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	sin_n	son_n	9,023	5	5.1330	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96858	Gnōston tou Theou, k[a]i gnōston tou Christou, or, That which may be knovvn of God by the book of nature; and the excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ by the Book of Scripture. Delivered at St Mary's in Oxford, by Edward Wood M.A. late proctor of the University and fellow of Merton Coll. Oxon. Published since his death by his brother A.W. M.A.	Wood, Edward, 1626 or 7-1655.; Wood, Anthony à, 1632-1695.	1656 (1656)	Wing W3387; Thomason E1648_1; ESTC R204118	76,854	234

togeither their letters read God in a monstrous prodigious manner and become vaine in their imaginations and their foolish hearts were darkened Rom. 1. As men that read in an old moth-eaten broken manuscript may easily mistake the originall meaning so methinks the Gentiles having nothing to study God in but the dull and darke print of the Creatures presently fell into grosse mistakes and multitudes of errors concerning him for they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like unto coruptible man and to birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things Rom. 1. v. 23. but now Christ is so cleer a representation of his Father that if we know him aright we cannot mistake God at all He and his Father are one so that you may comprehend and know him as it were for he that seeth him seeth the Father and he that cometh to him cometh to the Father as in St John 't is every where exprest 2. This knowledge of Christ discovers our selves also unto our selves the knowledge of our selves is one of the best and most divine knowledge that is Ecaelo descendit the heathen could say now we cannot know Christ aright but we must know our selves also know in what a miserable and wretched estate we are without him how vile and loathsome we are in our own natures how base and worthlesse our best performances how ugly and deformed our persons and our services are in the eyes of God As when the beames of the Sunne come into a roome they discover all the dust and filthinesse in the roome so when Christ beames in upon the soule the filthinesse and corruption of our hearts and lives doe straight way appeare we then see what a horrid thing sinne is that put so blessed a Saviour to so cruell a death we see what a cursed slavery we are all in by nature to the law to sinne to Satan till the Son doth make us free before we know Christ the Divell doth cast a mist before our eyes so hood-winks our soules that we cannot see where we are what we are or whither we are going till he takes the veile from off our eyes and then by our present light we know what it was to be in darkenesse Through Grace we know what sinne is how to debase our selves and advance Christ First Is it so that the knowledge of Vse Christ is the most excellent knowledge more to be desired then gold yea then most fine gold more pretious then Rubies is it the glory of a Christian to be more perfect in this to teach this to learne this then it should reprove all those who make not this the main end scope of their studies and endeavours As 1. Such carnall dispensers of the Word that use rather to speak in enticing words of mans wisedome then in demonstration of the Spirit and power and that dresse their discourses in the Apish foolish conceptions of mans wit neglecting in the meane while the sacred Word which alone is able to make both themselves and their Auditours wise unto Salvation such in the language of S. Paul doe make the Crosse of Christ of none effect 1 Cor. 1. 17. whilst they labour to possesse men with the love of their affected streines more then with the naked and simple truth of the Gospell and therefore the good Apostle professeth that he did determine to know nothing amongst the Corinthians save Jesus Christ and him crucifyed He could have flaunted as well as the best of those seducers and have trimmed his speeches with as much elegancy as any but saith he away with such trash to the herd of mankind that had rather feed upon such husks then the bread of life let others vaunt as they please and you expect what you will from me yet this is my resolution not to know any thing saving Jesus Christ and therefore exceedingly to be blamed are all they that contrary to his Word preach to the eare and not unto the heart seek rather to gratify the sensuall corrupt affections of men then to implant in them the saving knowledge of Christ O beloved we are to deale with the soules of men to rescue them from Hell and to pluck them out of the paws of the Divell by whom they are led captive We meet againe too too often with poor ignorant wretches to instruct who scarce know whether there be any Christ any Holy Ghost more-over we are not to deale with flesh and blood but with principalityes and powers the lusts of men they are to be blasted and beaten down by us the consciences of men to be wrought upon and satisfied sins to be convicted the righteousnesse of Christ to be pressed the Crosse of Christ which is foolishnesse to the world to be preached this is our labour this our worke what need we then to daube with untempered morter and to mixe humane inventions with sacred truths why is that zealous thirst after applause and to set up our selves more then our Saviour why is it then men desire oftentimes more to display their own reading then the knowledge of Christ and him crucifyed not as if there were no use of humane learning in the mystery of the Word Paul himselfe made use of a Poet to convince the Athenians Act. 17. nor doe we speake this to countenance those that doe the worke of the Lord negligently and bring the lame saplesse undigested notions to this sacrifice doubtlesse God that requires the whole man requires the braine as well as the heart in this service and he gives us talents not to lay up in a napkin but to bring themforth as occasion shall require for his Glory and the Churches good we all know by sad experience into what disorders and inconveniences the contempt of secular learning hath brought many giddy soules of this Nation and how prostituted and disregarded the carelesse management and wanton itch of preaching hath made the office of the ministry O that God would be pleased to convince all of us especially the forward youth of this University of the tremendous burthen that lyes upon the shoulders of a Minister Opus Angelis formidandum but to return I say we do not hereby discountenance learning or learned and painfull preaching especially in due place and time but only we ought to take heed that Hagar doe not justle out Sarah that the handmaid secular learning doe not take place in our affections above the free woman the knowledge of Christ that our Sermons savour not more of learning then of grace and that our designe be not to get more admirers of our parts then Disciples of Christ 2. This would reprove all those in generall that are more in love with humane knowledge then that the knowledge of Christ are more taken with an Aristotle a Plato perhaps a Romance or play-booke then a Prophet or an Apostle suffering in the mean while poor illiterate men to rise up and carry away Heaven from them whilst they