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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	die_v	end_n	life_n	13,615	5	4.8465	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44431	The almost Christian discovered, in some sermons on Acts 26, 28 with a blow at profaneness / by the R.R. Ezekiel Hopkins, late Lord Bishop of London-Derry ; to which is added the upright Christian discovered, gathered out of the judicious treatises of William Bates, D.D.	Hopkins, Ezekiel, 1634-1690.; Bates, William, 1625-1699.	1693 (1693)	Wing H2728; ESTC R13653	54,869	143

this efficiency is so sweetly attempered to the native Liberty of the Will that it will be a pain and a torment to the Soul to be separated from that God whom now his understanding doth apprehend and whom his Will doth clasp about as the real and chiefest good Here you see are both moral Swasions and Physical Determinations of the Will to the Work of Grace God doth really determine it by the efficacious touch of his Grace whereby he powerfully turns the bent and inclination of it to himself which before stood towards sin and vanity and that this might not infringe the Wills Prerogative of acting freely he doth at the same time morally perswade it by representing himself as the best and most satisfying object of it notwithstanding the irresistableness of God's working upon the Will yet still Man's Will is free in God's working of Grace which some have thought to be an irreconcilable difference For the freedom of the Will doth not consist in redoubled pure Acts for otherwise the Saints and Angels themselves that are under that blessed necessity that they cannot but love and serve God would not love him and serve him freely The liberty of the Will consists in an acting upon rational grounds and motives which by how much stronger they are by so much more they turn the necessity of the Will to him and yet by so much the more the Will is free in acting So that here the liberty of the Will may not violate the causality of God's purpose he changeth it by the power of his irresistible Grace And yet that this irresistible Grace may not violate the liberty of the Will which is its natural privilege he perswades it by such natural Arguments that it could not act freely if it should dissent from them though God useth infinite power yet he useth no violence he subdues the Will but doth not compell it This is that victorious Grace that doth not more overcome a Sinner's resistance than it doth his prejudice it overcomes all opposition by its own irresistible Power and overcomes all its prejudices by its attractive sweetness And whenever it brings him to submit to God it makes him to apprehend that his chiefest happiness and joy is to do so And it is the same that doth afterwards preserve a Christian from total Apostacy for though there be such a constant supply of Grace to keep them that they shall never draw back to Perdition yet withal their own freedom is such that they may if they will but when the Will ceaseth its freedom it never inclines but to that which is most pleasing and nothing is pleasing to a renewed sanctified Will so much as that Sovereign good which comprehends in it all other good Thus you see how God disposeth of the Will of Man changing it without constraining of it turning it not forcibly but infallibly to himself when he draws it by the sweet and efficacious operation of his Grace Thus I have dispatched the first thing and shewed how God works the renewing change upon the Will of a Sinner The second particular is to shew you what other Change may be wrought upon the Will which yet falls short of true Grace and may bring a Man almost to Christianity and yet leave him in a natural state and condition First an unregenerate Man may have many faint velleities and wishings and wouldings after Grace when he hears so much spoken of the Beauty and excellency of Holiness he is convinced in his judgment that those things are true that without Holiness no Man shall see the Lord and that though while he is carnal spiritual duties are tedious and a burthen to him yet were he spiritualized they would become more delightful to him than those very pleasures of sin which keep him from closing with Grace Were he renewed those very pleasures of sin would become unsavoury to him that which now he is afraid to lose if he would turn to Conscience he would not value the loss of it When an unregenerate Man I say is thus convinced of this it will make him to break out into pangs of Affection wishing for Grace O that I were holy and gracious I wish my heart were changed and renewed I wish I were better and could do better I appeal to every Man's Conscience when he hath been convinced of the excellency and desirableness of holiness whether they have not breathed forth such wishes as these are When you have seen a Christian that is eminent and exemplary for piety have not you wished your selves in his condition not only in respect of his future reward and glory but also in respect of his present Grace Have you not wished that such had been your comeliness and