Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A02519
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The character of man laid forth in a sermon preach't at the court, March, 1⁰. 1634. By the L. Bishop of Exceter.
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Hall, Joseph, 1574-1656.
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1635
(1635)
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STC 12647; ESTC S118573
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17,473
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88
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lettedst them goe Man fell and oh thou blessed Son of the eternall Father thou wouldst rather divest thy self of the robes of heavenly glory and come down and put on these rags of our flesh therein indure the miseries of a servile life the scorns of wretched men the pains of a bitter and accursed death the wrath of thy blessed and coessentiall Father then men should not be recovered By thy stripes are we healed by thy blood we are redeemed by thy death we are quickened by thy Spirit wee are renewed by thy merits we are saved and now Lord what an account is this thou hast made of man What a wonderfull honor is this to which thou hast advanced us By thee O Saviour we are not only reconciled to God but of strangers are become servāts of the high God Acts 16. 17. Servants yea friends Iames 2. 23. yea sons the sons of the highest Luc. 6. 35. Sons yea heires Haeredes cum re as S. Ambrose coheires with Christ Rom. 8. coinheritors of immortall glory 1 Pet. 3. 22. Yea that which all the Angels of heaven stand stil amazed at and can never bee satisfied with admiring thou hast caryed up this humane nature of ours into the inseparable union with the ever glorious and blessed Godhead to be adored of all principalities powers and thrones and dominions of heaven Lo I that even now could have beene sory that I was a man begin now to be holily proud of my cōdition and know not whether I may change the man for the Angel Pardon me ye glorious Spirits I durst not speake thus big of my selfe but in the right of my Saviour I dare and must non assumpsit Angelum sed hominem Howsoever man is lower then you Alas what should dust ashes talk of comparing with spirituall heavenly powers yet I am sure the Son of man is above you In him will I glory In it selfe your nature is so much above ours as it is more spirituall and nearer to your infinite Creator but if the Sonne of God hath advanced our nature above yours in uniting it to the deity we cannot so much praise his mercy as you do for us Yea O ye blessed Angels whose greatnesse though we must not adore yet we cannot but awfully acknowledge with due veneration I may boldly say ye hold it in no scorn to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 serviceable spirits to the behoof of us weak and sinfull men Heb. 1. ult Ye behold the face of our heavenly father for us Mat. 18. Ye beare us in your armes that we dash not our feet against the stones of offence Ps. 91. Yee pitch your tents about us for our defence Ye rejoyce in heaven at our conversion Ye cary up our parting soules into the bosome of Abraham As this is a wonderfull joy and honor to us so can it be no derogation from your celestiall glory and magnificence since he whom yee professe to serve with us professes that he the Son of man came not to be served but to serve Oh now what can we want whē we have such purveiors What can we feare whiles wee have such Gardians whiles we have such conveyance what can let us from ascending into our heaven How justly doe we now exult in the glory of man-hood thus attended thus united But soft that our rejoycing be not vain whiles our nature is thus glorious our person may be miserable enough Except we bee in Christ united to the Son of God wee are never the better for the uniting of this man-hood to God Where should ambition dwel but at a Court Oh be ye ambitious of this honor which will make you everlastingly happy What ever become of your earthly greatnes strive to be found in Christ to be partakers of the divine nature to be favourites of heaven It is a great word that Zozomen speakes of Apollonius that hee never askt any thing in all his life of God that he obtained not if we follow his rule we shall bee sure to bee no lesse happy And now being thus dignified by the knowledge by the accoūt of God how should wee strive to walke worthy of so high favours both in the duty of selfe-estimation and of gratitude Selfe-estimation For if God make such account of us why do not we make high account of our selves I know I doe now spurre a free horse when I wish every man to think wel of one but there is an holy pride that I must commend unto you with S. Ierom a pride as good as the other is sinfull that since God hath so advanced you you should hold your selves too good to be the drudges of sin the pack-horses of the world the vassals of satan and thinke these sublunary vanities too base to cary away your hearts It was a brave word of the old Iewish Courtier Nehemiah Should such a man as I flee Say yee so yee regenerate soules Should such a man as I debauch and sin should such a man as I play the beast Is it for my upright face to grovell Is it for my affections to walk on all foure No let beasts be sensuall let divels be wicked let my heart bee as upright as my face I will hate to shame my pedigree and scorn all the base and misbecomming pleasures of sin will beare my self worthy of the favourite of heaven Gratitude In retribution of praise and obedience O God thou mightest have made made mee a beast yea the ugliest of crawling vermin that I run away from I could not have challēged thee thy will and thy workes are free thy power absolute and lo thou hast made me thy darling the quintessence of thy Creation man I will praise thee for I am fearefully and wonderfully made Thou mightest have past by me as an out-cast reprobate soule and so it had bin a thousand times better for me never to have been But thou hast bought me with a price I will praise thee for I am no lesse wonderfully redeemed O God nothing but man man regenerate of all the visible works of thy hands is capable to give thee the glory of thy mighty creation of thy gracious redemption The lowest rank of creatures have not life the next have not sense the third have not reason None but the last hath grace to returne thee the praise of thy blessed power mercy Oh let not us be wanting unto thee who hast thus superabounded unto us But this is not all Thankes is a poore windy payment Our returnes to God must be reall Quid retribuam what should we render to our God lesse then all Yea all is too little for one mercy We owe our selves to thee O God as our Creator What have we to give to thee as our bounteous redeemer as our gracious sanctifier Thou that owest all take all Oh that our bodies soules lives actions could bee wholly consecrated to thee Oh that we could really and constantly begin here those Alleluiahs which we shall ever continue above amids the Quire of Saints and Angels giving all praise and honor and glory and immortality to thee O blessed Father our Creator to thee O blessed and coeternall Son our Redeemer to thee O blessed and coessentiall Spirit our sanctifier one infinite God in three most glorious and incomprehensible persons now and evermore Amen FINIS 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