Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	day_n	life_n	soul_n	9,720	5	4.8385	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A28622	The guard of the tree of life, or, A sacramental discourse shewing a Christians priviledge in approaching to God in ordinances, duty in his sacramentall approaches, danger if hee do not sanctifie God in them / by Samuel Bolton ...	Bolton, Samuel, 1606-1654.	1644 (1644)	Wing B3520; ESTC R33239	55,356	184

Ordinance then we do but as the Apostle saith as oft as you have opportunity do good so as oft as you have the opportunity take the occasions to meet God in his Ordinances 1. By them you see you draw neer to God you come into his presence you have to do with God's Name nay you have to do with God himself 2. By them God draws neer to you he walks among the Candlesticks he presents himself in his Ordinances Matth. 28.1 and there he directs us to finde him Cant. 1.7 8. 3. If wee keep not up a conscionable use of Ordinances distance will grow between God and you As the Water-man may lose more by the omission of one stroke then he is able to recover again by many so may you lose more by the omission of one duty then you are able to recover again by the performance of many especially if this omission hath arisen 1. from neglect of God 2. from carelesness 3. from sleighting of the converses with God 4. or from the importunities and solicitations of Satan and our corruptions 5. or from the blandishments of the world If upon such grounds little dost thou know what thou losest by such an omission If notwithstanding all indeavours it be so hard to keep communion with God what would it be if we should cast up our Oars and neglect it wholly You see what a distance was bred between God Israel Jer. 2. And what was the ground of it why saith the Text My people have forgotten mee dayes without number they had no care to keep and cherish cōmunion and acquaintance with him and so distances were bred between God and them neglect of duty breeds strangeness strangeness distance distance falling off A good caveat in these dayes when so many do cry down duty shall we look upon that as our burthen which is our glory our bondage which is our priviledge what is the happiness of a glorified Saint but only that he is alwayes under the line of love ever in the contemplation and converses with God And shall that be thought our burthen here which is our glory hereafter By this first you come to see the face of God secondly you have converses with him thirdly you get new quickenings fourthly new incouragements fifthly fresh strength against sin sixthly new supplies against the temptations of Satan the world seventhly fresh strength to walk with God eighthly armor against our lusts and this is enough to make us conscionable 4. We know not how soon we may be deprived of Ordinances wee have play'd with the breasts and God might put them up we have sinn'd in the light and God might put out our light How justly might God remove his Candlesticks let out his Vineyard to other Husbandmen and seek for other ground to sow the seed of his Ordinances upon seeing the ground where it hath been sown hath brought forth so little fruit how deservedly might hee suffer us to wish and wander to injoy one of the days of the Son of man which we have injoyed But though God do not take away the Ordinances from us yet hee may take us from the Ordinances and that not only by death but in life it self and a sad thought this will bring to thy soul when conscience shall report to you your former negligence in the use of Ordinances II. Let me exhort you not only to a conscionable use of ordinances but to Conscionableness in the use of them be not onely conscionable to use them but let your hearts be wrought up to a Conscionablenesse in the use of them The power of the Word the terror of the Law the fear of wrath and the hope of reward may put a man to do duty yea have power upon the spirit and ingage the conscience to doe duty You see many that dare not but pray and yet have no heart in prayer they have a conscience to doe duty but their hearts are not brought to any conscientiousness in the doing of it A common work of God may make men conscionable to doe many duties but nothing but the Spirit and Grace of Christ will work up the heart to a conscionablenesse in the doing of them To this conscionablenesse in the performance of Ordinances would I exhort you upon this ground because you draw neere to God have to doe with him And as in all so in particular in this Ordinance of the Lords Supper 1. Because otherwise ye get no good 1. no good of Grace no improvement of Holinesse 2. Nor no good of cōfort Comfort comes not in from the bare doing of the duty but from the manner of doing it is not the issue of conscience to doe but of conscionablenesse in the doing of them All the Sermons you have heard all the Prayers you have prayd all the Sacraments you have received though done out of