Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A05259
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The mothers blessing. Or The godly counsaile of a gentle-woman not long since deceased, left behind her for her children containing many good exhortations, and godly admonitions, profitable for all parents to leaue as a legacy to their children, but especially for those, who by reason of their young yeeres stand most in need of instruction. By Mris. Dorothy Leigh.
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Leigh, Dorothy.
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1616
(1616)
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STC 15402; ESTC S113606
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65,870
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296
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follow nature and the Diuell helpeth them forward and the world is a friend to them both and they like laden asses follow the Diuell with his treasure and make him their Lord and Master and yet some of them will not sticke to say they hope I will saue them though I haue often told them I will saue none by my seruants and I will not meddle with them for if they will serue mee they must cleane forsake mine enemy the diuell for hee is an enemy to me all mine and doth all the despight against vs that hee can and I will not saue him that will serue mine enemy therefore let them neuer presume vpon my mercy for I haue told them that the hope of the vngodly shall perish Hee that is an vngodly person a swearer a drunkard a prophaner of the Sabbaoth false in religion carelesse in life and yet hopes to be saued by me his hope is in vaine and grounded vpon no foundation for I neuer made promise to saue any such and therefore they haue no reason to say they hope I will saue them except they speedily returne from the diuell and his wayes and follow mee and my waies for I haue plainely told them He that will be my Disciple must for sake himselfe take vp his crosse and follow mee and assuredly I will saue him Now tell mee how would a man like one that should serue his vtter enemy and doe what his enemy could deuise to hurt and grieue him and then when hee had done all the hurt that hee could against him when he could do no more then hee would come to him and thinke to haue a great blessing and a great benefit of him hee should surely bee deceiued Then with what face can a sinner goe to Christ to saue him when hee dieth who would neuer serue Christ while he liued Though God had commanded him to cast all his care vpon him for hee would care for him yet hee hath spent almost all his time in seruing the world the flesh and the diuell Chap. 38. Reasons of casting our care vpon God I Wil tell you great reason why you ought to cast all your care vpon God and none vpon the world for God is our Father our Maker and gouernour and our feeder Christ is our Sauiour Now the father and gouernour knoweth what is fit for the childe better then the childe for the childe would surfet if hee might haue his owne will therefore let him be content with that which his gouernour will giue him Another great reason why wee should cast all our care vp-God is because when the diuell maketh all his poysonous baits wherewith hee draweth an innumerable company of soules to hell hee couereth them all with some worldly thing or other that they may not see the hooke some hee couereth with gold some with siluer some with earth some with clay some with honour some with beautie some with one thing and some with another Hee will not lay all his baits alike for hee is cunninger then a fisher hee knoweth a little bait will serue for a little fish and a great bait for a great fish for a great bait will not serue to catch a little fish nor a little bait will not serue to catch a great fish And besides this hee must haue the alteration of baits as the cunning fisher well knoweth but with these baits hee must haue a sharpe hooke to take them and a long line to draw them to himselfe So soone as hee seeth they haue swallowed the sweet bait hee lets them play a while with it but before it belong hee draweth them out of the sweete streame the water of life and throweth them into a panne of boyling liquor and as sometime the fisher is faine to intangle the fishes vvith his nets and so take them euen so Sathan findeth the humour of euery man and then he searcheth in the world to finde a bait fit for him hauing found the bait he presently poysoneth it then hee puts in a hooke and a line to draw him from the pure sweete streame the vvater of Life the Word of God and then hee lets them play a vvhile vvith the poysoned baits of the vvorld and so drawes them to him and throwes them into a furnace of boyling brimstone vvhose boyling shall neuer end Now there is none that can keepe vs from the baits of the diuell but onely God our Faher our gouernour our Sauiour our sanctifier and had wee not neede then cast all our care vpon God since vve are in so great a danger and none can keepe vs from the diuell but hee We cannot keepe our selues from the baits of the diuell no more then children can guide themselues in all their vvayes to feed learne gouerne clothe themselues vvithout the helpe of their father and gouernour Shall the children depend onely vppon their father and gouernour and shall not wee depend only vpon our God that is our Maker our Father and our gouernour and vvho vvhen vvee fell from him and followed the counsel of the diuel sent his onely Sonne to die for vs and to indure the paines of hell for vs the holy Ghost saith If hee hath giuen his sonne for vs will hee not with him give vs all things also And yet shal vve not dare to depend vpon him Is he not able to dry vp the waters of the red Sea that thou mightest goe on foot dry-shodde thorow Cannot hee raine thee Manna that thou needst not starue Cannot our God giue thee vvater out of the rocke He giueth thee vvater out of the rocke Christ euery day Oh that thou wouldest receiue it But I know what thou wouldest haue thou vvouldest haue Quailes to fulfill thy lusts for lust when it conceiueth bringeth forth sinne and sinne when it is finished bringeth forth death Then maist thou cry Oh wretched man that I am who shall deliuer me from the body of this death I thanke God through Iesus Christ our Lord it is hee that must deliuer me from this body of death And yet thou wilt not follow him nor depend vpon him Another reason why thou shouldest follow Christ and depend vpon him is because if the diuell finde thee at any time alone thou canst not escape his hands and therfore my greatest desire is that I might perswade you to cast all your care vppon God and none vpon the vvorld nay I pray God that Christ may preuaile with you for hee hath gone about to perswade you already and told you a reason for hee careth for you and if hee careth for you you need no more care for you shall bee well prouided for therefore obey him cast all your care vpon him and care not for this world liue as hee hath appointed you labour in your vocation sixe dayes and keepe the seuenth holy to the Lord and in all your labour vse no kinde of deceit nor desire to bee rich Doe you labour
