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
A95842	An antidote against sorrovv, in order to the obtaining of sanctified joy. An excellent treatise first written in French by N. Vedelius, then translated into Latine by Gallus Pareus, and now into English, by Cadwallader Winne, M.A.	Vedel, Nicolaus, 1596-1642.; Winne, Cadwallader, b. 1622 or 3, translator.	1650 (1650)	Wing V167; Thomason E1421_1; ESTC R209478	59,453	229

therefore who seeth not that these honours and spirituall riches infinitly surpasse all the riches and glory of this world This is thy present condition as long as thou art in this world as for thy future thou art indeed as all men are subject to death whereby thou obtainest more excellent things than thou couldst injoy in thy life time so that not without cause it is said precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints Psal 116.15 for death will put a period unto all thy adversities and will be the beginning or rather the fulfilling of all good things By death thou ceasest to sinne and provoke God thy father to anger and to commit such things as are unworthy thy eminent condition as long as thou art clothed with the mantle of flesh the concupiscence thereof will vexe and solicite thee with that unchaste woman saying lie with me But when thy mantle as that of Elias when he ascended into heaven shall fall from thee it shall never trouble nor molest thee By death thy last enemy all the rest of thy enemies shall be put to flight They shall be never able to hurt and entrap thee Thou shalt be freed from the feare of all dangers which in this life abide thee It will rid thee from all molestations milteries afflictions cares and griefes Thy foule being severed from thy body will escape as a bird out of the snare of the fouler the snare is broken and wee are escaped Psal 124.7 Being then freed from innumerable torments and troubles she shall enter into rest insomuch that when the last houre shall make the neerest approach thou mayest say unto her Return unto thy rest O my soule for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee Psal 116.7 Departing this world she shall enter into heaven to injoy eternall happinesse and rejoyce at the beatificall vision of her heavenly bridegoome Then shee goeth forth to behold King Solomon with the Crowne wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals and in the day of the gladnesse of his heart Cant. 3.11 As for thy body it shall returne into dust but it shall not long remain in that state It is sown verily in corruption it is raised in incorruption it is sown in dishonour it is raised in power it is a naturall body it is raised a spirituall body 1 Cor. 15.42,43,44 so that the death of the body is nothing else but as feed cast into the earth producing in its time most plentifull fruit Then being reunited to the soule shall bee brought into the Kings chambers where it will bee glad and rejoyce for ever and enjoy plenary possession of ineffable happinesse which eye hath not seene nor eare heard neither have entred into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him 1 Cor. 2.9 Goe to then if thy condition hath beene so miserable and will bee so happy hast not thou sufficient cause to rejoyce Now thou art sorrowfull and despairest and sufferest molestations which thou canst not repell or drive away from thee repeating these words to thy selfe Alas when will that day appeare wherein I shall have cause of rejoycing and rendring thanks to God Know this that the meditation of spirituall benefits were there no other occasion moving thee to rejoyce should bee a most weighty motive inducing thee thereunto and even without intermission to praise God amidst the most grievous calamities How would that wretched Captive rejoyce being set at liberty from the darke and noysome dungeon with what exultation did that lame man restored to his feet by Peter praise God Act. 3.8 The guilty person being certified of his Princes pardon even at the very nick hee is to suffer for joy is as it were wrapt out of himself Judge thou whether all the miseries of this world may bee compared to that out of which God hath rid thee Canst thou be so sencelesse and dull as not to rejoyce from the bottome of thy heart in that he hath delivered thee from those infinite calamities those everlasting burnings and darknesse where is weeping and gnashing of teeth Thou art really possessed thou hast a most just cause to be sorrowfull and conclude thy condition to bee miserable and unhappy Then verily thou shouldst have cause to complaine of thy miseries if God had left thee in the state of corruption and misery Alas how many miserable Infants are there and will bee in hell who have knowne neither good nor evill And how many are damned who though they lived in this world without the feare of God yet committed not such grievous sinnes as thou didst and thought they worshipped God aright But since they lived without faith neither made Gods will revealed in his word a rule to square their actions by were sons of perdition And could not God leave thee in the very same misery hee left them in by his just judgement Consider then how much happier thou art then so many Miriads of men who are eternally