conscience as you say will not minister one dram of true comfort to you upon your death-beds if your spirits have not been wrought up to a conscionablenesse in the doing of them 2. Because otherwise you provoke God to give him the carkasse and out-side of duty and to with-hold the life and spirit of duty is a provocation of God 3. Because otherwise you will contract much guilt and bring much evill upon your own souls This is sure that Ordinances used in an unconscionable way 1. They give Satan further possession of us 2. They put much weight to our sin 3. They set our soules at further distance with God 4. They ripen us to the great downfall the great sin lies among such 5. They make our conditions more irrecoverable When a man comes to be Ordinance-proofe prayer-proof Sermon and Sacrament-proofe that none of these can enter and work upon him he is out-grown the power of Ordinances that man's condition is very neere desperate There is nothing makes the condition of the soule more desperate and unrecoverable then the use of Ordinances in a formall and unconscionable way when a man doth harden under means of softning When a mans soar runs under the plaister nay when the plaister increaseth the soar when that which should draw us neere sets us at further distance this man's condition is dangerous Scarce one of many are ever wrought upon When once a man can heare and pray and receive and yet retaine his sinne too without disturbance all this doth not trouble him no weapon will pierce him no command no threatning of the Word no power of Ordinances can move him this man is in great danger to die in this condition And the use of Ordinances in a formall way brings men to such a condition As the use of Physick in an ordinary way doth take away the working of it so the use of Ordinances in a formall way doth take off the edge and blunt the power of working on the spirit Well then let me exhort you not onely to be conscionable to use but to a conscionablenesse in the use of

By the way then this may discover to us where the fault is when we return home our faith never the more strengthened our hearts never the more warm'd our graces never the more nourished our corruptiōs never the more weakned It is a shrewd sign faith did not play its part in the mount It is great suspition that your faith did succumbere in conatu did faile and sink in the encounter Faith was intrusted in this imploiment to goe over to Christ for these benefits and thy faith did faile in the undertaking therefore God suspends the bestowing of these benefits because thou suspendest thy faith A man may halt after his striving with God and yet overcome as Jacob did but when a man's spirit doth halt in striving with God when we doe not strive fully with God there is little hope of prevailing Well then if thou see not the fruit and benefit thou expected to come into thy soule in the use of this Ordinance charge thy faith with it and bewaile the weaknesse of it and for the future put it to its burden let it have its full and perfect worke and thou wilt then find the comfort and fruit of it Never did faith touch Christ in any Ordinance but vertue came from him But so much for the first Grace 2. 2d Grace to be exercised A second grace which is here to be exercised in the use of this Ordinance and requisite to the sanctification of God in it is Repentance The Sacraments they are the crucifixes of Christ in which Christ is represented as crucified afresh before our eyes the bread broken doth preach unto us the breaking of Christ The wine powred forth doth preach unto us the Blood of Christ poured forth for our sinnes And who is it that can with the eye of faith look upon a broken Christ but with a broken heart a wounded Christ but with a wounded spirit a bleeding Christ but with a bleeding soule God hath made in nature the same organ for seeing and weeping And in grace hee who sees clearly weeps throughly Lam. 3.5 The eye will affect the heart The Passeover under the Law was to be eaten with bitter herbs So Christ the true Passover is here to be eaten with bitternesse of soul as it was prophesied They shal look on him whom they have pierced and shall lament and mourne first seeing and then weeping c. Zach. 12.10 There is a twofold mourning 1. Historicall 2. Spirituall 1. Historicall mourning there is a naturall tendernesse in men and women whereby their hearts doe yearn and melt to heare the relation or behold the sight of some sad story Such a one as Augustine confesseth he had when he read the sad story of Dido and yet his heart was hard he could not mourn for sin Or such a one as they had whom Christ blamed in the Gospel who lamented the cruell usage of Christ out of naturall compassion only to whom he saith O daughters of Jerusalem weep not for me Homini non est necessarium ut Christū in ipsius passione deploret sed magis ut seipsum in Christo Of this the Father speaks It is not necessary you lament his passion so much as