Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	great_a	sin_n	soul_n	8,809	5	5.0614	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A19550	A sermon of predestination preached at Saint Maries in Oxford: by Ri: Crakanthorp.	Crakanthorpe, Richard, 1567-1624.	1620 (1620)	STC 5980; ESTC S109016	48,771	52

he did all the transgressing angels in that wofull and wretched state hee had done no wrong to any seeing hee was not bound to shew his mercy or fauour vnto any In that he puls out some it 's a superaboundance of his loue and mercy towards them In that hee leaues the rest to destruction it 's truely iustice on Gods part and on theirs most deserued punishment for to giue vndeserued fauour is mercy but not to giue it or to render deserued punishment is no wrong Now whereas in the last place they accuse God not onely of inuistice but for tyranny and cruelty for creating so many whom hee would permit to fall into sinne and then inflict endlesse and insupportable torments vpon them whereas if it had pleased him he might haue giuen vnto them all such grace as would haue preuented not onely their destruction but their sinne also which was the cause thereof they doe herein bewray themselues not onely to be besotted in errour but such as Gyant-like doe maliciously fight against God Art thou wiser then the Almighty or wilt thou prescribe a Law vnto God whom or how many hee should create or what measure of grace he should giue vnto them Art thou able to answere him one for a thousand Was 't not sufficient to giue both to all mankinde and to all angels so much grace and power as that thereby they might for euer haue stood in integritie and haue inherited eternall felicitie if they would themselues In which one gift consists the effect of all that which the oppugners of this truth either doe or can say to cleere the iustice of God● or free hish from that cruelty which against vs they obiect Or had God entended their death or destruction before he foresaw their most wilfull rebellion then might they haue had some colour for their impious and blasphemous declaiming against the Lord. But seeing no thought of punishing either men or Angels euer entred into the heart of God but in order though not of time yet of nature and reason after his foresight of their voluntarie disobedience and rebellion against him why should they count it either iniustice or cruelty to inflict that deserued punishment on them which they wilfully puld downe vpon themselues Or was God bound to giue them such an antidote of his preuenient grace as would haue preserued them from sinne Besides that he was not so obliged to any in the infinitenesle of his wisedome he saw it was not fit he should giue that vnto them for by giuing such grace vnto all it would haue beene thought that it had been their own and their naturall power which now by not giuing it to some is declared to bee due vnto none and by bestowing it on others is knowne to bee his free and supernaturall gift and grace vnto them Nay by giuing such grace vnto all hee had for euer both damm'd vp all passage to his iustice and mercy and the greatnesse of his loue wisedome and goodnesse had for euer beene obscured And therefore first he● would let them know what of themselues and by their owne will they would doe euen runne into destruction that afterwards hee might make euident and knowne all the exceeding riches of his glory The riches of his mercy which could neuer haue beene seene if he had suffered none to fall into misery whence afterwards himselfe would deliuer them by mercy The riches of his iustice who is now seene to be so infinitely iust as that he hath an infinite hatred against all iniustice and therefore iustly inflicteth an infinite punishment vpon it and who therefore would not in mercy pardon all as he might haue done lest it might seeme that hee who is Righteousnesse it selfe had not in a iust and perfect manner hated vnrighteousnesse The riches of his wisedome who is now seene to be so infinitely wise as that he could finde a most blessed meanes both fully euen to the vtmost farthing to punish the offences and so to satisfie his infinite iustice and yet wholly to pardon the offenders and so to manifest his infinite mercy that euery one might with the Prophet say vnto God Mercy and iudgement will I sing vnto thee The riches of his power and goodnesse which both are now seene to be so infinite that hee is able to turne the greatest euill to our greatest good and euen out of sinne to worke saluation and out of death to effect eternall life The riches of his lone to the elect the infinite greatnesse whereof could neuer haue beene conceiued if they had not seene in the iust punishment of others from what infinite and endlesse torments they are freed themselues and freed by his onely loue either most louingly preuenting them vvith his grace that they should not fall into sinne as hee did the elected Angels or most louingly deliuering them by his grace when they were falne into sinne as he did all the elect of mankinde In regard of all which it may truely bee faid with Saint Austen that God being both most powerfull and most good would neuer haue suffered euill to haue beene vnlesse hee had beene so infinitely good and powerfull that he was able euen out of euill to bring good and vnlesse he had knowne that it was a farre more glorious worke and would turne to his farre greater glory when some had sinned euen out of sinne to worke saluation then not to suffer them to sinne at all But what though we in the shallownesse of our vnderstanding either cannot giue or cannot comprehend the reason of Gods will herein Shall we therefore presume to exclaime against the Lord or accuse him for thus doing Doth not the Apostle put to silence the insolency of this folly when hee saith O man who art thou that disputest with God Who art thou that darest aske a reason of his will whose very will is the rule of al reason Much rather oughtest thou here euen with amazement and admiration cry out with the same Apostle O the depth of the riches● both of the wisedom and knowledge of God! how vnsearchable are his iudgements and his wayes past finding out Yet euen by this little which we haue now said you doe cleerely see both the will of God to bee most holy and his iustice most vpright and both his will and iustice to be without all blame in that his whole Decree whereby hee elected some to giue freely vnto them both grace and glory and left others in their owne sinne to bee led thereby into euerlasting perdition Howsoeuer then blasphemous mouthes doe barke against Heauen against their Creator yet let vs all Gods seruants not onely acknowledge but magnifie as in those whom he refuseth his Iustice so in our selues his exceeding and vnexpresseable mercy let vs cast all our crownes before his footstoole and sing an hymne of praise vnto him who not onely hath made vs of nothing but which is the

