Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	jesus_n	law_n	spirit_n	7,842	5	6.0757	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61853	The worm that dyeth not, or Hell torments in the certainty and eternity of them plainly discovered in several sermons preached on Mark, chap. the 9th and the 48. v. / by that painful and laborious minister of the gospel, William Strong ; and now published by his own notes, as a means to deter from sin and to stir up to mortification.	Strong, William, d. 1654.	1672 (1672)	Wing S6014; ESTC R32735	120,570	318

are evil and the false reasonings of sin in the Conscience the man cannot see men are given over to believe the lyes of their own spirits and cannot say is there not a lye in my right hand and a seared Conscience with a hot Iron that man despises the threatning and judgment of God 1 Tim. 4.9 and is wholly insensible as seared flesh And all this defilement is not brought into the Conscience from without but grows out of it by custome in sinning And the ground of it is because Conscience is the highest faculty and has the highest office in the man and therefore it is by corruption of the Conscience that all the rest of the faculties are so exceedingly corrupted as they are because Conscience doth not its duty and therefore God will mainly lay load upon the Conscience after this life as this had the main hand in defiling the man so it shall be the great instrument in tormenting the man for could men walk on in sin as they do if Conscience did its duty if it did instruct suggest accuse truly as in the name of God and never excuse but upon grounds from the judgment that God gives of things c. The great pollution of the whole soul flows from the pollution of the Conscience and therefore when the Papists do crowd down the defilement of the soul unto the inferiour faculties the affections and passions as if they were the sink of the soul and all the filthiness were swept down upon them but as for the understanding the will they are in a great measure free the Mistress or Lady in the soul and if a light be brought into the understanding the will has a power to follow and so say the Arminians also and it is a doctrine that spreads much amongst us so when you hear Divines say that of all the faculties the Conscience is the least polluted take heed of it for the main filthiness of thy soul lyes there And the reason that is commonly given is because Conscience in the worst men doth many times take part with God against sin when Lust carries a man and his will is very violently bent upon it but consider in an unregenerate man this doth not proceed from the purity of his Conscience even at that time when it doth take part with God but because there is the spirit of God comes in and stirs up Conscience and lays a command upon it and forceth it to do its duty which it would be glad to let alone and let Lust revel in it without controle it would surely gratify the affection it has to Lust but that the spirit of God comes in and over-aws the Conscience and doth awaken and terrify it and force it to speak and therefore it doth not any more argue the purity of Conscience then Balaams blessing of the people of Israel in the wilderness did argue his love to Israel whom he did earnestly desire to have cursed and did greedily follow after the wayges of unrighteousness but that the Lord held a strickt hand upon his Convcience that he durst not sin in it being over-awd but it was no thanks to Balaam And so it is here no thanks to Conscience which is corrupt and will by degrees grow insencible and incourage a man desperately in a way of sinning even to despight of the spirit of Gods grace Now How shall this defilement be purged all these dead works how shall they be cleansed It is by the blood of Christ First From the Holyness of his nature as he is our Head For by the blood of Christ is meant all his active and passive obedience and in his active obedience the holyness of his nature must be taken in as he was man he received the spirit He had a union and an unction from the free grace of the Father calling him to this great work and by a glorious sovereignty appointed Christ to be the head of his Church and the second Adam to stand in their stead to perform all for them and to receive all for them c. So he did receive the spirit as an unction from the Father Isa 42.1 I will put my spirit upon him he shall be cloathed with the Holy Ghost and put it on as a garment and this spirit he doth receive as a head that he may disperse it for the infinite holyness of the Divine nature could no more be communicated then the infinite righteousness of the Divine nature could be imputed and therefore he must perform perfect obedience in his humane nature for our justification that it may be imputed to us and he must receive perfect holiness in his humane nature for our sanctification that it may be imparted to us John 17.19 For their sakes I sanctify my self that is recieved a spirit of sanctification that it might be unto them a principle of holiness and the fountain of their sanctification also which I conceive to be meant by the Law of the spirit of life that is in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death Rom. 8.2 What is the Law of sin and death It is the power of sin to condemnation defiling and destroying and what is the Law of the spirit of Life it is put for the powerful and commanding work of the living and the quickning spirit of Christ and this Law not as it is in us but as it is in Christ it is this that frees us both in respect of justification and of sanctification also from the law of sin to defile and rule and also to condemn and to destroy and thus from the holiness of the nature of Christ it comes to pass that the same spirit that was in him is conveyed unto us his union did abundantly sanctifie him in himself it being persoual and therefore there was an inpeccability the actus est suppositi but his unction was for us he had a fulness of the spirit as he was our surety he paid our debt and as our head so he received a spirit for us and dispenced it to us c. thus you see the sanctification of the humane nature of Christ doth purge a mans Conseience from dead works even the Law of the spirit of life that is in Christ Jesus makes us free from the Law of sin Secondly There is in the blood of Christ a causa meritoria and it doth meritoriously purge the Couscience for though there was the fulness of all grace in the humane nature of Christ yet it could never have been conveyed unto us without a satisfaction had gone before God must be satisfied that men might be sanctified for there is in the sufferings of Christ two things First The payment of a debt Secondly There is a redundancy of merit some thing must be procured for man non solum instauratus est Aust sed melioratus à peccatis ablutus instauratus est in caeteris melioratus Aust Tom. 4.9 123. p. 613. First It