damned Consider further how farre happier thou art than innumerable wicked men who whilest they lived in this world were seemingly blessed in regard of honours riches pleasures powers estimation and authority How infinitly and without comparison is thy condition happier than their state in that they persisting in their sinnes are reserved to horrible punishments and unutterable torments God forbid then thou shouldst envy their varnishing happinesse and deceitfull prosperity and that thou wilt not consider how much happier thou art than those as being not liable to the same condemnation And if thou canst not find in thy heart to be joyfull in that hee hath not left thee in that miserable plight Behold thou hast a more weighty motive thereunto in that hee hath translated thee into a most happy condition vouchsafing to receive thee into the number of his children for he is not onely satisfied to deliver thee from so many evils but he sends thee as many benefits That speech of Christ unto his Disciples concerns thee Rejoyce that your names are written in heaven Luk. 10.20 Thou wouldst really rejoyce if thou wert now in the state of innocency wherein Adam was in that earthly paradise but assure thy selfe there is greater than paradise here For thou receivest more blessings and honours in Christ than thou hast lost in Adam Then man was Gods creature now thou art his sonne in Christ The first man was formed out of earthly matter thou art borne of heavenly and incorruptible seed Gods word In thy former state thou couldst sin as that dolefull experience witnesseth In this thou canst not sinne In that thou wert subject to die whereas the life prepared for thee in Christ hath neither end nor consummation Lastly doth not the consideration of thy future condition move thee to rejoyce The time will shortly appeare wherein all thy adversities and miseries shall be brought to a period and thou shalt possesse all those things which God hath prepared

world Joh. 5.4 But what is it to overcome it It is not for one to make himselfe a slave thereunto neither to stoop to adversities on the one side nor to place his felicity therein on the other Hee that doth this may assuredly perswade himselfe to be borne of God and to enjoy Gods benevolence and grace whereby the world is vanquished Contrarily one by being sorrowfull plainly testifieth that he is desperately in love with this world Moreover it openeth a gap to the devill to assault him with divers temptations and bring him into thousand evills and hainous sinnes The murtherer Cain may serve for an example whose anger was not onely kindled but his countenance fell assoone as God disrespected his sacrifice which moved him to kill his brother It induces him to become an Apostate or revolter from the true Religion subscribing and consenting to the lies of Satan when calamity is set before his view as Poverty banishment imprisonment and death which hee is bound to suffer for the confession of truth It makes him dispaire and to lay violent hands upon himselfe and ministreth an opportunity to the devill to set aside his proper shape and appear unto such as give themselves thereunto visibly as it hapned to the Egyptians in times past which were as the wise man witnesseth scattered under a darke vaile of forgetfulnesse being horribly astonished and troubled with strange apparitions Wisd 7.3 It gives way to the envious man the devill to perswade him to make a covenant with him and renounce his baptisme as witches are wont to doe which being done hee possesseth vexeth and tormenteth him after a wonderfull manner Behold the mischiefes thereof behold the off-spring the sorrowfull man breedeth in his bosome who seeth not that the grievousest plague is that of the heart Eecl 25.13 And it cannot be but it should produce the greatest mi●fortune and misery it being the grievousest punishment and curse which God threatneth to the transgressors of his Law The Lord shall give thee a trembling heart and failing of eyes and sorrow of mind Deut. 28.65 I will distresse Jerusalem and there shall be heavinesse and sorrow it shall be unto me as Ariel Esay 29.2 Thus saith the Lord of the inhabitants of Jerusalem and of the land of Israel they shall eat their bread with carefulnesse Ez. 12.19 Remove farre from thee this most dangerous disease and embrace Godly mirth which as hath been said doth not onely become Gods children but affords excellent commodities It represents to the joyfull mans view the happy successe of future things causing him to beare all things patiently and to follow his businesses or employments or forgoe them having regard to time and other circumstances And howsoever all things fall not out according to his mind yet he is contented with his condition Hee handles worldly things as they are in their owne nature fading and indifferent and being not clogg'd by them he goes on lustily in the way of life till hee hath prosperously finished his journey Hee leads his life as quietly as hee can in this world neither aggravates it with new miseries being burthensome enough of it selfe His understanding is sound and perfect in that hee judgeth not according to his affection but as reason directeth him his body is recreated