Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A94378
|
The Parliament of instrvctjons; for, the relief of afflicted, persecuted, and plundered Christians. / Written by H.T. one of the Parliaments soldiers, who hath since lost his life in the service.
|
H. T.
|
1645
(1645)
|
Wing T13; Thomason E1189_4; ESTC R210221
|
7,469
|
17
|
humbled themselves before the Lord and had a glorious deliverance Esth. 4 15. 16. We should labour to make good our interest in God to clear up our evidence for heaven our assurance of God in Christ when David was driven from home and harbour he incouraged himself in the Lord his God Tolle meum tolle Deum saith Augustine If a man knowes that God is his in Christ his friend his God his habitation his Rock unto whom he may continually resort he will soon believe himself in the losse of all outward things thus Well though I have lost my house yet I have kept my God he is such an habitation as cannot be plundered such an habitation as cannot be plundered such an habitation as winde and rain and weather cannot beat through such an habitation as I may carry about the World with me Psal. 73. 23. Psal. 18. 1 2. 1 Sam. 2. 2. Prov. 10. 29. Isa. 49. 8. 9. There is a story of a King that when he had destroyed a Countrey in his destroying fell in Love with a beautifull woman whom he brought away with him and married and afterwards much lamenting to her that he had slain her father that hee had killed her husband massacred her friends and destroyed her Countrey she answers him sweetly again with a great deal of affection My husband my father my friends and Countrey are now in thee O King This is that Love which God would fain have from you and this is that language which would expresse a great deal of Peace and comfort in your Soules and which the hand of God now leads you to at this time when God threatens your Countrey when he brings confusion upon your estates when he destroys your armies if he should go further if he should turne your Countrey absolutely into a wildernesse if he should take away all your deare Relations from you Then do you comfort your selves after this manner What 's my countrey Which are my children and where is my estate My countrey my children and my estate They are in thee oh my God Be sure of this therefore that you cleere your interest in God himselfe 10. We should learn now before the rainy day come to be dead unto all the world The Man that is dying is sencelesse not affected with the cries of his Children wife and friends that stand round about him though they weep and wring their hands he is not stirred Why Because being a dying man he is dead to them and if you be dead to your houses Liberties and Estates aforehand you will be able to buckle and grapple with that condition So it was with Paul who died daily 2 Cor. 5. 4. Phil. 1. 21. 11. Have ever sweet thoughts of Death from this consideration this world this life is a stage of sorrow Death is but your Exit by it you go off the Stage why then death puts an end to your part of sorrow t is a strange darkenesse that lies upon our apprehensions that makes death fearfull to us indeed t is this life that 's dreadfull all the sufferings of a saint they are contained within the compasse of this life and life is nothing else but a Tract of sufferings and death cuts the thread of all our sorrws by cutting the thread of life He that writes the life of Saint Austin tells a story of him An holy man was upon the point of dying but was very unwilling to die a couple of young men clothed with a beauty and majesty more then earthly appeared to his bedside and spake thus O vaine men what shall I do with you you cannot indure miseries and yet you are unwilling to goe hence you cannot indure pain and yet you desire to live Let me say this to you all why are you afraid to die Doe you love sorrowes Are you unable to beare misery and are you unwilling to go off from this stage of suffering In this life we are as it were in a dark cave beyond which is a glorious habitation why are you afraid of passing the flame the flame is at the very mouth of the Cave and you are no sooner in it but you are out of it Live in grief these your griefs are as the glory of your God upon you Die cheerefully when you die because with the losse of life you enter into glory 12. Let us set before our eyes the joyes of heaven as Christ did Heb. 12. That man that doth not minde the things of this life is never likely to be rich if he do not minde them in a moderate way so that man that doth not minde the joyes of Heaven shall never come thither Where should the Members bee but where the Head raigneth Where should the heart be but where our Heavenly treasure is Christ who is our Treasure is in heaven whither our affections first ascend and then we follow after Heb. 12. 2. Mat. 6. 19. 20. Luk. 12. 33. 1 Tim. 6. 19. 13. Let us consider the uncertainty of all earthly treasures or comforts they are like Absaloms Mule they will go away from under us when wee have most need of them and leave us hanging by the hair of the head When night comes we willingly lay off our clothing and then make ready to rest A night of Affliction and destruction is now coming upon the Kingdome let us be willing to depart as we came into the world naked A great Conquerour of the world would have his Ensigne-bearer carry forth a sorry cloth or shrowding sheet saying Lo here is all of his conquests that a worthy Captain doth carry with him Saladin Asiae Dominator Job 14. 1. Job 17. 14. Eccles. 1. 8. and 12 8. Jam. 5. 1 2 3. 14. Let us often meditate upon the fire of Hell The Scripture calls it A Bottomlesse Pit Tophet a Dungeon large and deepe the burning whereof is fire and brimstone The Lake of the second death If a man cannot indure a little fire in one part of his body as on his little finger but one hour how intollerable shall the paine of the damned be when they shall burne within and without Who can dwell with everlasting burning saith the Prophet Esay And yet our fire here is but a picture and shadow of that unquenchable fire there in Hell where one drop of cold water will be more worth then all the Jewels of the World though only to coole the tongue Reve. 9. 1 20. 15. Mat. 22. 13. 15. Let us set before our eyes the example of the Saints which have suffered for the truth we professe Examples shew us it is novelty nor impossibility to suffer for Christs sake and the Gospels Who would not follow having such a cloud of witnesses He. 12. 1. 1 Pet. 4. 16. 17. 18. 16. Spare not one sin unmortified keep not beloloved Dalilah for it will make us more woe then we think for and will make us have inward fears and doubtings when others shall have consolation Christ
