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	spirit_n	19,754	5	5.4357	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A90691	The tempestuous soul calmed by Jesus Christ; being an extract of several sermons, / preached by Anthony Palmer, pastor of the church at Bourton on the Water in Gloucester-shire.	Palmer, Anthony, 1618?-1679.	1653 (1653)	Wing P219; Thomason E1496_3; ESTC R208632	45,978	112

perishing condition as I am to shew in the next Point To deny such preparations and qualifications not such I mean as of our selves but from the spirit is to reason against the method of the Spirit witnessed by Scripture and experience If the spirit of a sinner be naturally bound up in blindenesse hardness of heart insensiblenesse security peace then it will not make out for salvation by Christ till the Spirit of God comes upon that blindenesse c. and so causeth the Soul to discern its own condition and this as the rebellions of our hearts begin to be subdued by that spirit causeth a mutiny distemper some kinde of tempest in the whole inward man till the Spirit draweth vertue from Jesus Christ more and more to work some measure of serenity and composure upon it as we are to shew in the close 3. Say some This is a way to bring a Soul into bondage and tormenting fear No such matter 'T is the way to bring him out of it in order to the delivery from bondage that bondage must be first discovered to and owned by the captive which naturally he feels not as above To shew the captive his bondage in order to his suing for deliverance is the way for liberty this clear Rom. 8.17 Ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear but ye have received the spirit of Adoption implying ye are not now under the Law and so in bondage again as once you were intimating they were so and felt themselves to be so and that the Spirit did reveal it and so brought them out of it and wrought forth and witnessed Christ to them whereby they cried Abba Father 4. How long is a Soul to lie in his bondage humbling himself Till he cast up an eye to Jesus Christ to seek liberty in in him Certainly though a Soul is to renew his humblings under his bondage ye not so to lie under it but presently to make in to Jesus Christ to be freed from the guilt condemnation bondage service of sin pleading his own gracious pdrposes to him as expressed 1. Joh. 3.8 't was his purpose to destroy the works of the devill as I will pursue in the third point And thus briefly I have opened what I here mean by this tempest in a poor soul seeking Christ and life and peace in him the way and lowest measure of it If Jesus Christ by his Word and Spirit doth thus awaken enlighten convince raise some kinde of tempest in a poor soul before it truly seeks out for life and peace in him Let me in the first place speak to the secure peacefull soul that perswades it self it hath hope enough for heaven good interest enough in Jesus Christ and yet is not acquainted in any measure with such workings of the spirit as this coming in with an awakning voice upon the naturall blindenesse and security and bondage thou art bound up in Let me tell thee Soul Better were the fiercest tempest upon thy spirit then such a calm 'T is sitting with folded arms under the shadow of death 'T is sinne in its power bondage peace upon thy spirit the strong man Satan keeping peace that thou maiest sleep the sleep of Death But you will say What will you disturb the peace of my conscience that I have enjoyed all the daies of my life Ah Soul miserable peace miserable calm none of Christs making Spare me a little let me then freely bespeak thee Awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee light Eph. 5 Oh awake from thy deadly calm and peace Hear the voice of the Son of God and live Joh. 5. Sinner drowsie carelesse heartlesse sinner that hast been all thy life time subject to bondage Heb. 2.15 Hearken consider arise thy security safety and peace is the death of sin upon thy soul a captive in a dungeon of darknesse and with fetters about thee and seest it not this is thy temper thou hast been at ease from thy youth and setled on thy lees Jerem. 48.11 Thou hast heard the first work of the spirit is to awake to Christ and Heaven to hear the voice of God in thy Soul rushing in upon thy sinfull peace So Adam Gen. 3. when after his sinne he had thought to lie hid from God in peace covered with his fig-leaves he heard the voice of the Lord God in the Garden and then they were afraid and further saw their own nakednesse What voices of God were they Adam where art thou Hast thou eaten of the Tree I commanded thee not to eat of To the Woman What is this thou hast done v. 8 9 10. c. So the Lord speaks to a soul at first sometimes in an Ordinance sometimes in a sudden voice out of it Soul where art thou what is thy state and condition as to eternity what provision for heaven if thy soul should be now taken from thee What is this thou hast done so presumptuously and peaceably to sinne against thy God to side with the devil and the world against the peace of thy own soul What is this thou hast done to neglect the care of a desolate soul what will it profit thee to gain the whole world and lose thy own soul and to be a castaway a castaway from the holy blessed eternall rest of God into the company of devils in endlesse unredeemable torment What Soul what means thy eager pursuit of vanity and so heartlesse to the things of heaven and eternity With some such voices God speaks and then the soul is made awake for heaven and then it cries after God confesseth humbleth bemoaneth chargeth it self then the Lord directs that soul to means ordinarily whereby he will do it good and reveal the way of life in Christ unto it to destroy the power of sin in it and then though after back-slidings and much unsetlednesse and wavering many reasonings and temptations as shewd the soul settles in some good measure in the tastings of the power and love of Christ in it as I shall further shew Oh that such a voice or any of these might secretly glide in the soul of any poor creature that hath hitherto withstood it and might cause the deep thoughts of eternity to seize upon thee Let me reason with thee as in the counsel of God to raise a tempest in stead of that peace fear it not for I will shew thee a Christ to calm all to destroy sin to set at liberty to fill thy soul with joy and peace that shall never be taken away never fear to passe through such a tempest better go to harbour in a storm then perish becalmed in the sands Why then in thy most serious and retired thoughts be putting such Questions as I have mentioned to thy self if thou art moved and excited by these and such like then this is the voice of God in them if all that is within thee is stirred up to seek after Christ and our interest in

