Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	life_n	live_v	love_n	9,426	5	5.6923	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44864	David's labour and rest, or, A discourse on Acts XIII, v. 36 preached at the funeral of Mr. Richard Shute, the late Most Reverend Pastor of the congregation of Stow-Market in Suffolk : together with some memorable remarques upon the deceased, for the benefit and use of that parish / by Samuel Hudson ...	Hudson, Samuel, 17th cent.	1689 (1689)	Wing H3264; ESTC R4246	15,092	32

revealed to us Things revealed belong to us We must not guide our selves by our unruly Fancies or make our own blind turbulent passions our Rule Or that which some call Conscience thô never so misguided or a Light within them for this is to be regulated by the Rule of God's Word and Will else there will be so many Rules as there are misguided Consciences in the World. David did not make God's secret Will the Rule of his Agency For how could that be a rule for him which was kept secret from him nor did he run to any infallible Judge or the determinations of the Church to make that his rule of Faith or Life But what God had clearly manifested to him and to us his Sacred Oracles are our Rule so many as walk according to this Rule Peace be on them Gal. 6.16 If every Market-Town had a divers Standard for weights and measures who could know what were the Standard of the Nation Doubtless the Word of God is a certain infallible and sufficient Rule else Christ was not faithful in his Prophetick Office. May this be our practice in all matters of Faith and Life Take we a right rule and if in matters ritual and circumstantial and what not forbidden we quietly submit to the prudence of our Superiours we shall not easily erre And had this method been observed God knows it had ended many of our unchristian and uncharitable dissentions But when Men make their own will good meaning private opinion good intention or prejudiced education the rule of their Agency and judge that their hands can only stay the tottering Ark no wonder that the Church falls into endless rents and miserable fractions Activity without understanding like mettle in a blind Horse exposes the Rider to greater hazards or like mettle in a restife Jade apt to run away with the Rider Be we careful then not to mistake our rule nor be seduced by those who pretend to be infallible Rule-makers or guided only by a light within Thirdly Which leads me to the last considerable the Issue and Event David c. fell asleep And they who walk by David's Rule may expect the like issue Sad news doubtless to all Israel when holy David who had fought Israels Battels brought back the Ark settled them in peace and guided them by the skilfulness of his hand shall fall asleep which must not be understood of perishing but as elsewhere was gathered to his Fathers or Reversus in paradisum returned home to God. I read not that he staid at Limbo in the way until prayed out by the Charity of surviving Friends But here observe with me First That death to a good Man is but a Sleep and as sleep Rev. 13. 1. Gives rest and a cessation from labours and toils it is requies et medicina laborum So those who sleep in Jesus Eccles 5.12 rest from their labours Again 2. It gives Refreshment especially after hard labours The sleep of the labouring man is sweet The more serviceable in Life the more refreshing the Sleep of Death Not like the affrighting sleep of condemned Malefactors or a Man in a Frenzy who start in their sleep And 3. As they who sleep awake again so those who sleep in Jesus when they hear the sound of the Trumpet and the voice of the Son of Man shall awake and be raised up again as to their bodies 1 Cor. 15. And this corruptible shall put on incorruption God will be no mans Debtor nor unfaithful to forget our work and labour of Love. Those very bodies which have been the Souls Instrument in faithful Services to God shall not be unrewarded in another World. But 2. No serviceableness to God in our Generation here can exempt from Death For David fell asleep This is the common lot of the Faithful as well as slothful Some wear out with Work others moulder in Rust and inactivity Moses who received the Tables from the Mouth of God gave Statutes and Judgments to Israel and brought them to the borders of the Land of Canaan the next news we hear of him is Moses my Servant is dead Joh. 7. Elsewhere saith sacred writ Our Fathers are dead and the Prophets do they live for ever From which Premises let us Inferr Infer How Scripture dresseth up Death to a good Man which thô to Nature it be the King of Terrours yet to a Believer is but an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a pulling down the Cords of our Earthy Tabernacle Repatrizare to return home and in the Text a Sleep And may not this remove all Dread and Consternation from our Spirits who would not be willing to put off his cloaths to go to rest God intends thee no harm when he puts thee to Bed. 2. And may it not stay the impetuous Torrent of immoderate Grief for deceased Friends He is not Dead but sleepeth And have not you known the Husband go to bed a few hours before the Wife The Father before the Child And there is no readier way to provoke God to snatch them from us than by too much doting upon them We should be careful not to turn our golden Ear-rings into a golden Calf or lean too hard upon our Crutches For then God often cuts off the Pipes that we may live more upon the Fountain Advice To conclude by way of Advice that we may sleep in Jesus Be careful 1. That we live in no Sin unrepented of It 's the Childs miscarriage in the day that makes it loth to go to Bed at Night lest it's Father should reckon with it then Live we then that as Job speaks our Hearts may not reproach us whilst we live And 2. In an intire Resignation and surrender to the Will of God. Gen. 38. v. 6. How much did Potiphar provide for his own ease and quiet when he left all in Joseph's hand Could we leave all our Concernments to God let God do what he will How might we possess our Souls in all Times and Conditions of Life and without Consternation and Amazement of Spirit look Death in the Face But when we tenaciously hold all we can from God have our Affections set upon things beneath live unsuitably to the designs of the Holy Gospel and Religion we profess No wonder if the Thoughts of Death prove uneasie With what Confidence can we commit our selves to God when Dying when Enemies to God when Living For a man to live in open defiance to the Laws of God when Living and to Bequeath his Soul to God at Death is an Incongruous thing We do not make our Enemies but our Friends our Executors To conclude 3. Let 's live with our Hearts more inflamed with love to God and in a Sence of our Mortality and the latter will be Influential upon the former Fire is best preserved in its own Ashes In short let us imitate holy David in serviceableness to God in our Generation and this by the Will of God

