Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	earth_n	heaven_n	life_n	8,760	5	4.3162	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A03104	The mirror of pure devotion: or, The discovery of hypocrisie Delivered in sixe severall sermons, in the Cathedrall Church of Chichester, by way of an exposition of the parable of the Pharises and the publican. By R.B. preacher of the word, at Chidham in the county of Sussex.	Ball, Robert, fl. 1635.	1635 (1635)	STC 1323; ESTC S113587	64,577	210

and finisher of humilitie it selfe who posted so fast from heaven to earth leaping upon the mountaines and skipping upon the hills to make plaine this untrodden path of humilitie whereby hee opened unto us the gate of glory by his owne first entrance with the Apostles Propter quod Phil 2. wherefore God hath highly exalted him The next that posted in this roade after him was the blessed Virgin Mary his Mother who by reason of her extraordinary lowlinesse was so extraordinarily magnified that all succeeding generations shall call her blessed The next after her was Iohn the Baptist in whom because our Saviour found Omnia vocalia as one divinely notes his words his thoughts his deeds his garments his diet his life his death to be so many preaching voices and vocall Preachers to humble penance therefore our Saviour dignifies him Matthew 11. with Math. 11. the name of a Prophet and more then a Prophet for amongst them that are begotten of women there arose not a greater then Iohn the Baptist Yea even hollow-hearted Achab lost not a sufficient reward for his hypocriticall humiliation wherefore the Lord promised 1 King 21 25. That he would not bring the evill upon him in his dayes Much more the poore widow that drops in but duo minuta two mites into Gods treasury out of her true-hearted humilitie and humble penurie shall bee more accepted with God then a whole world of vaine-glorious hypocrites that cast in never so many thousand talents out of their proud arrogancie and arrogant superfluitie So that this may stand for the maine pillar of the Application That according to our proportion of humilitie God will bee sure to prepare us a portion of glory And according to our proportion of pride hee will bee as sure to prepare us a portion of vengeance Our blessed Saviour tells us That in his Fathers house there are many Mansions Speaking of that Kingdome that cannot be shaken that habitation that is everlasting that inheritance that is immortall and undefiled and fades not away that house not made with hands but eternall in the heavens And why so many Mansions in this house but onely to assure us of divers degrees of glory there for divers degrees of humilitie heere As there is one glory of the Sunne 1 Cor. 15. and another glory of the Moone and another glory of the Starres one Starre differing from another in glorie so shall it likewise bee in the resurrection of the dead That Comet that appeares most dull as over-clouded by true humilitie in this Sublunary firmament shall shine the brightest Starre in that Empyreall and Imperiall Orbe And that vaine-glorious Meteor that gives the greatest flash in this lower Region shall sinke yet lower to that infernall Legion For looke how much that glittering Whore Rev. 18. hath glorified Rev. 18. her selfe and lived in pleasure heere so much shall bee added to her torment and sorrow hereafter So that now mee thinks our blessed Saviour by the application of this Parable speaks the same in effect to us that Moses to the Israelites Deut. 30. I call heaven Deut. 30. and earth to record that I have set before you this day life and death good and evill the broad way and common roade that leads unto destruction and the narrow way that leads unto life though few there be that finde it If you poste on the roade of pride without either feare or wit you runne headlong downe into hell and without a speedy retentive there can bee no hope of you But if you pace never so gently in the roade of humilitie you are in the high-way to heaven and there is great joy of you even amongst the Angels of heaven Every one that exalts himselfe shall be abased but every one that humbleth himselfe shall be exalted Not hee that is exalted by an other either immediately by the God of heaven or mediately by the King his Magistrates which are gods on earth such exaltations as these being humbly used prognosticate no ruines Nor hee that is humbled by an other either immediately by God for a time and presently to returne to his former obstinacy as Pharaoh Iulian Herod and the like against whom the Prophet Ieremy most justly Percussisti eos Domine non doluêrunt Thou hast smitten them O Lord and they have not grieved Ier. 5. 