Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	serpent_n	sin_n	sting_n	4,692	5	12.2188	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17297	Conflicts and comforts of conscience a treatise, shewing how the conscience, in cases of deepest distresse and distraction, may recollect it selfe, and recouer solid and sound comfort / collected from priuate proofe, for publike profit, by H.B. ...	Burton, Henry, 1578-1648.	1628 (1628)	STC 4140.4; ESTC S259	75,671	324

the height of my holy calling the deeper I must bee plunged in the verie gulfe of griefe and humiliation for the same Considering that as great a Sacrifice was offered for the Priest's sinne alone Leui. 4.3 14. as for the whole Congregation though each sinned alike in the same kind Dauid Salomon Peter all smarted for their sinne And who would buy sinne at so deare a rate as they payd for it But yet they found mercie and fauour at Gods hand This was their comfort And their example is my comfort also For why should any man beholding such examples of Gods super-abundant mercy in pardoning sinnes of highest nature hee hauing sinned not by the patronage of their example but by the imprudence of his own impotent passions Why say I should any man out of a comfortlesse deiection shut himselfe out from all hope of Gods mercie as an abiect or out-cast and not rather with the hand of Faith and repentance which neuer knew how to be repulsed knocke at that gate of Grace which so easily was opened to them yea which of its owne accord more readily then that yron gate did to Peter will open to euerie faithfull penitent sinner Yea for this cause for our sakes are those examples written and left as euerlasting monuments that no Adulterer no Idolater no denyer of Christ should despaire of mercie vpon repentance And though these examples are written for all yet are they most proper for Gods Ministers when they are humbled for any sinne or offence against God or his people least the checke of their holy calling might altogether amate them and leaue them comfortlesse and so expose them as a prey to the Destroyer But blessed be God who hath prouided such Treacle made of the Mummy of his dead Saints to cure his liuing ones of the Serpents mortall Sting Yet the while I ascribe no more to these examples but as excellent adiuuants to faith it being the principall instrument whereby the Soule in her deepest thirst as with a bucket drawes the waters of comfort out of the Wells of Saluation the head Fountaine whereof is Christ. In this Poole of Bethesda in this Fountaine set open for Israel whosoeuer are washed are cured of all their maladies So that if the Adulteresse had neuer an example of a penitent Mary Magdalen Acts. nor the Abiurer of Christ a penitent Peter nor the Coniurer of those penitent Magitians nor the Persecuter of Christ in his Members of a penitent Paul nor the Idolater of a penitent Salomon or Manasses nor the Sacrilegious person of a penitent Achan If an Extortioner or cunning Cauiller had neuer an example of a penitent Zacheus making restitution nor a whole sinfull State of a penitent Niniueh nor the cowardly or sleepie Minister of a penitent Ionah nor the Theefe of that penitent on the Crosse Yet if all all kind of sinners looke but vpon Christ with the eye of sauing Faith vpon him they shall find all their iniquities layd all their burthens borne all their debts discharged all their bills cancelled all their stripes healled Those stung with the fiery flying Serpents some more Num. 21. some lesse all mortally some in the head some in the feet some in the eies some in the hands some in the brest or else-where yet all that looked on the brazen Serpent liued So all sinners stung by the old fierie flying Serpent some after one manner or measure some after another but all mortally the least sting of sinne wounding to death whether it bee in the eye of lust or in the feet of affections or in the hand of action or in the head of inuention or in the brest of conception or the like none liue but such as with the eye of a liuing Faith look vpon Christ Ioh. 3.14 15. lifted vp vpon the Pole of his Crosse. There thou mayest see all thy sinnes nayled all punished in thy Sauiour no lim of his body was free no one facultie of his Soule vntormented to satisfie and heale all thy wounds which sinne hath made in any member of thy body in any facultie of thy Soule or in all together Yet I say out of the super-abundancie of Gods care that no meanes should be wanting vnto his Saints to preserue them from perishing it hath pleased him to leaue vnto vs the most notable examples of