Then will I professe to them I neuer knew you Depart from me ye workers of intquity Wherefore to returne their own reason against themselues Seeing God knoweth that is loueth and approueth all those whom he electeth as St Paul teacheth but neuer knoweth in this sort any Reprobate or vngodly man as our Sauiour professeth it remaineth true and certaine euen by that very Text whereon they most rely that not all men without exception but only some are elected of God and ordained to euerlasting life Concerning the number of which the Massilians and some other most ignorantly and impiously taught that it was not defined nor set downe by God but left so vncertaine and depending on the wils of men that according as they were either willing or vnwilling to embrace the grace of God the number of the Elect might be either augmented or impayred A conceit so repugnant to the truth that though their other error touching mens wils were admitted yet can it no way stand with the praescience of Almighty God who knowing all things yea the very thoughts of men long before euen before all eternitie can not bee ignorant either how many will or how many himselfe will haue to embrace his grace and to be saued Some others haue fancied that though the number of the Elect which the Schoolemen call Numerum formalem bee certaine yet the persons who are to make vp this number called by them Numerus materialis is vncertaine and not defined by God A fancy indeed seeing the Scriptures plainely teach that God in his secret Councell hath decreed not onely how many but in particular also who those are whom he hath chosen to bee heires with Christ. For when our Sauiour saith that euen your names are written in Heauen and that he being the good Shepheard calleth his Sheep by name that he knoweth whom he hath chosen and when the Apostle saith The foundation of God standeth sure and hath this Seale The Lord knoweth who are his What else doe or can these import but that God hath most certainly decreed and set downe in writing not onely how many but euen particularly who they be yea and what their names are whom hee hath chosen and sealed vnto eternall life and this number as Saint Austen saith is so certainly set downe with God that neither any one of them can be taken away nor any other can bee added vnto them Now what this number in particular is ●as to set downe is impossible for mortall man so to search it out were most vaine and fruitlesse curiositie Let this suffice vs to know that though this number in respect of the wicked is but small seeing Christ telleth vs that many are called and few chosen and that many going the br●ad way which leadeth to destructiō and few in the narrow which leadeth vnto life Few indeed in respect of those many ryet euen those few cōsidered in themselues are an exceeding great number For the seed of Abraham is like the Starres of heauen or as the sand of the Sea shore such as can not be numbred And I may truely say of the Elect they are a number numberlesse Saint Iohn himselfe warranting this saying Reu. 7. 9. where besides those thousand thousands that were sealed of the Iewes he saw a great multitute which no man could number of all Nations and Kindreds and People and Languages wh●ch stood before the Throne cloathed with long white Robes and hauing Palmes in their hands in regard of which infinit number our Sauiour telleth his Disciples that in his Fathers house are many dwelling places And let this suffice to bee spoken of the parties which are elected The next point to be considered in our election is the cause thereof Where first it is vndoubted that the declaring and manifesting of Gods glory is the cause why God in generall would elect some and reiect some other when all were alike before him in the same masse or lumpe of perdition That one saying of Salomon doth sufficiently proue this Pro. 16. 4. The Lord hath made all things for his owne sake that is for his owne glory and honour For when wee were all included in the same masse of sinne out of wh●ch God elected some and left others therein if God had then refused all as in iustice if it had pleased him he might haue done neuer could those glorious riches of his mercy haue been knowne vnto vs which now are manifest in sauing his Elect by Christ. Againe if then by a generall Pardon hee had released all as in mercy if it had pleased him he might haue done then could we not haue seene the glory of his iustice which now in the deserued punishment of the wicked is mightly and manifestly declared vnto vs. So then to make knowne vnto all the glory and praise of his mercy in the one and the glory and praise of his Iustice in the other he framed of the same Iumpe and masse of sinne some to be vessels of mercy by electing them vnto life and he left others to be vessels of iustice letting them alone in that state of damnation into which all mankind had plunged it selfe But if wee wade further into this doctrine and search not only why in generall God elected some refused others but why in particular these are elected rather then the other as namely Iacob rather then Esau and St Paul rather then Iudas seeing not onely they both were in themselues alike but Gods glory had no lesse been seene in electing the one then the other if it had so pleased him as now the cafe is more difficult so are there diuers men of diuers iudgements Most fond of all others is the dreame of Origen who thought that mens soules were created long before their bodies and according to their good or ill deserts before their vniting to the bodies God elected some men unto life and appointed others vnto death though none as he supposed to eternall death Which errour of Orig●ns is not onely by all sound Philosophers reiected who rightly teach that the soules are not created before but in the very instant of their coupling to the bodies so is it together with Origen the Author of it and with the Priscilian Hereticks who after Origen reuiued the same most iustly condemned by the iudgement of the Church truely and constantly teaching that the soules were not before their inspiring into the bodies For this time contenting my selfe with that one cleere testimony of the Prophet Zech. 12. ● that God formeth the spirit of man in him I will passe from this errour as unworthy of any further expence of time Others there are who haue taught that Gods electing of these and reiecting the other dependeth wholly on the will of men themselues and not of the Decree or will of God and that there is none reiected of God ●●ll by their