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	love_n	love_v	14,009	5	6.7932	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26807	A short description of the blessed place and state of the saints above in a discourse upon the words of Our Blessed Saviour, John XIV, 2, in my father's house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you / by William Bates.	Bates, William, 1625-1699.	1687 (1687)	Wing B1125; ESTC R25866	33,196	119

God the Prince of the Kings of the Earth Love brought him down from his Throne in Heaven where he was ador'd by the Angels and united him to our nature in our lowly state in order to the raising us to his Kingdom and uniting us to himself in Glory Love unvaluable and incomparable If Solomon upon God's descending in a Cloud to take possession of the Temple was surpriz'd with heavenly astonishment But will God indeed dwell on Earth with infinite more cause have we considering the incarnation of the Son of God to say Will God indeed dwell on Earth For what was the appearance of a Vapour that might be easily dispell'd to the coming of Jesus Christ into the World in whom the Fulness of the Godhead dwelt substantially What is so worthy of reverence and admiration New Things suspend the actings of the mind glorious Things overwhelm the Faculty and never was there so rare and excelling an Object This so signal and amazing Effect of our Saviour's Love gives assurance to Christians that he will take them to an everlasting Communion with himself in Glory As 't is more for a Prince to live with a private Person in a Cottage with complacency than to receive that Person into his Court and invest him with Honour The Love of our Saviour never abated to his Disciples when he was in view of Death with its troops of Terrors 't is said Having lov'd his own he lov'd them to the end And after his Resurrection to a Heavenly Life he exprest the same dear affection Go to my Brethren a stile as high as Love can rise 'T is further considerable what was touch'd on before that the Disciples of Christ besides the common Calamities of Mankind wherein they are involv'd are for his Truth and Cause expos'd to Indignities and Injuries of all kinds and degrees which the malice of Satan and his Instruments the perverted World can fasten upon them The complaint of the Church of old is often renew'd For thy sake we are killed all the day long we are accounted as Sheep for the Slaughter And can the Love of Christ so tender so compassionate that the Love of a Mother to a sucking Infant is not an adequate representation of it can such Love let the Saints be separated from him for ever Then according to the Apostle's expression If in this Life only we have hope in Christ we are of all Men most miserable 2. His Truth gives an infallible assurance that we shall be receiv'd with him in Glory He declares his own Titles I am the Way the Truth and the Life If Truth it self be true and deserves our intire trust we may rest upon his Promises who values his Word more than the World The Pillars of Heaven shall fall and the Foundations of the Earth be overthrown before one tittle of his Words shall be without a full accomplishment If any Man serves me let him follow me and where I am there shall my Servant be 'T is his most gracious Promise to encourage Obedience and he assures his Disciples If I go away and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you unto my self that where I am there ye may be also To shew the validity of Christ's Promise let us consider the unchangeable Perfections of God's Nature are the Foundation of his unchangeable Councils and from thence the unchangeableness of his Promises is justly inferr'd The Decrees of God are engraven with the point of a Diamond and are unretractible The Counsel of the Lord shall stand for such is the perfection of his Knowledg that he can never be surpriz'd by any sudden unforeseen Event that should induce a change of his Will and such is his Omnipotence that he gives an infallible accomplishment to his Decrees and his Word endures for ever The immutability of his Nature gives firmness to his Counsels and the fidelity of his Nature to his Promises In him there is no variableness nor shadow of change and he is God that cannot ly He reveals himself by his Name Jehova to his People to signify that he is the same in performing as in promising Now Jesus Christ his Son is equal to the Father in all essential Perfections He stiles himself the Amen the true and faithful Witness If he deceive his Servants with a false expectation of a joyful glorious State hereafter it would be a blemish to his unspotted Holiness an eternal reflection upon his inviolate Truth 'T is therefore a faithful Saying and worthy of all acceptation That where Christ is in Glory there shall his Servants be with him otherwise he would have told them 2. We are to consider the other firm ground of assurance in our Saviour's next words I go to prepare a place for you This specially respects his Ascension into Heaven but it supposes his Death He purchas'd Heaven by his Death He prepares it by his Ascension His Blood shed on the Cross and pleaded in Heaven gives to Believers a right to it here and actual possession hereafter 1. His obedient Sufferings are the price of this glorious Inheritance In our Guilty State Heaven is as inaccessible to us as Paradise was to Adam after his expulsion when guarded by a Cherubim with a flaming Sword For neither the Divine Wisdom nor the Law of God would permit that an unpardon'd Sinner should be receiv'd into his Kingdom The Justice of God doth not infringe his rich Goodness but that he may bestow upon an innocent Creature the most excellent Blessings the Testimonies of his Bounty If Adam had persever'd in his Duty God might have translated him to Heaven and that happy change had been a free Favour for his Obedince had not been comparable to the Glory that shall be revealed in the Saints But Justice sets up a Legal Barr against the Guilty they are excluded from the Heavenly Glory The Creature must be intirely innocent or graciously pardon'd to be capable of enjoying that Supreme Happiness When the guilt of Sin is abolish'd it hath no malignant Power either to subject us to Evil or deprive us of Good Now our Saviour by Satisfying the Injur'd Justice of God hath wash'd away our Sins in his Blood and hath infinitely pleas'd God that we obtain by him not only redemption from Hell but the possession of Heaven This was the Design of God's Love in giving his only begotten Son that whoever believes should not perish but have everlasting Life Accordingly the Apostle saith That being justified by his Grace through Jesus Christ we should be made Heirs of Eternal Life And by the gracious unalterable tenour of the Gospel these great Benefits are inseparable it being equally impossible that an unpardon'd Sinner should enter into Heaven or that a pardon'd Sinner should be excluded The Connexion is indissolvable Whom he justifies them he glorifies Nay 't is more easily credible that a pardon'd Sinner should be admitted into the glorious Presence of