his mercie to his dearest and greatest of his Saints offending for the help of our weake Faith in Christ that no temptation no not sin it selfe armed with all the power of Hell should be able to pull vs out of his hand The seuenth Preseruatiue to comfort the Conscience in the apprehension of Gods wrath for sinne is the exercise of outward afflictions which falling vpon Gods Child after his sinne committed they are the tokens of our heauenly Fathers loue who leaueth vs not to our selues to follow our follies but mercifully chastizeth vs to our betterment So the Lord saith If my Children forsake my Law Psal. 89. and walke not in my Iudgments c. Then will I visit their transgressions with the rod and their iniquitie with stripes Neuerthelesse my louing kindnesse will I not vtterly take from him nor suffer my faithfulnesse to faile Lo heere a speciall marke of Gods fatherly loue to his Children in correcting them with his Rod. Thus God dealt with Dauid when after hee had pardoned his sinne yet he spares not to lay load of afflictions vpon him Supplicia peccatorū post remissionē certamina esse exercitationesque i●storum Aug de Peccat mer. remiss li. ● c. 33 Not that afflictions are penall satisfactions for sinne but paternall corrections and medicinall applycations and exemplarie instructions and admonitions euen to warne the vngodly also For if God spare not his owne Child How shall the rebellious Seruant escape Yet out of this eater came meat out of this strong and bitter came sweetnesse vnto Dauid's Soule Psa. 23. For he saith Thy rod and thy staffe comfort mee as well the rod of thy correction as the staffe of supportation and protection comfort me Hast thou sinned then and doth God by and by not deferre to correct thee Be so farre from imputing this to the anger of God towards thee as rather hence gather assurance that this affliction is from the verie bowels of a louing and wise Father who will not pamper thee in thy childish folly but will humble thee to doe thee good at thy later end that thou mayst glorifie him in that quiet fruit of righteousnesse which affliction bringeth forth in all those who are his true-bred Children Aug. de serbis Domini ser. 37. Magnae misericordiae est nequitiae impunitatem non relinquere ne cogatur in extremo Gehennae damnare modò flagello dignatur castigare It is Gods great mercie not to leaue sinne vnpunished and that hee vouchsafeth now to chastise with the whip that hee may not bee compelled to condemne in the extremitie of

A like symptomes in both How shall wee then discerne the good from the bad Conscience Surely thus The bad Conscience and quiet is that whose tranquilitie or calme is contracted either of a benummednesse Consuet●do peccandi tollit sensum peccati and Cawle growne ouer it through long custome in sinne or from a profound ignorance of the nature of sinne and of the Law of God or from a prophane contempt of sauing knowledge and the meanes thereof and the like such are said by the Prophet to bee at ease setled vpon their lees Ier. 48.11 not poured from vessell to vessell but the good Conscience and quiet is that whose peace after trouble for sinne as a calme after a storme floweth from no other Fountaine but the mercie of God in Christ apprehended by Faith for the pardon of the sinnes of the belieuing penitent sinner as the Apostle concludeth Therefore being iustified by Faith Rom. 5.1 we haue peace with God through our Lord Iesus Christ. Hee that wants this Conscience flowing from Faith which layeth one hand on the Sacrifice Christ saying Lord be mercifull and so repentance laying the other hand on sinne saying To me a sinner can neuer goe home iustified his Conscience wants the true peace And this peace and quiet of a good Conscience is further setled by a firme purpose of pleasing God in all good duties for the time to come As the same Apostle saith Pray for vs for we trust wee haue a good Conscience in all things Heb. 13.18 willing to liue honestly So that the good Conscience looks both waies both backwards finding true peace in Christs righteousnes by Gods mercie imputed and by Faith apprehended and applyed for the pardon of sinne past and forwards with a sincere purpose of reformation and conformitie to the Word of God for the time to come willing resoluing and indeuouring to liue honestly This is the good Conscience and quiet Again the bad Conscience and vnquiet is that which being strucke with the sting of sinne either with Iudas and Achitophel runs to the halter as if that were the next way to heale it or by diuersion seekes to put it off as Cain fals a