and refreshed thereby Hee knowes experimentally what Solomon speakes of a merry heart doth good like a medicine Prov. 17.22 A merry heart hath a continuall feast Prov. 15.15 and againe The gladnesse of the heart is the life of man and the joyfulnesse of a man prolongeth his dayes Eccl. 30.22 Moreover one endued with this sanctified joy is most assured of Gods love and throughly furnished against Satan so as he cannot exercise his power and force upon him In briefe the blessing of the heavenly father resteth upon him and in that hee rejoyceth it is the worke of grace and because he rejoyceth in God it is an infallible signe that God hath pleasure in him Wherefore be not sorry for the joy of the Lord is our strength Neh. 8.11 and say I will greatly rejoyce in the Lord my soul shall be joyfull in my God Esay 61.10 CHAP. III. The third ground or reason why the faithfull man should abandon it and be joyfull is drawn from Gods spirituall grace in Iesus Christ THere is nothing which should beget a greater measure of joy in the faithfull man than the contemplation and enjoyment of spirituall benefits which God hath conferred upon him for thereby he is freed from the grievousnesse of his misery and translated into a most happy condition which thou faithfull soule being in misery and sorrow which now boils within thee and is fixed in thy breast shouldst especially take into consideration That thou maist cleerly perceive as thou oughtest Gods grace and judge more rightly of the excellency of his benefits Consider with me I beseech thee these three things to wit thy state past present and to come What is man in respect of his past estate but naturally the child of wrath and eternall condemnation for whereas he was originally created after the image of God now hee is deprived thereof by his incredulity and rebellion which is the cause that by the most just sentence of God hee is adjudged to death that is to all manner of miseries spirituall and corporall temporall and eternall wherein hee involved all his posterity Hence it is that man is conceived and borne in sin and so being deprived of righteousnesse he inclines to all vice his understanding darkned his will maliciously bent all his affections depraved and out of order Out of this corrupt fountaine it cannot be but an infectious and corrupt streame should flow to wit perverse abominable thoughts words answerable to the abundance depravation of his heart actions altogether unsavory to Gods will Briefely he is dead in sinnes and so cursed in the sight of God unto whom that speech of Martha may be applied Lord by this time he stinketh for he hath beene dead foure dayes Jo. 11.39 for whereas once hee was the temple of God how he is become a noisome den and sinke whereinto that infernall soule disburthens his filth Nay hee rebells against God and enters into acts of hostility the wrath of God is thereupon revealed from heaven against all his unrighteousnesse and ungodlinesse Rom. 1.17 Being left then to himselfe by Gods judgement he followes his own wayes he is given to a reprobate sense whereupon he feeles divers curses inflicted by God who either punisheth him in his goods in his body in his honours or in such as are deere unto him one while hee armes the heaven to be his enemy otherwhile the Elements otherwhile beasts otherwhile he makes men to fall out amongst themselves At length he cuts him off from the land of the living whom vengeance dogges no lesse than before for his soule no sooner forsakes the body but it endureth infernall paines untill the resurrection at what time the

without persecutions would never have been so much amplified and increased Againe what honour is it to be Gods instrument to cast down and overthrow all infernall and worldly powers to destroy principalities and powers that rebell against him And I beseech thee knowest thou not what is the cause of the ruine of Empires Kingdomes and Common-wealths it is because they make insurrection against Gods children persecuting them otherwise they might have subsisted longer for Jerusalem is a cup of trembling unto the people round about Zach. 12.2 The Church is like unto mount Sinah whereunto if a man or beast drawes neere is thrust through and killed with darts from heaven or an anvill whereupon all the hammers that strike or beat are broken into shivers so that the enemies of Gods truth cannot commit a greater measure of foolishnesse and prove more prejudiciall unto themselves then when they fight against Gods Church they undoe themselves thereby turning upside downe their thrones losing their Crownes and casting headlong their children and posterity into a miserable condition And thus much of the inestimable good things of the third sort of afflictions Seeing these things are so who seeth not that all the afflictions mentioned are not signes of Gods wrath and indignation but of his love forasmuch as they obtaine such a glorious end And thus the Holy Ghost himselfe giveth his verdict of chastisements in particular whom the Lord loveth hee chasteneth and scourgeth every sonne whom he receiveth If yee endure chastening God dealeth with you as with sonnes for what sonne is he whom the father chasteneth not and if ye be without