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	live_v	soul_n	15,929	5	5.3820	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A86326	The life and death of David. A sermon preached at the funeralls of that worthy member of the Honourable House of Commons, William Strode Esquire, in the Abbey Church in Westminster, Septemb. 22⁰. 1645. / By Gaspar Hickes, a member of the Assembly of Divines.	Hickes, Gaspar, 1605-1677.	1645 (1645)	Wing H1839; Thomason E302_16; ESTC R200280	18,801	32

THE LIFE and DEATH OF DAVID A SERMON Preached at the Funeralls of that Worthy Member of the Honourable House of COMMONS William Strode Esquire In the Abbey Church in Westminster Septemb. 22o. 1645. By GASPAR HICKES a member of the Assembly of Divines LONDON Printed by G. Miller for Christopher Meredith at the Signe of the Crane in Pauls Church-yard 1645. TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFVLL Sr EDWARD BARKHAM Knight and Baronet and to his truely religious Lady the Lady FRANCES BARKHAM Right Worshipfull AMong the many comforts I have met with in your family where I found the first safe and quiet harbour after my wanderings and tossings in the common storme I cannot but prize it as an eminent one that there I injoyed the sweet company of that worthy Gentleman our dear friend whose name this paper bears by whose favours I have been really helped and refreshed and from whose wisedome and goodnesse if I prove not defective to my selfe I might learn much When I was called to performe that last sad office for him I could heartily have desired that it had rather been put into the hands of some one of the most able and famous of my brethren whose parts and credit might have better reached the worth and set forth the renown of a person so worthy of the highest honour Yet that which animated me to the taske as a duty something fit for me was the consideration of my intimate converse with him in the last and best acted part of his time whereby I had this advantage that as affection stirred me to speak freely of him so conscience prompted me and experience inabled me to speak the known truth and that only My hopes are that my obscurity or weaknesse shall not leave any blemish on his excellencies which deserve to be drawn and flourished by the most curious pencill which will shine forth in despite of obloquie and ill will either of open enemies or of those at home whose ill-affected eyes could not brook the clear and lightsome beams of his unmasked and unmixed integrity Indeed I doubt not but when all such shall be parables of the dust written in the earth rotting in infamy his memory shall be blessed and his name dear yea so long as the name of Parliament shall be precious to England And precious may that great name be preserved and blessed that society so long as we continue a people This incult piece such as it is I humbly present to you and that as your due not only in regard of my manifold and deep ingagements to you but principally in respect of your interesses in him that is gone to God between whom and you there passed and continued an intercourse of hearty reall and scarcely to be parallelled friendship Besides the subject matter of the Sermon is proper and pertinent to you it sets forth the serviceablenesse of the godly to their generation For your part Sir your cordiall usefull unwearied activity for the publique is well known to all that know you aright And you Madame are every day casting in your contributions laying out your interesses in Heaven for the common good I know you both desire to act rather then to hear of what you do Go on to do as you do and still more abundantly And the choicest blessings of Heaven and earth be multiplied upon you and upon your hopefull progeny So prayeth Your most obliged faithfull servant GASP. HICKES Errata Pag 3. lin 10 for beartlesse r. but lesse p 4 l. 2. for will r well A SERMON PREACHED in the Abbey Church at Westminster at the Funerals of that Worthy Member of the Honourable House of Commons WILLIAM STRODE Esquire Septemb. 22o. 1645. ACTS 13.36 For David after be had served his own generation by the will of God fell on sleep and was layd unto his fathers and saw corruption IT will not sute with our present purpose to stay long upon the discovery of the occasion and coherence of these words Let it suffice to shew that they are part of a Sermon preached by Paul at Antioch in Pisidia wherein he proves by many invincible arguments that grand assertion or principle of faith that Jesus is the Christ the promised Saviour His arguments may be reduced to two heads testimony and events testimony of John and the Prophets and events sutable to their testimonies and predictions The events foretold and accomplished in Jesus and here specified are four production of the seed of David sufferings from the Jews buriall resurrection The last his resurrection from the dead whereby he was mightily declared to be the Sonne of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 1.4 according to the spirit of holinesse the power of his God-head being therein expressed most apparently and beyond contradiction this I say