your sinnes which have caused his passion There is a kind of naturall tenderness in men and women wihch yet is often joyned with hardnesse of heart for sinne As an Historical faith with spirituall unbelief and an Historicall love with spiritual enmity so a natural tendernesse with spirituall hardnesse of heart for sin 2. There is a spirituall mourning which ariseth from spirituall grounds and causes and tends to spirituall ends A sorrow which is caused by faith looking upon heart-melting promises or taking up heart-breaking considerations or beholding a heart-softning object by which Faith doth draw waters out of the fountaines of the soul for sin as you have it 1 Sam. 7.6 they drew water as out of a well and poured it forth before the Lord. And this is that sorrow which is here to be exercised which will melt and mellow the heart and cause it to be more fruitfull in obedience Never doth the garden of graces better grow then after such a showre of repentant tears And therefore doth God preserve these springs in the soul to water the seeds of grace and make us more fruitfull which it surely doth when they are Sun-shine-showres such showres wherein the Sun appeares Christ is not hid from the eye of faith And my brethren here are many things in this ordinance which if but looked upon with the eye of faith will open all the springs of sorrow in the soule and call forth all the waters in him Bellarnine he layes down twelve considerations to provoke sorrow as the miseries of mankind by nature the sad condition of the souls in Purgatory and such like stuffe But we need not be beholding to him for such cōsiderations as these to occasion mourning Here is enough in the Sacrament presented to the eye of faith to open all the Springs thou hast and if thou had a fountaine of teares to spend them all for sinne We will name some particulars here which draw out mournings 1. Here is a discovery of the love and sweetnesse of God in giving his Son to die for us Joh. 3.16 So God loved the world c. enough to cause us to mourne that ever wee offended Oh that God should bee more tender to us then to his owne Sonne not spare his Sonne that he might spare us give him to die that we might live poure the curse upon him that the blessing might bee poured on us Quis temperet à lachrymis O how should this affect us Who can think of this and with-hold from teares 2. Here is presented to us the sufferings and breakings of Christ enough to break our hardest hearts 1. The sufferings of Christ in se in themselves as those upon his body what breakings what woundings what scourgings what crownings piercings did he endure in his body and those in his soule What conflicts and struglings did he undergoe with the wrath of God the terrors of death the powers of darknes Oh what weight what burden what wrath did hee undergoe when his soule was heavie unto death beset with terrors as the word signifies when he drank that bitter cup 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vndequaque tristis valde tristis Passor Supra modum dolens Scap. Obsitus terroribus Arist that cup mingled with curses which if Man or Angell had but sipt of it would have sunk them into hell Nay it made him who was God as well as man sanctified by the Spirit supported with the Deity comforted by Angels sweat such a sweat as never man sweat drops clods of blood 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 tanquam grumi sanguinis as the word implies 2. Consider them in Causâ as the meriting cause of all our good the procurers of all our peace salvation c. He was wounded

morning And this is fearfull to return with the dog to the vomit 2 Pet. 2.22 But God's people cast them away Isa 30.22 as a menstruous rag never more to have to do with them 2. Get your hearts further strengthened to service Here is in this Ordinance a mutuall sealing of Covenants between God and you As God seals to thee so thou seals again to God God seals to the first part of the Covenant pardon mercy grace and thou seals to the second part of it service subjection obedience God gives Christ to thee here in this Ordinance and thou gives thy self back again to Christ As there is matter of bountie from God to thee so there is matter of duty from thee to God God here in bounty bestowes Christ upon every humble broken hearted and believing receiver They take him and re-give themselves back again to him for subjection and obedience There was never any soul to whom God said in this Ordinance I am thine whose hearts did not eccho again the same to God Lord I am thine This head is thine to contrive thy glory this hand is thine to work for thee this hart is thine to love thee He that sayes my beloved is mine sayes again and I am his Cant. 2.16 Cant. 2.16 Let us then labour to see our hearts further strengthened to service let this inable thee to walk 1. More strongly The Sacraments are our spirituall baitings and refreshments which God affords us to strengthen us in