Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	eternal_a	life_n	soul_n	14,602	5	5.1897	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A39326	A vindication of the clergy from the contempt imposed upon them by the author of The grounds and occasions of the contempt of the clergy and religion with some short reflections on his further observations.	Eachard, John, 1636?-1697.	1672 (1672)	Wing E65; ESTC R35669	53,663	152

ought to bind or loose Our Church of England in particular refuseth the benefit of it to none urgeth it in extremis and requires it for quieting of troubled Consciences as is manifest in her several Offices of the Communion and the Visitation of the sick Notwithstanding all this woful experience tells us that the practice of this holy Discipline hath been declining every day more and more ever since that desperate opinion was first broacht in the World That Men are justified by believing they are predestinated to life which resolves all Christian Duties into a new notion of Faith little different from a strong fancy and is now grown almost utterly out of fashion amongst us and never I fear likely to recover its ancient practise Now the want of this most reasonable and necessary Discipline is attended with very many dangerous consequences such as these The practise of religious Duties in general runs to decay Men grow accustomed to and at length hardned in their sins by satisfying themselves with a superficial repentance or none at all They content themselves with a palliative cure oft-times in stead of a sound one by reason of their own ignorance or partiality for every Man hath not skill enough to be his own Physitian and they that have do wilfully mistake sometimes a Cordial for a Corrosive They rush unworthily upon that Tremendum Evangelit Mysterium as Saint Augustine calls the Sacrament of the Eucharist without due preparation They fall into Heresies and Errours by leaning to their own understanding by mis-interpreting or mis-applying the holy Scriptures and not consulting with and submitting to better Judgments Their Consciences are seldom quiet but like the troubled Sea boysing up despairing thoughts because they apply not themselves to the Delegates and Commissaries of Him whom the Winds and the Sea obeyed I mean the Priests of the living God They venture their Salvation upon slender and uncertain Evidences and hinder their Pastour from doing the best Offices he can for them and most likely to succeed in order thereunto All that they will allow him is to shoot at rovers and preach his heart out in chastising sin in general whereas an occasional private conference with Him now and then were much more probable to effect their particular cure No Man ever doubted but one good remedy well applied by a skilful Hand is more likely to cure a Man of the Gout or Dropsie than the hearing of five hundred Anatomy-Lectures to that purpose And amongst many other ill conseqences this is evidently one That the power of the Keys is in part taken away the due Authority of the Priesthood restrained and impaired and consequently their esteem lessen'd their Function not valued as it ought to be by the People and their Persons sometimes exposed to Contempt And therefore let but this ancient holy Discipline be restored amongst us either by a publick Act of the Church or by the unanimous practise of those that profess themselves of our Communion and then let common sense judge if these effects will not necessarily follow upon it The Life of Religion will quickly grow more into fashion Men will be more careful of discharging their Baptismal Vow more afraid of sin more sincere in their Repentance Fastings Prayers and Works of Charity and consequently the People must needs believe that their Pastours belong to God more than ordinary Folks they cannot but have a hearty respect and honourable esteem for their Spiritual Guides and Physitians who watch daily over their Souls by whose prudent Conduct faithful Advices and ghostly Comfort they live quietly and peaceably here in all Godliness and Honesty and in the end attain to Everlasting Life The Conclusion NOw having so fair an occasion offered give me leave to expostulate a while with all those who profess themselves of our Communion and yet do not heartily respect and value the holy Function meerly because they neglect the use of that Catholick and Apostolick Discipline aforesaid and I have done When our Enemies reproach us we can bear it cheerfully rejoycing with the Apostles Acts 5.41 that we are counted worthy to suffer shame for his Name But if you that are our Companions and dear Brethren who walk together with us to the House of God as Friends Psal. 55. who have eaten frequently not of our Bread perhaps as David complains but of the Bread of Life administred by us if You also undervalue our Persons or Office when we deserve it not so far we are compelled to boast of our Infirmities Forgive us this wrong 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an undeserved slight from her own Sons is the greatest stab you can make at your indulgent Mothers Heart Wherefore let me beseech you in Her Name to take these few short particulars into your most serious and impartial thoughts Consider First that whilst you continue unkind towards us you are all this while much more cruel to your selves for we lose only a Temporal Good your favour but you deprive your selves of many Spiritual Comforts and possibly hazard your Eternal too Consider Secondly that you are easily perswaded to send for a Physitian when you lie sick of a malignant Feaver and to conceive a good opinion of him when under God he restores you from Death to Life and what should be the reason that a mortal Body is prized so highly above an immortal Soul or what prudence is it to be more sollicitous for preserving a Temporal than for securing an Eternal Life Neither Physitian is likely to do you much service if you defer consulting them till the last gasp upon your Death-bed as the manner of some is and if you be shie of discovering your Disease to either what expectations can you reasonably have of being cured Si erubescat aegrotus Medico vulnus confiteri quod ignorat Medicina non curat saith St. Hierome upon this very subject Although our Lord and Master hath committed the power of the Keys to us yet you must give us power to exercise them upon you by your own voluntary act or you cannot reap due advantage by them Consider Thirdly that the Apostles express command is general that ye should confess your sins one to another St. Iames 5.16 Now the reason of that command is clear both by the Context and the reason of the thing viz. that ye may have the benefit of the Prayers and Christian advice of others no Man being a competent judge in his own cause Much more then ought you to unbosom your selves and disclose your grievances to your Pastours who are presumed to be best able to solve your doubts and supply your spiritual wants and who only are intrusted by Christ as his Delegates to absolve sincere Penitents from all their sins Consider Fourthly that you have been often importuned in the former Exhortation before the Communion to repair to your own or in case of his sickness impotent age or any like infirmity some other discreet and learned Minister of Gods