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	life_n	live_v	20,689	5	6.0033	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26785	The divinity of the Christian religion, proved by the evidence of reason and divine revelation by William Bates ...	Bates, William, 1625-1699.	1677 (1677)	Wing B1104; ESTC R33149	60,636	228

not discover the deceit Nay that it should inspire them with invincible courage to assert that Christ was truely risen Or who can with the least colour of reason accuse the Apostles of simplicity or any disorder of mind when such are equal uniform and strong light shines in all their Writings whereas the discourses of Fools or distracted Persons are unshapt Abortions of the mind beginnings without a regular progress or if there be any coherence 't is short and alwayes attended with some notable extravagance Besides the constant order of their Lives and Actions was a certain proof of the composedness and wisdom of their minds To sum up briefly what is convincing that the Apostles were sincere and certain in their Testimony How could they be deceived when they say him do Miracles or by his power did the like Did they all dream in a night that they saw him appear after his Resurrection what could impress on them such a strong belief of that of which the Senses were the proper Judges Or could they conspire to invent such a falshood and so easily to be convinc'd with the least rational hope that the World should believe them How was it likely considering the variable humors of Men but that some of themselves either by violent fears or attractive hopes should be prevailed on to discover the Fiction and leave their Party What could inspire them with such a false security to despise the greatest Dangers and such a foolish presumption to undertake the greatest difficulties How could they expect to induce the World to believe in and worship One ignominiously put to death After such a convincing evidence what can Reason nay suspicion object with any colour to weaken their testimony The motives of credibility are so strong that we may be as truly satisfied of the reality of the things related by the Apostles as if we had been spectators of them our selves CHAP. IV. The accomplishment of Prophecies concerning the Messiah in Jesus of Nazareth is an unanswerable proof that he was sent from God to redeem the World The circumstances of his Birth the actions of his Life his Sufferings and Death clearly foretold The irreparable destruction of the State of the Jews was foretold as the just punishment for their rejecting of the Messiah That terrible Event is a continual Proof that Jesus Christ was what he declar'd himself to be the Son of God The Converting of the Gentile World to the Knowledge and Service of the true God by the Messiah was foretold in the Scriptures and is visibly fulfill'd The Accomplishment of this Prophecy by the most unlikely means against the strongest Opposition is manifestly the effect of Divine Power and is sufficient to convince the Jewish and Heathen Infidelity of the truth of Christianity THE Accomplishment of Prophecies concerning the MESSIAH his coming into the World the Work he should do his Sufferings and the Consequences of them afford undeniable proof that Jesus of Nazareth came from God for our Salvation Prescience of things to come and independent on the setled course and order of Natural Causes is an incommunicable Prerogative of God His Eye only can pierce the thick vail of futurity He has an open unconfin'd prospect of all things that were are and shall be Such perfection of Knowledge transcends Angelical Minds 'T is more easy for the Devil by an adventurous imitation to counterfeit Miracles than to give a clear and distinct prediction of things to come that depend on free Agents From hence it was that he gave responsals ambiguously to conceal his ignorance of future events and left those who consulted his Oracles dubious and hovering in what sense to understand them God alone could instruct the Prophets to foretel things at such a distance especially considering some of them are supernatural and others contingent from the wavering of second Causes Now the several Prophecies of Jesus Christ if united together make such an entire description of him that they seem rather Historical Narratives of what is past than Predictions of what was to come According to the Prophecies he was born of a Virgin a branch of the almost extinguish'd Family of David born in Bethlehem usher'd in by a forerunner meek lowly just and a worker of Miracles Therefore when John the Baptist sent some of his Disciples to enquire whether he was the Messiah that should come Our Saviour gave no direct Answer in words but referred them to his Works that gave a full and real testimony concerning him Go tell John the things which ye do hear and see the Blind receive their Sight the Lame walk the Lepers are cleansed the Deaf hear the Dead are raised up and the Poor have the Gospel preached to them That comparing his Miraculous Operations for the recovery of humane Bodies with the Prophecies there being a perfect Agreement between them and both undoubtedly from God They might by that clear and certain Caracter acknowledg him to be the Promised Messiah 'T is an Observation of St. Austin That the Son of God foreseeing the perverse Interpretations that his Enemies would make use of to darken the lustre of his Miracles accusing him as a solemn Magician that wrought by force of Inchantment that such a false Perswasion might not prevail sent the Prophets before his coming into the World From hence the Saint argues to repress those impious calumnies If by Magical Arts he did such Wonders as to conciliate Divine Honour to him even since his Death was he a Magician before he was born and did he know the succession of all things in his Life before he lived that by an impossible Miracle he predicted them to Moses David Esay Daniel and others Having thus argued the Saint turns himself to those Infidels as Christ to the Pharisees looking round about on them with anger being grieved for the hardness of their hearts and said O dead wretch hear the Prophets But above all His Death and Passion the substance of the Gospel is most exquisitly drawn with the lines of his own Blood Daniel foretels the time Zachary as if present at the execrable contract between Judas and the High-Priests tels us exactly the price of the Treason and then as if transported to Calvary he saw his Side open'd with the Spear and notes it in these words they shall look on him whom they have pierced David as if he had stood at the foot of the Cross in the hour of his Sufferings relates the manner of them in the Person of our Crucified Redeemer They peirced my Hands and my Feet Then the disjoynting of his Parts by the Torture I may tell all my Bones they look and stare upon me His hanging naked on the Cross they part my Garments among them and cast lots upon my Vesture the bitter draught they offer'd him they gave me also Gall for my Meat and in my thirst they gave me Vinegar to drink The blasphemous derision of the Priests and People

