Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	die_v	good_a	life_n	16,696	5	4.8534	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A49406	A sermon preacht at the funeral of Mr. Thomas Lamb July 23, 1686 by Richard Lucas ...	Lucas, Richard, 1648-1715.	1686 (1686)	Wing L3417; ESTC R5563	11,776	31

constant and sincere practice of these we adorn the Gospel of Christ promote the Honour of God and shew forth the praises of him who called us out of Darkness into his Marvellous Light for nothing does more convincingly manifest and publish to the World the Honourable Notions we entertain of God the Purity and Power of our Christian Faith than a Life imploy'd and spent in these works for by this we openly proclaim to the World that we do not believe that a Holy and good God can be pleas'd with any thing but Holiness and Goodness or that any Sacrifice can be so acceptable to him as the Imitation according to our power of his Divine Perfections Besides these Duties common to all Christians there are others which flow from our distinct Professions and Callings Every man's Calling whether he be a Pastor in the Church or a Ruler or Officer in the State whether he be a Trader Physician c. doth more peculiarly exact some distinct kind of Vertue As Watchfulness in Pastors Integrity in Rulers Justice in Traders Tenderness in Physicians and such like and in all Industry and Diligence Nor doth it a little import the Honour of our Religion and the welfare of human Society that every man do faithfully discharge the particular and distinct Duty of his Calling nor can he neglect it without involving himself in the guilt of trampling underfoot the most powerful obligations for this the abilities God endow's him with this the trust God commits to him this the Dependencies others have reasonably fixt upon him this the general Covenant suppos'd entred into by every Member of a Community that he will be useful and helpful in his place this the Interest of the publick and the glory of God loudly calls and presses every man to it being impossible that Decency and Order in human Affairs should be preserv'd that the Beauty and Harmony of Divine Providence should be maintain'd that the mutual wants and necessities of Mankind should be ministred to and supplied or the Honour of God supported and upheld in the World unless men be faithful in the discharge of the Duties of their several Callings and Professions This is that the Apostle exhorts to Rom. 12.6 7 8. Having then gifts differing according to the Grace that is given to us whether Prophecy let us Prophesie according to the Proportion of Faith or Ministry let us wait on our Ministring or he that teacheth on teaching or he that exhorteth on Exhortation He that ruleth let him do it with diligence The same Faithfulness and Diligence men are elsewhere in Scripture exhorted to in their secular and Prophane Callings You see then what the works are which God prescribes us to walk in namely the works of our general Callings as we are Men and Christians and the works of our distinct Professions as we are dedicated to different imployments in Church or State You discern in the next place the natural Bent and Tendency of these works towards the glorifying God on the Earth This then is the Post which you are to make good this is the station you are to fill this is the Province you are to adorn you cannot otherwise acquit your selves with a good Conscience towards God or Man And hence it follows § 2dly That the Faithful discharge of our Duty is the only Rational ground of our Assurance towards God 'T is true and confessed on all hands that the Death and Merits of Christ is the great cause of our Peace and Reconciliation with God that through him through him alone all Christians are to expect the pardon of their sins and the acceptance of their performances That when we have done all we are unprofitable Servants And that the most unblameable and pious Life that ever was yet led upon Earth except that of Christ's himself could never be able to undergo the Test the Tryal of God's strict Judgment And therefore our Deceased Friend notwithstanding the nature and number of his good works not easily to be parallel'd though I wish they were by many Instances in this Age gave us this short account of his Faith and Hope the day before his Death I trust in the mercy of God But though all this be true 't is all nothing to the point in hand for though Christ dyed for all yet all have not a like or equal ground of Hope Tho the Death of Jesus be sufficient to attone for the sins of all yet all are not actually pardoned The Question therefore is what gives men a good Claim and a just Title to the Benefits of Christ's passion and what is the clearest proof of the goodness of our Claim and then nothing is more evident than that this is a faithful discharge of the Duties of Life a finishing the works God gives us to do These are the proper effects of saving Knowledge and a saving Faith These are the very Essentials of Repentance towards God These are the kindly Operations of Love unfeigned These are the proper tokens of the Divine presence and the Residence of God's Spirit within us These lastly are the natural and genuine fruits of an enligthned understanding and renew'd mind These therefore are the best proofs and evidences of our claim to all the Benefits of Christ's Death and Merits and consequently the most Rational Foundation of our Peace and Comfort in our Latter end This is evident from the Examples of all Righteous and good men whose Comfort in Death is wont to be proportiond to the Piety and Sincerity of their Lives hence not to multiply Instances that of Saint Paul 2 Tim. 4.7 8. I have fought a good fight I have finisht my Course I have kept the Faith henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness which the Lord the Righteous Judge shall give me at that day and not to me only but to them also that love his appearing Here we have the confident expectation of a Crown but 't is a Crown of Righteousness and if we examine the ground of this confidence of St Paul it is that War which he prosperously waged those conflicts which he had successfully maintain'd against the World the Flesh and the Devil his Indefatigable Perseverance in the Race of Vertue and Goodness set before him And finally his stedfast and unshaken adherence to the Faith of Christ in despight of all the malice and fury with which he was assaulted Thus have I briefly insisted on the words of my Text as reserving room for that which is a more fair and lively Comment on it the Life of our deceas'd Friend And here in pursuance of my method I should be obliged to begin with an account of his behaviour in his particular profession but having resolv'd to say nothing but what I either personally know or have full and unquestionable proof of I will pass over this part of his Life as that to which I am in a great measure a stranger though I cannot forbear recommending to

