Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	david_n	king_n	saul_n	5,115	5	10.1244	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A45206	The dreadfulness of the plague. Or A sermon preached in the parish-church of St. John the Evangelist, December 6th. being a day of public fasting. By Jos. Hunter M.A. and minister in York	Hunter, Josiah, minister in York.	1666 (1666)	Wing H3766; ESTC R219103	15,661	32

none dare Traffick with him and this helps to add yet more to his discomfort for the Merchant will tell you that upon the ceasing of Trade there is not only l●●rum cesfans gain ceasing but there is likewise damn●● emergens loss arising because now a man is forced to take from his stock for necessary uses so that grant a man do escape with his life that is visited with the Plague I say suppose he hath his life for a prey what can he do without a livelihood and towards the procuring of this he is much disabled by the Plague So much in answer to the first Question Why the Plague 〈◊〉 so dreadful a judgment 1. Because it is so destructive 2. Because the destruction which it make● is so quick and sudden 3. Because it is so spreading And lastly because it is so uncomfortable for hereby a man i● deprived of the liberty of Gods house the liberty of Friends the liberty of Commerce The second question is what is it that provokes God to inflict this dreadful judgment of the Plague upon a people This is somewhat harder to determine what I purpose to say concerning it take in these three Conclusions 1. For certain God hath just cause given him before he do thus manifest his displeasure many of his wayes are unsearchable but none are unrighteous he can as soon cease to be as to be just if therefore at any time we cannot discerne what should be the cause let us charge our selves with ignorance but take heed of charging God with injustice after God had threatned the Jews with the Sword the Famine the noisomebeast and the Pestilence in Ezek. 14. he adds ver 23. Ye shal know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it saith the Lord and he expresseth himself yet more offended with them for standing upon their justification Jer. 2. 35. Thou sayest because I am innocent surely his anger shall turne from me behold I will plead with thee because thou sayest I have not sinned 2. This we may likewise safely affirm in the general that sin is the meritorious cause as of all other judgments so likewise this of the Plague The wrath of God i● revealed from Heaven saith the Apostle against what all ●nrighteousness and ungodliness of man Rom 1. 18. and it is the observation of a good man that as vapours ascend invisibly but come down again in storms and showers which we both see and feel so sometimes secret sins are the procuring cause of open and notorio●● punishments this of the Plague is threatned unto Disobedience Deut. 18. 3. What sins in particular may be the provoking cause of the Plague now or any other time is not so easy to conclude I think the safest way is one of these three 1. Either to attribute judgments that are general unto sins that are most general and what sin hath been of late years and is still most reigning in this Nation would require one better acquainted with the manners of it than I am whether Atheisme or Dissention or a mutinous inclination against all Authority or violation of Oaths or what else I will not say but whether these or others are the National sins at present they are hugely aggravated because God hath not honoured any Nation with more mercy and means of Grace than ours and therefore we could expect no other than that he should deal with us as he threatned he would do with his peculiar People Amos 2. 2. You only have I known of all the Families of the earth therefore I will punish you for your iniquities Or 2. If we know of any notorious National sin though committed several years since not yet so universally acknowledged and repented of we may think that is a great provocation ●nto God to scourge us with the Plagu● for this we have that famous instance of Saul's breaking Covenant with and s●aying the Gibeonites for which God punished the Land in the time of King David with three years Fami●e and would not be appeased till several of Saul's Sons were pu● to death 2. Sam. 23. 3. This is likewise a safe course to observe out of the Records of Sacred Writ for what sins God hath heretofore sent the Plague and look how far we are guilty of them so far may we attribute our visitati●n to them now in searching the Scripture I find that for six yea for seven transgressions God hath either threatned or sent the Plague I will but name them and leave them to your consideration 1. Despising of plenty and immoderate lusting after dainties so we read how the Israelites despised Manna whereof they had abundance and called it light bread but they lusted exceedingly after Quails for which God smote them with a very great Plague Numb 11. 33 34. 2. We read how they that brought up an evil report upon the Land of promise to the discouragement of the people and the dishono●r of God dyed of the Plague Numb 14. 37. 3. Seditious insurrections against Authority have drawn down the Plague this was the cause of that Plague in the Text. 4. Creature confidence boasting of or trusting in an Arm of flesh this is generally thought to be the cause of that Plague in the 2 Sam. 24. 5. Idolatry for this God wa● so incensed that he ●lew of the people at once 24000. with the Plague Numb 25. 6. Detaining and withholding from God his due unto this he threatens the Plague Exod. 30. 12. When thou takest the summ of the Children of Israel they shall give every man a Ransome for his Soul unto the Lord that there be no plague among them Lastly to all these I may add the contempt and abuse of the Lords Supper for when Saint Paul faith that many of the Corinthians were ●●ck and weak and many dy●d 1 Cor. 11. 30. it is not improbable that God sent amongst them some pestilential and contagious disease I have done with the second question What it is that provokes God to inflict this dreadful punishment of the Plague upon a people I hasten to the third The plague being such a token of Gods wrath whether doth it befall good men believers such as are in the state of justification for our satisfaction in this we may have recourse to that of Solomon Eccles 9. 1. 2. No man knoweth either love or hatred by all that 〈◊〉 before them all things come alike to all there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked to the clean and to the unclean to him that sacrificeth and to him that sacrificeth not as is the good so is the sinner and be that sweareth as he that feareth an Oath Ahab and Josiah's death concurred in the very circumstances and Saul and Jonathan though different in their deportments yet in their deaths they were not divided Here we shall do well to consider three things 1. That good men are subject to and guilty of many sins and enormities