beauty have you not wished not only with Balaam to die the death of the righteous and that your last end might be like his but also your Life by living righteously and yet still continue in the same course and sinful state as formerly Why now such empty Velleities and idle Wishes an unregenerate man may possibly have he may wish he were a Saint even as a fond foolish man according to his idle fancy may wish that he were an Angel but such wishes do not put them upon a constant attempt and use of the Means whereby they might become such their wishes and their sighs vanish away together the one retaining no longer an impression upon their hearts than the other in the Air he runs into the commission of that sin which with his mouth he wishes he might not commit and lives in the neglect of holy duties and yet can wish that he had performed them such contradictory wishes have unregenerate men they wish themselves holy and yet are wilfully sinful they wish that they were better and yet will not endeavour their own amendment Secondly An unregenerate man he may not rest in these Wishes but he may rise to a Resolution I say to some degree of Resolution They resolve many things That their Lusts shall no longer enslave them That the Pleasures of the World shall no longer bewitch them That the Difficulties of Religion shall no longer affright them but that they will break through all and act like Men And such generous and ingenuous Resolutions as these a man in his natural estate may fortifie himself with Grace they know they must have else they are eternally undone they know that God hath not been wanting to their endeavours and they peremptorily resolve that they will not be wanting to themselves We may see the same strong resolutions of those that came to enquire of Jeremy chap. 42.5 6. They said the Lord be a true and faithful witness between us if we do not according to all things for which the Lord thy God shall send thee to us c. And yet none more rebellious and disobedient against God than these men that make this Remonstrance And now notwithstanding these Wishes and these Resolutions the Will of a Natural

THE Almost Christian DISCOVERED In some SERMONS on Acts 26.28 With a Blow at Profaneness By the R. R. Ezekiel Hopkins late Lord Bishop of London-Derry To which is added The Upright CHRISTIAN DISCOVERED Gathered out of the judicious Treatises of William Bates D. D. LONDON Printed for Dorman Newman at the King's Arms in the Poultrey Jonathan Robinson at the Golden Lion in St. Paul's Church Yard and Tho. Cockeril at the Three Legs in the Poultrey 1693. TO THE READER THE Excellent Preacher of these Sermons was one that sought out acceptable Words not to tickle the Fancy but to affect the Consciences in order to better the Hearts and Lives of his Auditors He was a Person truly great and good well known not only in the Kingdom of Ireland where he shined in a higher Orb but in this of England also especially in the two Renowned Cities not only for Trade but Religion of London and Exeter where Multitudes sate under his Ministry with great Delight and Profit I need not trouble my self or the Reader to make solemn Protestations or to insert Certificates under the Hands of several Persons concerning the Authentickness of these Sermons All those that have heard him or have read his other excellent and useful Treatises a large Account of which is here annexed will easily be convinced by the Spirituality of the Matter and Beauty of the Stile that these are the genuine Offspring of Bishop Hopkins That these Discourses may be so bless'd to all that shall read them that they may be not only Almost but Altogether Christians is the hearty Prayer of the Publisher A CATALOGUE OF THE Works of Bishop Hopkins already Published THE Vanity of the World in several Sermons from Eccles 1.2 Vanity of Vanities saith the Preacher Vanity of Vanities all is Vanity To which is added Two other Sermons one at the Funeral of the Honourable Algernoon Grevil Esq from Eccles 9.5 For the Living know that they shall die The other on the 30th of January from St. Peter 1 Pet. 2.13.14 Submit your selves to every Ordinance of Man for the Lord's sake whether it be to the King as supream or unto Governours as unto them who are sent by him for the punishment o● evil doers and the praise of them that do wel● In Octavo Discourses or Sermons on several Scriptures Vol. I. Containing these following Subjects The Folly of Sinners in making a mock of Sin from Prov. 14.19 Fools make a mock at Sin The Resurrection of Jesus Christ Demonstrated from Acts 2.24 Whom God hath raised up having loosed the pains of Death because it was not possible that he should be holden of it True Happiness from Rev. 22.14 Blessed are they that do his Commandments that they may have right to the Tree of Life and may enter in through the Gates into the City Brotherly Admonition from Lev. 19.17 Thou shalt not hate thy Brother in thy heart thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy Neighbour and not suffer Sin upon him The Dreadfulness of God's Wrath against Sinners Demonstrated