is evidenced to have been foretold by many expresse and concluding authorities of Scripture viz. Psal 2.7 Isa 55.3 Psal 16.10 and which are applicable to Christ and to him mainly And if any should question whether David speaks personally of himselfe or prophetically of Christ in the last mentioned authority which runnes thus Thou shalt not suffer thy holy one to see corruption Psal 26.10 the Apostle meets with the doubt by way of Prolepsis shewing that the place cannot be competent to David properly or directly but only as he was a type of Christ or by way of participation as he should with the rest of the godly be raised up with Christ for David himselfe was a mortall man whose time was limited by the determination of God within the bounds of his generation who expired according to the common exigence of man-kinde whose outward man saw and suffered some kinde of corruption He after he had served his own generation by them will of God fell on sleep c. Which words if I would set a title on them might be aptly stiled the life and death of David Neither need I strain them into a division they voluntarily fall asunder into these two parts 1. The course 2. The issue of a godly man Consider we must that the Apostles principall-drift here is to set David below Christ and therefore to describe him in his humane finitenesse and frailty Yet is the mention of him honourable discovering the integrity of his course and the happinesse of his issue He served but it was his honour and uprightnesse to be faithfull and profitable in his service to do good to them that came within his relation and reach He died but death to him was a sweet sleep a rest from his labours a lying down in peace therein he was gathered to his fathers nothing befell him but that which was incident to those glorious Ancients the Patriarchs and holy men of God and though his perishable part his dust was liable to a temporary heartlesse corruption yet is that deposited reserved intire and safe to an happy reunion with his soul and his immortall precious spirit is lodged in the armes of glory The very order of

nature prompts to me a method fit to be followed in handling my text David served and died and needfull it is that I first endeavour to teach and to learn how to live before death come I shall therefore now terminate or stint my speech to the godly mans course David served his own generation by the will of God Wherein I might point out unto you these things considerable 1. The person David 2. His imployment he served 3. The object on which he bestowed his pains his own generation 4. The moving and ordering cause the will of God David a man whom the Lord found out and framed after his own heart such a one as he would have him whom he advanced by speciall grace in a wonderfull way to be the ruler of his people he served not himselfe in an exorbitant arbitrary domineering way of government but others by seeking their good and promoting their well fare in all respects and he served his own generation those to whom he was bound in relation who stood within his compasse and that to the utmost extent of his time and abilities and all this he did by the will of God which I take here to signifie not so much Gods injoyning or prescribing will which is indeed the rule of all our obedience and service as his determining disposing will the word here used is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which some will translate Gods counsell by which all our good works and gracious passages are fore-ordained the measure of our time and strength dispensed and bounded The summe of all may be laid together in such a doctrinall observation as this Doct Doct. It is the integrity the honour the happinesse of the godly by the gracious disposing and working of God to be made truly serviceable to them with whom they have converse and communion Or thus A godly man is a serviceable a usefull a profitable man David a potent nad prosperous Monarch that had the necks of his enemies under his feet and the hearts of his people at his beck hath this left uopn record as a most honourable memoriall that he served them whom he ruled By a speciall choice a clear call he was taken from the sheep-folds from following the ewes great with young from the low and laborious imployment of a shepherd to royall dignity his advancement did not exempt him from his pains but only altered the object of them before he fed and watched and attended sheep and now he must do the like for men Psal 78 79. 