Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A12430
|
Two sermons, of Ionahs punishment ; Foure sermons preached by Maister Henry Smith ; and published by a more perfect copie then heretofore.
|
Smith, Henry, 1550?-1591.
|
1607
(1607)
|
STC 22751; STC 22754; ESTC S514
|
75,287
|
114
|
God in humilitie and sinceritie and in full assurance of faith continually who without end is to be sought because without ende hee is to be beloued The third thing contained in our dutie is what effect this seeking and praying ought to worke in vs comprehended in these words If thou bee pure and vpright if the cloudes be full they will powre forth raine vpon the earth and vnpossible it is that a man that seeketh after God and prayeth vnto the Almightie should not bring foorth the fruites of a good life for if the tree bee good the fruites cannot bee bad and if the head of the water be pure it will send foorth pure waters into the cesternes Wherefore as good motions are stirred vp by prayer so must they bee fostered by practise of life according to that of the Apostle Quench not the Spirite nor greiue the holy one of God by whome yee are sealed to the day of redemption 1. Thes 5 He quencheth dearely beloued the spirit which being once lightned with the sparkles of faith and felt Gods Ephes 4. motions in his heart doth neglect to increase the one to a flame and the other to good workes in his life but with the dogge turneth to his vomits and with the Sowe that was washed to her wallowing againe in the mire Therefore beloued loue and seeke the Lord pray to the Almightie be pure and vpright in conuersation flie from sinne as from a Serpent for if thou come neere it will bite thee The teeth thereof are as the teeth of a Lyon to slay the soules of men and all iniquitie is as a two edged sword the wounds that it giues cannot bee healed I dare not stand as I would vpon these points fearing tediousnesse wherefore let this suffice for the former general part concerning the dutie we owe vnto God Now Gods promises for the performance hereof yeeld vnto vs most plentifull matter of doctrine and consolation First of his iustice that as hee will suffer no sinne vnpunished so he will suffer no good worke vnrewarded but giueth to euery seuerall action his seuerall hire and iust recompence of reward Shall the houre come in which all that are in their graues shall heare a voyce and come forth they that haue done well to the resurrection of life they that haue done euill to the resurrection of condemnation Shall the Lord search Ierusalem with Lanthornes Shall all full corners bee sweept and all pleites and wrinkles bee vnfolded Shall the Sea graue death and hell giue vp all that is in them And shall all the dead both great and small stand before God when the books are opened And shall euery man haue praise of God according vnto his deseruing Shall wee then discerne betweene the vessels of honour and of wrath between sheep and Goates the iust and vniust Finally shall there be an infallible generall and incorrupt iudgement wherein the booke of all our offences shall bee laid wide open Now God bee mercifull vnto vs bee fauourable O Lord be fauourable But to proceede it is thy nature O Lord to gather 1. Thes 5. vp the wheate and burne the tares to cut downe all fruitlesse trees and cast them into the fire yea into a fierie Ephe. 4. furnace that neuer shall bee quenched into an vtter darknesse where is weeping wailing gnashing of teeth then be fauourable O Lord be fauourable Doth not the Lord spare Dauid a king and a Prophet for murther Doth hee not spare the Sichemites for adulterie Nor Absalom for treason Nor Saule for tyrannie Nor Eli for negligence nor A chab Ieroboam nor Iezabel for cruelty nor Herod Nabuchadnezzar and Lucifer for pride nor Pharaoh for incredulity Then beefauorable O Lord be fauourable to vs in whom almost euerie one of these sinnes doe dwell and remaine Did the Lord for corruption ouer flow the world with water Did hee burne Sodome for her villanie Did hee cast Adam and Eue out of Paradise for eating of the forbidden fruite Did hee stone a poore wretch to death for gathering chips on the Sabboth day Then bee fauourable O Lord bee fauourable vnto vs. But doth not the Lord spare the Cedar tree for his height nor the Oke for his strength Nor the Poplar for his smoothnesse Nor the Lawrel for his greennesse No verily from the Cedar that is in Lybanon euen to the Hysop that groweth out of the wall yea euery one that bringeth not forth good fruite is hewne downe and cast into the fire it is a righteous thing with God to render vengance to those that disobey him and to destroy such as haue forsaken the law by euerlasting perdition Behold the Lord shall come in the great and latter day of iudgement when none shall escape his iudgement seate with clouds shall hee come and euery eye shall see him euen they which pierced him thorow shall also waile before him being summoned all to appeare most fearefully before his imperiall throne of maiestie then bee fauourable O Lord bee fauourable Alas with what eies shal wee miserable sinners behold him so gloriously sitting in his royall kingdome with all his mightie and holy Angels and whole number of Saints sounding with the voice of the Archangell and trumpet of God causing the heauens to passe away with a noyse and the elements to melt like waxe and the earth to burne with the workes thereof Yea with what eyes shall wee behold him when wee see the Sunne darkened the Moone eclipsed and the stars fall downe from heauen But alas when hee taketh the furbished blade into his hand when hee is readie to throw the fierie thunderboults of his wrath when he summoneth before him the worme that neuer dieth the fire that neuer shall bee quenched to reuenge vpon the wicked into what a plight are they then driuen Then leaue they off Bee fauourable O Lord bee fauourable and say to the hils O ye mountaines come and couer vs. O yee waters come and ouerwhelme vs woe woe woe how great is this darknesse The godly on the other side are bathed in such streames of blisse and aduanced to such happinesse as neither tongue can vtter nor heart conceiue The second thing wee haue to note in his promises is his mercy which exceedeth all his works For God though hee haue giuen a curse of the law against sinners yet seeing Christ for the penitent hath borne the curse whereby his iustice is not impared he is content to accept our weaknes as our strength to recompence our imperfection with reward of greatest perfection and that which wee can performe but in small part hee is content to accept as whole nor for any desert of ours but in satisfaction of his sonne who payd with the seale of his owne bloud the ransome for our sinnes hee hath cancelled the hand-writing that was against vs. Wherefore wee are to pray vnto God that whensoeuer our sinnes shall come in question before him that hee would looke vpon