3. thou hast consumed them but they have refused to receive correction they have made their faces harder then a rocke they have refused to returne Or mediately by the Magistrare that Rom. 13. beareth not the sword in vaine for he is the Minister of God to execute vengeance on them that doe evill And therefore such humiliations as these prognosticate no risings But he that humbles himselfe not in outward hypocrisie but inward sinceritie for as in Platoes schoole every mans soule is himselfe so in Christs Schoole every mans heart is himselfe It is not then the humble tongue or the humble knee or the humble habit but the humble heart that is next unto advancement Lord saith David I am not puft in minde I doe not exercise Psal 131. my selfe in great matters that are too high for mee But I refraine my soule and keepe it low like as a child that is weaned from his mother yea my soule is even as a weaned childe A man that humbles himselfe thus when hee falles hee rises and when hee is raised he stands as immooveable as Mount Sion that standeth fast for ever But hee that exaltes himselfe hardens his heart stiffens his necke lifts up his countenance and overlookes his equals many times his betters as if he would over-looke Cedars Little alas doth this wretch dreame how neere his fall is and that such a fearefull one too that will admit no rising When this man falles mole ruit suâ hee falles with such a powder that hee is even ground to powder hee sinkes from one misery into another from a flood of temporall to a maine Ocean of eternall torment Blame mee not then if I lift up my voyce like a trumpet and close up both Parable Event and Application and all pathetically with the Prophet O earth earth Ier. 22. earth heare the word of the Lord. Earth by creation Earth by continuance Earth by resolution looke but into thy first principles thou camest earth thou remainest earth and thou returnest earth O earth earth earth heare the word of the Lord. Looke but into thy best thoughts they perish with thine earth looke but upon thy freshest beautie it fades before thine earth looke but into thy soundest wisedome it savours of thine earth O earth earth earth c. Looke but above thee and behold an angry God of vengeance that alwayes resists proud earth Looke but beneath thee and behold an ever-burning Tophet prepared of old to torment proud earth Looke but within thee and behold a puddle and sinke of sinne that corrupts proud earth Looke but against thee and

of the Scriptures from a child Not women or maidens for the frailty of their sex sake for how then should such weake and brittle vessels become strong in Eph. 6. 10. the Lord and in the power of his might as they are commanded It is enough for that Apostate Iulian to quarrell with the Christians for that their women were skilfull in the Scriptures But sure I am good old Nazsanzen will revive the never-dying fame of his sister Gorgonia by a funerall Oration for that she was skillful both in the Old and New Testament and reverend Ierome of Lady Paula by an Epitaph for that all the maydens about her were forced daily to learne the Scriptures Not poore men for Gods sake the chiefest almes they can aske or receive is the free passage of the Gospel Whereupon our Saviour speakes Matt. 11. it not only for their warrant but their commendation That the poore receive the Gospel with all alacritie and cheerefulnesse So it hath pleased our gracious God in all ages by his infinite wisedome and mercy to make choice of the poore of this world as S. Iames speaketh that they should be rich in faith and that by often hearing and reading of the Scriptures Not infidels or hereticks for charity sake It is the onely ordinary meanes of their conversion And therefore it was permitted that Queene Candaces Chamberlaine being an infidell might reade the Act. 8. Scriptures without controlment And S. Augustine confesseth that himselfe being inclined to the errour Conf. lib. 8. c. 12. of the Manichees by reading the Scriptures was converted If then neither old nor young parents nor children men nor boyes women nor maydens learned nor unlearned rich nor poore hereticks nor infidells may lawfully be exempted from the reading of the Scriptures we may easily discover those hypocrites that our Saviours woe directly points at That take away the key of knowledge Matt. 23. that shut up the kingdome of heaven before men and neither enter themselves nor suffer others to enter in Alas saith Irenaeus Hoc non est sanantium vivificantium Lib. 3. c. 5. sed magis gravantium augentium ignorantiam This is not the part of them that would heale and give life but rather of them