A SERMON Preacht at the FUNERAL OF Mr. Thomas Lamb July 23. 1686. By RICHARD LUCAS M.A. Vicar of St. Stephen's Coleman-street LONDON Printed for Sam. Smith at the Prince's-Arms in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1686. IMPRIMATUR July 24. 1686. Hen. Maurice R mo Archiepiscopo Canl à Sacris To the Reverend Mr. JOHN LAMB Rector of Wheathampsted in Hartfordshire c. SIR THough I expect this Sermon should be encountred by two sorts of censures First of those who Envy that goodness which they will not imitate and for the Vindication of their own worthlesness and barrenness detract from the Excellence and Fruitfulness of others Next of those who may be disgusted at the courseness and heaviness of it Yet this could not discourage me from the publication of it For as to the former if they could deserve my consideration I am sufficiently fortified against 'em by being conscious to my self that I have impartially follow'd strict Truth either personally known to me or abundantly attested As to the latter I think verily they do me no great wrong for I agree thus far with em that the discourse is by no means equal to the subject But in this I have this comfort that thought it can give no Lustre or Dignity to the subject it may receive both in some measure from it and so may prove useful in despight of it's flatness Besides Examples of this nature ought not to be stifled or suppressed as being such excellent Vindications of our Christian profession such brisk reproaches and convincing reproofs of the Coldness and Irreligion of evil men and such excellent Incentives of Emulation to the good And yet after all this I think verily I should never have suffered this discourse to have seen the Light such was my value for it had I not been over-rul'd as you know by the importunity of such whose Friend●hip I have no ground to question and to whose Judgment I have just ground to pay a deference Now that it is publisht it doth of Right belong to you to whom I offer it and intreat you to accept it notwithstanding it's imperfections as a testimony of my Respect for you and of my kindness for the Memory of your dear Father and my dear Friend departed I am SIR Your Affectionate Friend and Humble Servant RICHARD LUCAS JOHN 17.4 5. I have glorified thee on the Earth I have finisht the works which thou gavest me to do And now O Father glorifie thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the World was NOthing can afford so much comfort and support in the day of Calamity or Death as the Conscience of a well-spent Life a faithful discharge of our Duty being the Sole-Rational proof of our sincerity and our sincerity being the only solid ground of Hope and assurance towards God If our heart i.e. our Conscience condemn us not then have we confidence towards God 1 John 3.21 This is a Lesson our Saviour has taught us by his own Example here in my Text very well knowing that the time of his Death and Crucifixion was very near at hand that he might fortifie himself against all the Terrours of it by confirming and strengthening his Hope of that Joy that was set before him he enters up on a survey of his past Life recollects all his performances reflects upon his Actions and calls himself to an account concerning the Discharge of that Trust which God had committed to him of the great Work which he had undertaken for the Salvation of man and the Honour of God And finding upon a just and Impartial Reflection that he had through the whole course of his Life acquitted himself faithfully and vigorously his Soul rejoyceth within him and he breaks out into expressions of holy Confidence and an assur'd and earnest expectation of the Reward of his Obedience and Faithfulness I have glorified thee on the Earth c. And now O Father glorifie thou me with thine own self c. Thus I have in part explained the words already having given you an account of the Occasion Design and Tendency of them As they belong properly and peculiarly to our Saviour they imply two things First His Faithful Discharge of his Prophetick Office I have glorified thee c. This consisted especially 1. In publishing the will of God to the World as he himself explains it more fully in the following part of the Chapter 2. In the proof and evidence he gave of his Commission from God and the Divinity of his Doctrine which was the Wonderfulness of his works and the unparallel'd Sanctity of his Life Secondly His Expectation of Reward consisting in the exaltation of his Human Nature and it's admission into a participation of that Glory which he enjoy'd with the Father from all Eternity And now O Father Glorifie thou me with thine own self with the Glory which I had with thee before the World was But if we consider that Christ is the Christian 's great pattern that his Life is propos'd to us as an Example to our Obedience that his peace and joy is in some degree the Portion and Blessing of every faithful Disciple and follower of his and that lastly his exaltation and Glory is the Original and Idaea by which our's shall in it's due proportion be form'd and modelled I may very well be allowed to interpret the behaviour of our Lord in my text as an Example set us all in general containing matter of Instruction and Advice to all Christians which may be resolv'd into these two Propositions 1st That there is a Work given every one of us to sinish a Duty prescrib'd each of us by the Conscientious performance of which we may glorisie God on the Earth 2dly That a Christian's Comfort and Assurance in Death if rational ought to flow from the Conscience of a faithful discharge of this Duty § 1st That there is a work c. The Duties of human Life are of two sorts First such as are common to all as Men and Christians Secondly such as are proper and peculiar to some men as engag'd in distinct Callings and Professions As Men and Christians Sobriety Purity Truth Justice Charity Meekness Long-Suffering Devotion Faith Self-Resignation Obedience and such like are the works which God hath pre-ordain'd that we should walk in These are Reflections and Raies of the Divine glory these are the Tracks and Characters of the Divine Image these are the Ornaments and true Excellencies of a Christian in comparison of which the Celebrated Exploits of the Heathen-Gods Jupiter Hercules Bacchus c. are as Lactantius speaks but childish braveries the blind Sallies of an impotent passion of an Unballasted Impetus By the constant and sincere practice of these we exalt and perfect our Natures advancing them into a nearer participation of the Divine Image by the constant and sincere practice of these we procure the peace the security the Welfare and Prosperity of human Society And finally by the