building of Cities and following his pleasures if so he may charme the Serpents biting or skin ouer the wound or weare out the skarre and ruthfull remembrance or still the hideous cry of his horrid murther or by this kind of Dictamne cause the mortall Arrow sticking in his side to loosen away But the good Conscience and troubled is that which for sinne being humbled and vpon repentance through Faith hearing The Lord hath put away thy sinne yet as a woman with her after-birth is exercised with grieuous conflicts afterwards It was Dauids case after his absolution pronounced by the Prophet from God whereupon hee might and did no doubt for the present find solid and assured comfort Yet how many a bitter storme doth he indure in his soule How many a sharpe fit So that as a man in an Hecticke feuer without intermission hee cryeth out Thy hand is heauy vpon me day and night And Ps. 32. Ps. 38. There is no soundnesse in my flesh because of thine anger nor any rest in my bones because of my sinne for mine iniquities are gone ouer mine head as an heauy burthen they are too heauy for me All his penitentiall Psalmes breathe nothing else but groanes and sighes from a troubled Spirit Yet all the while hee possessed a good Conscience though the fruition thereof was for a time to his greater humiliation and exercise of his Faith denied and suspended from him Holy Paul in that perillous Nauigation though hee was comforted by the Angel with a promise of safetie for his owne life and theirs which sayled with him yet arriued not at the Port without great difficultie and with the losse of the lading and wracke of the Ship So Gods Child as Dauid though vpon repentance for sinne hee haue his Pardon sealed and life secured yet so hideous are the stormes of renued remorse for sinne which still lye beating vpon his brittle Barke that hee must suffer much dammage temporall before hee can vpon the Planke of redubled repentance waft and worke himselfe to reach the calme and comfortable Hauen of Melita This is that Conscience that troubled Conscience of the Conflicts and Comforts whereof wee are here to speake For as for the afflicted bad Conscience as of all such as liue in a knowne sinne without repentance and now and then are troubled with some fearefull qualmes comming ouer their stomacks while they seeke to haue not the cause which is sinne but the effect onely remoued Wee purpose not to bee troubled with such In such cases let the Adulterer repent and beccome continent the Drunkard repent and become sober the oppressing Vsurer repent and restore and become liberall to the poore and so in the rest Otherwise neuer let them looke for any true comfort and peace of Conscience Yet for their better instruction such also may reape much helpe by this Treatise to further them in the practise of true repentance thereby to obtaine true peace of Conscience For here we propound and describe the case of a troubled Conscience in the highest degree together with the remedies of it that so no troubled Conscience in any lesse degree or kind might here faile to find comfort in time of need For he that knowes how to cure the greatest wound can the more easily cure the lesse CONFLICTS AND COMFORTS OF CONSCIENCE CHAP. I. The first conflict or triall wherein the conscience of a man regenerate apprehending Gods wrath for sin is perillously shaken IT is the nature of all sinne once committed by guilt to affect the conscience with a fearefull apprehension of Gods wrath both temporall and eternall as due to the sinner It was decreed so in the beginning by an vnchangeable law of God In the day thou eatest thereof Gen. ● thou shalt dye the death And no sooner had Adam transgressed but an horror seased vpon his soule hee heares Gods voyce he feares flyes hides himselfe What 's the matter now Adam where art thou might God well say not in what place but in what case art thou surely the Serpent had left his sting in Adams Conscience Now hee is affrighted with hearing Gods voyce but a farre off as of a Iudge sending forth a Hue Cry or summons to the malefactor to appeare before him whom before he ioyed to behold as a dutifull sonne delighting in the presence of his louing and liberall father Ob. But Adam was afterwards receiued to mercy and that by a new couenant of Grace the old of workes being vtterly forfeited and that in and through Christ the promised seed of the woman Is not then the case of mans Conscience now altered Can the member of Christ the vessell of grace the heire of life eternall bee from henceforth repossessed with any such apprehension as of Gods wrath