Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	let_v	life_n	see_v	7,907	5	3.2906	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A46725	Peace and love, recommended and perswaded in two sermons, preached at Bristol, January the 31, 1674/5 / by Tho. Jekyll ...	Jekyll, Thomas, 1646-1698.	1675 (1675)	Wing J533; ESTC R1429	32,018	39

rail'd at and affronted to be cheated and couzned to be robb'd of our good Names and the comforts of our Lives Would we be contented to be driven up and down from post to pillar and to have all advantages taken against us No certainly we would not Let us not then act any longer so directly contrary to the Reason of Man-kind and to the design of the Gospel too lest hereby we be esteem'd the common Pests of the world Enemies both to God and Man too so at last find from the Judg of all men the same measure that we have meeted out to others which is to be proceeded against with all the violence and severities of justice and wrath But 3. A sincere and earnest Endeavour after Holiness would very much contribute unto our Peace Whilst Man continued in that happy state in which he was Created there was a perfect Peace in Paradise and this flow'd from that perfect Innocence of his Life and Nature before his Fall but as soon as ever he had eaten of the Forbidden Fruit Sin the great Make-bate of the World set him at Variance both with God and himself sow'd Division between the Man and his Wife made mortal Enemies of Natural Brothers and taught the whole Greation Rebellion against their lawful Prince and has ever since taught Men all those Devilish arts of Malice and Revenge which they are so perfect in at this day It 's this cursed Root of bitterness in our Natures that brings forth all that damnable fruit of Hatred and Emulation in our lives Gen. 4.2 Sam. 11.1 King 21. Esth 3.3 John It was the envy of Cain that made him first Hate and then Murder his Brother It was David's Lust that cost Vriah his life The Covetousness of Ahab that made him Murder Naboth The Pride of Haman that made him thirst after the blood of the Jews The Ambition of Diotrephes that disturb'd the Churches of Asia and if we would but lay our hands upon our hearts we should find that 't is one Lust or another at the bottom that arms us so unnaturally against one another While there is envying strife divisions amongst you says the Apostle 1 Cor. 3.3 Are ye not Carnal and walk as Men The Man all the while getting the better of the Christian whereas were we but holy and upright just and good we should be more moderate and calme Did we in our hearts truly fear God we should by necessary consequence also love our Brethren were we truly sensible of his love and kindness unto us it would make us more charitable and loving unto others Sure I am if we would but look neerer home the best of us may find imployment enough for our utmost Malice and Revenge against our own Lusts we need not be so severe upon other men whilst we have so many worse Enemies in our own Bosoms against which it would better become us first to wage war else as our Saviour says Math. 7.4 5. How wilt thou say to thy Brother let me pull out the Mote out of thine Eye when behold a Beam is in thine own Eye Thou Hypocrite first cast out the Beam out of thine own Eye and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the Mote out of thy Brothers Eye It is upon this account therefore that our Apostle adds this Duty of Holiness to that of Peace which is the second thing to be consider'd here as necessary in order to the obtaining of everlasting Salvation 2. Therefore Secondly and to conclude See here the necessity of Holiness Without which says the Apostle no man shall see the Lord then which there cannot be a more powerful motive in the World Whoever considers the Nature of the Christian Religion how suitable all the Precepts of it are to the Reason and Interest of Man kind what excellent Promises it makes to excite our hopes in case of Obedience what amazing threats it lays down to a waken our fears in case of Disobedience whoever I say considers these things cannot but conclude it the most excellent Religion in the World and such as no man in his Wits but would readily embrace and practice And yet if we do but look into the Lives and Conversations of those that have embrac'd it we shall find the generality of them as great Strangers to the practice of it as those that never heard of it What Atheism and Profaneness what Cursing and Swearing what Lying and Perjury what Drunkenness and Uncleanness in short what plenty of all manner of Wickedness is there every where to be seen even amongst those that call themselves Christians As if the Grace of God that brings Salvation had never appear'd or rather as if the appearance of it were only to teach us not to deny but to own and practice all Ungodliness and worldly Lusts for certainly had some amongst us a Dispensation from Heaven and leave to be as bad as they would they could not well be much worse than they are And yet ask these Persons in their more serious Intervals what they think of God and of another World and their hopes of Happiness seem to be as strong as the best flattering themselves with I know not what presumptuous thoughts of Gods mercy as if he were oblig'd to bestow it upon them when-ever they would vouchsafe to call for it or to accept of it But let these Men know the Christian Religion gives no encouragement to any such flattering Hopes and corrupt Practices It s true it promises Eternal Life but its only unto them that Believe It offers Heaven and Happiness but its only unto them that practice Holiness It assures of Peace and Comfort in another Life but then its only unto them that follow Peace and Righteousness in this Since without these the Apostle assures us no Man shall see God shall ever behold his Face with joy and comfort shall ever have the least place in his Favour here or in his Glory hereafter It 's true in one sense the most Wicked and Ungodly who have neither Peace nor Holiness nor any other good quality besides shall see God but it shall be only to encrease their Misery and add unto their Torment when they shall see God as the Devils do with fear and horror and behold him as so far from Pittying and Relieving of them that he will rather Laugh at their Calamity and mock when their fear comes Which sole consideration is enough one would think to calm the most Furious and Revengful to sweeten the most Sowre and Bitter Disposition to curb and restrain the utmost fury of all our Lusts for I am much mistaken if it would not daunt the proudest Sinner that ever breathed to look upon Death and to see nothing but Hell beyond it to behold the great God of Heaven and Earth cloath'd in all the Robes of Fury and Vengeance to behold him unto others a Merciful Father and Compassionate Redeemer but unto himself a Revengeful Judge

