Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	power_n	sin_n	sting_n	7,486	5	11.7460	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B02482	Christ alone exalted in the perfection and encouragements of the saints, notwithstanding sins and trials. Volume III. / Being laid open in severall sermons by the late spirituall and faithfull preacher of the Gospel, Tobias Crispe, D.D.	Crisp, Tobias, 1600-1643.; Cokayn, George, 1619-1691.; Pinnell, Henry.	1648 (1648)	Wing C6959; ESTC R233167	185,508	400

sin yet it cannot do any hurt at all But sa● he I thanke God through our Lord Jesus Chri●● who will deliver me from this body of death As much as to say Indeed till a man looke to Christ there is nothing but matter of bitternesse and evill to be seen as the certain fruits of sin and there can be nothing but bitternesse in sin in regard of the evill that is like to follow it But when persons can once looke to Christ the case is altered What doth he thanke God for He thanks God that though naturally a body of death grew up by sin yet there is no prejudice in this kinde can come to him through Christ Now that the Apostle doth plainly mean that he thanks God in that sin could not doe him or others any hurt mark how in his thankfulnesse he expresseth himself in the beginning of the 8. Chapter There is now no condemnation to them that are in Christ that walke not after the fl●sh but after the Spirit There you see the ground of the Apostles thanksgiving namely that now there is no condemnation to those that are in Christ No you will say no condemnation in Hell but yet as there is remainders of sinne in Gods owne people so there will some evill or other fall upon the commission of sin marke what the Apostle speakes of it in the 2. and 4. ver●● Would you have the clear minde of the Spirit ●in it There it is held forth The Law of the Spirit of life which is in Christ hath freed mee from the law of sinne and death for what the Law could not doe in that it was weake through the flesh God sent forth his Son in the similitude of sinfull flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh The Law of the Spirit of life in Christ hath freed mee from the Law of sinne and death Here Christ stands for the deliverance of his people from condemnation from eternall wrath say some yea but saith the Apostle wee are delivered from the Law of sin and death what is the Law of sin but what the Law may do to persons for those sins which are committed by them Now what can sin do when it is condemned It is true take a Traytor as he is at liberty hee may do mischief but take him as he is arraigned and condemned and as he is bound and manacled he can doe no hurt Now sinne is condemned to the Believer it can do no hurt at all to him for what hurt can that doe unto a man which is carried into a Land of forgetfulnesse to avoid further prejudice of such persons that are indangered by it When men have been found dangerous unto the State 〈◊〉 hath been a common practice to banish them the Kingdome into a place far remote when they cannot have any opportunity of doing any mischief and when they are banished the● are not to returne againe upon paine of death Now beloved our Scape Goat hath carri● our sins into a Land of forgetfulnesse Consider further suppose a man be entered into many bonds and they are for great summes It is true while they remaine bonds in force such a man is subject to feare arrests but put the case these bonds are all cancelled that the debt in the Creditors book be blotted out what hurt then can these bonds do unto a man when the seal is torn off and all the writing in the bond is blotted out If a man saw a thousand such bonds in which he were obliged it would affright him no more then if he saw none at all True indeed every sin is a great debt and wee commit sins daily and hourly against the Lord and the torments of Hel is the merit of the least sin in the world for I speake not this to extenuate any sin but to shew the greatnes of Gods Grace and to ease upon good grounds distressed consciences Therefore such as look upon these sins as uncancelled and these debts as true debts it is true so long these sins may work a horror and trembling in persons but for Believers that are the members of Christ they may read fairly all the sins that ever they have committed they may read also the desert of these transgressions which should be executed and inflicted upon them if they were not cancelled and blotted out But marke what the Lord speaks in the 43. of Isaiah I even I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine owne name sake and will not remember thy sins Now what prejudice can that do that is blotted out I say every debt of a Believer is a cancelled debt so that the Lord himselfe hath nothing at all to lay to a Believers charge For how can that Scorpion do hurt that hath lost his sting and spent his venome in the sides of Christ and left it there It was Christ that was wounded for the transgressions of his people he was bruised for the iniquities of the faithfull the chastisements of their peace was upon him saith the Holy Ghost in the 53. of Isaiah and the 5. verse What hurt can there be to whom there is peace from God and nothing but peace It is true our sins themselves do not speak peace but Christ bearing the sinne and the wrath that these sins doe deserve his chastisement or the wrath hee sustained speaks peace to every Believer whose transgressions be did beare Therefore beloved be not affraid ye that are Believers and members of Christ for fear of wrath breaking down from heaven upon you for such and such sins which you have committed for they can do you no hurt all your sins together can do you no harme all the sting and poyson of your sins were spent upon the backe of Christ Marke that excellent expression of the Apostle in the 1 Cor. 15.56 57. he tels us there indeed that the sting of death is sin and the strength of sinne is the Law so that here seems to be a sting in sin even to death it selfe But mark what follows thanks be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ that hath given us the victory What doth he meane even the victory of overcoming of sinne and death that is his true meaning Though naturally sin hath a sting yet there is a victory over this sting Christ is the death of it as he tooke away the sting of it so that the sins of Believers set up to affright them by Satan or his instruments they are but Scare-crows and Bugbears things to fright ignorant children indeed but men of insight and understanding are able to see that they are counterfeit things It is true before men come to see the light of the Gospel of Christ their sins stare in their faces seeming to spit fire at them but just as you shall have children it may be put one of their company into hideous postures and a fearfull and terrible representation causing every one that knowes it not to run from him so sinne

