Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	law_n	sin_n	sin_v	8,157	5	9.6294	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A92856	The parable of the prodigal. Containing, The riotous prodigal, or The sinners aversion from God. Returning prodigal, or The penitents conversion to God. Prodigals acceptation, or Favourable entertainment with God. Delivered in divers sermons on Luke 15. from vers. 11. to vers. 24. By that faithfull servant of Jesus Christ Obadiah Sedgwick, B.D. Perfected by himself, and perused by those whom he intrusted with the publishing of his works.	Sedgwick, Obadiah, 1600?-1658.	1660 (1660)	Wing S2378; Thomason E1011; ESTC R203523	357,415	377

to take heed of sinning though mixt with pleasures and delights Consider these motives Motives 1. What thing that is wherein thou doest take pleasure Why What is that wherein tho● doest take pleasure what is it O man that hath enticed thee and what is it O man which in thee is so enticed It is sin that hath enticed thee and it is thy soul which is thus enticed by sin Sin enticeth thee then which no evil is worse thy soul is enticed then which no part in thee is so precious And wilt thou adventure that precious soul that immortal soul which must live for ever wilt thou adventure it for a sin for one draught of sinfull pleasure Wouldest thou adventure all thy earthly estate for one draught of Beer as Esau did his for one mess of pottage Thou wouldest not Yet wilt thou adventure the eternal being of thy soul for one minutes pleasure of sin Though thy sins be pleasant in thine eyes yet they are odious in Gods sight though thy sins do delight thee yet they do grieve him they do incense and provoke him Hast thou nothing to take pleasure in but that which provokes thy God and will damn thy so●l 2. Thou mayest enjoy thy pleasures without sin Hast thou not Thou mayest enjoy thy pleasures without sin a Wife to delight thee an Husband Children many outward comforts not a God not a Promise not a Christ that thou longest onely for forbidden fruit 3. Is sin a thing to take pleasure in did it not shed the bloud of Is sin a thing to take pleasure in Christ doth it not break a righteous Law transgress an holy Will grieve the Spirit of God cast the clouds of threatnings over our heads bring down all our Judgements on body kindle our terrours in Conscience heap up all our wrath against the day of wrath is this the thing of thy pleasure call you this a delight If one should say unto thee Be drunk commit filthiness and within an hour after thy whole body shall be roasted in a fire or thy skin shall be flead off thee or every bone in thy body should be distinctly broken in pieces wouldst thou now sin And what are these punishments to sins themselves and what are these punishments to those of Conscience or to that of Hell 4. God can easily shorten thy pleasures of sin and he hath many God can easily shorten thy pleasures of si● waies to do it First Is not his Word of mighty power is it not a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart can it not divide twixt the marrow and the joint Is it not a light and a fire Is it not the sword of God a two-edged sword able to pierce and that with quickness and that with sharpness Or Secondly if yet thou be able to maintein thy sins and by the strength of sensual pleasures to beat off the purest convictions and revelations and pursuits of the Word cannot the Spirit of God drive home the sharp displeasure of God cannot he break through the midst of all thy resolutions and delights and so enter into thy conscience can he not in a moment awaken that drouzie conscience can he not inliven that seared conscience can he not injoin it to stand up and act its accusing power when he hath irresistably inlightned it and set the great sins of thy delight before thee and when conscience is deeply wounded where then are all thy pleasures O it will be as bitter then unto thee as hell the wrath of God felt and the guilt of sin felt and the terrors of Conscience felt O how will they drown thy pleasures sink thy spirits and if God be not the more merciful confound thy soul Yet this God can do and he can easily do it if he saith but the word My wrath be upon him Con●cie●ce arise and accuse him it is done and then where are thy d●lights Those sins of thine unto which thou hast been en●iced by a little false pleasures even they alone shall rise up and be the sufficient punishment for all their pleasures Or Thirdly He can shorten thy pleasures by many Judgements he can lay such a disease upon thy body or such a loss on thy estate or such a rottenness on thy name or such a vexation upon thy spirit or such a madness in thy mind or such a cross in thy delight that thou shalt find no more pleasure in any thing Or Fourthly Can he not send forth the King of Fears that which thou least thinkest of and which will make thy joynts to tremble Death it self upon thee Hath not He the Keys of Life and Death and when life is gone where then are the pleasures of thy sin Sin makes way for death and death to a wicked man though it makes not an end of his sinning yet it makes a full end of the pleasures of sinning thou shalt never rejoyce in the way of thy wickedness more thou shalt never taste delight more neither lawfull delight nor unlawfull delight And cannot God do this suddenly and art thou able to withstand him art thou greater then he 5. Thy pleasures of sin will end in bitterness Read the Scripture Thy pleasures of sin will end in bitterness see whether it be not so and I beseech thee tell me hast thou not found it so already canst thou not say That thy sin hath been an evil thing and bitter Canst thou not say What fruit have I in those things whereof I am now ashamed Two things remember There is a certainty of bitterness for former sinnings Eccl. 11. 