and the Redeemer of the World This I will briefly open There are three that bear record in Heaven the Father the Word and the Holy-Ghost and these three are one And there are three that bear witness in Earth The Spirit and the Water and the Blood and these three agree in one All the Divinity gave testimony of this important Truth The Father not only by the Miracles wrought by his Power to confirm the Mission of Christ but which is here principally intended by a voice from Heaven First at his Baptism This is my well-beloved Son in whom I am well pleased And at his Transfiguration before some of his Disciples a Shining Cloud the sign of the Divine Presence encompast them and a voice came forth of the Cloud This is my well beloved Son hear him Upon this glorious Voice they were struck with such an impression of fear that they fell on their faces And when our Saviour near his Passion prayed Father glorifie thy Name a voice came from Heaven I have glorified it and will glorifie it Now can there remain any doubt after such an high attestation from the most Soveraign Authority The Son also besides the perfect holiness of his life the exquisite Wisdom of his Doctrine the Wonders of his Works his Resurrection from the dead that were authentick proofs of his Celestial Person and Calling after his Ascension gloriously appear'd from Heaven in diverse Visions to the Preachers of his Gospel To Saul in his Journey to Damascus calling to him Saul Saul why persecutest thou me It is hard for thee to kick against the Pricks This is an unexceptionable testimony that he is the Son of God being risen from the dead and returned to Heaven from whence he thus discover'd himself Now that this was real and no fantastick illusion is evident by the marvelous effects of it Those who were companions in the journey were seiz'd with great terror and himself struck blind by the overpowering splendor of the Apparition But especially the effects of it upon his Soul are convincing who it was that spake to him For Saul was by Sect a Pharisee that of all others most passionately adher'd to the Jewish Religion by Temper hot and violent by Profession a persecutor of the Christians One that breathed forth Threatning and Slaughter that excited the Fury of the High-Priests sollicited their Cruelty In short a fierce spirit that envied Nero the title of the first Persecutor of the Church Yet this Man by this Vision and Voice from Heaven of a furious Persecutor in an instant became a zealous Apostle of a Wolf became a Pastor He presently exprest his entire submission Lord what wilt thou have me to do There is nothing so hard to do nothing so dreadful to suffer but I will readily undertake for thine honour and the propagating thy Truth Now from whence came this Change so strange so new in a person confirm'd in the opposite party from whence this resignation of will so entire and perfect so unexpected and sudden What gave him courage to contradict to their faces the High-Priests whose instrument he was and declare that Jesus whom they called a Deceiver was the Son of God and their Judge What animated him to appear before Kings and Emperours to testifie this dangerous Truth What made him with unparallel'd activity with the most ardent affections propagate the Gospel and after a thousand perils by Sea and Land a thousand disgraces and injuries at last to confirm the Faith of Christ with his Blood It is therefore past all contradiction that he had the greatest assurance that the Son of God spake to him Another Vision of the WORD from Heaven was to St. John when he was pleas'd to reveal to him the future state of his Church its Combats and Victories He then appear'd in a form expressive of his Majesty Power and Providence requisite for the ordering all the great Events that should befal it And said I am the first and the last I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I live for ever and have the Keys of Hell and of Death wherein he appropriates to himself the incommunicable titles of the Deity and then declares those two astonishing Miracles that the Prince of Life that had an Eternal Principle of it in himself was dead and that one who had been dead was alive This Riddle the Gospel unfolds The Son of God was made Man and by that admirable union allied Eternity and Time Life and Death together As 't is a common form of speech that a Man dies when the Body is depriv'd of Life though the Soul be immortal So it was true the Son of God died when his Body was crucified though he was uncapable of the least diminution of his Divine life And after three days he rose by the Divine Power to enjoy an Immortal Life And have the Keys of Hell and Death The irresistible force of Death all Men must yield to and from the Grave there 's no redemption by finite power But Jesus Christ has Soveraign Authority and Power to open the Grave and raise the Dead to an happy Immortality This glorious Appearance made St. John to fall as dead at his Feet and could not recover himself till assured by the reviving words of his favour The Spirit also appear'd from Heaven to give Testimony concerning the divine Person and Office of Christ First by descending as a Dove on him when he was baptised This was the completion of the Prophecy The Spirit of the Lord is upon me He has anointed me to preach the Gospel to the Poor to publish Deliverance to the Captives And in the second of the Acts the Spirit descended in the form of Fiery Tongues upon the Apostles to qualifie them for preaching the Gospel to the World And 't is worthy of observation that the Apostles were before this very defective in Wisdom and Courage so that their Divine Master though Goodness it self yet tax'd them for their stupidity and in his Sufferings they all forsook him But after the effusion of the Spirit upon them they were endowed with that admirable Wisdom and Resolution that nothing could gainsay and overcome They presently spake in various Languages the things concerning Iesus Christ that the World was astonish'd and many converted by this Testimony from God for the honour of our Saviour and others confounded in their obstinacy Now since this miraculous descent of the Spirit was to ratify the Promise that he made to them If I go away I will send to you another Comforter What more clear and valuable Testimony can we have that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the World If Infidelity should reply If we had heard these Voices and seen those glorious Visions we should be convinc'd but what assurance have we there is no deceit in these Relations I answer There never was clearer Grounds of the belief of any thing done without the compass of our own senses than of what