mother to her children is hardly contained within the bounds of reason Neither must you my sonnes when you come to bee of iudgement blame me for writing to you since Nature telleth me that I cannot long bee here to speake vnto you and this my mind will continue long after mee in writing and yet not my mind but I seeke to put you in minde of the words of our Sauiour Christ which saith Labour not for the meate that perisheth c. where you see that the food of the soule is to bee gotten by labour Why stand you here sayth Christ here is not time to be idle they that will rest with Christ in heauen must labour to follow him here on earth Blessed are the dead which dye in the Lord for they rest from their labour Thus you see if you will goe to the place which Christ hath bought for you you must labour to follow Christ he labour'd to get it for you or els all your labour would haue been as nothing and now you must labour to lay hold on him or els all your labour will bee worth nothing Many there bee that labour the cleane contrary way for they leaue Christ and take hold of traditions and a number loyter and by that meanes neuer get holde on Christ. And this is the cause why I write vnto you that you might neuer fly from him with the one nor yet loyter with the other but that you might learne to follow him and to take hold of him in the written Word of God where you shall find him as Christ himselfe witnesseth and no where else Search the Scriptures sayth he for they testifie of mee Labour therefore that you may come vnto Christ. CHAP. 4. The second cause is to stirre them vp to write THe second cause my sonnes why I write vnto you for you may thinke that had I had but one cause I would not haue changed the vsuall order of women is needfull to be knowne and may doe much good For where I saw the great mercy of God toward you in making you men and placing you amongst the wife where you may learne the true written Word of God which is the path-way to all happinesse and which will bring you to the chiefe Citty new Ierusalem and the seuen liberall sciences whereby you shall haue at least a superficiall sight in all things I thought it fit to giue you good example and by writing to intreate you that when it shall please God to giue both vertue and grace with your learning he hauing made you men that you may write and speake the Word of God without offending any that then you would remember to write a booke vnto your children of the right and true way to happinesse which may remaine with them and theirs for euer CHAP. 5. The third cause is to moue women to bee carefull of their children THe third is to encourage women who I feare will blush at my boldnesse not to bee ashamed to shew their infirmities but to giue men the first and chiefe place yet let vs labour to come in the second and because wee must needs confesse that sin entred by vs into our posterity let vs shew how carefull we are to seeke to Christ to cast it out of vs and our posterity and how fearefull we are that our sinne should sinke any of them to the lowest part of the earth wherefore let vs call vpon them to follow Christ who will carry them to the height of heauen CHAP. 6. The fourth cause is to arme them against pouerty THe fourth cause is to desire you that you will neuer feare pouerty but alwaies know it is the state of the children of GOD to bee poore in the world Christ sayth Ye shall haue the poore with you alwaies It may be he hath appointed you or yours to bee of this poore number doe not striue against Christ. It is as hard sayth he for a rich man to enter into heaven as for a Camell to goe thorow the eye of a needle Saint Iames sayth Woe bee to you that are rich S. Paul sayth The desire of mony is the roote of all euill Which if it be true as it is not to be doubted of and you feare pouerty then doth it necessarily follow that you will desire the roote of all euil which is money and so become good for nothing The feare of pouerty maketh men run into a thousand sins which nothing els could draw them to for many fearing the cold stormes of pouerty which neuer last long run on to the hot fire of hell which neuer hath an end This matter requireth many words for it is hard to perswade the nature of man from the feare of pouerty wherefore I wil speake more of that afterwards onely I now say Feare not to bee poore with Lazariu but feare a thousand times to be rich with Diues CHAP. 7. The fift cause is not to feare death THe fift cause is to desire you neuer to feare death for the feare of death hath made many to deny the knowne truth and so haue brought a heauy iudgement of God vpon themselues A great reason why you should not feare death is because you can by no meanes shun it you must needes indure it and therefore it is meet that you should be alwaies prepared for it and neuer feare it Hee that will saue his life sayth Christ shall lose it and he that will lose his life for my sake and the Gospels shall finde it Doe not feare the paines of death in what shape soeuer hee come for perhaps thou shalt haue more paines vpon thy bed and be worse prouided to beare them by reason of some grieuous sicknesse then thou art like to feele when God shal call thee forth to witnesse his truth The only way not to feare death is alwaies to be prouided to dye And that thou mayest alwaies be prouided to dye thou must be continually strengthening thy faith with the promises of the Gospell as Hee that liueth and beleeueth shall not dye and though he were dead yet shall he liue Meditate in the laws of the Lord day and night as the Psalmist saith and then thou shalt be fit to bring forth fruit in due season then thou shalt bee fit to serue God thy King and country both in thy life and in thy death and alwayes shalt shew thy selfe a good member of IESVS Christ a faithfull subiect to thy Prince and alwaies fit to gouerne in the Christian common-wealth and then thou mayest faithfully and truely say Whether I liue or dye I am the Lords But without continuall meditation of the Word this cannot bee done And this was one of the chiefe causes why I writ vnto you to tell you that you must meditate in the Word of God for many reade it and are neuer the better for want of meditation If yee heare the Word and read it without meditating