Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	dead_a	jesus_n	life_n	4,949	5	4.4956	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96422	Strength out of weakness. Or A glorious manifestation of the further progresse of the gospel amongst the Indians in New-England. Held forth in sundry letters from divers ministers and others to the corporation established by Parliament for promoting the gospel among the heathen in New-England; and to particular members thereof since the last treatise to that effect, / formerly set forth by Mr Henry Whitfield late pastor of Gilford in New-England. ; Published by the aforesaid corporation.	Gouge, William, 1578-1653.; Whitfield, Henry, 1597-1660?; Eliot, John, 1604-1690.; Wilson, John, 1588-1667.; Leverich, William, d. 1677.; Bessey, Anthony, 1609?-1657?; Mayhew, Thomas, 1621-1657.; Endecott, John, 1588?-1665.; French, William, 1603?-1681.; Allen, Thomas, 1608-1673.; Society for Propagation of the Gospel in New England.	1652 (1652)	Wing W2002; ESTC R223436	37,294	59

out of Reverence to the Command o● the Lord when such as had not that principle were farre from such workes of mercy it pleased God to try them in the time of the Pox for some of them did hazard their owne lives for to them it is very mortall in obedience to the Command of the Lord to shew mercy to them that were sicke and some were infected thereby and fell sicke and lay with much chearefullnesse and patience under Gods hand and through the Lords mercy are well againe others who did shew mercy in that case escaped the sicknesse to the praise of God Likewise God is pleased to try their Charitie by an old Paraliticke or Palsie sick-man whose owne Children being prophane and tyred with the burthen of him his retentive power of houlding excrements being loosened and having a loosenesse sometimes he is very noysome and burthensome they forsooke him and he had perished but that the Lord stirred up by the word of his grace their hearts to shew mercy to him for he was while he was sicke at six shilling a weeke charge for wee offered twelve-pence a night to any to tend him and for meere hyre none would abide it but out of mercy and Charitie some of the Families did take care of him and gave freely some weeks and others were payd out of their publique money namely such as hath been taken off such as have been Transgressors by Fine or Mulct and still he is at foure shillings a weeke charge being better in health in so much that all their publique money is spent and much more and wee have Collections among them for the same use The old man who hath been and still is wise doth wisely testifie that their love is sincere and that they truely pray to God and I hope so doth he and shall be saved I could with a word speaking in our Churches have this poore man relived but I doe not because I thinke the Lord hath done it for the tryall of their grace and exercise of their love and to traine them up in works of Charitie and in the way of Christ to make Collections for the poore I see how the Lord provideth to further the progresse of the Gospel by these tryalls and afflictions yea there be more passages of this winters worke wherein the Lord hath taught us by the Crosse For one of our first and principall men is dead which though it be a great blow and damping to our worke in some Respects yet the Lord hath not left the rest to discouragement thereby nay the worke is greatly furthered for hee made so gracious an end of his life and imbraced death with such holy submission to the Lord and was so little terrified at it as that it hath greatly strengthened the Faith of the living to be constant and not to feare death greatly commending of the death of Wamporas for that was his name I thinke he did more good by his death then he could have done by his life one of his sayings was That God giveth us three mercies in this world the first is health and strength the second is food and cloaths the third is sicknesse and death and when wee have had our share in the two first why should wee not be willing to take our part in the third for his part he was I heard him speake thus and at other times also and at his last he so spake and it so tooke with them that I observe it in their prayers that they so reckon up Gods dispensations to them his last words which he spake in this world were these Jehova Aninnumah Jesus Christ that is Oh Lord give mee Jesus Christ and when hee could speake no more he continued to lift up his hands to Heaven according as his strength lasted unto his last breath so that they say of him he dyed praying when I visited him the last time that I saw him in this world not doubting but I shall see him againe with Christ in Glory one of his sayings was this Foure yeares and a Quarter since I came to your house and brought some of our Children to dwell with the English now I dye I strongly intreate you for that is their phrase that you would strongly intreate Elder Heath with whom his Sonne liveth and the rest which have our Children that they may be taught to know God so as that they may teach their Countrymen because such an example would doe great good among them his heart was much upon our intended worke to gather a Church among them I told him I greatly desired that he might live if it were Gods will to be one in that worke but if he should now dye he should goe to a better Church where Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Moses and all the dead Saints were with Jesus Christ in the presence of God in all happinesse and Glory he said he feared not death he was willing to dye and turning to the Company which were present hee spake unto them thus I now shall dye but Jesus Christ calleth you that live to goe to Naticke that there the Lord might rule over you that you might make a Church and have the Ordinance of God among you believe in his Word and doe as hee commandeth you With many such words exhorting them which they could not heare without weeping A little before his death hee spake many gracious words unto them wherein one passage was this Some delight to heare and speake idle and foolish words but I desire to heare and speake onely the words of God exhorting them so to doe likewise his gracious words were acceptable and affecting that whereas they used to flie and avoyde with terrour such as lye dying now on the contrary they flocked together to heare his dying words whose death and buriall they beheld with many teares nor am I able to write his Storie without weeping Another affliction and damping to our worke was this that it hath pleased God to take away that Indian who was most active in Carpentrey and who had framed me an house with a little direction of some English whom I sometime procured to goe with mee to guide him and to set out his worke hee dyed of the Pox this winter so that our house lyeth not yet raised which maketh my aboade amongst them more difficult and my tarriance shorter then else I would but the Lord helpeth me to remember that he hath said Endure thou hardnesse as a good Souldier of Jesus Christ These are some of the gracious tryalls and Corrections the Lord hath exercised us withall yet he hath mingled them with much love and favour in other respects for it hath pleased God this winter much to inlarge the abilitie of him whose helpe I use in translating the Scriptures which I account a great furtherance of that which I most desire namely to communicate unto to them as much of the Scriptures in their owne language as I am able Besides it