chastisements whereof all are partakers then are you bastards not sonnes Heb. 12.6,7,8 Now if chastisements and punishments inflicted for sinnes are not signes of Gods wrath wee are to esteem no otherwise of the other sorts of afflictions When Satan therefore shall suggest unto thee what the Jewes said once to Christ if thou be the Sonne of God come down from the crosse Mat. 27.40 Answer him clean contrary because I am the child of God I will mount the crosse and through much tribulation enter into the Kingdome of Heaven Acts 14.22 Moreover since the afflictions of Gods children carry with them such good things and are signes of Gods fatherly love they are causelessely as they are commonly called evills but contrarily deserve to be stiled good things To this purpole the Prophet David speaks It is good for mee that I have been afflicted Psal 119.71 and Jeremy it is good for a man that he beare his yoak in his youth Lam. 3.27 Certainly hee that saith it is good to be afflicted declares likewise that afflictions are good and profitable which must not be understood as though they were good in their owne nature for if thou considerest all calamities in their first Originall they are the brood and off-spring of death whereunto all men were adjudged by God's sentence but now they became good things in regard of the metamorphosis or transmutation of their nature when incident to Gods children which are no otherwise then the Prophet Jeremy made a defenced City and an iron pillar and brazen wals Jer. 1.18 against which the darts lose their heads and are not able to doe any hurt That they doe change their nature Saint Paul inintimateth when hee saith wee know that all things work together for good to them that love God who are called according to his purpose Rom. 8 28. Of this change the crosse of Iesus Christ is the cause through whom God is our father This is the tree that takes away the bitternesse of the waters of Marah whereinto we fall in the wildernesse of this world This is that brazen Serpent whereupon if wee look afflictions invading us and as it were a Serpent biting our heeles our heart shall live and her head shall be bruised He that was present with the three children in the midst of the fiery furnace will be present with us also when we suffer-persecution for his name sake The tree of the crosse beareth excellent fruit especially those of righteousnesse whereof the Apostle speaketh Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous neverthelesse it yieldeth the peace of righteousnesse unto them which are exercised thereby Heb. 12.11 so that to stile the afflictions of Gods children then when their genuine nature is explicated evils infelicities calamities is nothing else then to imitate the negligence of a certain undiscreet Apothecary that leaves the inscription of Arsenick upon his boxe when as there is nothing else in it but Rubarb or Manna yea it is an adulterous false marke proper unto those with whom Christ hath no communion and unto whom punishments are not available but are tastes and harbingers of those everlasting torments which abide them after this life Hence it is manifest that the condition of Gods children is to bee preferred to the state of the children of this world wee have declared in the beginning of this Chapter that all afflictions are promiscuously common as concerning their outward forme so that there is not any adversity which may not as equally befall an obstinate sinner as a godly man The difference then consisteth herein that the wicked persevering in their sinnes can have no true consolation because they can gather no good thing out of their calamitie whereas the case is far otherwise with the afflictions of Gods children for they procure them inestimable good things and by the vertue of the crosse of Christ doe become a new kind of goodnesse whereupon they find therein true firme consolation so that certainly the apprehension and consideration of afflictions were there no other cause for a sinner to returne unto God go on in the way of salvation and live in the feare of God should sufficiently move him to be at rest in the day of adversity Lastly if there be such good and excellent things in afflictions If their ends bee so glorious and happy why art thou therefore devout soule dejected and sorrowfull in affliction which doth now possesse thee Thou wilt say because it is grievous to flesh and blood that is true but the case is of like nature in a Medicine the taste whereof doth not argue it to be wholsome but its vertue and operation otherwise thou mayest take Poyson instead of Medecine and embrace death for life that thou mayest not injure and deceive thy selfe in the consideration of afflictions set before thy view their fruit and end which is very excellent and of greater value than one is able to conceive This is it which thou shouldest think upon in thy present affliction Now since thy containe and procure thee such good things as wee have demonstrated it behoves thee to bee of a joyfull mind which St. James requireth of thee My brethren count it all joy when yee fall into divers temptations Ja. 1.2 and especially when thou sufferest for the testimony of Gods truth and constant profession of the