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	see_v	5,253	5	3.2614	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96522	A sermon against lukwarmenesse in religion. Preached at Saint Maries in Oxford, the sixt of September, 1640. / By Henry Wilkinson, Batchelour in Divinity of Magdalen Hall. Printed by order from the House of Commons.	Wilkinson, Henry, 1616-1690.	1641 (1641)	Wing W2238B; Thomason E204_7; ESTC R15190	18,781	50

afflicted and tormented I doubte not but if they would have contented themselves with this negative kinde of goodnesse they might have gone in better clothes and found better usage But those were such as were ready to fulfill the whole Law of God not onely in not doing ill but in doing good though they were sure to be evill intreated Let but such men as count their lives deare unto them when they see Religion lye a bleeding holinesse of life become a By-word zealous professours reproached and men separated from all imitable qualities advanced Haeresies favoured and truth with-held in unrighteousnesse let these I say that count their lives liberty or goods deare vnto them consider how that the fearefull are put in the forefront of all those that have their parts in the Lake which burneth with fire and brimstone Revel 21. 8. Let them remember likewise why our Saviour saith Mat. 16. 25. He that will thus saye his life shall loose it How farre are these Men from counting it all joy when they fall into diverse temptations Jam. 1. 2. Object But you will say that the times were never worse it never farre harder with good men Answ Answ We will grant all this now is the time of tryall for remember what our Saviour saith Mar. 8. 31. He that is ashamed of me and my words in an evill and adulterous generation it is an evill and adulterous generation that puts a man upon his tryall of him will I be ashamed Object But you will say I shall be accounted singular I shall be thought to walke alone Answ Answ This was just Elijah's case He knew of none that did worship the God of Israel but himselfe Let us never give God cause to complaine as once he did Ezek. 22. 30. I sought for a man among them that should make up the hedge and stand in the gap before mee for the Land that I should not destroy it but I found none Where is the courage and constancy of Saint Basil who for his constant and bold defending the truth against the Arrian Haerisie being threatned death by Valence the Emperour answered 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Oh that I might dye for the truth But when they saw that threatning would doe no good they then sought by flattery to corrupt him but he told them that he was not so to bee wrought upon he was resolved neither for feare nor flattery to betray either a good cause or a good conscience The true tryall of a Christians love and zeale to the truth is when ones goods or his credit or his life comes incompetition when once it comes to this that a man must leave all and follow Christ it is to be feared that many who have farre lesse to lose then the rich man in the Gospell will goe away farre more sad When once it comes to this that if you sticke to Christ in such a cause you shall be turned out of the Synagogue when once it comes to turning out it is also to be feared that many who did beleeve in Christ as those did John 12. 42 43. yet will not dare to confesse him but will with them rather chuse the praise of men than of God You would thinke the lukewarme professour to be a very good Christian till he come to his tryall and then hee discovers himselfe what he is for doubtlesse that man that hath his heart fixed on any sinne hee will dispence with his Religion when once it comes to crosse him in it Some men have their Herodias their Dalilah others have their honourable Lords they must bee all pleased others have great livings those must bee kept Pilate was very unwilling to deliver Christ to the fury of the Jewes to bee crudified and yet for feare of Caesar sayes one Evangelist and to content the people saith another for feare of Caesar and the satisfaction of the People two potent arguments he delivers him to bee crucified Their is no discovering of a lukewarme Professour till he be put upon some Criticall point and then he will doe as those did John 6. 66. they will goe backe and walke no more with Christ they can be contented to follow Christ but when once it comes to take up the Crosse and follow him Oh then they are offended They will be accounted professours of the Gospell as it is a Gospell of peace and as it brings glad tidings and promiseth Salvation but when it comes to be made good that whosoever will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution 2 Tim 3. 12. When once it comes to bee fulfilled in them the World will hate them then Christ becomes a stumbling-blocke then Religion becomes a scandall These men would serve God but they would serve as good cheape as they could and with as little paines as may be For if it come to a matter of cost then have they a quorsum perditio haec to what purpose is all this cost if of paines O then Durus est hic sermo this is a hard saying who can beare it Let but these men compare their zeale to Christ with the zeale and love that men usually bestow on their ordinary impolyments and they shall find themselves much outstript We see how that men ordinarily can be content to rise early and late to take rest and eate the bread of sorrow and yet the lukewarme Christian will not deprive himselfe of the least contentment and satisfaction he will by no meanes defraud his Genius in any thing We see men fast tyed to their private interests being in a manner captivated to their owne imployments and yet it is a kind of bondage and abridgement of liberty to devote ones selfe to the service of Christ Let them looke upon sinners in the prosecution of their lusts and let them blush to be outgone by them When any sinne is enshrined in thy heart with what facility doth it command all the faculties as its vassals and yet with what difficultie and reluctancy hath God any service Sinfull objects do insinuate themselves with admirations and satisfactions attracting the desires and inclinations after them They enter into their play their serious businesse their sleepe their actions they take up their discourse replenish their memory enflame their desires And behold how little these lukewarme men are affected with spirituall objects Thus can men be content to nourish feavers and burning coales in their bosome but cannot endure a sparke of zeale How farre are such men from being transported with an holy extasie with the Spouse in the Canticles How farre from being sicke with love from being ravished with the beauty of Christ Lord what showres of teares can they bestow upon any transitory losse but not a drop that they spare for the losse of our Beloved What ardent desires what flames can they send after their sinnes and how dull how sluggish in seekeing him whom our soule should love Let but these lazy negligent Christians consider this and bee ashamed Secondly there