he puts in this for one aggravation Mat. 24. 7. there shall be Famines and Pestilences these are the beginnings of sorrows the description which the Psalmist gives of the Plague hath much of terrour in it Psal 78. 49 50. He cast upon them the fierceness of hi● anger wrath indignation and trouble by sending evil Angels among●t them he made a way to his anger he spared not their Soul from death but gave their life over to the Pe●●ilence I read even of Hypoera●es that he was wont to call the Plague 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a special Divine judgment a stroke of Gods own bare hand as it were these and such like instances joyned with the experience of all Ages are enough to prove the Proposition For the farther explication of it I will answer these three Questions 1. Why the Plague 〈◊〉 so dreadful 2. What is it that provokes God to inflict it upon ● people 3. If it be such a token of Gods wrath whether it doth befall good men I mean Believers and those that are in the state of justification 1. Why the Plague 〈◊〉 so dreadful a t●ken of Gods wrath I answer 1. Because it is so destructive you shall seldome if at all read of the Pestilence in Scripture but Consume is joyned with it we may say of every man infected with it as David said once to Jonathan concerning himself there is but a step between death and him in that Family or City where the Plagve is ve●ement and raging we may say of them as God threatned it should be with the Jews Deut. 28. 66 67. Their lives hang in doubt before them and they fear day and night and have no assurance of their life in the morning they say would to God it was Even and at even would God it was morning for the fear of their hearts wherewith they fear and for the sight of their eyes which they do see What havocks hath this made in the earth we may m●re truly say of the Plague than Samson of the jaw bone wherewith he killed so m●ny Philistims Heaps upon Heaps Judg. 15. 16. after David had sl●in Goli●h they sa●g in Dances Saul ●ath ●lain h●● thousands but David his ten thousands so it may be said here other diseases have slain their thousands but the Plague hath slain its ten thousands it is so destructive that it is called in the abstract Destruction Psal 91. 6. Nor for the Pestilen●e that walkesh in darkness nor for the Destruction that ●a●leth at noon day What the Apostle affirms of wicked men may be likewise said of this Pestilential disease misery and destruction is in its way Rom. 3. 16. All Histories both Sacred Ecclesiastical and Prophane tell of the great Desolations that the Plague hath made we read how it swept away 14000. one time Numb 16. 49. another time 24000. Num. 25. 8. another time 70000. 2 Sam. 24. 15. and yet these summs though questionless thought very great in those times fall far short of what hath been since Those that have dyed in London of this present Plague I fear amount to more than the three fore mentioned summs put together Eusebius speaking of a great plague in Alexandria hath words to this effect out of Dionysius Now all things are full of lamentation all men mo●rn sadness and complaining fills the whole City partly for those that are dead and partly for those that are dying daeyly for it is with us now ●s it was with the Egyptians when God slew their first-born there w●s a great ●ry among them because not an house where there w●s not one dead So Evagri●s speaks of a plague that continued two and fifty years it spread he saith over the whole world nor any mortal man then that did escape the Con●agion and some Cities he reports it invaded so vehemently that it left not in Inhabitant i● them The Prophet bemoaning the deplorable estate of Jerusalem amongst other hath these words Lam. 1. 4. 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 and it hath been known not only in other Countries but also in our own Nation when there hath been such a morrality by the Plague that the Churches the Schools the Markets the Streets the High-ways have all mourned and some of them laid so desolate that beasts might have grazed where men were wont to trade 2. That which renders the Plague yet more dreadful is the suddenness of that Destruction which it makes the dispatch of the destruction as I may call it the suddenness of an evil helps to add much to the terrour of it this is not hard to prove from Scripture I will give you but a touch and then apply them Prov. 6. 15. His calamity shall come suddenly suddenly shall he be broken without remedy Eccles 9. 11. The Sons of men are snared in an evil ●●me when it falleth suddenly upon them Isa 29. 18. this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall swelling out in an high wall whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant This is that which God threatens to Babylon Isa 47. 11. Evil shall come upon thee thou shalt not know from whence it riseth and mischief shall fall upon thee thou shalt not be able to put it off and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly which thou shalt not know well this is of the nature of the plague to slay suddenly it surprizeth men whilst they are eating and drinking walking and trafficking and sends them speedily from a state of health and soundness to take their portion among them who have laid long silent in the dust If you observe the Text with what follows you shall find how quickly the Plague swept away 14000. it is very likely in less than an hour in the 2 Sam. 24. we read of 70000. that dyed of it in three days where the plagus comes it doth not only make great but sudden breaches how quickly it makes a sad change not only in a Family and lesser societies but even in Cities and greater Corporations insomuch that sometimes places of the greatest concourse have had cause to bewail themselves in the language of the Prophet Lam. 1. 1. How doth the City sit solitarily that was full of people how is she become as a widow to day it may be you have children rejoycing under the wing of their Parents taking care for nothing but even to drive away care and before to morrow perhaps vou shall hear them crying out lamentably as Elisha when the Prophet Elijah was taken from him My Father my Father to day perhaps Parents are rejoycing in their Children delighting to behold them stand like Olive-plants round about their table promising unto themselves I know not what felicity in their well-doing and before to morrow it may be you shall have them like Rachel weeping for their