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	soul_n	spiritual_a	9,151	5	7.0303	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A64860	Christs counsell to poore and naked soules that they might bee well furnished with pure gold, and richly clad with white raiment : delivered in a sermon before the honourable House of Commons at their publique fast, in Margarets church in Westminster, Septemb. 29, 1647 / by Thomas Valentine ...	Valentine, Thomas, 1585 or 6-1665?	1647 (1647)	Wing V25; ESTC R5046	17,438	28

fruits thereof the gifts of the Spirit together with all the meanes by which the Spirit workes in the hearts of Gods Elect These latter are here offered to you to be sold not the former We cannot properly buy so as to give a valuable consideration for these Heavenly Commodities to buy is to give a price to the seller for which he makes over his right to you and puts you in possession of that which was his But properly we cannot buy so as to give a valuable consideration And that because First All things are Gods already unlesse it be your sinnes the Cattell upon a thousand Hills are mine saith God Job 41.11 Whatsoever is under the whole heavens is mine So that you cannot pay God with his owne for if I buy of a man I give him somewhat that is mine and receive of him somewhat that is his Secondly All things that we have are inferiour to grace and the meanes of grace they are but transitory and fading but Heavenly things are lasting and durable and there is no proportion betweene the largest offer of thousands of Rams and ten thousand Rivers of Oile and the least dram of saving-grace and we must not thinke that mony or mony-worth can purchase Heaven or grace nay to take off our thoughts the Lord tells us his mind Isa 55.1 Buy wine and milke without money But what must be done First Buy it with thy prayers and teares and tell the Lord thou hast need of them and cannot live without them Rome teacheth her children to buy grace with the improvement of parts of nature and to buy Heaven with their good workes and tell us of such perfection in some workes that the●e is no sinne in them but when they offer so largely God must trust them for they have no ready money but we teach our Chap-men to turne poore beggers and you may get more by begging at the hands of God then by working and yet we beg a stock of grace that we may goe to worke Secondly Buy it with thy labour and toile travell for it if thou hast it not at home the sonnes of Jacob goe i●to Egypt if there be no Corne in their owne Countrey and what paines men take to get the Commodities of the world they should doe more for Heaven in former times before this Parliament sate there was a great scarcitie the markets did rise there is now more plentie but the evill of the present times is that there is a price in mens hands and they have not hearts Thirdly It may be it will cost thy purse if with the Merchant in the Gospell thou hast found the Pearle buy it though thou sell all Mat. 13.46 and it would further your accounts if your Bills of expence for Building for Purchases for Portions nay for Sports and Recreations which rises to great summes you could bring in somewhat answerable for the Gospell and Religious uses Whatsoever it will cost thee breake not for price buy it at any Rate First It will inrich thee you may buy Land too deare and Gold too deare but grace and the meanes of grace cannot be bought too deare nay the dearer bought the better you will keepe it the better and esteeme it the more The more it costs a Christian to get Christ and obtain assurance of Gods love the better it is Prov. 3.14 The merchandise of wisedome is better then the merchandise of silver and the gaine thereof then fine gold more precious then the rubies and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared to her Secondly It is of generall use for all persons and at all times when you shall throw away your gold and silver a dram of grace shall be in great esteeme and will comfort your soules Religion is not like a Souldier in time of Peace or a Chimney in Summer but of good necessary use at all times in prosperitie to teach you moderation in adversity to beare up your spirits in life in death it is a Crowne to you Thirdly This Bargaine proves better then was conceived temporall things seeme better then they prove and no man finds that in them which he imagined but spirituall riches afford more to the soule then at first was beleeved here that 's true It is naught it is naught saith the buyer but when he goeth apart he boasteth namely of his great pennyworth Prov. 20.14 Therefore be as the buyer in these particulars First find thy need of these Commodities let thy soule say to God give mee Christ and Faith or else I dye you must not so thinke or speake of any thing else Secondly See the goodnesse of them you cannot know the excellency of them till you be instructed and have experience you cannot see till you have this eye-salve and therefore no wonder if the Lord Christ offer his Commodities and put off but little because men know not the worth of them Thirdly No deceit in this bargaine you shall not be over-reached faire and plaine dealing to them that will buy the truth Rome sells you sophisticated and adulterated Wares and her Tradesmen have darke Shops and falfe Lights and will not have the people to know or be able to judge of these Commodities they must not looke into the Scriptures nor understand the Doctrine of Faith but take all upon their word and beleeve as the Church doth but the Text offers tryed gold And wee must try all things and hold that which is good Mat. 6.20 O●ponit Dominus caelam terrae qu●s●os vel 〈…〉 filios à terrenis ad veram Patriam destinat ubi debeant perpetuò manere Musc Quid minus ratione consentaneum est quam bona sua locare ubi vel sponte pereant vel rapiantur ab hominibus Fourthly Theeves cannot breake through and steale these Commodities As there is a greater excellency so more certaintie in them In all the troubles and persecutions in the world if you keepe your courage and resolutions and would not part with your riches neither Devills nor men can rob you of them you may have the gold and silver in your Chests taken from you by violence and your estates wrung out of your hands but your graces cannot be lost unlesse you consent to lose them and they being of so high a nature and so great worth get them whatever they cost you and keepe them carefully as you doe your gold First The more to perswade you to this consider further of this two-fold Simile of tryed gold and white raiment He that hath gold hath all things vendible he may have House Lands an Office Honour and Preferment and whatever of this nature he can desire for gold will procure it and gold vertually includes all things that are to be sold 1 Cor 3.22 So he that hath Christ and Faith and other graces hath all things Heavenly all are yours none can speake such Language as Beleevers other men may have a great deale Esau may have