9. Rejoyce O young man in thy youth and let thy heart chear thee in the days of thy youth and walk in the ways of thy heart and in the sight of thine eyes but know thou that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment 2. Thou knowest not the manner of that bitterness The sinning that is thy work but the punishing of thy sins that is Gods work thou hast taken the pleasures which sin delivered unto thee and thou must now take the bitterness which God will inflict on thee And canst thou tell 1. When the Lord will begin to account with How sudden thee either to night or to morrow thou art not secure a moment Secondly How the Lord will begin with thee whether How great in thy body or in thy soul or in both in conscience or estate Thirdly How far the Lord will extend the cup unto thee perhaps How endless it shall be in thy hand a cup of fury and trembling and amazing horrour and whether he will have thee to drink to the lowest dregs of his wrath how knowest thou This bitterness after thy pleasures may be purely judicial which shall not be tempered with any comfort nor yet at all with the hope of any mercy it may be an endless displeasure from God Object Yea but we mean to repent hereafter and so we

Without saith it is impossible to please God Hebr. 11. 6. 2. But let us proceed further and search what Reasons may be produced to demonstrate the Assertion That the natural or Reasons of it unconverted man is spiritually dead and as to spirituals altogether dead Thus then 1. He who hath no Communion at all with H●●ath no communion with the principles of spiritual life the principles of spiritual life is in a spiritual sense altogether dead for where there is no principle of life there cannot be any thing but death Tolle animam tolle vitam but the impenitent and unconverted sinner hath no communion with any one principle of spiritual life Therefore c. There is a twofold principle of this life 1. A primitive conjunction with God in the estate of Innocency but this is lost 2. Arenewed Conjunction with God by Christ but yet this is not attained to by an unconverted sinner It is a confessed truth that Jesus Christ is the Author of spiritual life to the sinner He that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not the Son hath not life Joh. 5. 17. And the sinner hath it partly by Faith which taking Christ takes life from him by the Spirit of Regeneration which renews and makes him alive but the unconverted sinner hath neither the one nor the other had he either he were then converted 2. Original sin whilst reigning is a compleat cause of spiritual Original sin is a compleat cause of spiritual death death But original sin reigns in the impenitent and unconverted sinner therefore he is dead The Fathers have diversly Phrased Original sin some call it Venenum Syerpentis so Cprian others Plagam serpentis so Ireneus others Vitium parentum so Pau●inius in Austin the Apostle Paul calls it sometimes the body of sin sometimes the body of death sometimes the Law of sin and death sometimes the Vncircumcision of the heart Our Divines generally conceive two things in it viz. In Original sin there is 1. A total deprivation of original righteousness The Faculties remain but the Rectitude is gone It is reported of an excellent Philosopher that he fell into a Disease which dashed out all the Learning that ever he acquired so that he forgat even his own Name Original sin is like the extinguishing of a Candle the Candle remains still but the Light is gone Or like the quenching of red Iron the Iron remains but the fiery redness is all gone Or like a Tree the Limbs remain but the Life is gone It is an Universal spoil it hath robbed us of all our supernaturals worse to us than the Devil to Job who took away all that he had yet spared his Life But Original Sin not onely took away Paradise and Righteousness but all self-power so much as to desire to be good 2. A total depravation of all the man Seges ubi Troia The Soul of Man was once like a Garden fully set with the sweetest Flowers of Righteousness but now it is become like a Wilderness run over and filled with Briars and Thorns Or it is like a Face which once was the most curious of features every part expressing most amiable sweetness now it is like the same Face most deformed with the clusters of the Pox and the very shame and reproach of it self There is not a Faculty in the Soul but it is like the Bough of a fruitfull Tree thickly laden with Iniquity It is a Spring bubling out nothing but aversation enmity resistance to spiritual good and readiness inclination eagerness unsatiableness to all that is evil God saw that every imagination of the thoughts of the heart of man was onely evil continually Gen. 6. 