his Letter to the King of Tyre desiring his Assistance Behold I build an House to the Name of the Lord my God to dedicate it to him and to burn before him sweet Incense and for the continual Shewbread and for the burnt-Offerings morning and evening on the Sabbaths and on the new Moons and on the solemn Feasts of the Lord our God And we read at the Dedication of Solomon's Temple that a suddain thick Cloud obscur'd the Air a sign of God's descending and acceptance whose invisible Majesty was veiled under it and whether from that Sacred Darkness or fear at the unexpected Miracle the Priests could not minister because of the Cloud The Sacrifices Musick and all the Temple-Service was interrupted But the Temple built with Hands and all its pompous Service was but an imperfect mutable Shadow of the Holy Temple Above where God exhibits his Sacred Presence not in a dark Vapour but in the richest Beams of Glory and wherein that most pure Spirit is worship'd in Spirit and Truth for ever The Saints are a Royal Priesthood to God in a state of Eminency and separation from the rest of the World They now offer up the Sacrifice of Praise and the sacred Incense of Prayer infinitely more pleasing to God than all the Sacrifice of Beasts and the most precious Gums and Aromatick Spices that with their sweet Smoak perfum'd the Temple But in the Holy of Holies Above where no defiled thing can enter they perform Divine Service in a Divine manner The perfect Rest in Heaven is a Sabbath's Rest wherein our fervent Affections the Springs of Activity are in their powerful Exercise upon God Here our faint Earth clogs our ascending Affections and such is the tender Indulgence of our Heavenly Father that when the Spirit is willing tho the Flesh be weak he pardons and accepts us But there our Bodies become Spiritual qualified for the Exercises of Heaven and all our Powers are in a holy Heat and Rapture admiring and praising the blessed God Here the Saints often retire from the World to worship the Divine Majesty in their Closets and the secrecy of the Duty is an Argument of the Sincerity They with more freedom pour forth their Souls into his Bosom and he insinuates the gracious acceptance of their Requests But the noblest elevation of the Affections is in communion with all the Saints and Angels above The ardent Seraphims were inflamed crying one to another Holy Holy Holy is the Lord of Hosts the whole Earth is full of his Glory Here there must be some interval between the solemn Acts of Worship the Circumstances of the present State require it but in the Heavenly Sanctuary 't is their continual work and delight to celebrate the high Praises of God They are before his Throne and serve him day and night in his Temple The Inhabitants of Arabia the Happy burn for their common uses those Aromatick Trees that produce Myrrh and precious Balm of which the Sacred Incense was compounded And 't is no wonder because those Trees grow common in their Country that is open to the most favourable Aspects of the Heavens and the strongest heat of the Sun But to our Countries how little of those rich Perfumes are brought And such is the Comparison between the Praises of the Angels and the glorified Saints and ours here below They are always in the noblest Work excited by the highest Motives They are always under the direct Beams of God's Favour which are vigorously reflected in their Praises All their Felicity is to contemplate his excellent Perfections all their Pleasure to love him all their Glory to obey him Their affectionate Praises are renewed without intermission because the Divine Favours are renewed every moment There is a perpetual circulation of Graces from the blessed Creator and Thanksgivings from the happy Creature All their joyful Affections all their solemn Thoughts and Reflections are terminated in that great and glorious Object The Prophet declares their holy Employment They continually speak of the glorious Honour of his Majesty and of his wondrous Works They speak of the Might of his terrible Acts and they declare his Goodness and sing of his Righteousness The Lord is gracious and full of compassion slow to anger and of great Mercy The Lord is good to all and his tender Mercies are over all his Works All thy Works praise thee O Lord and thy Saints bless thee They speak of the Glory of thy Kingdom and talk of thy Power Thy Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and thy Dominion endures through all Generations They never cease to love and admire and therefore never cease to praise him Their Hearts are eternally inflam'd and their Mouths eternally open'd to glorify him But with the highest veneration they adore his Mercy that Perfection that is the special Glory the dearest delight of God that which is the supreme of all the glorious Attributes in our Redemption that will be the principal Argument of their Praises They sing of the Mercies of the Lord for ever that Mercy that chose them from Everlasting that Mercy that in such an admirable manner conducted them through the World that never left them but most wisely order'd all things below in relation to their future Happiness that Mercy that crowns them with Life and Immortality when the reprobate World feel the most terrible Effects of revenging Justice We read of the Jews after their Captivity upon their finishing the Temple that with a transport of Joy they cried Grace Grace when God who is the Author of our Salvation shall have finish'd it with what a sweet consent shall we celebrate his sacred Praises Mercy upon Mercy all is Mercy Happy Exercise Heaven is a State of Joy and Thankfulness Blessed are those that are in thy house they always praise thee 4. The delightfulness of this Place 'T is call'd Paradise by our Saviour He promises the penitent Thief the Companion of his Cross To day shalt thou be with me in Paradise Paradise was a Garden planted by immortal Hands to be the Habitation of Adam in his state of original Righteousness when the Favourite of Heaven it was the Beauty and Delight the Flower of the World and with abundance and variety exceedingly satisfied all the desires of Life 't was water'd with four Rivers to make it always pleasant and fruitful But the Celestial Paradise as much excels it in Beauty and Pleasantness as in its sublime situation and the joyful satisfaction of the Soul in communion with God and the blessed Society there infinitely excels all the innocent Delights of the natural Life Heaven is a state of pure full and unfading Joy The Joy of the Blessed is not mixt with things that may corrupt its excellence There is an absolute exemption from all Evils God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes and there shall be no more death neither sorrow nor crying neither shall there be any more pain The