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	true_a	9,048	5	4.9749	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A25204	Decus & tutamen, or, Practical godliness the ornament and muniment of all religion being the subject of several sermons preached at Westminster upon Titus ii, 10 / by V. Alsop ...	Alsop, Vincent, 1629 or 30-1703.	1696 (1696)	Wing A2907; ESTC R16042	63,995	144

has not deserved it is most deplorable 3. The Third and Last thing supposed in the Apostles exhortation is that every one of us in our respective places and stations do engage as far as in us lies to restore Religion to its Primitive Lustre and Splendor and so to retrieve the Reputation of it to adorn it in all things In order to which blessed End I will only at present offer a few things 1. Would we recover the original Beauty of the Doctrine of the Gospel we must so walk so act live as those that believe Invisible things to be the greatest Realities Without breach of that Charity which we owe to all Men or pretending to search the heart we do see and may say that many walk as if all their hopes were terminated by their Eyes and that they believe no other World no other Reward than what is within the reach of Sense But this was the Glory of the Apostle Paul 2 Cor. iv 18. that he look'd not at the things that were seen but at the things not seen His main scope and hope was in invisibles an invisible God an invisible World had that influence upon his Soul that he was born up under all present pressures could glory in all his present tribulations upon the hope of a future Recompence This was it which made Moses endure as seeing him that was invisible Heb. xi 27. And if we search into the Reason of this otherwise unaccountable resolution we have it v. 1. Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen If Faith can render the future World present if it can represent the unseen World to the Eye if it can bring down Heaven and lay it with all its Glory before us it will teach us to live at another rate than we can possibly do upon the proposal of all things to our Sense This will teach us to wait and to possess our Souls in patience whilst we wait so For tho●…e things which Christ has promised to them that love and from love obey him Rom. viii 25. If we hope for that we see not then do we with patience wait for it This was it which taught the Primitive Christians to rejoyce 1 Pet. i. 8. Whom having not seen ye love in whom tho' now ye see him not yet believing ye rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory 2. Convince the World that you can trust your God upon his naked word who will believe your Religion has any thing solid and substantial in it if you cannot depend on the promise of him whom you say you have chosen and taken for your God We see it evidently they that have chosen the World for their Portion can trust its Promises and take its Word for good Payment what a reproach then will it be to those who have a better God but a worse Faith than they that have a worse God Let all Men therefore see that you dare follow your God on the Credit of his Truth that you can trust him for the Re-imbursement of whatever you shall lay out for his Name or lose for his sake Compel Men to acknowledge that you dare avow your Consciences against all the Damage you can possibly sustain for it or from it convince an unbelieving Generation that there are those who know their God so well that they can trust him and tho' you apprehend you may probably lose something for him yet you shall lose nothing by him you have it under his Hand he will Repay it Glorious was the Faith of Abraham Heb. ii 9. Who sojourn'd in the land of Promise as in a strange Country because he could confidently and comfortably look for a City that had foundations whose builder and maker was God v. 10. Such was the Faith of Moses v. 25. Who chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt for he had respect unto the recompence of reward In which Heroical Actings of Faith we cannot but observe First The Value the different Value that he put upon things Secondly The Choice he made in pursuance of that Valuation First Let us consider his estimate of things he esteemed the Reproach of Christ greater Treasures than the Riches of Egypt where the two things put into the opposite Scales are the Reproach of Christ in the one and the Treasures of Egypt in the other And what Man looking on these with an Eye of Sense would not esteem the Treasures of Egypt preferable to Reproach and Scorn But there was something that turned the Scale in his Judgment something that gave him a Holy Byass that he judges the worst thing in Religion better than the best in Egypt The best thing that Egypt could boast of or court him with was its Treasures the worst thing Religion could affright him with was Reproach especially if it goes so high as an ignominious Death And yet he esteems the repr●…ach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt because he kept his Eye fast fix'd upon the Recompence of Reward Secondly Let us not wonder if this was the value and estimate he made of things that his Choice was proportionable he chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season Two things are set before him and upon his good or evil Choice depended Life or Death Affliction and Pleasure And is this a Measuring Cast Or can any one be long in suspence which to chuse Affliction is evil Pleasure is good True but those Afflictions were to be born with the Church of God in which he might be assured of God's gracious Presence his powerful Protection his seasonable Grace to help in time of need And for the Pleasures they were polluting and perishing Pleasures which would leave a sting in the Conscience to imbitter the remembrance of them and therefore his Judgment swayed and determined his Choice that way This and nothing without this will convinee Men that you take the Promises for True that these shall be responsible to your Faith that God shall be responsible for his Promises and that his Truth his Faithfulness and Omnipotency shall be responsible for God 3. Thirdly Let this one thing more be made appear that you are under a Law to God That the preceptive part of the Word has taken as strong hold upon your Hearts as your Faith has taken on the promissory Part. This will satisfy all the World that you are in good earnest with Religion when you live in the practice of the most Flesh-displeasing Duties that you can deny the most profitable temptation to sin and that you walk as those that firmly believe your Religion will bear its own Charges The power of the Word restraining us from the most gainful sin and constraining us to the most chargeable Duty will be a most