THE PARLIAMENT OF JNSTRVCTJONS FOR The relief of afflicted persecuted and plundered Christians Written by H. T. one of the Parliaments Soldiers who hath since lost his life in the service PSAL. 55. 22. Cast thy Burthen upon the Lord and he shall nourish thee he will not suffer the Righteous to fall for ever LONDON Printed by JANE COE 1645. The Parliament of Instructions for the relief of afflicted persecuted and plundered Christians THe Ship of this Kingdome being now tossed with the Waves and Tempests of a Civill and unnaturall Warre the sharpest and sorest of all Gods Arrowes It is no time for any man like Ionas to lie snorting in the bottome of the Ship but we must all indeavour to use some means for to stop the current of this inundation and overflowing of Gods judgements upon us and as by our many great and crying sins we have provoked God to wrath and indignation against us so by our humiliation prayer and reformation we ought to seek to appease his offended Majestie Which that every perticular man may the better put in execution I have collected these considerations and Meditations following out of the word of God which may serve as directions unto all sorts of people how to behave and dispose of themselves in the most sad and disconsolate times 1 Let a man examine himself whether he be in the estate of grace or not Let us try our faith and repentance if we will not try our selves we shall be tried it is therefore our duty to do it before hand Let us look that we lay a good foundation and build upon the sure and immoveable rock Christ Jesus and then let the flouds of affliction beate Lam. 3 40. Let the Stormes and Tempests of persecution blow never so yet we shall stand firm and sure Mariners you know it s enough for them almost that they know their ships good however they be tossed they know the nature of the Seas I am well imbarqued why so may you in the middest of all your tossings who are right with him say I am in a good vessell I am in Christ here is my Ark let the world rage let what will come I am in Christ I am in a very blessed Ark Math. 3. 26 27 28. Mar. 5. 37. Luk. 8. 28. Rom. 13. 14. 2 We should wean our mindes from the love of the world A thing hanged on a pin is easily heaved off but the things that are glewed or cemented together are hardly surrendred or divided David loved Absalom too much which made him so much lament for the losse of him Excessive love to the world makes the crosse the harder to be indured 2 Sam 18. 33. 3 We should be twice as much exercised in religious duties as in other more peaceable times When Iudas was plotting Christ went to the passeover when Almighty God comes to visit let him finde us well imployed let us be moved with reverence and diligence to use means to save our selves and our families all that belong unto us Mat. 26. 14. Lu. 22. 4. 4 We should labor to keep a good conscience that when we have troubles without we may have peace within For saith Salomon a good conscience is a continuall Feast Acts 24. 16. 1 Cor. 1 3. Gal. 1. 3. 5 We should inure our selves to some hardnesse a delicate person will hardly suffer We should deny our selves something in meat something in apparell Let us abase our selves lest God abase us God threatens a severe curse by the mouth of his Prophet unto those that humble not themselves in times of common calamitie Joel 2. 1. 12. Zeph. 1. 12. 6 Pray and sue and intreat evermore for the favour of God it wil be intolerable to apprehend the wrath of God and the wrath of man both at once God hath promised that if we cal upon him in the time of trouble he wil hear Psa. 50. 15. Jam. 5 13. Jer. 29. 12. 7 Let us make much of the promises they being up wil be as strong waters to keep us from fainting Amongst other precious promises of God in Scripture meditate upon these Texts following Psa. 125. 1 2. They which trust in the Lord shal be as M. Sion which cannot be moved but abideth for ever As the mountains are round about Jerusalem so the Lord is about his people from henceforth even for ever 1 Sam â— 9. The Lord will keep the feet of his Saints Prov. 1. 33. Who so hearkneth unto me shall dwell safely and shall be quiet for fear of evill Psal. 91. 4. He will cover thee under his wings and thou shalt be sure under his feathers his Truth shall be thy sword and buckler Psal. 121. 3 4 5. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved he that keepeth thee will not slumber Behold he that keepeth Israel will neither slumber nor sleep The Lord is thy Keeper the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand Seeing the Lord is our Keeper we need not fear the greatest dangers in the most dangerous times See also Job 11. 18 19. Matth. 10. 39. Chap. 19. 24. Psal. 125. 3. 1 Sam. 2. 20. Deut. 28. 7. Deut. 30. 7. Prov. 21. 18. 8 Get into thy heart sound and experimentall knowledge of the truth as also the love of it It is the truth we are likely to suffer for we cannot suffer for that we do not know much lesse for that we do not love Joh. 17. 3. Tit. 1. 16. Joh. 18. 37. 9 We should labour to incourage and comfort one another in these evill times God hath a Book of remembrance of them that speak often one to another Mal. 3. When men do ask what news we should question with them what shall we do to escape Gods judgments shall we pray and humble our selves shall we fast shall we become new men and binde our selves to God with an everlasting covenant Many good friends oftentimes in the world shake hands at parting therefore when we keep our solemn Assemblies which should be now more often then ordinary we should keep them with the more reverence and devotion for we know not whether we shall make them any more Mal. 3. 17. Luk. 21. 38. Joel 1. 14. Pr. 27. 12. Isa. 45. 20. Ezr. 6. 23. Neh. 8. 30. 1 Pe. 5. 6. When we make our humble repentance unto God we had need do it sincerely indeed it may be our last It is said of certain Hawkes in colder Countries that they are most earnest and eager to take their prey when the day light there is of least continuance Let us not care so much what shall be after us in the World but let us care what will become of us when we are departed in the World to come Hear good counsell saith Austin do that before death which may do thee good when thou art dead When the Church in Hesters time was sold to be destroyed by wicked counsell as we now are Hester and Mordecai and all the Jews they fasted and