thoughts Christ-ward and have made resignment of my self unto him but I fear I am too much asleep as yet That may be Therefore be more awakened look back to the sins thy soul hath been divorced from but not so as to loosen the present hold thou hast on Christ but to humble and abase thee more and so cause thee to pursue and prize him more Haply thou art a soul whom Jesus Christ takes more gently to himself by degrees with a softer hand and so the tempest not so great But if the least of him be better then the best of all the world to thee a Covenant with him He is a chosen one and pearl to thee yea if it be thy daily mourning he is no more a pearl unto thee no more precious thy heart so dull and then thou callest to him to come and make a more powerfull and fuller abode in thy soul then be sure he is thine though a trembling jealousie upon thee to the contrary Now if the Lord in much mercy hath awakened thee by this or any other voice or more awakened thee then thou wast I would still keep thee company in this discourse till thou findest in Jesus Christ what I have here proposed to thee And so to shew thee yet further of the dealings of Christ to thee as thou comest as a way-faring soul to him in the next proposition Doct. 2. When a Soul comes savingly it comes in a perishing condition to Jesus Christ Lord save us we perish 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we are lost or are in a lost condition lost do thou save us This doth rightly answer to the heart of Christ and his purpose revealed in the Gospel I am come to seek and to save 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that which was lost or ready to perish that really is so and that shall see it self to be so Luk. 19.10 So in that threefold Parable Luk. 15. to set forth such a sinner that Christ draws in to his salvation I have found my Sheep which was lost ver 6. Rejoyce with me I have found the piece that was lost vers 9. And so of the Prodigall Let us eat and rejoyce my Son was lost and is found ver 23 24. 'T is Christ's rejoycing to finde sinners lost in themselves To this purpose Paul Phil. 3.9 That I may be found in Christ implying he was lost in himself Now to open this how a soul is said to come to Christ in this lost and perishing condition First Perishing in sinne such a sight of sin as before is described if it stay in its sinne it must certainly perish Sinne cannot ensafe The least sinne is able to damn much more the multitudes of them that lie undischarged upon it Secondly A Soul that comes truly to Christ comes perishing in its own strength 'T is likely those who were ready to perish in the Ship with Christ in the tempest that they toiled long in their own strength rowed with their own oars with much painfulnesle till they saw all was in vain and then they throw down all Master save or we perish So a poor creature after some conviction and awakening 't is apt at first to be toyling in its own strength it s own naturall sufficiencies sets to repentance duties obedience in its own strength turns in the outward man from the grosser evils of his waies but then backslides again and all because he would be his own deliverer work for and by himself at least contribute something himself But to come weak and strengthlesse to Jesus Christ helplesse in it self this goes hard To acknowledge to the glory of God and our own shame That if any thing be left on our score to make good with God perish we must this goes to the quick indeed our pride and self-love is very unwilling to yeeld to this a creature would not be found to be at such a totall losse with God so farre to have spoiled and undone himself to be so wholly weakened and deadned by sin as not to be able to help the Lord Jesus one little in saving us but the whole stresse must be laid upon him yet thus it is when we were without strength Christ died Rom. 5.6 And so when Christ comes to give a soul the blessing of his death and to estate him in it It causeth the soul to know and feel that it is without strength and helplesse and then 't will be at his feet perishing in it self without him Nothing is more strongly setled upon the spirit of a sinner then this self-sufficiency and opinion of its own power He can pray repent hear the Word receive be just do all and acceptably enough to God as he deemeth and still on the lees of his own strength not knowing what belongs to the spirituall performance of any duty and so befools himself Now this is the first thing a soul coming into Christ is to perish in in all its own strength 3. It is to perish in all its own righteousnesse 'T was in vain for these poor men in the Ship to be hiding themselves In cabins of their own when the Ship was so tossed and shaken to lie nuzling in their own wares though never so precious No all the precious merchandise must over-board passe for nothing So when a soul comes to Christ for help all its own cabins of its own righteousnesse must be cast away All thy former service of hearing praying being just and sober if thou werst so which was thy cabin thy covert in the room of Christ must be lookt upon as thy sins as that which is but an abomination in the pure eyes of God Pro. 15.8 The prayer of the wicked that is of every person out of Christ is an abomination to the Lord As for thy publique worship that haply thou reposest most in What saith the Spirit of God of it Isa 1.13 vain oblatition abomination it is iniquity the solemn meeting they are a trouble to me I am weary to bear them And as for private praiers plainly saith he When you make them I will not hear them v. 15. And why because the sins of such a person are not pardoned his person not justified he is not in Christ he doth not sanctifie Gods Name in his services not directed to right ends and so hatefull to the pure and righteous God And yet fond man is apt to hide and secure himself in these things as Adam in his fig-leaves So he prays a little in a customary dead-hearted manner with some kinde of outward reverence so he gives alms goes to publique worship is righteous to men things good in themselves if aright and to right ends performed And if he slip a little repentance of his own added and Christ to make up what he wants this is the hold of the most and sends as many souls away empty from Christ as any thing whatsoever What formall professours I mean the common bulk of the people of this Nation reach so