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	power_n	7,240	5	5.0896	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A54042	Many deep considerations have been upon my heart concerning the state of Israel both past, present, and to come, some of which I find drawings to communicate : together with some questions and answers concerning unity.	Penington, Isaac, 1616-1679.	1664 (1664)	Wing P1178; ESTC R25581	11,417	16

Many deep CONSIDERATIONS have been upon my heart concerning the STATE of ISRAEL both past present and to come some of which I find drawings to communicate together with some QUESTIONS and ANSWERS concerning UNITY The Considerations concerning Israel are these which follow 1. THe pretious living State which my soul remembreth to have been about the beginning of the late troubles of this Nation when Israel was bent to seek after the Lord and applied their hearts to wait upon him in fastings and earnest supplications wherein my heart hath often had the testimony that they were accepted of him and had many times the seal of his presence and power among them yea my heart did truly unite with and enjoy the Lord in what was then given forth and I can never be drawn to deny the truth and worth of that dispensation though I know it was swallowed up by a greater desolation soon following after and since by the breaking forth of a more lively dispensation 2. The over-running of that state by the subtilty of the enemy drawing the minds of the simple and upright-hearted from the living feeling and from the inward power of Religion into Disputations and Contentions about Forms of Worship and Church-government which drew out the reasoning part and withdrew the spirit of the mind from feeding on its proper nourishment and so Life decayed in the Spirit while Wisdom and Knowledge and Subtilty encreased in the Understanding And so the upright-hearted missing of Life where before they had found it were scattered up and down to seek after it and those who abode where they were grew dry barren and contentious losing the savour sweetness meekness love and indeed whatever was living and pretious and remained fixing their minds on that which the Lord had departed from Oh the darkness and misery of this state O the pain of the hearts where Life was stirring for want of the living God! O the death and formality of those that were dead and formal Surely had not the Lord pittied his People in this state and appeared to them in his Life and Power which this great desolation made way for it had been determined concerning Israel for ever for Death had over-grown the generality and Life was even gasping and expiring in the single-hearted 3. The pretious breaking forth of the Lord at this dismal time in this hour of distress and desperate condition of Israel in some hidden Vessels whom he had kept waiting upon him and whom he had preserved fresh in the sense of him to whom his appearance was very glorious to whom he opened the state of the Earth and the state of his People giving them the Everlasting Gospel to preach to the Inhabitants of the Earth and promising them that his Spirit and Power should go along with them bidding them go forth to till and dress the Earth and to gather his People into his Fold And who can utter what the glory of this Light was in its shining and breaking forth in their hearts how welcome to their weary souls how pleasant to the eye of their spirits how demonstrative and satisfactory to their hearts O the joy of that day surely it can never be forgotten by them wherein they sensibly felt the pouring down of the Spirit of Life upon them and their hearts gathered into the bosom of Eternal Rest and their souls and bodies sanctified and set apart for the Lord and his Service 4. The contemptible means God put into their hands to work his work by which was not by preaching any new thing but by directing to a Principle which God had already hid in the earth of every man's heart and which was to be known by its divine Nature and Light turning against and repoving sin testifying that this was the way the Lord of Heaven and Earth had chosen to bring his Sons and Daughters into the Power and Glory of his Life O what heart can receive this what eye can see any beauty in this but that which the Lord toucheth and openeth I testifie in the sence of Life that the wisdom of man yea the wisdom of Israel corrupted cannot but despise and turn from this Is not this the lowest of all dispensations Is not this common to all mankind Doth not this fall short in its self as I may say and as it hath formerly been dispensed of the dispensation of the Law of Moses to the Jews much more of the dispensation by Christ and his Apostles Who would have looked for the Lord here And yet this hath the Lord chosen to gather his People by and to appear to the world in and hath gathered the Life Vertue and Substance of all former Dispensations into it as those who are gathered thereby and have waited upon him therein and felt the Nature and Power of his Life and seen things past present and to come are living Witnesses of against all the gain-sayings thoughts and reasonings of flesh and blood 5. The contemptibleness of the Vessels which the Lord chose to fill with this Treasure and to let forth this dispensation of his Life through They were for the most part mean as to the outward young country lads of no dèep understanding or ready expression but very fit to be despised every where by the wisdom of man and onely to be owned in the Power of that Life wherein they came forth How ridiculous was their manner of coming forth and appearance to the eye of man about what poor trivial circumstances habits gestures and things did they seem to lay great weight and make great matters of moment How far did they seem from being acquainted with the Mysteries and Depths of Religion But their chief preaching was Repentance and about a Light within and of turning to that and proclaiming the great and terrible Day of the Lord to be at hand wherein I confess my heart exceedingly despised them and cannot wonder that any wise man or sort of Professors did or do yet despise them Yea they themselves were very sensible of their own weakness and unfitness for that great work and service wherewith the Lord had honoured them and of their inability to reason with man and so in the fear and in the watch of their spirits kept close to their tetsimony and to the movings of his power not mattering to answer or satisfy the reasoning part of man but singly minding the reaching to and raising of that to which their Testimony was 6. The blessing that God gave to this his dispensation of Life in their hands O how did the Lord prosper them in gathering his scattered wandering sheep into his fold of Rest How did their words drop down like dew and refresh the hungry thirsty souls How did they reach to the Life in those to whom they ministred raising up that which lay dead in the grave to give a living testimony to the living voice of God in them How did they batter the wisdom and reasonings of man making the