Linguistic DNA - Concept Modelling Demonstrator

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

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A49757	Christ's power over bodily diseases Preached in several sermons on Mat. 8. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. And published for the instruction especially of the more ignorant people in the great dutie of preparation for sickness and death. By Edward Lawrence, M.A. minister of the gospel at Baschurch in the county of Salop.	Lawrence, Edward, 1623-1695.; Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1672 (1672)	Wing L653; ESTC R223651	140,079	330

thy self as it were in the grave and see thy ghastly skull lying in the dust among the worms of the earth and then look on thy glorious Head in Heaven and so comfort thy self with this that as vile and loathsome a spectacle as thy diseased body is now and thy dead body will be shortly yet it is a precious member of Jesus Christ who will by his infinite power change and fashion this contemptible dust into the likeness of his glorious body in heaven 4. Comfort in respect of death it comes to the godly without a sting In this we are taught to triumph 1 Cor. 15.55 56. O death where is thy sting Now to clear up your comfort in this consider that sickness and death are said to sting when God as a revenging Judge sends them to execute the curse of the law for sin so that death is compared to a fearful Serpent which kills and devours all the men and women in the world And saith the Apostle the sting of this Serpent Death is sin it 's sin that makes the sting and then he adds the strength of sin is the law The strength that sin hath to sting is from the curse of the Law and the Law hath its strength and power from the wrath of God for the law worketh wrath Rom. 4.15 So that by all you see that by the sting of death is meant the dreadful torments of hell which at death come from the wrath of God through the curse of the Law for sin O poor Christless sinner what a miserable case art thou in Look well as thou fittest in thy seat and thou mayst see this stinging Serpent Death lye under thy feet when thou liest down this Serpent lies under thy bed when thou art at meat this Serpent lies under thy table when thou goest out of thy house thou mayst see this Serpent at the door ready to sting thee to heâ— But now here comes in the unspeakaâ— comfort of believers for though death hâ— power to kill them yet it hath no poâ—er to sting them because all the cauâ— of Deaths sting are taken away by Jesâ— Christ 1. Sin is gone for this lamb of Gâ— hath taken away the sins of the world Joâ— 1.29 Observe they are taken away â— if they had never been Hence 1 Pet. â— 24. Who his own self bare our sins in his owâ— body on the tree So that by the righteouâ—ness of Christ given to us by God and received of us by Faith and thereby maâ— our own we are fully cleared and absoâ—ved from sin and God will never impuâ— it to us 2. It follows that the curse of the Law is gone for Christ hath delivered us froâ— the curse of the law being made a curâ— for us So that the law hath no strength tâ— binde us to punishment there being neither sin to binde us for nor punishment tâ— binde us unto 3. The wrath of God which makes thâ— punishment is also taken away for it iâ— God that justifieth Rom. 8.33 and we havâ— thereby peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ Rom. 5.1 So that God is ours and for us to love bless and save and glorifie us and therefore every believer may with comfort hold up the Blood of Christ in the very face of the King of Terrors and say Here is my Christ my righteousness but O death where is thy sting Nay further Death is now changed from coming to execute the curses of the Law for it comes to fulfil the blessings of the Gospel for death to a believer is a work of a reconciled Father whereby he looseth his childe out of earth into heaven so that we may see death so full of the love and goodness of God that it should even indear it to us and make it lovely and precious to our souls That is a most comfortable promise Joh. 8.51 Verily verily I say unto you If a man keep my saying he shall never see death It is not meant he shall never die as the Jews understood it ver 52. And I conceive it is not only intended he shall never die the second death but the meaning also seems to be this that a Childe of God shall see so much of God and Christ and Heaven that he may even overlook the fears of death which are swallowed up by God and Christ and Life Lastly Comfort in respect of our glorious victory over all diseases and death at the day of Judgment This victory consists in two things 1. In putting a final period to all diseases and death Sickness shall never trouble us more and death shall never kill us more I warrant thee Christian thy head will never ake in heaven and for certain there will be no Funerals in that Country but corruptible must put on incorruption and mortal shall put on immortality 2. In that the bodies of believers shall then be never the worse for the diseases and death which they have suffered but the bodies which were sown in dishonour shall be raised in glory Beloved a Saint may live comfortably in any condition by living in the joyful knowledge of the day of judgment Hence when the Apostle had propounded this as an argument of comfort that yet a little while and he that shall come will come and will not tarry He adds this Now the just shall live by faith meaning they shall live a life of holiness and comfort in believing the day of judgment And Saint Paul having made a glorious description of that great day 1 Thes 4.15 16 17. makes this use of it vers 18. Wherefore comfort one another with these words And in this the godly did comfort themselves Rom. 8.23 And not only they but our selves also which have the first-fruits of the Spirit even we our selves groan within our selves waiting for the adoption to wit the redemption of our bodies This is a most comfortable life to live as those that are always groaning and waiting for the day of judgment A believer may apply this to his comfort against any particular trouble Art thou disgraced and reproached in thy name summon as it were all thy accusers to the day of judgment and believe what a name thou shalt have then and that thou shalt be sure to come off with credit at that day when the glorious Judge of quick and dead shall confess thee before his Father and Angels and Men and as mean and obscure as thou seemest now the world will have other thoughts of thee when they see thee appear with Christ in glory Col. 3.4 And therefore we learn that one great work of that day will be to make a clear and open manifestation of the sons of God Rom. 8.19 Art thou troubled with unreasonable and wicked men so that thou mayst say with David My soul is among Lyons and I lye even among them that are set on fire Psal 57.4 Consider what Christ will do to them at the day of judgment and what

