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
A55741	Christ's revvard of a Christians watch and ward, or, A sermon preached at the burial of Mr. John Berry of Thorverton in the countie of Devon, Aug. 23, 1654 by John Preston ...	Preston, John, b. 1598 or 9.	1655 (1655)	Wing P3297B; ESTC R1152	15,552	24

holy observation of the day and carefull performance of the duties of the day he might convay over to thee his blessings for such a servant he blesseth and he shall be blessed which is the third and last part The Encouragement Blessed is that servant c. Doct. Blessing attends and goes along with watching If thou wilt be blessed then watch for the Lords coming Blessed are these servants c. Those that keep their souls in a watchfull frame are blessed And it is truth The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it Vse What a Motive is here to give our souls to watching In Blessedness all good things whatsoever meet as in a centre It is a confluence and concurrence of all good whatsoever either honest profitable or pleasant And this Blessedness shall meet the watchfull soul in death and embrace it The watching Christian his life is blessed his death is blessed blessed by grace blessed by glory blessed in body blessed in soul Blest soul that immediately enjoyes blessedness in the Kingdom of Heaven where God is all in all to his elect 1 Cor. 15. 28. where is eternal life and perfect glory Eternal life which is that Fellowship with God whereby God himself is through the Lamb Christ Life unto the elect For in the Kingdom of Heaven the elect shall not need meat drink sleep air heat cold physick apparrel or light of Sun or Moon but in place of all these shall they have Gods spirit by which immediately they shall be quickned for ever Revel. 21. 3. 23. And perfect glory which is that wonderfull Excellency of the Saints whereby they shall be in a far better estate than heart can wish For first they shall everlastingly behold the face of God which is the Glory and Majesty of God Rev. 22. 4. Secondly they shall be most like to Christ to wit just holy incorruptible glorious honourable excellent beautifull strong mighty and nimble 1 Iohn 3. 2. Phil. 3. 21. Thirdly they shall inherit the Kingdom of Heaven 1 Pet. 1. 4. Matth. 25. 34. whence proceeds Eternal joy and the perfect service of God immediately Eternal joy had Peace with safety safety with security security with Eternity The joyes above are for Matter spiritual for substance real for use universal for continuance Eternal Psal. 16. 11. Psal. 36. 8. There the King is Verity the Law Charity the Peace Felicity and the Life Eternity The service of God consists onely in Prayse and Thansgiving Rev. 21. 3. and Rev. 5. 12 13. and 11. 17. see the Texts The manner of performing this service is to worship God by God immediate●y In Heaven there shall neither be Temple Ceremony nor Sacrament but all these wants shall God himself supply together with the Lamb that is Christ Rev. 21. 21. I say no Temple therein for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the Temple of it The service ●hall be dayly and without Intermission Rev. 7. 15. They are in the ●resence of the Throne of God serve him day and night in his Temple Vse The consideration hereof should stir up us to a constant ●atch and ward over our souls If immediate communion with God through Iesus Christ which is the life eternal if to have whatsoever heart can wish infinitely beyond that which is perfect glory where we shall for ever behold and admire the face of God be like our blessed Saviour inherit the Kingdom of glory with the priveledges thereof in eternal joy where our exercise shall be singing and praysing God In a word if we would be Blessed if Blessedness which contains all these and more may prevail to move us or else what can to the duty of watchfulness then be we stirred up to be in a frame of soul fit to meet Christ have all the graces of the soul in exercise this is to watch Look about you the Phylistines be upon you Every day is clipping your life and taking away part of it what should we now do but fit our selves for Christ seeing he is coming to us and we are going to him by death You would be fit at the hour of death That which will be good then is good now and the work which of necessity must be done or we are everlastingly undone let us first go about it and make an end of that once The worst of men when death comes will wish he had watched done these and these good things abstained from these and these evil things I exhort you to nothing but that which is fit for you to make you fit for Christ When your Faith and Hope and Love have their right Object and all the graces of the soul are in exercise then you watch and Blessed are those Servants whom the Lord when he cometh shall finde watching So much for the Text My Auditours are of three sorts either Morners of our deceased Brother or Rejoycers at his death or men indifferent neither affected with grief or joy at all at his sudden fall a word to each of these First for you Mourners Wise lamenting the death of her carefull Husband Children bemoaning the death of their carefull Father Labourers and servants Mourning for the loss of a work-contriving labour-rewarding Master Friends for the lack of their discreet advising Friend To you I say no more but this look up to your Husband Father Friend Lord and Master in Heaven It is the Lord hath done it as it is marvellous so let it be well pleasing in your eyes His will is done subject your wills to his We are the Clay he is the Potter Psal. 64. 