a Consuming Fire Let therefore the time past of our Lives suffice that we have liv'd so directly contrary to our Interest and Duty Let the Wicked for sake his way and the Vnrighteous man his thoughts Let all sin and wickedness be banish'd both our hearts and lives Let us lay aside our former corrupt Conversations and let those Vices that do at this day rule and reign in our Nation for the future not be so much as once named amongst us as becometh Saints since whoever Indulges himself in the least sin shall never whilst he does so Inherit the Kingdom of Christ or of God and may the God of all Grace so sanctifie our hearts and lives in the ways of his Laws and in the works of his Commandements that we being cleansed from all filthiness and pollution both of Flesh and Spirit may so perfect Holiness in the fear of God that at last we may enjoy the happiness of his fight and presence for ever 1 John 4.20 21. If a Man say I Love God and Hateth his Brother he is a Lyar for he that Loveth not his Brother whom he hath seen how can he Love God whom he hath not seen And this Commandment have we from him that he who Loveth God Loves his Brother also WHoever considers the Nature of that New Commandment which our Saviour gave of Loving one another shall find it to be a Duty so rational and convenient that there cannot be any thing more becomming the Nature of a Man and more likely to win upon and prevail with him and therefore the Prophet calls the Cords of Love the Bands of a Man Hos 11.4 This Law of Love being so naturally fitted to the tempers and constitutions of men who will sooner be allur'd and drawn then forc'd and driven that even the most rude and savage tempers will be calm'd and mollified by it and made fit for Society and good Order But now when we come to consider it in its highest abstraction and take a prospect of it from that Influence it has not only upon all the actions of our Lives one towards another but even those towards God too we shall find the excellency of it to be far greater For if before it made us men it now makes us Christians and teacheth us to love our Brethren not for their own but Gods sake too since it has this excellent qualification also that hereby we are assur'd of the Truth of our Religion and the sincerity of our hearts towards God our Love to our Brethren being the mark and sigh of our love to him without which all our Religious pretences are but vain and foolish and at the best but Hypocritical and a Lye For if a Man say I love God and hateth his Brother he is a Lyar c. In which words we have a Proposition laid down and two Arguments to prove that Proposition 1. A proposition which consists of a supposition If a man say I love God and hateth his Brother and a conclusion deduc'd from thence he is a Lyar the very thing it self carrying a contradiction in its terms for he that says he loves God with all his heart and with all his soul as every Good man ought to do and yet in the mean time hates his Brother or doth not love him so well as he should however he may perswade himself to the contrary yet all his Love is but false and counterfeit and he himself without mincing the matter is no better than a Lyar which the Apostle does not only say but prove from the two following Arguments the one drawn from the Nature of Love it self the other from the effects and consequences of it 1. From the Nature of Love it self For if he doth not Love his Brother whom he hath seen how can he love God whom he hath not seen It being more Natural to us to love those things we see and converse with then those things we only hear of and believe in that Nature is before Grace and takes the first place in us and we are more apt to love those things that are visible and affect our senses than those things that are invisible and affect only our understandings And therefore if to men with whom we converse every day and meet with such opportunities we do not express any Love what reason is there to imagine we sincerely love God when of our love to him and the sincerity of it we were never able to make those Tryals because we never saw him nor had any opportunities offer'd us of shewing any real acts of love to him Besides something may be judged from the difficulty of the thing for he that will not do a thing that 's easie will hardly be suppos'd to do a thing that 's more difficult Now it s harder to love one we never saw than one that we see every day in that fight and conversation is one Motive of Love Now we see our Brethren daily but we never saw God at any time and therefore where there is one advantage to allure our love to our Brethren which there is not to invite and oblige us to the love of God if a man fail in the one that is so Natural how can it be imagin'd that he will perform the other which is less Natural But 2. The Apostles second Argument is drawn from the effects and consequence of Love which is Obedience to the commands and will of any person whom we Love And this Commandment have we from him that he who loveth God loves his Brother also So that its evident by the command of God that we are as really oblig'd to love one another as to love him himself and therefore if we would shew any love to him we cannot do it any better way then by Obedience to his commands And thus the notion of loving God in Scripture but more especially in the New Testament seems to be taken most fitly for one most eminent act of love amongst all men viz. that of doing those things that are most acceptable and well-pleasing to the Beloved either as tending most to his good or any other way desirable unto him for this indeed is the only way of expressing our love to another all others being but the effects of love unto our selves But because God wants no Contribution of ours either to the promoting of his good or the advancing of his glory and so our only way of doing grateful things to him is our performing what he commands It necessarily follows that our Obedience to the mind and will of God in the highest and most perfect manner is styl'd the loving of him this being indeed the prime if not the only way of demonstrating our Love to him and therefore it s the greatest contradiction and absurdity in the world for a man to say he loves God when he contemns and despises his Will and Commands and is as if a man should pretend to be a Loving and Loyal Subject