviours meaning should bee when he commanded him to forgive his brother Lord saith hee thou hast taught mee to forgive my brother but thou hast not told me how oft we must know that too how oft must I so doe what Mat. 18 2● till seaven times must I doe it so oft Our Saviour answereth I say not to thee seven times but seventy times seven times so oft as hee can offend thee so oft must thou forgive him Was it not a strange matte● that Peter should make such a doubt who was taugh● to pray forgive us our trespasses as wee forgive them that trespasse against us would Peter aske how oft GOD should forgive What seven times But so ignorant and blinde are we till God have opened our eyes This was a thing which flesh and bloud had revealed to Peter that hee must forgive his brother seaven times Wherefore our Saviour to remove such a question as might bee made Lord thou ' hast commanded us to take up our crosses and follow thee when must wee doe it when must we begin how long must wee hold on when must wee lay it downe what in our age when our strength is spent for seaven dayes or a yeare Nay our Saviour hath limited out the terme dayly every day there is no vacation the terme for this exercise endeth with this life This then is another thing diligently to be noted for there are many that fault herein Christ may have all the world to follow him if it were to eate bread to bee satisfied with such things as this present life desireth but not so many when they heare that they must carry a Crosse on their shoulders Yea many there are that would bee content to take up their Crosse too and so goe with him but they would have leave for a while to bid their kinsfolkes farewell to take leave of their Parents or to bury their Fathers yea some that have without delay forsaken all and followed him that in the midst of their journey have fainted Some that have layd their hands to this plough but not wholly regarding what they had in hand have looked backe to other matters and become unworthy of the kingdome of God These all were foolish builders that had not made a perfect account of their charges Wherefore we must take this with us for one part of our reckoning that the Crosse which we talked of must be taken up every day We are not for Christs company if to day we be content to carry his Crosse but not to morrow for either ever or never Wee have therfore here to note that in this life the children of God are not to looke for any rest but that as one day followeth another and one night another so one Crosse or calamity must accompany another Then that wee must be prepared to constancy and perseverance to settle our selves and be resolved unmoveable in this point whatsoever whensoever how oft soever it pleaseth God to lay his Crosse on us to beare it willingly and follow him Such was the estate of Gods Children yea of Christ himselfe to whom it behoveth