from Heb. 10.30 31. For we know him that hath said Vengeance belongeth unto me I will recompence saith the Lord And again the Lord shall judge his People It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God In Octavo An Exposition on the Ten Commandments To which is added two Sermons one on St. John 7.19 Did not Moses give you the Law and yet none of you keepeth the Law The other on Gal. 3.3 10. For as many as are of the works of the Law are under the Curse of the Law for it is written Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the Book of the Law to do them In Quarto An Exposition on the Lord's Prayer with a Catechistical Explication thereof by way of Question and Answer for the instructing of Youth To which is added A Discourse upon Providence from St. Mat. 10.29 30. Are not two Sparrows sold for a farthing and one of them shall not fall to the ground without your Father But the very hairs of your head are all numbred As also A Discourse demonstrating the excellent Advantages of reading and studying the Holy Scriptures from Col. 3.16 Le● the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all Wisdom In Quarto A Second Volume of Discourses or Sermons on several Scriptures containing these following Subjects viz. A Discourse on Man's Mortality from Heb. 9.27 It is appointed unto Men once to die and after this the Judgment The great Evil and Danger of little Sins from St. Matth. 5.19 Whosoever therefore shall break any one of these least Commandments and shall teach men so shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven Of Abstaining from the Appearance of Evil from 1 Thes 5.22 Abstain from all appearance of evil The Nature Danger Aggravations and Cure of presumptuous Sinning with the difference between Restraining and sanctifying Grace from Presumptuous Sins from Psal 19.13 Keep back thy Servant from presumptuous Sins let them not have dominion over me Of Pardon and Forgiveness of Sin from Isaiah 43.25 I even I am he that blotteth out thy Transgressions for my own sake and will not remember thy Sins In Octavo Several other Discourses of this Reverend Bishop's are designed shortly to be Printed SERMON I. Acts 26.28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul ALMOST thou persuadest me to be a CHRISTIAN IN this Chapter we have St. Paul in his Fetters pleading before that Honourable Sessions of Festus and Agrippa his Plea we have largely set down from the 1st to the 24th Verse in which he opens his Commission that he had received in an extraordinary manner from Heaven for preaching of that Doctrine which was every where spoken against and for worshipping God in that way which was called Heresie I shall not at all enter into the consideration of the Apology but let us look only at the different Effects that it wrought upon the Hearers Festus and Agrippa they we● both of them Unbelievers the one an 〈◊〉 believing Heathen the other an unbeli●ving Jew and thus they both continue yet St. Paul's Speech works very different● upon them In the 24th Verse you hav● Festus raving he said with a loud voic● Paul thou art besides● thy self much learni●● hath made thee mad Thy Thoughts of Vision and an Apparition of a Man dea●● and buried lying safe under ground that he should rise again and appear fro● Heaven to thee being the Saviour of t● World is a meer Fancy proceeding fro● a strong Phrenzy Thus he scoffs an● raves But this very Sermon which see●ed Madness and an idle Tale to unbeliving Festus carries a strong Convicti● in it to Agrippa who was an Unbeliev● too Almost thou persuadest me to be Christian. Hence observe That the Word of God h● a far different effect even upon those up● whom it hath no saving effect one raves a● rageth against it is seared and stupisie by it another is convinced

progress in Religion it doth facilitate it is hard at first to begin then having begun to continue because use and custom in any thing makes it easie How is this subserviency of Religion to it self that may carry Men very far in it when they have begun Profession and entered upon one Duty that Duty delivers them over to another and makes it more facile and easie to them because the precedent Duty as it doth engage him to so it prepares him for the subsequent Duty as well as engage him to the present Duty One Duty doth as it were perform half the task and bear half the burden of the other Thus then you see whence it is that natural Men may make so great a progress towards Christianity so as to be almost Christians from the Power of Nature and from the attractiveness of Religion Now here if you ask me how shall I know whether it be the Power of nature helped by the common workings of the Spirit or the Power of supernatural Grace that carries Men out to all their Profession I shall give you but this one discriminating Character of it See whether your abilities be greater in the things that belong to Grace and Holiness than they are to natural things A Child of God who is but of weak parts as to the things of the World that can scarce give you a rational account of such affairs when propounded to