that augment the burden and increase ignorance The third and last Quaere yet behind most proper and pertinent to the text of all is What might be the occasion why our blessed Saviour spake and delivered this Parable The occasion wee must needs conceive could not bee slight that induced the wisedome of the Father to propound a speciall parable It was the discoverie of a whole neast of sectaries as appeares by the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Text. Certaine it seemes there were that would bee singular above the rest the common gap to all kinde of hypocrisie and confusion in devotion for marke I beseech you the growth of their faction The maine roote of all was the roote of all mischiefe pride From thence sprang up the ranke blade of selfe-confidence out of an arrogant proud spirit attributing every good thing in themselves to themselves they trusted in themselves From thence shot forth the full care of presumption an arrogant conceit of inherent righteousnesse that they were just And then their harvest grew on so fast that their too forward fruit were not onely albae ad messem but even siccae ad ignem ripe for the hooke but dry for the fire their arrogant singularity pearched them up upon so high a straine of boasting of their owne eminencie that they ●●fied and despised others All which Circumstances being duly considered the truly zealous and rig●● humble auditor 〈◊〉 ●ee is confesse that there was too just occasion for our Saviour to propound and us to expound this Parable Selfe confidence what a woodden head of folly a broken staffe and a rotten post of presumption is it which hath not only sought to make Angels but men equall to God himselfe But whom she hath so proudly lifted up shee hath likewise most miserably cast downe What mischiefes indeed hath shee not done Shee hath cast Lucifer out of Heaven Adam out of Paradise overthrowne the tower of Babell and brought in the first confusion of languages prostrated Goliah with dishonour and slue Nicanor with reproach finished Antiochus his Empire and drowned Pharaoh in the red Sea caused Senacherib to be slaine by the hands of his owne sonnes in the temple and Herod by an Angell in his Parliament Absolom to perish by his owne locks and Haman to totter upon his own gallowes Broken reeds are not so dangerous to him that leaneth nor slippery Ice to him that runneth nor the beautie of an harlot to him that lusteth as selfe-confidence is pernicious to him that imbraceth it Broken reeds may wound the flesh slippery Ice procure desperate fallings the beautie of an harlot bring shame before and beggery behind but selfe-confidence taketh away God from the soule the soule from the body the body from immortalitie It fadeth when it flourisheth it is not when it seemes to be it falles and never rises againe Man trusting to himselfe saith Gregory is falne like Gregor a dead leafe from the Cedar in Paradise and is blowne away with the tempest of temptation and winde of vanitie As Sauls coate of armour was an hinderance to David that his hands could not warre nor his fingers fight as Peter walking upon the Sea was in hazard of drowning so miserable is man being left unto himselfe nothing but desolation His birth corruption his life transgression his death confusion In his birth miserable in his life culpable in his death of himselfe damnable His knowledge imperfect his life uncertain his mind changable and he himselfe nothing but fragilitie And therefore I conclude the point with Saint Augustine Confidentia in scipso est lubrica spes incerta victoria impossibilis liberatio It is a flattering and fickel hope for a man to thinke he is safe and inviolable amongst the infinite increasings and daily nourishings of sinne It must needs be a doubtfull and uncertaine victory for a man to fight amidst his enemies ambushment and an impossible delivery to be invironed on every side with fire and not to bee scorched And such was the desperate condition of these Sectaries in the first step or degree of their affected singularity selfe-confidence they trusted in themselves To this woodden head of theirs selfe-confidence they must needs annexe the brazen face of impudency a whorish fore-head that cannot blush presumption of righteousnesse They are absolutely perfect in their owne eyes justifiable with God equall with Angels superiour to their brethren Whereas alas mans righteousnesse saith Gregory being weighed Gregor in the ballance with Gods Iustice is found to bee nothing but unrighteousnesse and that the more vile in the examination of the upright Iudge by how much the more glorious it seemed in the partiall estimation of the owner thereof A