Believers indeed the sword is broken the sting is gone The sting of death is sinne the strength of sinne is the Law 1 Cor. 15. but thanks be to God saith the Apostle that hath given us the victory over sinne and death so that we may boldly say Oh death where is thy sting Oh grave where is thy victory If you be the Lords and the Lord be yours if you be Believers you may triumph as the Apostle doth Oh death where is thy sting It is gone nay Oh death saith the Lord in the Prophesie of Hosea I will be thy destruction I beseech you give not care either to Satan or to whatsoever instrument he hath that would possesse you that though Christ dyed for you and hath borne your sins himselfe upon the Crosse or upon the tree as the Apostle Peter expresseth yet those same sins will doe you hurt and prove a mischief and bane to you I say there cannot bee greater despite done nor affront offered unto Christ then to make the Believer conceive that he was not able to beare their sinnes nor the wrath of God sufficiently for them but that they must be wounded notwithstanding all that Christ hath done If Christ be hurt as much as sin can hurt him how can any man be hurt by it for whom Christ suffered If Christ upon the Crosse took the sting out of it and carried it to his own grave how commeth it to have a new sting or did Christ dye in vain If he took away the sting of one sin and not the sting of another there were need of another Christ it seems to take away that sting that is behind and so Christ hath not perfected for ever them that are sanctified I desire you to heare with patience this is the first ground of all your comfort in affliction that sin is gone for then all afflictions in the world cannot discomfort seeing all discomfort ariseth from sin which is the sting of affliction Hereupon the Apostle triumpheth Who can lay any thing to the charge of Gods elect It is God that justifieth who can condemne Contrariwise the soul is in the greatest bitternesse when sin remains and the sting of it is not taken away but when God is reconciled as he is to the faithfull for God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himselfe not imputing their trespasses unto them how then can finne do hurt when it is not to be imputed God doth use to reckon when he doth take payment If God doth not reckon with men he will never smite them with wrath as is the wrath so must be the smart and harm and hurt that person is to sustain in respect of the sins committed Chastise he doth indeed for speciall ends but the sin doth not at all hurt And though the Lord doth afflict that will do you no hurt neither afflictions are the physicke of God to purge and sanctifie the conversation Will a man thinke that is ready to dye of the stone or wind-cholick or stoppage in the fromach if a Physitian comes and gives him a bitter potion that he doth do him any hurt when he knoweth it is to recover his life and save it he knowes he dyes if he heals not the infirmity God useth no physick no chastisement and affliction but it shall worke for good so the Apostie expresseth it in Hebr. 12. No affliction for the present is joyous but grievous yet afterwards it bringeth forth the peaceable fruits of righteousnesse to them that are exercised therewith It bring●th forth the peaceable fruits of righteousnesse what hurt is there in all this But I must go on and come to that which I have more particularly to deliver to you and that is upon the consideration of Gods motives by which he doth attempt to prevail over the spirits of his people not to be afraid or dismayed come what can or may come you know God is best able to perswade God best knows what Rhetorick will take with his own people A man that hath had the breeding of a childe and so comes to observe the temper of it can better tell then any other which way to win him God hath the breeding of his own children nay God goeth further he hath the spirits of his children at his own beck and therefore can best tell which way to work upon their spirits and to beget that in them which he calls for of them The Lord would have them not to be afraid nor dismayed Let the Lord propose his way to bring them to this composednesse and fixednesse of spirit it is but presumption in any creature to conceive there may be better wayes to work upon the spirits of men then that which God prescribes And it is worth your observation to consider that when the Lord puts his people upon a composednesse and fixednesse of spirit he doth not say Fear not for you have fasted for you have prayed for you have forsaken your sins and denied your selves and walked holily with me and therefore because you have done this and that Feare you not The Lord doth not say so here he hath higher Propositions that he proposeth that have more excellent vertue to move his people He saith Feare not I am toy God I will helpe thee and uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousnesse The prop for the upholding of spirits against feare when evill cometh it is without a mans selfe in him that is a rock and unchangeable The Lord doth not say You change not therefore you are not consumed you continually proceeded in holines you waver not therefore you are not consumed but I am God and change not therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed I say therefore again If you would have setlednesse of spirit you must go out of your selves and fetch peace of spirit out of God himselfe and I dare be bold to say take all the sweetnesse and comfort of all the world of all the creatures mixed together extract the quintessence of their own excellencies all these together shall never settle a heart nor make it secure and free from fear but only this proposition that God is their God And by the fruit of this principle a poor tottering spirit is under-propped and under-set here with four pillars at every corner one as I may so say I am thy God I am with thee I will helpe thee I will uphold the with the right hand of my righteousnesse or rather there is one main principle and three subordinate supporters affixed unto the main principle for sometimes you shall see great weights laid upon some great pillar and for the better securing of that which is laid upon it you shall have some short pillars branching out from the main spread out wide and so upholding This present discourse seems to be such a main principle that is Gods being a God to such a people I am thy God this is the foundation this is the great pillar I am with thee I will