him Why bring him but to the things of God and how admirably will he be able to unfold even the very mysteries that are hid from the wise and prudent of the World but put him upon any common discourse how broken and incoherent is he but engage him in Prayer how doth he expatiate and inlarge and what a Torrent of Divine Rhetorick will he then pour into the Bosom of God Is this from nature that he is able to exceed and go beyond himself No certainly It is very observable concerning the ways of God what the Prophet speaks Isa 53.8 A high way shall be there and it shall be called a way of holiness the unclean shall not pass over it Though they wander and err in every other way though they do not take the right way to be rich and great and honourable in the World yet these that are fools in every thing else they shall not err from the way of Holiness and therein lies the only Wisdom But now take a meer ●arnal Man that hath eminent abilities in earthly things usually he is never weaker than when he is engaged in that which is holy and spiritual at least his chiefest excellency doth not lie there though he doth perform the Duty well yet he doth not do it beyond what he doth in ordinary and natural things Now how is it with you Do you find your selves carried much beyond the rate and size of your natural abilities that you never so much exceed your selves nor do so well as when you are about some holy and spiritual employment that you are not so artificial in any thing as in holy performances this is a good sign that it is from the Power of Grace and not only the Power of Nature that carries you forth to the Profession of Religion you make I take the extraordinary gifts bestowed upon unregenerate Men in a vast disproportion from their natural abilities to be long ago ceased Thus you see what inables a natural Man to go so far towards Christianity The third general propounded was to shew what it is that hinders these proficients from making further progress that when they are Almost what keeps them from being altogether Christians I answer to this in general It is only through a willfull and wretched neglect of what they might do that any of them do fall short of Grace here and Glory hereafter It is not from our want of Power but our want of Will or rather indeed our willingness that makes us miscarry to our Eternal Perdition I shall illustrate this by a plain and obvious Similitude Suppose that God should promise to bestow Heaven upon us if we would but reach forth and touch it with our hands Now although we can never reach so high yet if we do not stretch forth our hands and reach as high as we are able to do the fault of losing Heaven will not lie upon the inability and impossibility that was in us to touch it but it lies in our willful neglect of striving to our utmost to do what we are able to do why the reason why we fall short would not be because our Arm is not long enough but because we do not stretch it forth to the utmost length The instance is somewhat plain and familiar but yet it holds an exact proportion to the case in hand God promiseth Heaven to us if we will but touch it that is if we will lay hold on Christ by Faith which Faith we can no more work in our selves by our own proper efficiency than touch Heaven with our Finger yet howsoever if we do not do our utmost our falling short of Heaven and Faith cannot be imputed to the impossibility that we lay under but to our willful sloth and neglect It is not Men's cannots but their will nots not their Impotency but their Obstinacy that destroys them Ye will not come to me that ye might have life John 5.40 Ye will not Doth not Christ himself tell us that no Man can come to him except the Father draw him True but the fault lies in the stubbornness of your wills though you could come you would not therefore it is not your weakness but your willfulness that keeps you from coming to Christ Let me here appeal to your selves Doth not he deserve Eternal Death who had a Power in his hand to make himself a Christian and yet would not certainly you will all conclude this Man is very equally and justly dealt with if sentenced to Eternal Misery since he had a Power to avoid that misery and to lay hold on Eternal Life and Happiness his condemnation lies on his own head for his willful contempt of Salvation which he had a Power to work out and by a diligent improvement of the means tendered to him to make sure of it every carnal Man if he had power to convert himself yet through his willful neglect and obstinacy he would not do it and this appears because there is not one of us that doth as much as he might do There is not one natural Man that doth as much as he might do Will not he now do what he can do to prepare and dispose his heart for Grace then much less would he work Grace in his heart though he had a Power to do it and therefore the whole default of Men's falling short of Grace lies in their willful neglects Men indulge themselves in carnal sloth and if they can but maintain the pace and rate of common ordinary Professors in a formal course of Duty or abstain