rowl away the stone from the grave but it was done in a legal and judiciary way and therefore he is said to be justified He is near that justifies me 1 Tim. 3.16 Isa 50.8 And by this he doth convince the World of righteousness because the Lord delivered him from death Because he doth go to the Father Sixthly For a Soul by an Almighty power of God to rest upon this satisfaction of his and to plead it before God for himself at his judgment seat First To look upon Christ as dying not for himself but as a surety for in justification and the purging of Conscience from the guilt of sin the eye of Faith is mainly set upon Christ crucified Christ as dying and that as a surety to make satisfaction 1 Cor. 2.2 Heb 9.22 I desire to know nothing but Christ and Christ crucyfied for without sheding of blood there is no remission For though it is true that the personal excellencies that be in Christ are the objects of Faith yet that Faith as it comes to Christ in the act of justyfication and being quit of the guilt of sin it mainly looks upon Christ dying Christ satisfying Secondly To look upon Christ as a representative head as one in whom I died as a surety so as one in whome I rose he was justyfied and I in him because as he dyed for me so for me he was justified also and Christ was formerly condemned therefore there must an act of aquiting pass upon Christ and therefore Heb. 9.28 That it was so apeared plainly for he did bear the sins of many in respect of the guilt of them and he shall apear the second time without sin that is have the guilt of no sin charged upon him in oposition unto his former bearing our iniquities he shall be aquitted before men and angels and therefore he rose as the first fruits as a person representing all the rest of the elect and he was justified in the spirit that is raised up by the power of the divine nature thereby he was manifested to be justified and as he is sanctified as a common person and receives an Image for us that we must bear the Image of the heavenly there is life eternal laid up in him so he is justified as a common person from the guilt of sin that not any iniquity remains unsatisfied for in his behalf that is the ransom in his death is fully paid and as we were condemned in Adam a common person so it is reason we should be justified by Christ as in a common person also now when a soul by an almighty work of the spirit of God looks upon all these acts of Christ and the soul rests upon them in respect of the guilt of sin he doth put his sins upon the head of his surety and looks upon himself as acquitted in his justification and casts himself upon it that he may attain it thus the blood of Christ is said by a mighty work of the spirit on Christs part and faith on ours to be sprinkled upon our Consciences to purge them from the guilt of dead works Quest But how shall I know whether there be such an almighty power put forth in me that I may stay my soul upon Christs blood thus satisfying that I might be able thereby to see my Conscience purged and pacified and the terrour of sin taken away Answ A man shall know this almighty work of the spirit sprinkling this blood of Christ upon the Conscience by enabling a man unto that which all the power and improvement of a natural Conscience cannot perform and it will be seen in three things First When a mans Conscience awakened and convinced of sin doth yet make after reconciliation with God and union with Christ for a natural Conscience can find it easie to believe while he goes on still in his sins and Conscience is a sleep and indeed the faith of most men is but a good conceit of themselves from the self flatery of their own hearts but as soon as Conscience is awakened by and by they fly from God and look upon him as an enemy Luke 3.5 there are Mountains to be made a plain and there are Valleys to be fill'd now when a soul considers himself under the condemnation of sin the curse of the Law and looks upon God as an angry judge and yet saith I have heard that the Lord of Israel is a mercifull God and if mercy save me I shall be saved and if mercy destroy me I shall but dye I will fly to him whom I have offended and lye down at his footstool there is nothing in the world that I desire like unto reconciliation with him and I would be reconciled to him in his own way the way of union with Christ I would he found in him not having my own righteousness I would submit to the way of the Gospel Oh blessed is the Man unto whom the Lord imputes this righteousness and he is made the righteousness of God in Christ when a soul thus convinced of sin saith God be mercifull to me a sinner I will now go to him and leave my self with him let him do as it seemeth good to him as David said if the Lord delight in me he will save me c. truly all the power of nature improved can never make men leave themselves with God in this manner Secondly When a mans sins are discovered and the Lord leads a man into the wardrope of Christs righteousness and enables him to see how there is enough therein to cover them all and as God saw enough of Christs righteousness to satisfie him in point of justice so the Lord doth by a glorious light shew unto the soul enough of Christs righteousness to satisfy also in point of guilt that the soul can in some measure in Christ answer all the objections that Conscience can make by some spiritual reasonings drawn from the Lord Jesus Christ as when Conscience objects sin is a transgression of the Law but the soul answers the sufferings of Christ are the humiliation of the Law-giver sin is a dishonour to God in point of goods but Christ that made all things with him and had the same title unto all that God the Father had he laid down all and became poor and took a new title unto all he had more then a world to lay down sin did wrong God in point of honour but he that was the brightness of his glory did abase himself and made himself of no reputation and did bring thereby more honour to God he being subject to him then the subjection of all the creatures could have done it was a higher honour to the Soveraignty of God to have his son a servant then could have been to have had the service of all the creatures and he can do him more service and bring him in more glory in an hour then all the creatures could have done if man had stood to eternity sin did offend

