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	time_n	10,018	5	3.6095	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A64860	Christs counsell to poore and naked soules that they might bee well furnished with pure gold, and richly clad with white raiment : delivered in a sermon before the honourable House of Commons at their publique fast, in Margarets church in Westminster, Septemb. 29, 1647 / by Thomas Valentine ...	Valentine, Thomas, 1585 or 6-1665?	1647 (1647)	Wing V25; ESTC R5046	17,438	28

fruits thereof the gifts of the Spirit together with all the meanes by which the Spirit workes in the hearts of Gods Elect These latter are here offered to you to be sold not the former We cannot properly buy so as to give a valuable consideration for these Heavenly Commodities to buy is to give a price to the seller for which he makes over his right to you and puts you in possession of that which was his But properly we cannot buy so as to give a valuable consideration And that because First All things are Gods already unlesse it be your sinnes the Cattell upon a thousand Hills are mine saith God Job 41.11 Whatsoever is under the whole heavens is mine So that you cannot pay God with his owne for if I buy of a man I give him somewhat that is mine and receive of him somewhat that is his Secondly All things that we have are inferiour to grace and the meanes of grace they are but transitory and fading but Heavenly things are lasting and durable and there is no proportion betweene the largest offer of thousands of Rams and ten thousand Rivers of Oile and the least dram of saving-grace and we must not thinke that mony or mony-worth can purchase Heaven or grace nay to take off our thoughts the Lord tells us his mind Isa 55.1 Buy wine and milke without money But what must be done First Buy it with thy prayers and teares and tell the Lord thou hast need of them and cannot live without them Rome teacheth her children to buy grace with the improvement of parts of nature and to buy Heaven with their good workes and tell us of such perfection in some workes that the●e is no sinne in them but when they offer so largely God must trust them for they have no ready money but we teach our Chap-men to turne poore beggers and you may get more by begging at the hands of God then by working and yet we beg a stock of grace that we may goe to worke Secondly Buy it with thy labour and toile travell for it if thou hast it not at home the sonnes of Jacob goe i●to Egypt if there be no Corne in their owne Countrey and what paines men take to get the Commodities of the world they should doe more for Heaven in former times before this Parliament sate there was a great scarcitie the markets did rise there is now more plentie but the evill of the present times is that there is a price in mens hands and they have not hearts Thirdly It may be it will cost thy purse if with the Merchant in the Gospell thou hast found the Pearle buy it though thou sell all Mat. 13.46 and it would further your accounts if your Bills of expence for Building for Purchases for Portions nay for Sports and Recreations which rises to great summes you could bring in somewhat answerable for the Gospell and Religious uses Whatsoever it will cost thee breake not for price buy it at any Rate First It will inrich thee you may buy Land too deare and Gold too deare but grace and the meanes of grace cannot be bought too deare nay the dearer bought the better you will keepe it the better and esteeme it the more The more it costs a Christian to get Christ and obtain assurance of Gods love the better it is Prov. 3.14 The merchandise of wisedome is better then the merchandise of silver and the gaine thereof then fine gold more precious then the rubies and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared to her Secondly It is of generall use for all persons and at all times when you shall throw away your gold and silver a dram of grace shall be in great esteeme and will comfort your soules Religion is not like a Souldier in time of Peace or a Chimney in Summer but of good necessary use at all times in prosperitie to teach you moderation in adversity to beare up your spirits in life in death it is a Crowne to you Thirdly This Bargaine proves better then was conceived temporall things seeme better then they prove and no man finds that in them which he imagined but spirituall riches afford more to the soule then at first was beleeved here that 's true It is naught it is naught saith the buyer but when he goeth apart he boasteth namely of his great pennyworth Prov. 20.14 Therefore be as the buyer in these particulars First find thy need of these Commodities let thy soule say to God give mee Christ and Faith or else I dye you must not so thinke or speake of any thing else Secondly See the goodnesse of them you cannot know the excellency of them till you be instructed and have experience you cannot see till you have this eye-salve and therefore no wonder if the Lord Christ offer his Commodities and put off but little because men know not the worth of them Thirdly No deceit in this bargaine you shall not be over-reached faire and plaine dealing to them that will buy the truth Rome sells you sophisticated and adulterated Wares and her Tradesmen have darke Shops and falfe Lights and will not have the people to know or be able to judge of these Commodities they must not looke into the Scriptures nor understand the Doctrine of Faith but take all upon their word and beleeve as the Church doth but the Text offers tryed gold And wee must try all things and hold that which is good Mat. 6.20 O●ponit Dominus caelam terrae qu●s●os vel 〈…〉 filios à terrenis ad veram Patriam destinat ubi debeant perpetuò manere Musc Quid minus ratione consentaneum est quam bona sua locare ubi vel sponte pereant vel rapiantur ab hominibus Fourthly Theeves cannot breake through and steale these Commodities As there is a greater excellency so more certaintie in them In all the troubles and persecutions in the world if you keepe your courage and resolutions and would not part with your riches neither Devills nor men can rob you of them you may have the gold and silver in your Chests taken from you by violence and your estates wrung out of your hands but your graces cannot be lost unlesse you consent to lose them and they being of so high a nature and so great worth get them whatever they cost you and keepe them carefully as you doe your gold First The more to perswade you to this consider further of this two-fold Simile of tryed gold and white raiment He that hath gold hath all things vendible he may have House Lands an Office Honour and Preferment and whatever of this nature he can desire for gold will procure it and gold vertually includes all things that are to be sold 1 Cor 3.22 So he that hath Christ and Faith and other graces hath all things Heavenly all are yours none can speake such Language as Beleevers other men may have a great deale Esau may have