in Christ one of them tells publiquely it did him more good to heare of Christ then to heare of all earthly good things I would faine hope for seeds of Faith in such Fifthly Two of them I deale withall particularly for personall evills by name for the sinne of Fornication which they were carried away into which my Indian acquainting my selfe with after our exercise I spake unto shewing them the evills of this sinne and aggravating of it by the knowledge they now had of God c. and exhorting them to Repentance and to seeke mercy in Christ whereupon one of them fell into bitter weeping presently the other though his heart was shut up at present yet not long after and with longer continuance sayd I have observed in others a sence of temptations spirituall bondage which they expressed naturally thus one saith that he and the Devill were all one Souldiers and this in sadnesse of spirit and speech another laying his hands upon his knees and hammes complaines he was as a man tyed in Cords and prayes to God to be unloosed and in generall they are observed divers of them to pray with much affection mourning in so much that they are in this respect a wonderment to their Companions who enquired what is the matter why they doe so c. A fourth encouragement to mee is this I finde the Devill bestirring himselfe and betaking of himselfe to his wonted practice of stirring up oppositions against this worke by his Instruments as fearing the ruine of his Kingdome their Countrymen manifesting their hatred threatning they shall not plant hunt c. as before yea the Controversie or enmitie rather arises between Parents and Children c. Lastly and not long before I was last with you in the Bay upon a second day in the morning before they went away there came to me to the number of twentie of them voluntarily professing one by one their desire to feare God promising that they would leave their sins some intermixing acknowledgements of their sins and ignorance and one that English and Indians knew shee had been very wicked hereunto calling Jehovah to witnes and this to doe all their dayes as long as they live some bringing their Children and causing them to make the like profession whereupon I was the more stirred towards them in my spirit though I acknowledge I was loath to make an absolute engagement to promise them I would endevour to be as helpfull to them as I could in teaching them which when I had done they gave mee thankes publiquely and since this they living some seaven miles from us have built a Wigwam of purpose neere our Towne to receive them when they come on the Lords dayes and truely Sir they are so attentive in hearing that it grieves me I cannot speake to them as I desire they seeming to be hungry and I wanting bread for them And thus Sir you have a naked Narration of our proceedings with the events fallen out by Gods providence within not many moneths It is I believe a day of small things and so lookt at by our English many of them who surely would have perished in their darknesse if all others should have contemned them as they these I pray God they perish not in the light however I am resolved to bable to them as I may considering that out of the mouthes of babes God ordaines praise and found strength to still the enemie c. the beginnings of Gods great works are often in great obscuritie where he appoints the end to be glorious Also I remember one sowes and another reaps which where ever they be such as are faithfull shall rejoyce together I doubt not Sir of your fervent prayers which I doe further beg of you and others that know how to pitty lost ones for my selfe and poore Indians that the Lord will prosper our endeavours this way and water them with his abundant blessings in Jesus Christ that the day-spring from on high may visit such poore soules as are in darknesse and the shadow of death and bring them to life in Jesus Christ William Leverich Sandwich this 22th of the 7th 1651. The next Letter is a testimoniall from a private hand of what Mr Leverich mentions in his to Mr Wilson where we may see some fruits of his labours testified by a neighbour of his at Sandwich which is fiftie miles from that place where Mr Eliot hath taught other Indians for divers years but we doe not a little rejoyce to heare that Mr Leverich is engaged in this worke because he is a grave learned knowing and a prudent Christian one indeed from whom by Gods blessing we may expect much good COncerning the Indians I have seene and heard more this Sommer then ever I did before I have seene some Indians crave a blessing before meate and returne thankes after meate pray morning and evening some of them doe frequent our meetings they come constantly eight or tenne miles every Saturday and the Monday they returne home againe while our Exercise doth last they doe attend diligently but understand but little but when that is done Mr Leverich and they doe put questions one to another and Mr Leverich hath an Indian that speakes good English and he is Interpreter There is a man that lives neere us that comes from an Island that is called Martins Vineyard where is a Minister that speakes good Indian he doth preach to them every weeke he hath told me that that Minister told him that there are some of them Indians that are able to give a better reason of their Faith then some of the Members of their Church some of them will preach and they have private meetings and keepe very good orders Anthoney Bessey Sandwich 22th September 1651. The next Letter we present thee withall good Reader is one from Mr Mayhew whom God hath honoured with abundant successe in making his labours the instrumentall meanes to turne many of the Heathen from their evill wayes to the Lord our God This he not onely wrote to Mr John Whitfield who is a Minister in Winchester but also to a Member of our Corporation being the same Narrative word for word for ought we discerne wherein appeareth a mighty progresse in godlines since our last Treatise published by Mr Henry Whitfield upon his comming hither from New England God not onely daily adding to their number such as in Charity we conceive appertain to his Election but stirred them up being neere two hundred persons to enter into a more close way of the Gospel declaring themselves to be the worshippers of the everliving God With many other things ministring much consolation to every Christian heart to see these very Powwawes fall off from the worship of Devills and embrace the glad tydings of Salvation Reverend and dearly beloved in Christ Jesus SIR WHat you have done in the Indian busines and concerning my selfe in particular doe give good testimony of your holy desires to further the worke