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	life_n	time_n	18,635	5	3.9362	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61272	The Christian's inheritance a sermon at the funeral of the Reverend Gabriel Towerson ... : preach'd at Welwyn, Octob. 21, 1697 / by George Stanhope ...	Stanhope, George, 1660-1728.	1698 (1698)	Wing S5222; ESTC R21949	16,995	33

greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven above acknowledging himself less than the least of all the Mercies and of all the Truth which he condescends to shew his obedient Children and faithful Servants Thirdly Look upon this Notion of an Inheritance as denoting the Continuance of our Happiness in the next World and thus it may reasonably be expected to reconcile the Thoughts of Death to our Minds So I mean as both to ●●tigate our own Fears of it and to abate our Concern for the Friends who are taken away from us And This would be a very considerable Advantage indeed For it is certain that no Case stands more in need of Consolation and Supp●● than when we either come to die our selves 〈◊〉 to part with Those who are very useful and dear to us Now the natural Aversion to Soul and Body separating may well be allow'd to cost us some Disorder when we find there is no Remedy but these two kind Companions must be torn asunder and that the great Encounter with our last dreadful Enemy approaches And yet 〈◊〉 Miseries of the present Life are so many the ●●joyments and Advantages of it so difficult to 〈◊〉 attained and so defective if ever they be attained that Many considering Heathens have thought leaving the World no such mighty matters A World which to all who make a true estimate of it is so vain at best and withal so uncertain that it could never appear worth a considering 〈◊〉 while to take up his rest and abide for ever●●t But I confess Christianity hath discover'd another very just ground of Fear which the Heathen World could not be so sensible of For if Death be consider'd as that which consigns us over to Judgment and if upon that Judgment depend 〈◊〉 Doom irreversible to all Eternity No wonder if this cast some Men into a mighty Consternation and Dread Such whose Lives have been what they cannot think of rendring any tolerable account for but are sentenc'd by their own guilty Consciences before-hand and sadly sensible that to die will be so far from finishing that it is like to prove to Them the beginning of Sorrows Now I desire it may be consider'd that my present Argument is of no force to abate of 〈◊〉 Fear nor hath either my Text nor any Passage in the whole Gospel one Syll●ge of Comfort for Men that die in the Terrors of obstinate and unrepented Wickedness The only help for wicked Men is this not to spend their time in vai● Lamentations and idle Amazements begin in good earnest to amend their Lives And then as they grow more fit for Death and Judgment by the very same Proportions they will feel their fear of these things grow less My Business therefore is with Christians not barely in Word and Profession but also in Deed and in Truth And whatever Loathness to leave the World these Men may find in themselves may be very much brought ●●er by serious and frequent Reflections upon 〈…〉 heritance 〈…〉 now under Consideration and by 〈…〉 Scriptures which descri●● and recommend and promise and assure it to us Their Heart by this means will be where their Chief Treasure is Their Souls will loosen by degrees and their Affections be wean'd from this World and all it can pretend to upon a thorough Conviction how false and floating how empty and trifling all is here below and how pure and exalted how fixt and durable how solid and satisfactory those Pleasures are which God hath prepared for Good Men How ample a Recompence they make even his the most difficult Services and how far they one weigh all that we can possibly undergo for the obtaining them Outweigh did I say pardon me for putting them into the Balance together To name them at the same time is in some 〈◊〉 to disparage them for so St. Paul hath told us in the very next Verse I reckon that the Sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be ●●●red with that Glory which shall be revealed 〈◊〉 us And now What should hinder the Mind of ● good and a considering Man from meeting Death with Courage and Comfort and looking upon the Sickness which ushers it in as the Messenger of Good News to him For Is it not so to 〈◊〉 translated not only to the End but to the Fruit and exceeding great Reward of all his Care and Toil Is it not so to exchange a decaying and troublesome State for One whose most ex●●site Joys are without any Interruption without any Conclusion And though Flesh and Bloo● will start and give back and even This so 〈…〉 change cannot yet be made without the ●●ing Ceremonies of Agonies and Convulsions yet the Comforts of a Devout Mind must needs he much enlarged upon the nearer approaches to Bliss as that new Scene of Things opens upon it by degrees and gives a more distinct View of that glorious and beautiful Place into which the Man is entring And We whose Office calls us to wait about Death-beds can sometimes observe such Peace of Conscience such Calmness and Content such Lightnings of a Soul upon its Flight such overflowing Comforts and ravishing Transports as notwithstanding all the fallacy of that disorder and painful struggle in the visible and outward Man do fully persuade us that no Men stay behind in the World half so happy or so well satisfy'd as These Men go out of it The Blessings of our Future ●●e even in this distant Prospect might reasonably ●●e expected to put us upon the Wing and tempt us almost to run into the Arms of Death out of meer Impatience to get at them But our wise Crout or hath put the Bar of Flesh and Blood and senfual Appetite betwixt and commands that we should at least be contented to wait his good Leisure of calling us to himself But although to hasten our own Passage by violent Means be in effect to shut our selves out from Heaven for ever yet since we have these Hopes and Promises to support us in the Conflict we ought methinks at least not tamely to bewail and deprecate that very thing which must put us into the actual possession of our Hopes For is it nostrange Ins●●uation to be in love with Labour and Hazard to be sorry that the Evening the time of receiving our Wages is come and all this upon that idle and vulgar Pretence that Death is the gastly Destroyer of Mankind and the King of Terrors whereas in truth he is so only to the Guilty and the Unprepared But serious Piety and Peace with God and a quiet Conscience These have the power to make him tame and gentle They overcome and bind that grim strong Man and take from him all his Armour wherein he trusted Again The same Consideration which ought to have such Efficacy in removing these Fears for our selves does likewise extend it self to ou● Griefs for Others Our immoderate Griefs I mean For Christianity places no Excellence in the s●●fling all natural Affection and