Text as plentifull as the materiall gold was in Solomons time To effect this you have need of Solomons wisedome the present Divisions and Distractions of the time require it and unlesse God interpose his owne power and wisedome wee conceive wee shall bee still under the troubles of Warre such as were in Davids time And though you doe well to thinke of building the Temple and yee contribute somewhat towards it yet wee doubt whether wee that are alive shall see it done and injoy the peace and happinesse of Solomons time Yet however let me represent unto you the state of the people in this Land which is much like to these Laodiceans they are poore and naked they have thought themselves rich in their Clergie and honoured above others in their outward pompe and glory and for their wealth and goods they have abounded and had need of nothing now they see themselves poore in every kind and they lament their povertie they are naked also both in regard of raiment and armour and Aaron hath made them so Exod. 32.25 They hope that you will take care to inrich them and provide such as will clothe them You did purge the Sonnes of Levi and tooke away many that were no better then drosse and Tin you now give over It is much feared least many Congregations shall still be poore and naked the people desire a golden ministery such as have 〈◊〉 gifts and graces and then they hope there will be 〈◊〉 Christians and the golden dayes will come in so 〈◊〉 as in you lyes you should pittie and relieve the 〈…〉 me herein by setting up a godly ministery and ●●●●●●nancing it against the reproach and contempt of these present times which is greater then heretofore hath beene knowne Wee thought the witnesses had been slain because it is said in Rev. 11.3 7 9. that after they had Prophesied in sackcloth a long time then they were killed and then they were unburied three dayes and a halfe There is no doubt but godly Preachers among others were the witnesses that gave testimony to the truth and they have Prophesied mournfully even in sackcloth a long time together and then they were slaine they were suspended which was a civill death they were not killed as men but as Prophets and they were in the streets as dead men not suffered to execute their Ministeriall Functions and this was for three dayes and a halfe and the time of continuing the suspension of many Ministers by the Bishops which was three yeares and a halfe did fall out so pat and punctuall as it might well be thought to be the slaying of the witnesses in England It is not necessary to make this killing of the witnesses to be in all places at the same time but that it fell out among us at this time the words following in the Text plainly shew for after that time of three dayes and a halfe the Spirit of Life entred into them and they lived againe as Prophets and were restored and great feare fell upon men Those that were Actors in killing them desired them to goe and desire their freedome which was quickly and easily granted they were glad to be rid of them * Ornati sūmo honore gloria ad exemplū Christi qui post mortem debellatam sublatus est in caelum quod autem vox auditur jubens ascendere eo significatur non aspiraturas prophetas ad hoc honoris suo in arte sed aliorum authoritate collo candos esse in isto fastigio pu●a Solenni aliqua principum sanctiore Brightman in Locum And further to confirme this It followes in the Text that there was a great voice from Heaven saying unto them Come up hither Heaven is the highest part of the visible World and it resembles men in highest place and power King and Parliament And this great voice from Heaven was from the State and you said to poore despised Preachers Come up hither You gave them countenance and incouragement even before their Adversaries You said to the proud prelaticall idle Clergie Come downe hither and I thinke you said well But to the godly despised Ministers of the Gospell you said Come up ascend higher and you gave them respect But now there is a voice from the Earth which saith Come downe hither The people that Petitioned you against the maintenance of the Ministery they say Come downe to us you are too high doe as wee doe worke for your living as wee doe Whether this voice from Heaven or Earth shall prevaile Wee leave it with you and the God of Heaven to determine Onely let me give you an Item to take heed in this case of doing as David did betweene Mephibosheth and Ziba 2 Sam 1● 3 4. Hee accused Mephibosheth that hee aspired after the Kingdome and looked after great matters and when the Innocent lame man had opportunitie to make his owne defence yet David unjustly gave away halfe his Land to his Acc●●er 2 Sam. 19.29 They are like enough to say of us Wee would get higher and wee loo●e after great matters but take heed of dividing upon such a false surmise and give one halfe away to satisfie their desires and leave the other halfe for us to live upon in a poore manner But I forbeare the further pressing of these things and in a word returne to the first Branch of my Exhortation I beseech you give us nothing but gold let not your Authoritie countenance any thing but what is good and precious You are Gods Merchants and you should have put off more then you have done Many things come before you little is setled It were an evill thing for many Causes to come before a Judge and nothing to bee determined The Lord quicken your spirits and guide you in your way And for you the people of this Land bee wise to judge of things as they are indeed There is gold to bee had and white rayment the Lord Jesus Christ would sell you these You sometimes cheapen them and inquire after them but you goe not through with the bargaine Who would want gold in his purse and good raiment upon his back if heecould have them You may have these if you will and it will bee a horrid thing in the day of your account to render and returne poore naked soules before God that might have beene inriched and clothed FINIS PAge 9. l. 3. read rejected for received p. 14. l. 15. ●●● with ● ●●● 〈…〉 l. 13. leave out Fourthly and read the two lines together