8. shall not the Potter do with his clay as he pleaseth Rom. 9. 21. We read Exod. 15. that the waters of Marah were so bitter that the people could not drink of them then Moses at Gods commandment cast into them a tree and the waters were made sweet In the bitterness of soul upon the death of our Brother God shews you a tree that will turn your bitter Waters of affliction into sweetness This tree is Christ Take up this blessed tree in your hands by Faith who willingly presents himself unto you in this your Agony cast him into your bitter waters or cast your self upon him hide your self in the boughes and branches of this blessed Tree till the Lords indignation be past For his anger endureth but a moment in his favour is life Weeping may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning Psal. 30. 5. you will faint unless you believe to see the goodness of the Lord in the Land of the Living Psal. 27. 13. To the second sort that rejoyce because now death hath shut him up in his Cave the spirit of God directly meets with you Prov. 24. 17 18. Rejoyce not when thine enemy falleth and let not thy heart be glad when he stumbleth Let the Lord see it and it displease him and he turn away his wrath from him upon thee Why shouldest thou run from thine own watch to fault finde his now Death found him not from his calling all the day at Mid-night when he pierc'd him at the heart dost thou know his Vigils his Preparations his Meditations what they were If death had come to thee that same hour at the second watch should he have found thee better prepaed than he was what art thou that judgest another mans servant he standeth or falleth to his own Master He hath past his day thine is to come If the Lord finde thee in thy swearing sabbath-breaking coveting wandring out of his ways not guiding thy life by his Law unprepared unappointed thy doom is set down Luk. 12. 45. to vers. 48. see the place If there be a third sort of Hearers Indifferent men without affection of the one side or other nor caring whether he had lived or dyed neither partake with the Mourners here nor with such as are well pleased at his death are nothing toutcht or smitten with this stroak Besides that they proclaim stupidity do they not walk contrary to the command weep with them that weep Be of the same affection one towards another Rom. 12. 15 16. And shew themselves Athiestical It is the Athiesm of these times to be without dread or fear When God gives one of his houshold-servants a blow the rest should fear This use should every one of us make of it If God had so smitten me in what case had I been how had it been with my poor soul surely I was not prepared as I ought ought not I to accept of this acceptable time this day of salvation and to act and exercise my self in all these duties that tend to salvation that is to watch Blessed are those servants c. When our Saviour said to his Disciples One of you shall betray me Every one of them suspicious of himself questioned him again Master is it I so whilst I say one of you Beloved shall be the next that shall dye it behoves every one of you to question with himself Is it I Is it I what if it should be I am I prepared to meet the Lord is my soul in a watchfull frame and posture do I perform my sentinel-charge till I be relieved do I wait all the days of mine appointed time untill my chang come Job 14. 14. the same shall be blessed For Blessed are these servants whom the Lord when he cometh shall finde watching Amen FINIS

that observeth thee and a Conscience that will do his office first or last that Death is coming and Judgement draweth nigh 2. Consider the end of this coming into the world and living here What dost thou here Eliah O baptized Christian what dost thou sullying thy self amongst the flesh-pots of Egypt lading thy self with thick clay how long Hab. 2. 6. how long O ye sons of men will ye turn my glory into shame how long will ye love vanitie and seek after leasing Psal. 4. 2. How long will ye be busied like Ants about a mole-hill carrying and recarrying in and out a little worldly trash when you think to finish your earthly Fabrick death as a wild Beast with one dash of his foot spoils all and disperseth it and you The time past may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles when we walked in lasciviousness lusts excess of wine Revellings banquetings and abominable Idolatries 1 Pet. 4. 