71 7. and so he did with integrity of heart and skilfullnesse of hands the more sublime and noble the imployment is the greater care and industry dexterity and parts are requisite for the managing of it The most eminent Saints whether in respect of function or graces have the highest and hardest taskes to accomplish Paul more then once pleads the warrant of his call 2 Cor. 15.10 1 11 13. and the uprightnesse of his course to and in his Apostleship from the abundance and successe of his labours And the meanest Christian if sound hath the honour and fitnesse to be in some way and measure profitable to the body It is a duty of generall concernment Gal. 5.13 of indispensable necessity on all of us that partake of the same precious faith and are called to the liberty of Christ to serve one another in love Reas Reas 1. In must needs be so if we consder the relation or necessitude between Saints They are children of the same parentage brethren of the same descent members of the same body fellow-citizens of the same corporation they are animated by the same principles walke by the same rule minde the same end and though they are endowed with divers and different gifts placed in severall rankes 1 Cor. 12.1 5 7 8. yet is it the same spirit the same Lord the same God which worketh all in all and therefore is the manifestation of the Spirit given to every one to profit withall the exhibition of all spirituall sufficiencies is for mutuall helpfullnesse Spirituall relations are more noble and strong then those that are naturall they are more near more ingaging and endearing Lumbard When the Master of the Schoolmen had discoursed largely and acutely of the mutuall love between the Father and Christ he concludes all with a confession Se non possed serte explicare that it passed his skill to enucleate the mystery So do you turn your bowels within you dive to the depth of your affections weigh the measures and feel the tendernesse of your respects to the wife of your bosome the childrin of your loines the friend that is to you as your own soul and if there be no more but nature in them they are but shadows or glaunces in comparison of gracious affections those blessed bonds are pure in their root and fruit vigorous in their activity necessary and indissoluble in their continuance hearty in their whole frame and drift being truly spiritualized there are angelicall wings and wheels added to heighten and accelerate their motions therefore they beget tender care strong endeavours for the good of the them with whom they close 2. The truth will be clear if we notice the qualification or aptitude of Saints for mutuall serviceablenesse All graces are precious and usefull they have their full task in doing good The Apostle magnifies the worke of faith 1 Thes 1 4. the labour of love the patience of hope in the Thessalonians True grace cannot be idle or inactive When the Holy Ghost after the assension of Christ was plentifully poured down on beleevers there was an apparition of cloven tongues as of fire sitting upon each of them Acts 2.3 The tongue is the member of communication fire is apt to dilate and disperse it selfe so farre as it can reach combustibles and the clovennesse of these tongues denotes not only the variety and fullnesse of graces and sufficiencies issuing from our glorified head but their aptnesse also to communicate themselves The godly man is furnished with true and rich abilities and he is expensive of them willing to lay them out for the good of others 3. He is animated hereunto by Gods acceptation Service done to the meanest member of Christ is interpretatively done to Christ himselfe so is he pleased to value it God is not unrighteous to forget your worke and labour of love Mit. 25.45 which ye have shewed to his Name in that ye have ministred to the Saints Heb. 6.10 and do minister Gods justice his faithfullnesse is here ingaged to remember and remunerate all good offices performed in sincerity to his Saints and that because of his own interesses he accounts all expressed and done to his own Name You see the godly have dear and binding respects usefull abilities effectuall incouragements to make them helpefull and serviceable each to other therefore the truth of the doctrine is clear and

more abundantly to you-wards When he was even in the mouth of death the recognition or rellish of his faithfull pains in serving God and his people filled him with unspeakable joy Oh how sweet will it be when the godly man at his dissolution can with good Hezekiah lodge his soul in Gods blessed bosome thus Remember now O Lord I beseech thee Isa 38.3 how I have walked before thee intruth and with a perfect heart and have done that which is good in thy sight that which is sutable to thy will honourable to thy Name profitable to thy Church and people Vse 3 3. And suffer me in a word or two of consolation to bring home the refreshment of this doctrine now in handling to the hearts of Gods dear ones I beleeve there are many sorrowfull souls here by reason of the sad occasion before us many that toyl and sweat and serve for the publique good and need refreshing Were my own spirit sutable I might draw much comfort from this fountain I shall now be able only to let fall a few drops upon you 1. It is exceedingly comfortable to the godly man that he is the most usefull serviceable creature that lives on earth He is more truly helpefull and beneficent hee can do more reall and rich good turnes then the greatest mortall breathing that is out of Christ If with Mordecai he be raised to outward dignity and power he will ingratiate and endear himself to the multitude of his brethren Esther ●3 by seeking the wealth of his people and speaking peace to all his seed If he be mean in the world yet let not