is no Design a Christian ought to have in in pursuit comparable with that of glorifying God and saving of his Soul All others compared with this whether raising great Estates and Fortunes or climbing up to highest Pinnacles of Honour are but low and beggarly Designs Nor is there any other way we can better express our reall care for carrying on this good Design than by a suitable Comportment and endeavour to do as David did to serve out our own Generation Nor any Rule for us to square our Conversation by in order to the glorifying of God and serviceableness than the Rule David walked by viz. the Will of God. And whosoever walketh in this Way and by this Rule may expect a David's Issue and Event to fall asleep to be gathered to their Fathers and receive a glorious Resurrection The words as they lye in the Relative sence are brought in to prove the Resurrection of Christ and that as a thing foretold by the Psalmist That he would not suffer his Holy One to see corruption But David saw corruption and therefore the Prediction of the Psalmist relates to Christ and not personally to David For David after he had served out his generation by the will of God fell on sleep and saw corruption c. But I shall consider the words absolutely in themselves which contain these three Considerables First Good David's Agency and Fidelity He served out his generation Secondly The Canon or Rule of his Activity the will of God. Thirdly The Exodus or Event of both which doubtless was happy He fell asleep and was gathered to his Fathers Of these three in their order First Holy David's fidelity and agency who served out his Generation i. e. the whole series course and scope of his Life was how he might be serviceable to God in all the parts thereof not only in a fit and mood by starts and fits but throughout his Generation Whose excellent Pattern Note recommends to us a necessary and important Duty incumbent upon us to be Active and Serviceable to God in our Generation in all the Stations and Relations Gods Providence sets us in He did not serve God as a Servant his Master for a Year or an Apprentice for seven Years as long as his Indentures last but he was as a bored Servant all his days Not putting Limits Bounds or Periods to his Service but as long as Life lasted He never begun well or to good purpose that doth not continue his Fidelity Nor may he expect a Crown of Life Rev. 2.10 who is not Faithful to the Death And here I must consider David in his respective and several Relations wherein Gods Providence set him and shew how serviceable he was in them all and how reasonable it is for us so to be And those were either in His Political Ecclesiastical Domestick Relation First Consider him in his Political Relation as he was a King. No sooner did God advance him from the Shepherds Crook and by his special command invest him with the Crown and Scepter to lead his People Israel as his peculiar Flock but he set himself to defend his Subjects to subdue Israels common Enemies put Garisons into the Cities for the safety of the Common-wealth When possibly male-contents might think a less guard might serve the turn to secure the publick Peace This was he who enjoyned and commanded by his Authority the Worship of the God of Israel according to the Law of Moses and required the People under his Charge to serve and fear the God of Abraham This was he who was serviceable by appointing Judges for the Execution of Judgment and Justice both for the Punishment of evil-doers and for the Praise of them that do well Nor was he a negligent Administrator of Justice himself or did he turn off all to be managed by others hands but declares that when he shall receive the Congregation he would judge uprightly Psal 75.2 which he performed with great faithfulness notwithstanding the after-insinuations of a Rebellious Son Absolom and a Crafty Courtier Achitophel who out of Sinister ends aspersed the Government to raise their own Fortunes and gratifie their own ambition It is a very difficult if not impossible thing to wear a Crown long but some touring Spirits will be apt to raise Clamour and unreasonable Slanders and think it would fit better upon their own heads and that if they had Power they could better manage the Affairs of State. What he engaged to his God David was careful to perform Early destroying the wicked of the Land and cutting off evil doers from the City of the Lord. Leading his People Israel in the Integrity of his heart and guiding them by the skilfulness of his hands In short in his publick service and administration he eyed publick good so as to the most and best men Whatsoever the King did pleased the People 2 Sam. 3.16 Consider him Secondly in his Ecclesiastical relation as a Prophet of the Lord and so he served out his Generation This was he who brought the Ark the visible Symbol of God's Presence from Kirjathjearim and placed it in a Tabernacle notwithstanding the insolent scoffs of a deriding Michal So hard a thing it is for any in publick Authority to promote Religion but some or other will revile and reproach But yet he proceeded and made preparation for building a House for God thô the compleating of it was left to his Successor yet his good purpose was acceptable to God. How careful was he in ordering the Priests and Levites to perform their Offices in their several courses Sacred Writ do testifie to rectifie abuses 2 Chron. 23. ● and regulate the Worship of God. How industrious in composing that precious Model of divine Truth the Book of the Psalms And ordering the Singers in their places to serve God in Prayers Praises and Thanksgiving And himself also with Supplications and Intercessions to God standing up in the gap to divert the wrath of a justly provoked God from a God provoking People as divers Psalms testifie Psal 79.83 nor was he wanting upon the Receipt of any signal blessing to return his grateful resentments of God's goodness Several of the Psalms being Anthems of Praise penn'd upon such occasions to be publickly sung As Psal 18. c. Nor Thirdly was he less careful to be serviceable to God in his Private or Domestick relation By a holy and exemplary Conversation This was he who gave not only holy Precept but Pattern behaving himself wisely Psal 101.1 and walking in the midst of his house in the perfect way Not as too many who regard not to debauch others under their charge by ill President Or others who care not if they have but their Servants bodily labour thô the Devil have their Hearts and Lives He doubtless counselled them to Piety and bewailed the miscarriages of any under his charge and care When Rivers of Tears ran down his Eyes because men kept not