5. The best of men complain of blindness of dulness of deadness Alas then what or how is it with the worst of men Paul could not do good a wicked man would not do good Paul complains for want of power what then may an unconverted man do By all this I think it manifectly appears That the unconverted man is spiritually dead because Original Sin reigns in him if in any then in him and where Original Sin reigns there is a total privation or absence of all spiritual Life and total corruption or presence of spiritual Death in the Soul The terms used in Scripture to express conversion 3. The Terms used in Scripture to express a sinners conversion do seem sufficiently weighty to prove That before his conversion he was spiritually dead For it is set forth sometimes By the Resurrection of the dead Ephes 5. 14. Awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead By the Generation of a person Of his own good will begat he us with the word of truth Jam. 1. 18. By Creation 2 Cor. 5. 17. If any man be in Christ he is a new creature Now observe if Conversion be a Resurrection a spiritual Resurrection then the soul before Conversion was spiritually dead if Conversion be a Regeneration then a new life is brought into the soul which it totally wanted before If Conversion be a Creation and the converted man qua talis be a new creature then he had no spiritual being before If spiritual Life be a creature onely of Christ's making then c. 4. To me those spiritual Promises which God makes of giving The promises of giving a spiritual being and life a spiritual being and life do abundantly clear that man is dead As of pouring forth the Spirit of Grace giving his Spirit taking away the heart of Stone and giving the heart of Flesh of giving Knowledge Love Fear c. Such kinds of Promises imply three things 1. Our total want and need 2. Gods undertaking to bestow them 3. A free and total donation of them to us on Gods part 5. S. Austin useth the Duty of Prayer to prove this Assertion The duty of Prayer against the Pelagians Petenda à Deo bona omnia ergo nihil boni ex nobis possumus And in an Epistle to Vitalis he saith Prorsus non oramus Deum sed orare nos singimus si nos ipsos non illum credimus facere quod oramus 6. I will add but one Argument more viz. That man is totally dead quantum ad spiritualia who cannot so much as Man cannot prepare himself to life prepare himself no not remotely no not in any degree unto the life of Grace But the Unconverted man cannot virtute propria and without supernatural aid in the least degree prepare himself c. for without that aid he cannot desire deliverance out of his sinfull estate nor mourn over it nay not feel it nay not spiritually know it The Use which I desire to make of this Point I shall reduce unto 1. Information 2. Trial 3. Instruction 1. For Information Is every natural and unconverted man a Information spiritually dead man Hence we may be informed of several The unconverted man is in the saddest condition Truths 1. That the

not to lose the cause of all our discomforts It was a miracle that the three children were in a fiery furnace yet not one hair of their heads was singed It was a miracle that Moses bush was burning and not consumed Oh it is a sad wonder that so many afflictions are upon men and not one sin troubled not one sin consumed mortifyed 2. Many persons though much afflicted and long afflicted yet are not converted God complained of old they return not to him Many persons though much and long afflicted are not converted E●gh● so ●s of person● Stupid sinners D●p●rate sinners that smites them and in another place yet have ye not returned to me saith the Lord. There are eight sorts of men whose afflictions have not been effectual to their Conversion 1. Stupid Sinners who know not from whom afflictions are sent nor for what end Wherefore hath all this evil befallen us said they 2. Desperate Sinners who forsake God in their afflictions They cry not when he bindeth them Job 30. 13. This evil is of the Lord why should I wait upon the Lord any longer said he in 2 Kin. 6. 33. 3. Bold sinners who grow worse and worse under their affliction as Bold sinners the Anvile by blows is more hardened like Ahaz in his distresses who sinned yet more 2 Chr. 28. 22. 4. Proud Sinners who repine and murmur and complain against God fretting against him and Proud sinners perhaps cursing of God as they in I● 8. 21. 5. Careless Sinners who Careless sinners regard not the operations of Gods hands and lay nothing to heart The unjust knows no shame Zep. 3. 5. 6. Politick Sinners who think Politick sinners Despairing sinners to make up their losses by any temporizing compliances 7. Despairing Sinners who sink under the burden of worldly losses and crosses a worldly sorrow doth seize on them even unto death and crush them as Rachel c. 8. Hypocritical Sinners who seem to turn unto God in Prayer and Fasting but it is like Judah friendly Hypocritical sinners not with their whole hearts at the best they doe but stop in sinning but they do not forsake their sins their righteousness is but as the morning dew Hos 6. I will but say three things to all these men 1. It is a sure sign that the afflictions are whips of wrath and not rods of love they come not from a Father but from a Judg. 2. It is a sure sign that greater afflictions are to follow I will chastise you seven times more Lev. 26. 