our journey to Heaven They are spirituall meat drink to strengthen us in the performance of al spirituall obedience such meat as will not only inable a man to work but to work more strongly And 't is to be feared that they who are never the stronger for service feed not upon the substance but upon the shadow they feed upon the elements but never tast of Christ the staff of nourishment Purum elementum non est alimentum and t is true here the meer element is no nourishment 2. More willingly and cheerfully Then shall wee be able to run the wayes of God's Commandements Psal 119. when God once here inlarges our hearts It is said of Jacob that when he had been refreshed with the presence of God he plucked up his feet and went on cheerfully So here when the soul hath been refreshed with the presence of Christ he will be able to walk more cheerfully in the wayes of God The food we feed upon is Angels ' food and will inable us to Angels ' imployments h. e. to do our work with an Angels spirit with all alacrity cheerfulness joy and delight though not in the same equality yet in the same quality Siquid boni tristè feceris fit de te magis quam à te Prosper though not in the same measure yet in the same manner And thus much for the second generall viz. How we must sanctifie God in an Ordinance Wee will now come to the third generall which is the Reasons why Who ever have to do with an Ordinance of God must sanctifie God in it 1. Reason Because God commands it God saith hee will be sanctified and God's will is our law God doth not only command the substance but the circumstances not only the matter of worship but the manner And though the matter be good if the manner of performance be naught God doth not regard it You see what hee saith to the Jewes He that sacrificeth is as he who killed a man and hee that kils a Lamb as if he cut off a Dog's head and he who burneth incense as hee who blesseth an Idoll Isa Isa 66.3 66.3 These seem strange expressions What were not these such duties as God commanded Doth not God command sacrifice c. Yes but because they did them not in that manner God commanded therefore were they abominable to him If therefore thou gives God the bulk of outward performance without the spirit of devotion thou deals by him as Prometheus by Jupiter who did eat the flesh and present him with nothing but bones covered over with skin Or to use the Scripture phrase you compass God with a lie Hos 11.12 Hos 11.12 Thou gives him the shell of outward performance but not the kernell of inward devotion thou gives him a body without a soul And as the body without the soul is dead and stinks so doth that service which wants the spirit As God's will doth command service so our will and affections must perform service Though our will must be no instrument of devising service yet it must be an instrumēt in performing service Though God will not own will-worship in regard of prescription yet he will own it in regard of performance and none else Thus you see God commands it and therefore c. Impü Petram lambunt sed indè nec mel nec oleum sugunt c. Ambr. Ser. de coena 2. Reason Because otherwise wee get no good by this Ordinance no good of Comfort nor none of Grace If indeed the Sacraments did ex opere operato confer Grace or if that this Sacrament were an Instrument for the begetting of Grace in graceless hearts then might you get good though you came unpreparedly The word it is set up for that end to be the instrument of regeneration and therefore though you come unpreparedly thither yet you may be wrought upon there * Nemo bonus qui non ex malo bonus Aug. Many that have come to the Word with purpose to scoff to taunt to deride nay to insnare and accuse who yet have been wrought on there and sent away other men Were the Sacraments set up for such an end to beget grace where there is no grace then might you get good though you come unpreparedly and unsanctifiedly thither but as I have told you it was never set up for such an end here its true habenti dabitur to him that hath shall be given he that hath grace shall in the exercise improve his graces but he that comes graceless hither goes graceless away nay worse then he came which is the next Reason 3. Reason Because otherwise we get much hurt The Ordinances are not idle but operative they either work for life or they work for death As Paul said of the Word it was the savour of life and of death so I may say of every Ordinance There is never a time you come to hear the Word but you are set a step neerer heaven or hell so never a time you come to receive the Sacraments c. The fruit of the tree of Knowledge of good and evill might be wholsome in it self yet Adam did eat his death when he tasted of it contrary to God's command So here the Sacrament though in it self it be good yet it becomes the bane and destruction of those souls who partake thereof unworthily As the Ordinances of God are precious things when God is sanctified in them so