longer therein The summe and substance of the objection is this Is there so much Grace that where sin hath abounded Grace aboundeth much more then it seems that the more sin a man doth commit the more will the glory of the Grace of God appear in the pardoning of these sins and so I shall glorisie God best when I commit sin most will some say So that the preaching of the abundance of grace where sin hath abounded seems to let men loose to the commission of sin as much as possibly The Apostle answers this with God forbid as if he had said God will never suffer any Believer though never so weak through any such truth reveal'd to break out into any sin because wher sin hath abounded grace hath abounded much more God will never have them to make any such abominable inference from such truths And he also gives the reason why they cannot make such use of the grace of God How shall we that are dead unto sin live any longer therein to the Apostle the inference of the objectors from this argument seems so absurd that he doth appeal to the adversaries themselves how such an inference as this can follow such a Proposition He doth not say positively that they cannot live in sin that are dead to it but he puts the question to them how it can be And whereas some may answer yea they may easily do it No saith the Apostle they that are partakers of this Grace are dead unto sin and how can they live in it when they are dead to it The glorious power of this Grace revealed strikes sinne dead in men or rather strikes men dead to sin Sinne shall not have dominion over you saith the Apostle for you are not under the Law but under Grace And as you shall heare by and by the Apostle makes the very Grace of God to have that power in it as to breake the neck of sin in the Believer This is the most certaine truth of the Text and springs directly from it There is a death unto sin where there is a revelation effectually of the Grace of God to persons to whom it doth belong It brings a dart with it to slay sin The law of the Spirit of life that is in Christ hath freed mee from the law of sin and death and what the law could not doe in that it was weake through the flesh God sent forth his Son in the simili tude of sinfull flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh so that although to reason and sense the preaching of the free Grace of God to men and to publish what the Lord hath done for them for his own sake and that before-hand may seem to be a doctrine that gives liberty to sin and so to be a licentious doctrine yet it seems to the Apostle that there is nothing that doth more establish a restraint from sin then the manifestation hereof In the 11. to the Romans towards the latter end of the Chapter the Apostle tells us that God hath concluded all men under sinne that hee might shew mercy upon all and therefore he falls out into admiration O the depth of the riches both of the Wisdome and Knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgements and his wayes ast finding out Now what follows Having prevealed this unsearchable Grace see how hee begins in the 12. Chapter and 1. verse I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice acceptable to God which is your reasonable service And be not conformed to this world but bee transformed by the renewing of your mindes that is I beseech you by the mercies of God that you refraine from sinne What mercy doth he meane Even the mercies of God concerning the freenesse of his Grace manifested before in all the 11. Chapter Now if the Apostle had beene of some mens mindes that the preaching of the free Grace of God were a dangerous doctrine to set men loose to sin he would never have used the mercies of God as an argument to prevail with men to refrain from sin Hee would not have published that which should have been of such dangerous consequence but he would rather have been filent so far would hee have been from revealing of it as an argument to the contrary were the revelation of it the way to bring men to loosenesse and licentiousnesse it had been the wisdome of Paul and the other Apostles to have concealed it which certainly he would have done had it been so But the Apostle was not of that judgement and therfore in 1 Corinth chap. 6. and towards the latter end he draws his argument after the same manner You are not your owne you are bought with a price therefore glorifie God in your bodies and spirits for they are Gods Observe here that the injunction which the Apostle gives the Corinthians is that they should glorifie God in their bodies and spirits and what is the argument by which he would perswade them to it You are bought with a price But will some say it seems I am bought and the price is laid downe for me now I am sure enough I am safe the gates of hell cannot prevail against me I may live as I list for no danger will follow now I may take liberty to sin Now if the Apostle had known that this consequence would justly have followed upon the preaching of this Crace he had dealt very discourteously with the people of God and absurdly by inforcing a conclusion from a ground contrary to it by revealing such a doctrine as this is Therefore surely the Apostle would never have used this expression of being bought with a price if he had knowne that this would follow but contrariwise he knew that there is no way in the world will so much prevaile with Gods people to leave their sins as by telling them before hand that their sins are forgiven them and that they are bought with a price In 2 Titus from the beginning to the 12. v. you shall finde how the Apostle urgeth Titus that hee presse a holy conversation answerable to old men and old women as also to young women and young men and also a conversation suitable to servants and especially he writes concerning them that they should not purloin from their masters but shew all faithfulnesse But what is the argument now by which the Apostle urgeth all these things upon these men See in the 12. and 13. verses and you shall finde that the argument is the same we have now in hand For the Grace of God saith he that brings salvation hath appeared teaching us to deny all ungodlinesse and worldly lusts and that we should live righteously soberly and godly in this present world As much as to say The Lord hath made known and revealed his salvation to you and you see it before you Salvation is brought unto you and not your well-doing but the Grace of God is