Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	good_a	life_n	sin_n	13,827	5	4.6650	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A34544	Self-imployment in secret ... left under the hand-writing of that learned & reverend divine, Mr. John Corbet ...; with a prefatory epistle of Mr. John Howe.	Corbet, John, 1620-1680.; Howe, John, 1630-1705.	1681 (1681)	Wing C6265; ESTC R32518	22,650	98

backward but proceeded forward in the wayes of Godliness And this increase I reckon not by sudden fits now and then hapening but by the main progress of the work in the total Sum. I have been grieved that I am no more elevated in the hope of Heaven and that I cannot attain to a longing desire to be gone hence and to be there with Christ. I have laboured to raise up my heart and have had enlargement even when deadness and flatness had been upon me I think with my self sometimes were my Evidences clear for Heaven I would exalt to be gone hence this very hour but I find not this readiness at all times When I have had a good enterprize in hand for God's Glory and some publick benefit I watched against Vanity of mind and vain Glory in carrying it on and I desire purely to aym at God ' s Glory and to be satisfied with my reward in him And I take heed that I forget not my Mortality when I am pursuing that design but I would fain bring up my self to this frame to be contented to be taken hence in the midst of it as judging that I shall be no looser by my removal and God cannot stand in need of that Service Lord forgive my inordinate self-love which hath disturbed the Actings of pure Charity in divers passages of Moment For self-love in my sensitive appetite hath had motions contrary to the Love of God and my Neighbour Nevertheless my Judgment hath disallowed it and I have for the most part acted against it and for that which the Love of God and my Neighbour did command O Lord forgive my ten thousand Talents I come to Jesus Christ who hath made satisfaction and lay this heavy reckoning to his account Lord forgive my Iniquity for it is exceeding great These following passages were set down March 4. An. 1675. UPon the Review of the foregoing Evidences after Twelve Years I find through Grace the same abiding in me and more and more Rooted And some particulars which did make me more to doubt of my good Estate I find to be since that time in a greater degree vanquished I have done what in me lies to call to remembrance all my remarkable Sins from my Childhood and Youth till now And as far as I can Judg I have Repented of them both generally and particularly And I now Repent of them all from the bottom of my Heart with a self Abhorrence if I can know my own Heart by the strictest and most impartial search that I can make Upon the best Judgment that I can make of the Nature of Sin and the Frame of my own Heart and Course of Life I know no Sin lying upon me which doth not consist with habitual Repentance and with the hatred of Sin and with an unseigned consent that God be my Saviour and Sanctifier and with the Loving of God above all The Mercy of God towards me in the prolonging of the day of Grace in the strivings of his Spirit in his Chastisements in the checks of Conscience in the Recovery of my Soul out of Distempers and Backslidings doth greatly affect my Heart and strongly engage me to Him and doth often call upon my Soul and all that is within me to Bless his holy Name Though my Spiritual growth be very low and slow yet to this present time I have not grown Worse but Better speaking of growth in the whole space or greater spaces of my time past and not every particular Day By Prayer and Endeavours long continued I have in some measure overcome a special very Sinful Distemster of Mind and gained the contrary Temper against a natural Propensity Though my Faith in Christ be weak yet to have part in his Promises I am ready to part with all that is dear in this World and I have no hope of Happiness but in Christ. Though I have had doubtings touching the promised Salvation yet I know that as to my own Felicity I prize nothing more than that Salvation being the glorifying and injoying God for Ever and I Embrace it as my best Good I Love Christ whom I have not seen and I am affected towards him as towards a person who taught and did the most excellent Things and promised a most excellent State to his Followers and purchased their Redemption at the dearest rate I am heartily grieved for loving God so little yet I am sure This I Wrote according to a full perswasion at that time I Love nothing more than God and in my esteem and choice I prefer the Spiritual Divine and Heavenly Life imcomparably before the Carnal Animal Earthly Life And this esteem and choice is made good by performance in Ordinary I Love to Love God And I desire this Love not only as an evidence of my Salvation but for it self I had much rather have a heart to love him perfectly than to have all the Riches Honours and Pleasures of this World My Conscience beares me witness that in the present exercise of my ministry I have no self-end of Worldly Advantage or Reputation among Men or any Interest of the Carnal Mind but if the Command of Christ and the necessities of Souls did not oblige me to this Service I should gladly retire to Privacy and Solitude My Temporal Estate is mean and low yet I am Contented with it and humbly bless God for what I have I Live in as narrow a compass for Expences as I can that I might have something to give to the Poor and to be helpful to those that are in Need according to my Ability And as God hath required of us to Love Mercy and our Saviour hath said It is a more Blessed thing to give than to receive so I have more pleasure in giving a Portion to the Needy as far as my mean Estate will bear than in laying out for the Delight of my own Sense or Worldly Conveniences And this proceeds not from a conceit of Merit in any thing that I can do but from a Love to please God and do Good Though I have a good Knowledge about the premises yet I am apt to waver about the Conclusion And though I apprehend the Evidences of my Sincerity to be clear yet a Timorousness remains in me Though I have not as yet overcome the Fear of Death yet I am sure that the unwillingness that is in me to Dye is not that I might enjoy the pleasures of Sense or any Gratification of the Animal Life I feel in my self a burden of Sin and Corruption much Sensuality Earthliness Selfishness nevertheless I judg there is that Predominancy of Love to God and Holiness which I hope is unmoveably seated in my Soul whereupon I hope that it cannot be that I should be cast out of his blissful Presence into that Perdition which is a State of immutable hatred of him And I apprehend that the most horrid and hellish state of Hell it self lyes in its Everlasting and utmost Enmity against