enough Gen. 33 9. but Jacob hath all None so rich as the people of God they have in their possession all the fine gold and rich raiment they are well clad and richly furnished and they should live answerably they have got such a bargaine at the hands of Jesus Christ as hath made them for ever and they should rejoyce in their condition rich men please themselves in telling their gold and thinking of their wealth let the Christian looke upon his graces and priviledges with delight and take great contentment in them Secondly He that hath tryed gold needs not feare the touch-stone he that hath tryed graces needs not feare further tryalls It ought to be the care of every one to see that his graces be of a right kind that he have gold not brasse Many Protestants in the Church of England have too much pleased themselves with Copper Faith or they have taken a guilded glistering piece of wood for gold there is that which lookes like faith and zeale and love but is not so indeed Wee should try all things wee take not a piece of gold or silver but weigh and ring it because wee would not be deceived and it were a shame for a man to put off his Commodities and thinke he hath made a good bargaine when the money that he receives is false and counterfeit Coine It is an evill thing to rest in a shew or forme of godlinesse all that comes of it is to be thought by out selves and others that wee are Religions The Pharisees had a name they were esteemed by the ignorant people to be devoute but what will that availe in the day when our workes must be tryed by fire It is onely gold a solid metall that will indure the fire hay and stubble and all light stuffe will burne and consume away Luther speakes of one Arsenius that had eminent gifts and made a profession of Religion and was more forward then others who being sick his friends and acquaintance visited him and for his comfort told him that he could not but have a great deale of joy and peace that was farre before many others in Religion he answered them That he had not so much comfort as they imagined and he now found it to be with his soule not according to what they thought of him but according to the judgement that God passed upon him and God judgeth said he not after an outward appearance but with a righteous judgement It were a vain thing in a man that being Arrested and going to Prison should charge the Officers with doing him wrong because he was esteemed by all his nighbours a rich man and worth many thousand pounds in such a case the name of a rich man will neither free from danger nor pay debts But he that hath this tryed gold hath enough to pay his debts and a stock to live upon besides he feares no danger no trouble no persecution not death no not the fiery tryall for his tryed gold will hold out and passe for currant when all gilding will wash off and waste away Great then may be the comfort of such as looke after truth and the realitie of graces they are happy both in life and death they are rich and shall carry their wealth with them into Heaven You must part with your friends when you dye and you must leave your riches behind you but your graces shall goe with you Vincent in Specul Mora. To set out the dignitie of them above your materiall gold One tells you a Story of a man that had a Suit and when his Cause was to be heard he applyed himselfe to three friends to see what they would doe with him one answered him he would bring him as farre on his journey as he could the second promised him to go with him to his journeys end the third ingaged himselfe to goe with him before the Judge and to speak for him and not to leave him till his Cause was heard and determined These three are a mans Riches his friends and his graces his riches will helpe him to comfortable accommodations while they stay with him but they may take their wings and flye away from him before he dye His friends and kindred they will goe with him to his journeys end bring him to the grave and interre his body then they leave him to his graces Misericordia comes desunctorum It is true of that and all other graces Rev. 14.13 they go further accompany the soule when it goes before God and speake for him and doe more for him then the other can doe Blessed are the dead that dye in the Lord they rest from their labours and their workes follow them But sad is the condition of evill men for when they appeare before God there will be no Intercessor for to speak for them their sinnes will dogge them even unto the Tribunall Seat of God and drag them downe to Hell Wee have done with the tryed gold now a word or two of the white raiment by which is understood our Justification and Sanctification Ordinances and Graces and to shew the glory and puritie of them they are set out under white raiment White is a pure colour and betokens innocencie by nature wee are naked but here is a glorious garment White is more excellent then Scarlet for it is a naturall colour and all naturall beautie is above that which is artificiall Mat 6 29. Mat. 17.2 Solomon in all his glory was not like the Lillies of the Field When Christ was transfigured on the Mount his raiment was white and the glorious condition of the Saints in Heaven is set out in this Rev. 19.14 that they shall be clothed with fine linnen white and cleane No doubt this Church was exhorted to looke after their Justification to joyne nothing with the righteousnesse of Jesus Christ who is set out to be white and ruddy Cant. 5.10 and to preserve the doctrine of it pure and cleane and also Sanctification is herein comprised so that the former point is now propounded under another comparison of white raiment and wee are to be perswaded to buy it And therefore consider First It is of necessitie to have raiment wee must not goe naked It is a shamefull imagination in such as in imitation of Adams perfection will pray and preach and heare naked they should be ashamed of it August 14. de Civit. dei c. 12. And wee see that nature teaches us to looke for a covering for the body and the Text perswades us to get this white raiment for the soule food and raiment must be had and men of quality will have garments answerable to their condition and whereas there is varietie of clothing for the body nothing will serve the turne for the soule but this white raiment Rev. 3. wee must have long white robes the righteousnesse of Jesus Christ is long enough to cover us all over Rev. 7. but