21. or else which is worse eternal destructio● Reprobate Silver shall they be called Because I would have purged thee and thou wast not purged thou shalt not be purged till I cause my fury to rest upon thee 3. It is a sign that men are very wicked drowned in the love of sin or the World or that a spirit of Atheism prevails and reigns in them I now proceed to another Proposition which is implyed in these words That there is an Almighty Power required to convert or change a Doct. 5. There is an almighty power required to convert a sinner sinner no less then is requisite to quicken a dead man This my Son was dead and is alive again To awaken a man out of sleep needs no great power a word a call a cry a little stiring may do it but to quicken a dead man here calls and cries and stirrings will not do it all the power of Men and Angels will not do it In Acts 2. 41. you read of three thousand converted at one Sermon And in Acts 4. 4. of five thousand converted at another Sermon so many so quickly converted certainly the Power that wrought this must be Almighty Jesus Christ himself must come and he must cry and he must cry with a loud voice Lazarus come forth Joh. 11. 43. The Apostle speaks of the exceeding greatness of Gods Power towards them that believe and of the working of his mighty Power Ephes 1. 19. Even such a Power as God wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead v. 20. There is a twofold opinion about the power which is put forth The power put forth in conversion Not moral only in a sinners Conversion 1. Some hold it to be Moral only because this is most congruous to the will of man which is a moral subject God they imagine doth offer and propound such Objects with such Arguments which do wooe and allure and prevail with the will of a sinner Sol. It is true that the outward means work only after a moral way The word which is the ministry for Conversion it doth offer to the sinner Arguments of life and death It reveales and commands and promiseth and threatneth But a moral suasion as they call it is not sufficient to convert And there are four Reasons which to me seem very strong and unanswerable against it 1. The Proved very Phrases by which a sinners Conversion is expressed in Scripture do surmount a moral suasion There is no less power to convert a sinner then there was 1. To create man at the first 2. There shall be to raise the dead at the last when a sinner is converted he is said to be created again to be born again to be regenerated his heart is said to be opened and circumcised his strong heart is taken away an heart of flesh is given unto him surely all this is more then a moral power 2. This moral suasion must necessarily presuppose some power and abilities in him with whom it deals as if you counsel a man you suppose something in him to incline him to hearken if you do not suppose such a power then it must be supposed that your counsel is in vain as if you should counsel an Ethiopian to change his skin or a blind man to see this were in vain for there is no power in them to do these 3. The conversion of a sinner in respect of God should be then contingent It might be and it might not be Though God intends to convert a man yet he may fail and miss of the event for as much as a moral work is resistable and may easily be put by How often would I have gathered your children and you would not yee alwayes resist the Holy-Ghost 4. Yea the Conversion of a sinner should in the event depend more upon the will of man then on the will of God The grace offered is common and it is made peculiar and differential by mans will the right use of grace is not of grace but of free will so that discrimen siliorum Dei seculi is a natura not ex gratia The moral suasion is presented unto two sinners the suasion is alike why doth it bring this man and not the other man to Conversion There can be no reason given but this that the one would hearken to it the other would not so that the effect of Conversion

Conversion If the knowledg be without 1. Experience know what sin is but feel it not know what Christ is but never feel the virtues and powers of his death and resurrection 2. Propriety know Christ as a purchase but not as an inheritance what he is and hath done but not what he is to me or hath done for me 3. Power as a candle that lightens but not as fire to burn as an Ornament on a Tomb not as a Soul to the Body as a Star which shines in the night not as the Sun which makes day new knowledg but still an old heart 4. Affections know sin but hate it not nor mou●n for it know Christ but love and desire him not 5. Practise like a Scholler who knows Countries but never travels to them reads the Copy but writes not after it know the way to heaven but never walks the way to heaven 2. Meer trouble of conscience A troubled condition is one thing a converted condition is another Cain and Judas were troubled yet not converted many things may suffice to trouble us which yet are not sufficient to convert us the Law the Wrath of God the quickness of conscience fear of death and hell and shame