Salvation Iohn Howe Mr. CORBET's ENQUIRY INTO THE State of his Soul His Introduction IN order to peace of conscience and assurance of my good estate towards God it must in reason be supposed that I may rightly understand the marks of sincerity set down in Gods Word as also the predominant inclination and motions of my own soul and that I may be so far assured of my right understanding of the things aforesaid as to have no reasonable ground of doubting thereof For I have no other ordinary way to know my sincerity in order to the said peace and assurance but to examine it according to my best understanding by the marks thereof set down in Gods Word In this Self-Examination it is requisite that I use all Diligence and Impartiality with Constancy and that I earnestly pray for Gods assistance in it and heartily offer my self to his search as David did Psal. 139. 23. Wherefore if upon the most impartial and diligent search that I can make according to the best of my understanding together with earnest and constant Prayer to God to assist me therein as in my greatest concern it doth most rationally appear to me that the predominant inclination and motions of my soul are agreeable to the marks of sincerity set down in Gods Word then my conscience doing its office aright is to judge for me accordingly viz. that I am sincere And in this judgment I am to acquiesce because it is the Judgment of Gods Agent and Minister which he hath set up within me to judge under him of my internal state according to his Law by which he himself doth and will judge me God hath the same aspect upon the Soul which Conscience his Vicegerent hath as it from time to time or ordinarily judgeth not against him or without him but under him and according to his judgment either acquitting or condemning To this purpose the Apostle speaketh 1 John 3. 20 21. If our heart condemn us God is greater than our Heart and knoweth all things If our heart condemn us not then have we confidence towards God The State of my Own SOUL According to the strictest Search that I can make Psal. 139. 23 24. Search me O Lord and know my Heart try me and know my Thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way Everlasting Amen The following particulars were set down in Decemb. Jan. Feb. An. 1663. AS far as I am able to discern my heart and wayes I have chosen the Lord for my portion I take up my rest in him and not in the Creature To love and fear and admire and bless him and to have communion with him is my chief joy And the eternal Vision and Fruition of God is my great hope I would not only have God herafter but here in this World for my chief good He is even now better than all the World I come to God by Jesus Christ. And as I believe in God I believe also in Christ and rejoyce and glory in him and acknowledging my own sinfulness and unworthyness I rest intirely on him as the ground of my justification to Life and of all favour and acceptance with God I receive Christ as my Lord and give up my self to him I let him into my heart by Faith I esteem him precious and am willing to suffer the loss of all that I may win him I desire to know him in the Power of his Death and Resurrection and am much grieved that I do so weakly experience that power and feel it no more operative in me in my dying to sin and 〈◊〉 World and in living and walking in the Spirit I do not cease to lament the more heinous sins of my Life and cannot forbear the continual imploring of the pardon of them I do not return again to them and I resolve never so to do I watch and pray and strive against all sin but especially against those sins to which I am more especially inclined my conflicts are daily and am put hard to it But I do not yield up my self to any sin nor lie down in it yea I do not suffer sinful Cogitations to lodge in me Howbeit I am many times much discomposed damped in Spirit deadned in Duty distracted in my Studies and molested and hindered every way by the sin that dwelleth in me But I resolve that sin shall have no rest in my soul and that I will never injoy it Though I cannot keep sin out of my heart yet it doth not reign in my mortal body nor do I yield my members to the service of it I would fulfil all Righteousness and owe nothing to any man but love I had a hundred sold rather suffer wrong than do wrong It was said of Christ that no guile was found in his mouth and of the faithful Company that followed the Lamb that no guile was found in their mouth And that it may be so with me I indeavour with my whole heart I trust God with my chiefest outward Concernment even with that about which I am most Solicitous and wherein to be satisfied is of great moment to me for that it hath as great an influence upon my Spirit as any outward thing hath And I do believe that God will provide for me herein or otherwise supply the want of it My earnest desire of God is that my outward condition may be so stated by his Wife and Gracious providence as I may be least exposed to temptation and best disposed and furthered unto Duty I have an Inclination to seek Self particularly in vain applause and that in Religious services and herein I have been highly guilty but I shame my self for it before God and I am willing to be satisfied in the Praise that comes from him alone and I trust through his Grace that I can deny my self in matter of Reputation to do his Will I love the Lord Jesus Christ and all his Saints The broken estate of the Church especialy by intestine Evils is a great trouble to my Spirit The scandals of professors I am truly grieved at and I would not by their weaknesses seek to excuse my own faults or an advancing of my own Virtues I have no setled Bitterness and Revenge against my Enemies but I love pitty and pray for them As concerning God's Enemies I am more provoked but I would not be inhumane or cruel against them For the wrath of Man worketh not the Righteousness of God I contemn none I would not imbitter the Spirit of any I would answer all obligations of courtesy as accounting it a Righteousness I would not insult over the weakness of any and this is partly out of Natural tenderness and Moral Considerations and I find that the goodness and kindness of God the meekness gentleness of Christ hath here unto made Impression upon me I find upon the review of my Life past according to the clearest judgment that I can make that I have not gone