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
A41561	Some observations upon the keeping the thirtieth of January, and twenty ninth of May by J.G.G.	Gailhard, J. (Jean)	1694 (1694)	Wing G129; ESTC R17606	41,903	64

to remember the Death of the young Prince our Reformer Edward the Sixth with Grief and Sorrow though Heylin was of another mind the Death of so Pious a Prince not without Suspicion of Poison was a great loss to Religion and the Nation but yet such set days as the Thirtieth of January and Circumstances must be avoided such a Memory may to this day be well continued by lawful Means as his very Funeral Sermons Epitaphs and such things remaining as were published in or about that time as Jeremiah's Lamentation upon that Subject might be read and sung in after-Ages The Memory of good Princes and other pious Men ought to be precious and dear to Posterity but we must not bestow any thing of Religious Relation upon them but strictly avoid every appearance of it Saul's Death was a Judgment upon him but Josiah's Death was a Mercy to him Because thine heart was tender 2 Chron. 34.27 28. I will gather thee to thy Fathers and to thy Grave in Peace neither shall thine eyes see all the Evil that I will bring upon this place and upon the Inhabitants of the same Now Things and Persons being compared in the Reigns of Josiah and Charles to say no more we shall find a vast Difference The third case is that of Gedaliah whom 2 Kings 25.25 and Jer. 41.2 after the taking of Jerusalem the King of Babylon made a Governour of the Cities of Judah which was treacherously killed by Ishmael the Son of Nethaniah This indeed was a sad Blow to the People that was left in the Land but in the two quoted places in the Margin nor in the Book of Chronicles nothing is said of any publick mourning of the People for it yet some would if possible upon the Opinion of the most Judicious Interpreters as he calls them screw something out of Zech. 7.5 as if their Mourning there was an Ordinance for that lasted till the time of their return from their Captivity but 't is easie to find the true cause of it namely Levit. 23.27 29. a positive order from God On the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of Atonement it shall be an holy Convocation unto you and ye shall afflict your Souls c. And whatsoever Soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day he shall be cut off from amongst his People This is the true cause of the Mourning in the Seventh Month and 't were in vain to fancy any other A very good Use may by present and future Ages be made of such sad Effects of God's Providence as to warn us of our Mortality of the Uncertainty of Life of the Vanity of Honours and to prepare us for Death to shew how our Life is in the Hand of God which he disposeth of how and when he pleases It is good always to be Thankful to God for Mercies always to be humbled and to Mourn for Sins for as we do constantly Sin so we must constantly repent what doth befall others as well as what happeneth to us ought to work upon us And so we have cause enough to keep days of Humiliation both in Publick and Private and this is to make a right use of such Occasions and not to flatter and chuse God's House to make Panegyricks of Dead Men over and over every Year in such a Strain as Papists do for their Pretended Saints and Dead Men. After this way Mr. Newman in his Sermon Page 17 18 19 c. maketh King Charles a great Poet nay a Laureat one a great Orator He saith He was Master of a Sublime Grandure of Language and in Points of Controversie and in Cases of Conscience so great a Divine as he might have challenged the Theological Chair upon the account of meer Worth If he had but attributed some Miracles then we might have said as Jesuits use to speak of their Ignatius Franciscans of their Francis and Dominicans of their Dominick upon their days And all this he affirms upon hear-say and by relation if this be not Flattery 't is too much like it this is a studied Discourse to make a shew of his Parts to flatter the Dead deceive the Living but edifie none To say the setting apart such days is not intended as if thereby they were made Holier than others but only to appoint them to an Holier Use is not enough to excuse the thing we all know 't is not in the power of Man in that kind to make one day better than another that 's the Work of God alone and of all the days of the Week the Seventh his Sabbath-day * Gen. 2.3 and Exod. 20.11 he sanctified it blessed and hallowed it Nay the other Feasts which were but Typical and for a time which we read of in the Book of * Chap. 23. Leviticus were of God's own special Appointment So that to Institute such days is an Act of Religion And though we agree that the Church may make Rules for Order-sake as to Circumstances yet under the Gospel no Man may upon Humane Account Institute days wherein is a Cessation of Work God having commanded Six days to labour and do our work Thus there would be no end one day this Year another or more the next as we see it in the Church of Rome where every new Saint hath a day allowed him every Year By the same reason it is done for one it may be done for an hundred All Orthodox Divines do agree That in the First and Second Commandment not only Idolatry but also Superstition are forbidden whereby the Fixedness of the Minds of Men which ought to be upon God is tossed and distracted here and there upon different Objects Prayers of Mourning Repentance or Thanksgiving must be directed to God for they are part of his Worship without any Collateral regard to the Merits or Sufferings of any Man Dead or Alive And here by the by I must take notice of a Clause which some of our Ministers use in their Prayers to thank God for his Servants deceased which in my opinion is very Improper for those who own we ought not to pray to or for the Dead the Gospel and God's other Mercies is What we ought to thank God for And though a Minister may make mention of those Faithful Servants of his remembred in his Word and exhort us to follow their Example and Divine Rules they were acted by the Faith of Abraham the Patience of Job the Repentance of Peter yet the Case is different when he is in Prayer for then he is the Mouth of the People to God in that Condition of Supplicants no Humane Rule or Example is to be mentioned to God especially now when so gross an Abuse about it is committed by Papists whereof we ought to avoid the very Appearance The Dangers of bringing such things into the Church is very great though at first not perceptible sometimes great Evils had but small beginnings the Devil is