the Eunuch say I am a dry tree he hath a speciall spirituall way of the helpfullnesse above all the men of the world The Saints are the ornament the blessing the safety of the places that hold them they are the pillars of Kingdoms the props of Parliaments the cement of societies the horsemen and charets of armies the beauty of all things here below May we not affirme this now upon just experience who as they have advantaged the cause of God now inagitation they consult and act and fight and pray and that not without apparent blessed successe even many times when all seems to be dashed and lost Without oftentation we may boldly say Si Pergama dextrá desendt possent etian bao defensa uissent If any thing under Heaven be instrumentall to keep up these shaken distracted dying kingdoms from utter ruin 't is most likely it will be the Saints service 2. There is great reason of rejoycing to the godly in that of all other they are best served They have not only immediate protection and provision from God the ministery of Angels the renewed right and sanctified use of creatures but all their fellow Saints also to be their servants in speciall 1 Cor 3.21 22. All things are yours saith the Apostle whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas c. you have interesse in all the faithfull pains of Christs Ministers in all the ordinances of life you have a share and benefit in the whole stock of graces and prayers that trade and commerce between Heaven and earth Solomon hath a Proverbe to this purpose Better is he that is despised and hath a servant then he that exalts himselfe and wants bread Alas poor rich worldling hungerstarved Epicures dolefull sensualists you that thinke ye have the world at will that walk with your train of attendants and glory in the crouchings of your clients and slaves you want bread all true and confortable helps A time is comming upon you when that which seems most serviceable to you shall prove most vexatious Your table shall become a snare your friends tormentours your pleasures poyson your wealth rust to your wounded spirits your very lives a burden to you and your selves a terrour to your selves But for you the hidden ones of God though ye are never so much despised and down in the world you shall never want servants whiles God hath Angels in Heaven or a people on earth Kingdoms may be overturned Parliaments may be dissolved Armies may be routed and lost men good men the best of men may die must die do die yet so long as that chosen generation that holy seed the off-spring of God continue and continue they shall in a constant series till they are perfected in number and graces and translated to glory you shall serve be served and that in the dearest bonds of relation the sweetest intercourse of mutuall help fullnesse which shall be effectuall to your spirituall and eternall well fare And so much for to Text. Something more I have to say and 't is touching the servant of God and of his people whose dust is now brought back to the dust from whence 't was taken For your parts Nobles and Senatours you do your selves right by honouring his memoriall by commanding and attending the solemnities of his interrement You have shewn your hatred of superstitious Ceremonies and yet have appointed and are present at a Funerall and a Sermon Herein you deal with him as they dealt with Jchojada and that upon like grounds he had an honourable sepulture afforded him because he had done good in Israel 2 Chro. 26.16 both towards God and towards his house And for my own part I thinke there are few more unapt for or unfrequent in Panegyriques or funerall praises then my selfe I hold it most unworthy for Ministers upon such occasions to paint or perfume carcases to garnish I dols But now why should I be silent I need not hyperbolize nay I know mine own weaknesse I cannot reach this Worthies just commendations I purposely passe by the mention of the antiquity and noblenesse of his descent the piety of his private course his sweetnesse in conversation his faithfullnesse in friendship c. and shall limit my selfe to the patern in my text and indeed the few words of my text do limme and decypher him better beyond comparison then my poor dull oratory can do it I should say enough of him if I sid no more but this He served his own generation And this shall be the summe of all that I shall say Surely he was a very serviceable piece a precious usefull soul profitable to his generation 1. He served And in his service we may notice these remarkable excellencies 1. His indefatigable industry his fervent and zealous intention upon the businesses of state He was none of those that peep now and then into the House to inquire What news that sit there sometimes for recreation that are present mainly to helpe a friend or promote an interesse but he set his heart and shoulders to the worke and stretched all his sinews about it You know the solid vehemencie the piercing acutenesse of his speeches 'T is observed of Erasmus that he more punished the Monkes fat bellies by his Sales then Luther did by his stomachation refell the crossnesse or cunning of some who