3. It is enough I too too much that you have revelled out the third of your life to waste hitherto Oh spend and end the little remnant of time wholy and holy in Gods service working out your salvation with fear and trembling Were your Heaven-born souls given you to stop to this earths drudgery Your eagle minds to resort to the carrion of this world was your golden time given you to gather dross your noble affections to run in the dirty channels of this world Rather was not your chief end to glorifie God and enjoy him How sutable have been your Actions to this chief end have they been for your good and the salvation of your souls consider this seriously 3. Have this waking consideration Is not God present Doth not he observe all my ways and count all my steps if I have walked with vanity or if my foot hath hasted to deceit Job 31. 4. 5. will not God finde it out saies Joseph how can I do this great wickedness and sin against God in whose presence I am Gen. 39. 9. The eyes of the Lord run to and fro through the whole Earth to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him 2 Cor. 16. 9. He neither slumbereth nor sleepeth His eyes see into the dark thoughts of our heart all things are naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do Heb. 4. 13. This should make us watch over our secret sins What if thou hadst no body to accuse thee Thou hast a conscience and a God that sees thee When thou art in secret think thou art in the presence of God who is a judge S. Paul was kept in a watchfull condition upon this consideration Knowing the terrours of the Lord we perswade men 2 Cor. 5. 11. It will be a terrible day And when Solomon would startle young men he minds them of the day of Judgement But know that for all these things thou must come to judgement Eccles. 11. 9. 4. The fearfull condition to be found in an estare wherein we are not fit to dye Take heed of promising thy self pleasure or jollity tomorrow It may be the day that God will strike thee Annanias and Saphira were stricken suddenly and he who hath stricken thy neighbour as many now are smitten by death suddenly what if he smite thee It may befall thee when thou goest about sinfull and unwarrantable courses take heed it may be the time when God calls for thy soul Add hereunto that our l●fe is short and uncertain and that which at any time may why not now And if we wait all our daies and every hour it will not be long and it is for eternity Eternity depends upon this moment of time 5. Labor for such inward dispositions as may dispose us to watchfullness Two affections when they are raised will much help us Fear and Love 1. Fear When Iacob was afraid of his Brother Esau he spent the night before in prayer Blessed is the man that feareth always Prov. 28. 14. Blessed is the man that standeth constantly in aw of God and is afraid to offend him at any time So Prov. 23. 17. Be thou in the fear of God all the day long What fear is that of Iealousie and Reverence There is great use of this fear It is the souls best Scout-master and will give report to the soul of her enemies Approches Fear stirs up care care rowseth duty and performance of duty keeps us from surprizal It is the Athiesm of the times to stand in aw of nothing but he who hath the fear of Iealousie and Reverence is fit for all things 2. Love It is a sweet affection and keeps the soul watchfull over any thing that may displease the person whom we love It is also full of Invention to give content to the person loved we never sin till the soul is betraied and drawn away from these two Fear and Love and we have the soul never in better tune than when thus qualified These are Royal supports of a Christians Arms His Field is sincerity charged with the deeds of Piety shall be accomplished with a Crest of Glory The supporters are Fear and Love with this Motto My soul watcheth Wind up the strings of your affections every day else they will be down wind them up with waking considerations else they will down to these present things Finde out what sin thou art naturally prone to Be wise and foresee Know your selves both in good and evil wherein thou art prone to be overtaken or overcome and what hath done thee good and use it again No creature will be taken in a snare if he see it and the Medicine that cured the sick one he will use it again Take all advantages to do good slip no opportunity no Sabbaoth no Sermon for why thou seest some alive and well to day are dead to morrow When we have advantages to any thing study to improve them and turn them to Gods glory This is a special exercise of watching It will grieve you one day when you shall see that at such a time ye lost such an opportunity and at such a time omitted such a duty Consider this is your seed-time If ye sow to the flesh ye shall of the flesh reap corruption but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting Gal. 6. 8. will ye have a harvest of Glory and no seed-time of graces Every company you keep make them better or your self better by them gain some spiritual encrease by them or they by you Labor to know how to judge every thing in its due worth and so as it deserves affect it least you put good for evil and evil for good To know God in his greatness Christ in his goodness virtue in its dignity sin in its dangers death in its certainty yet times uncertainty will be a means to stir thee up to watchfullness Let the joyes of Heaven ravish thee the Torments of hell scare thee the sound of