God and the greatest can do no more then kill the body as the life of the Soul comes from God only so does the death of the Soul also for he only is the father of spirits and the Lord loves variety in his dominion over us he will for a time govern by the Creatures and comfort by the Creatures and afflict by them but hereafter he will then govern by himself immediately and comfort and afflict by himself immediately the one in this life and the other in the life to come First Vse This informes us that there are certain men that are children of wrath knowing the terror of the Lord we would perswade you to fly from the wrath to come for it is a fearfull thing to fall into the hands of the living God Here first I will shew you who the persons are that be the children of wrath Secondly what we would perswade them to if the Spirit of God joyn with us therein First Who they are and unto whom this use is directed that there are some children of wrath is plain Isa 10.6 The people of my wrath that is appointed to wrath and Isa 34.5 a sword is bathed in Heaven which doth express the decree and purpose of wrath it is upon the people of his curse now if this be true of temporal wrath how much more of eternal wrath which the Apostle saith is the condition of all men by nature even of the elect of God as well as of others before they are converted Ephes 2.3 We by nature were dead in trespasses and sins as well as others and children of wrath now they are said to be the children of it because they were born to it and it is their inheritance all that ever they must look for men appointed to it as a child of death is a man deserving death and appointed thereunto and as the Saints are called the children of light so are these also children of wrath so if you would ask for whom is this wrath and who according to the rules of the word are under it it is every man that is in a state of nature and a state of unregenerasy But how should a man know who it is that is in a state of nature surely a man may know if he will but behold his face in the Glass of the Word and discerne what manner of person he is James 1.24 There is a judgment that passeth upon the eternal states of men in the Word of God 1 Cor. 14.25 Ezek. 20 The man is judged of all and the secrets of his heart are made manifest and he saith that God is in you of a truth a man looking into the Word may discerne what his estate is Now first they are children of wrath that are children of disobedience Col. 3.6 for these things the wrath of God comes upon the children of disobedience John He that is born of God sinneth not non operatur peccatum he that committeth sin is the servant of sin and he that commits sin is of the Devil that is that lives and lyes in any known way of sinning that he doth reserve unto himself a sweet Morsell that he cannot cast out that the comfort of his life comes in by he eats the bread of wickedness and drinks the Wine of violence he feeds upon huskes and upon ashes Isa 44.20 over whom sin has dominion and it reigns in their mortal body and they obey it in the lust thereof and take care to make provision for 't thou art yet in my sins and not only sins of commission but sins of omission for such also this fire is prepared Depart from me you cursed into everlasting fire Mat. 25 prepared for the Devil an his Angels for I was hungry and ye gave me no meat it is not you took away my meat and naked and ye robbed me of my cloathing I was amongst you and ye put me into prison but ye did not visit me and Minister unto me c. So that even sins of omission also prove an unregenerate state and will make a man lyable unto this wrath at the coming of the Lord. Secondly The wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men Rom. 1. who withhold the truthin unrighteousness When men are convinced that such things are duties and will acknowledge them and that such things are sins and yet for some worldly ends and base respects will not forbear to practise them as many of the Pharisees were convinced that Christ was the Messiah and yet for fear of the Jews durst not confess him Joh. 12.42 that go on in sin against their own light and convictions from day to day and against many warnings and admonissions and his own remembrances of the dealings of God both with himself and others that have been engaged in sinfull courses and truly this fire will not burn hotter upon any sort of sinners in the world then they that sin against light and in this manner do withhold the truth in unrighteousness Thirdly They are asted by no other spirit but the spirit of this world for there is a double spirit that men are acted by in all their actions the Spirit of God acts some men and the spirit of the world acts others they that are regenerate have received the Spirit of Christ and where the spirit of Christ is there are all the fruits of the Spirit and the inward man is in some measure conformed unto Christ whereas other men are acted by no other rules but the custom of the world for worldly ends that look no higher then the things of this life and the things that are seen whereas a man that is regenerate has received another spirit that acts him by another rule for he is led by the Spirit and unto a higher end he looks upon the things that are not seen Fourthly 2 Cor. 4. In this are the children of God manifest and the children of the Devil he that doth not righteousness is not of God and he that loves not his brother verse the 14. We know that we are translated from death to life because we love the brethren now when a mans heart is imbittered against the Saints of the most high he doth wish evil to them and if any evil doth befall them he rejoyceth and at least if he can do no more he will inwardly please himself that they are brought low it 's an argument that thou art one of the Serpents seed and thy envy is both thy sin and thy Plague as it is the Devils I will put enmity sayes God between the seed of the Serpent and the seed of the Woman the enmity is put into the Devils Curse and if thou didst love him that did beget thou wouldst love them that are begotten of him and thou that dost hate the Image of God wheresoever it is and the more thou dost see of the Image of God in the man the more thou