doe the worke of a Magistrate hee which is a Iudge should doe the worke of a Iudge hee which is a Captaine should doe the worke of a Captaine he which is a minister should doe the worke of a minister as when Noah was called an husbandman hee did the worke of an husbandman This contempt of the country doth threaten danger to the land as much as any thing else in our dayes vnlesse their burthen bee eased and their estimation qualified in some part to their paines Thinking that you haue not heard of this theame before seeing the words of my text did lye for it thus much I haue spoken to put you in mind how easily you liue in respect of them and to rectifie our minds towards our poore brethren which in deed seeme too base in our eyes and are scorned for their labours as much as wee should be for our idlenesse Then saith Moses Noah hegan to bee an husbandman In that itis here said that Noah began it doth not disprooue that hee gaue not himselfe to husbandrie before but it importeth that Noah began to set vp husbandry againe after the flood before any other so this good man recomforted with the experience of Gods fauour which had exempted him and his seed out of all the world and reioycing to see the face of the earth againe after the waters were gone though an old man and weaker then he was yet hee returned to his labour a fresh and scorned not to till and plant for all his possessions as though hee were an husbandman such a lowlines is all wayes ioyned with the feare of God that they that are humbled with religion doe not thinke themselues too good to doe any good thing Heere note by the way that none of Noahs sonnes are said to begin this worke but Noah himselfe the olde man the hoary head and carefull father begins to teach the rest and shewes his sonnes the way how they should prouide for their sonnes and how all the world after should labour and trauell till they returne to dust so the olde man whome age dispenceth withall to take his ease is more willing to prouide for the wants of his children then they are which are bound to labour for themselues and their parents too as the Storke doth feede the dam when shee is olde because the dam fedde her when shee was young What a shame is this to Shem and Iapheth that is to vs which are young and strong that the father should bee called a labourer when the sonnes stand by Now the ground was barren because of the flood and could not bring foorth fruit of it selfe because of the curse therefore it pittied Noah to see the desolation and barrennes and slime vpon the face of the earth which hee had seene so glorious and sweete fertile with all maner of hearbes and fruits and flowers before Therefore hee setteth himselfe to manure it which waited for nothing now but a painfull labourer to till and dresse it that it might bring forth delights and profits for sinfull man as it did before By this wee may learne to vse all meanes for the obtayning of Gods blessings and not to lose any thing which wee might haue or saue for want of paines for that is sinne as Salomon noteth in the 24. of the Prouerbs when hee reproueth the slouthfull husbandman because his fielde brought forth nettles and thistles in stead of grapes not because the ground would not beare grapes but because the slouthfull man would not set them Shall God commaund the earth and all his creatures to increase for vs and shall not wee further their increase for ourselues As wee increase and multiply our selues so wee are bound to ioyne hand and helpe that all creatures may increase and multiply too or else the fathers should eate the childrens portion and in time there would bee nothing left for them that come after this regard Noah seemeth to haue vnto his posteritie and therefore hee gaue himselfe vnto husbandry which is commended in him vnto this day and shall bee recorded of him so long as this booke is read whereby wee are warned that hee which liueth onely to himselfe is not to bee remembred of them which liue after But as Dauid cared how the realme should bee gouerned after his death as well as hee did during his life so though we die and depart this world yet wee should leaue that example or those bookes or those workes behind vs which may profit the Church and Common wealth when wee are dead and buried as much as wee did when wee liued among them Euen as Noah planted a vineyard not for himselfe but for the ages to come after Some doe thinke that Noah planted the first vineyard and drunke the first wine and that there was no vse of grapes before which opinion they are led vnto that they might excuse Noah and mitigate his fault if he did sup too deepe of that cup the strength and operation whereof was not knowne vnto him nor vnto any man before But it is not like that the excellent liquor and wholsome iuice of the Grape did lye hid from the world so many hundred yeares and no doubt but there were vines from the beginning created with other trees for how could Noah plant a vineyard vnlesse hee had slips of other vines or graps that grew before seeing hee did not create fruits but plant fruites as wee doe For this is principally to be noted that so soone as hee had opportunitie to doe good hee omitted no time but presently after the flood was gone and that the earth began to drie hee plied it with seedes and wrought it till hee saw the sruites of his labour By this wee learne to omit no occasion to doe good but whensoeuer wee may doe good to count it sinne if we doe it not But if wee be so exercised then all our works shall prosper like the vineyard of Noah because the fruit of the vine doth cheare the countenance and glad the heart of man Therefore some haue gathered vpon the planting of this vineyard a signification of gladnesse and thankfulnesse in Noah for his late deliuerance as the Iewes by their solemne feastes did celebrate the memoriall of some great benefit but I rather iudge that God would haue vs see in this example what men did in those dayes and how wee are degenerare from our parents that wee may prepare against the fire as Noah prepared against the water This is worthy to bee noted too that GOD did not so regard his husbandrie but that hee had an eye to his drunkennesse and speakes of his faulte as well as his vertue whereby wee are warned that though God blesse vs now while wee remember him yet hee will chasten vs so soone as wee forget him though wee bee in a good name now infamy will rise in an houre though wee bee rich at this present pouertie may come presently though wee bee whole while