God adorn themselves § 7. When the favourable Providence of God shall exalt thee forget not whence thou hast been raised Forget not those thou hast left behind thee forget not thy self forget not thy God It has brought much Reproach upon Religion that many Professors change their Tempers with their outward Circumstances and when they have got more Sail they throw away their Ballast such was Jeshurun Deut. xxxii 15. Who when he waxed fat kick'd forsook the Lord lightly esteemed and was unmindful of the rock of his salvation § 8. Lastly Maintain a high and noble Faith in a low Estate This is convincing to Men that there is something real and solid in the Doctrine of the Gospel when tho' the Fig-tree blossom not tho' there be not fruit in the Vine tho' the labour of the Olive fail and the Fields yield no increase yet can rejoyce in the Lord and triumph in the God of their salvation Hab. iii. 17 18. 2. I come now to speak of the Promises These testify what we may expect from God and upon this Head I will open two Things 1. I will briefly open the Nature of the Promises 2. I will shew from thence what Conversation will adorn the Doctrine of the Gospel as 't is contain'd in the Promises § 1. For the brief opening the Nature of the Promises A Promise may be described thus A Testimony which God has given of himself through Christ to secure our Faith in whatever we may expect from him as a Precept testifies what God expects from us so a Promise testifies what we mav expect from him And this is the Glory of the New Covenant that what we expect from God enables us to perform what he expects from us 'T is in the Strength of the Promise that we are enabled to obey the Precept 'T is another Excellency of this Covenant that Divine Mercy has annext the Promise to the Precept and so we are not left to a Naked Law The same Apostle who complains 2 Cor. iii 5. Of an insufficiency to think any thing of himself can yet boast that he can do all things through Christ who strengthens him Phil. iv 13. Nothing in himself All things in Christ. The Command creates our Duty but the Promise affords Strength for Obedience Again according to the extent of the Promises must be the extent of our Expectation What length God has gone in Promising the same length may we go in Praying Believing Hoping As the Precepts are the Bounds of our Duty and all that we can pretend beyond them is superstitious Folly so the Promises are the limits of our Faith and to expect beyond them is Presumption Further we cannot justly complain that we are narrowed and restrained in the wideness of the Promises for they are adequate to the spiritual Necessities of all his Children in all Ages The Oyl in the Cruise will run while there is a Vessel to receive it our God has to give while we can find a Heart to pray and receive Mercy and Grace will never fail while there is room to receive it 'T was on this Consideration that the Psalmist weighing the indigency of his Soul and the exigency of his Condition was well willing to accept the Promises for his Supply and Treasure Psal. cxix III. Thy testimonies have I taken for an heritage for ever for they are the rejoycing of my heart So many Promises so many Testimonies what God will do for his Children what he will bestow on them and what they may expect from him Now David we see could securely take God's single Security nor required any to be bound with him for performance What Security God gave that he takes with the Hand with the Arms of Faith as those antient Worthies Heb. xi 13. Who died in the faith not having received the promises but having seen them afar off and were persu●…ded of them and em●…raced them For whereas there are two things in the Promises the Goodn●…ss contained in them and the Truth that confirms them Those Eminent Saints received the Truth tho' God kept the Goodness still in his own Hands And thus the Psalmist accepted God's Testimonies for good Payment tho' the Grace Mercy Glory wrapt up in them were chiefly of things future distant and invisible And these he took for an heritage he blesses himself and rejoices that the lines were fallen unto him in pleasant places and that he had a goodly heritage Psal. xvi 6. Give him but a clear Interest in them and he is content that the Men of the World whose Portion lies there should divide the World amongst them For th●…y are the rejoycing of his heart They are Light in Darkness Comfort in Trouble Advice in Streights Ease in Pain Supply in Want Health in Sickness Life in Death But that I may more fully and distinctly give you the Theory of these exceeding great and precious Promises there are Two things in them which shall be more particularly considered The fuln●…ss and faithfulness of the Promises 1. First The fuln●…ss of the Promis●…s They contain whatsoever the Soul upon Spiritual Accounts can possibly need They are commensurate to the Necessities of the Saints in all Cases the Promise made to Abraham Gen. xvii 7. I will establish my Covenant between me and thee to be a God to thee has been frequently exemplified in af●…r-times 2 Cor. vi 16. I will be their God And it includes all that God can promise all that the Soul can ask or receive And as it 's great folly to sit down with any promise of God that is short of himself so 't is as great a folly to aspire after any thing beyond him As a little piece of Gold may be beaten out to a great breadth draw out to an incredible length yet still it 's but the same Gold for Weight and Substance tho' it will be more for use so may this comprehensive Promise be drawn out into infinite Particulars but still all of them are but this one I will be thy God The Almighty God will be thy Strength the All-Wise God thy Conduct the Everliving God thy Life But if we desire more explicite Satisfaction God has given it 1 Tim. iv 8. Godliness hath the promise of the life that now is and tha●… which is to come Will this World will the other World will both Worlds satisfy you Will Time and Eternity content you This Word testifies what you may expect from the Promise 2. Secondly Look now upon the faithfulness of God in the Promises concerning which I recommend these things to your Observation 1. That God's faithfulness in the Promise is God himself cloathing himself with the Attribute that our Faith may more easily take hold on him and more securely rely on him God is full and faithful he is fulness and faithfulness And because God seems to value himself especially upon this Attribute Psal. cxxxviii 2. Thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name And that whatever fails