frequently and perhaps willingly whereas indeed they doe them but not to a right end but for some colaterall respects For a command of God may concurre with selfe-respects of our owne for it is Gods command that we should heare the word preached and that we should pray but in performance of both these duties wee may have selfe-respects of our owne for wee may come to heare the Preacher as they in the Gospell did come to heare our Saviour to entrap him in his speech and to informe against him or we may come to heare him as Saint Augustine did to heare Saint Ambrose for his eloquence or we may come to heare him as some scoffers use to doe to laugh at him And we may pray as the Pharisees did to get a good opinion of men or to satisfie locall statutes or out of custome fashion or to comply with men but he doth a good duty zealously who will doe it when all selfe-respects be layd aside when a man will heare the Word though he be reproached and pray with Daniel though hee be in danger of his life He that can doe a duty when there is nothing to encourage to the duty when it is left naked nay when it is discountenanced discouraged punished it is an evident signe that it was the zeale to the end that carryed him through all the difficulties in the passage Sympt 4 Fourthly zeale if it be true is of a most masculine disengaged couragious Nature free from all base and servile feares it yeelds to no encounters but it is encreased by opposition just like heate surrounded with cold it recollects it forces and at length breakes forth with greater violence Such was Nehemiahs zeale Chap. 6. he would not flye though it were to save his life What shall such a man as I fly Julian the Apostate knew well enough the constitution of the Christians zeale and therefore at length he would not vouchsafe them the honour of an opposition for he knew well that their zeale was such as that it would triumph over all difficulties but he tooke a farre more dangerous course for he sought by flattery and faire promises to drawe them to Paganisme Wherefore a Christian should alwayes say thus Shall I that am a Christian shall I deny my cause Shall I betray my faith because it finds many persecutours Shall I alter my judgement because some men are of a contrary mind Shall I change my opinion because Hoc Ithacus velit Shall I remit of my diligence and strictnesse of life for feare of a srowne or stroke of abloquie These be base and unworthy respects farre below a Christians And it is certaine that they which stand in so much awe of men are not recti in curia with God for zeale if it be disengaged it is so bold as to attempt good environed with difficulties It was zeale thus tempered that lived in the hearts of those primitive Christians who were mirrours in their time astonishments to their adversaries and examples of wisedome and fortitude to all posterity of whom Sulpitious Severus speaking sayes thus of them Lib. 2. Multò avidiùs tunc martyria gloriosis mortibus quaerebant quàm nunc Episcopatus pravis ambitionibus appetuntur They did seek more greedily after Martyrdome than some did ambitiously after Bishopricks It was this zeale that caused Ignatius Antioch so earnestly desire death saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Oh that I might enjoy those wild beasts prepared for my death Let all the torments of the World come upon me so that I may enjoy Christ Let but our lukewarme professour compare his condition and temper with this which I have now described and then hee may see how farre short he fals of his duty though he seemes to goe beyond it In the next place I come to take a survey of divers sorts of Christians some of which will come within the compasse of this judgment of my Text. First there is the idle lazy and negligent professour who takes himselfe to be as good as he should be because he is not so bad as other men just like the Pharises who saith Lord I am not as other men I am no extortioner no drunkard no adulterer c. And I would we could all say so truly thus whilest they measure themselves by the irregularities of others they never come to know the rectitude of vertue or their owne deformities Their goodnesse much consists in negatives and they take themselves to be good enough because they be not stark nought the best that you can say of them is that which Tacitus said of Galba that he was magis extra vitia quam cum virtutibus they are rather not notoriously ill than very good But if this negative goodnesse would serve the turne than that abjurgation in the Gospell was unseasonable Why stand ye here idle these men were doing no hurt but it is hurt enough that they were doing no good Meroz was cursed and that bitterly Judges 5. 23. because they came not out to helpe the Lord against the mighty It is not sufficient to doe the people of God no hurt but wee must doe them good we must engage our selves in Christs quarrell for hee that is a Neuter or Indifferent hee is an enemy hee that is not with me saith Christ he is against me It is not this lazy professing of Christ or the title of a Christian that will serve the turne but the zealous profession is that that he lookes at A tree if it be barren or unfruitfull is cast out of the garden as well as bryer and Thornes nor will it suffice to bring forth leaves but no fruit for the figtree was cursed that had leaves but no fruit So that the glorious shew of a formall profession will not serve the turne this is to bring forth leaves but no fruit Let but those men consider whether there be the same minde in them as there was in Christ Philippians 2. 5. which should be in us all Let them but consider whether Christ would content himselfe with a negative goodnesse whether he would stand still and say nothing when he should see good duties neglected zealous professions reviled and men live in sensuality and carnall lusts Let them also consider how that God complaines Jer. 9. not of those that set themselves against the truth but that there was no man had courage for the truth I make no question but John Baptist had kept his head on his shoulders if he could have beene contented to have said nothing concerning the incestuous marriage of Herod with his brother Philips wife I doubt not but that Mordecai might have had the favour both of Naman and the King if so be he would have bowed his knee Both Daniel and Paul had escaped imprisonment if they could but have held their tongues But to the silent when Gods glory suffers is to be accessary Those in Heb. 11. that wandred up and downe in Sheepskins and goatskins being destitute