may suffice to trouble us yet not to convert us The Sea may be troubled and yet remains brinish the Iron may be broken and yet it is hard the Water boils and yet it is Water There is a difference twixt passive trouble and active trouble twixt a trouble that I would get off and godly sorrow which I would get up twixt trouble in ratione p●nae and in ratione gratiae twixt being troubled for sin as it is malum sensible and as malum spirituale twixt malum as causa mali and malum as affectus mali The Land-flood is high but it leaves the mud and dirt behind the Wells water is less but it cleanseth 3. Limited Reformation When only external if internal yet partial will stick with Christ for some one thing True Conversion is an invisible work it is seed under ground t is a child formed in the womb it is the hidden man of the heart t is Christ formed and living in us it is a new Creation of the heart the new heart a law written there The Phar●sees were good at Outworks all far to the eyes of men Outward abstinence from sin may consist with an inward love of it and a man may do much good who yet is not good Self-grounds and ends of profit of esteem of hopes of compliance with others besides those workings of conscience c. may lead us out to visible conformities when yet c. 4. Accidental resolutions When a person will on a sudden grow good altogether only upon mutable occasions 1. As in an exigence of Conscience 2. In a fit of Sickness 3. Some present conviction of the Word 4. Some imminent judgements 5. present hopes not upon solid Conviction consideration fervent prayer to God to work the change c. 5. Passionate Joyes If taken by the Word upon the discoveries of Grace and Mercy and Love of Christ and of future glory like one who is taken with the Ware yet will not come up to the Price The young man would have heaven but will not sell all take up the Cross and follow Christ But when a man is truly converted he is like the Wise Merchant who found the Pearl and rejoiced and sold all and bought it He will part with all his Lusts and Friends and Pleasures and World to enjoy Christ Doth Conversion bring the soul into a joyful condition Then Vse 3. Let every converted person take his portion of joy let every converted person take his due portion and live as becomes himself joyfully Psal 32. 11. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice ye righteous Phil. 4. 4. Rejoice in the Lord alway and again I say rejoice I wish that converted persons would consider 1. That God doth not reserve all their joyes unto another life God doth not reserve all their joy to another life O no spiritual joy is an allowance also for this life a good bit and bait by the way Nay it is not a meer Toleration or Permission but it is an express Command and Injunction and as a man doth sin who refuseth Grace so some man may sin who refuseth Joy 2. God would have the life of Grace to God would have the life of Grace a shadow of the life of Glory be a primordial shadow at least of the life of Glory and indeed our estate of Grace is an Epitome of that in Glory only that is a fuller and larger Volume We have the same God the same Christ the same Spirit the same Communion in this as in that only here it is more Mediate there more Immediate here Imperfect there Perfect here Mixt and there Pure And doest thou so poorly conceive of God that He who is able to make an heaven full of joy to Eternity hereafter is not able or willing to let fall a few drops of joy upon thy soul on earth Or that there can or should be any Communion with such a God which should not be joyful and delightful The Emperor would have none to go away sad 3. God would God would have the Christians life to be the credit of Grace have the Christians life as to be the fruit so to be the credit of Grace Grace is an ornament to the soul and spiritual joy is an Ornament to grace It testifies to the world that conversion quits all costs What! shal madness be found in the habitations of the wicked and shall not joy be found in the tabernacles of the just Shall the worldly man rejoice in a Creature and shall not the godly man rejoyce in his God Shall the condemned malefactor take delight and shall not the acquitted person take comfort Shall wicked men suck pleasure out of bitter waters and shall not good men draw joy out of the wells of salvation Joy is not comely for a fool saith Solomon but it becomes the upright to rejoice saith David 4. As spiritual joy is an ornament so it is an improvement to grace It is a certain truth that grace Joy is an Improvement to Grace is the Mother of joy and true joy is the Nurse of grace Spiritual comforts are inlargements to spiritual graces look as it is with sinful pleasures they do add to our sinful principles the more delight that any man finds in sinful wayes this adds the more love and the more desire and the more earnestness for to sin so is it in spiritual wayes the more joy and delight any man takes in them this adds a new quickning to his graces a fresher edge unto them nothing makes either a communion or an action more frequent or more fervent then delight didst thou ever find thy heart more apt to pray or more fixed in prayer then when thou foundest most delight and comfort in or upon praying