according as the Word describes and presents it to him and surely this makes people so unprepared to dye because they want an understanding of things It cannot sink into their hearts that sin is so bad and Christ so good or the world so vain or grace so precious or hell so terrible or heaven so glorious but they are so confident that lust is sweet and riches are precious and death is far off and hell is but a bug bear and heaven is but a fansie And in this confidence they will live and dye and therefore the Apostle prayes that the Philippians may try things that differ that they may be fit for the day of Christ I shall therefore give you this Direction in these following particulars 1. Look upon God and the world together and you shall see the difference for this end I beseech you search and believe that Scripture Isa 40.15 -17. Behold the nations are as a drop of a bucket and are counted as the small dust of the balance Behold he taketh up the isles as a very little thing All nations before him are as nothing and they are counted to him less then nothing and vanity Now let thy heart judge of and act towards God and the world according to this difference Set all the world before thee give every creature its due see what a vast world of Kingdoms and Nations it is look upon the strong Islands which are fortified and moted about with the Seas which this great God takes up as a very little thing see a world of great and mighty men before thee see the rich world of gold and silver and precious stones lying on heaps before thee look upon the lands and buildings which make all the woods fields pastures medows orchards vineyards gardens towns cities and stately houses in the world O what a glorious world is this which made the very Angels shout for joy at the rearing of it Well take a full survey of the glory and beauty of this great world and then looking on a drop of water hanging on a bucket what a poor thing is this which is ready to break and fall on the ground and no body catcheth at it look also upon the small dust of the balance a thing of neither weight nor worth it doth not so much as turn the scales Now labour by faith to have such a clear insight into the greatness and goodness of God and Jesus Christ that thou mayst be able to judge all the world to be but as a drop of the bucket or as the small dust of the balance to thy Father and Saviour and let thy whole man act according to such a wise holy just judgement and this will exceedingly fit thee for sickness and death which come to loose thee from such a vain world into the presence and everlasting injoyment of such a glorious God 2. Look upon sin and upon the righteousness of Jesus Christ look upon these together Beloved faith hath a deep insight into the evil of sin for it sees the glory of God which sin is against wherein the evil of it appears and believes the dreadful curses of the law and what the wrath of God and what hell is and what an immortal being a man is that must suffer these Faith also hath a piercing insight into the excellencie of Christs righteousness it sees what an infinitely-glorious God Jesus Christ is which makes his righteousness so precious and meritorious and so savoury and satisfactory to the Father and for this reason so all-sufficient for faith to rest and live upon for this is the precious property of justifying faith that it receives Christs righteousness for salvation for the same reason which God receives it for satisfaction that is because it is the righteousness of God and indeed faith must see God satisfied before it can see the believer saved and seeing enough in Christ for the satisfaction of God it sees the same sufficiencie in him for the salvation of the Believer Now Christs righteousness never appears more precious then when the soul is filled with the deepest sight and sense of sin for then the soul believes him to be a great Saviour when he sees the great evil of sin which he saves him from and therefore it is observable that the Apostle demonstrates the direful guilt and filth of sin as a preface to that great Doctrine of Justification by faith in the righteousness of Christ Rom. 3. from vers 9. to the end of that Chapter And as you know it was a sad and fearful case for the poor Jews to be bitteâ— with the fiery Serpents and to lye groaning under the pain and anguish of those poisonous and deadly wounds yet then what a glorious sight was it to look upon the brazen Serpent and thereby to finde power and vertue to heal them presently So my Brethren it is a fearful case in it self for a man to stand in the very jaws of death and to look into the horrid nature of sin and see death and devils and hell and all the curses of the law ready to flee in his face and yet how glorious is it then to look upon the righteousness of Jesus Christ and see them all swallowed up and himself saved And thus as he sees the grace of God in Christ raigning and over-abounding all sin Rom. 5.20 21. so his faith and hope and joy grounded thereon doth rise above and over-abound and swallow up all his fears of death and hell which he was in because of his sins 3. Look upon all your sufferings on earth and upon the glory of heaven together The Apostle tells us Act. 14.22 We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God Observe there is an entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven out of all our afflictions and our way to heaven lyes through much tribulation an hypocrite seems to go strongly in the way to heaven but oftentimes when he comes to trouble persecution c. there he is stopt and can go no farther but he that believes the goodness of duty and the glory of heaven if tribulation sickness poverty persecution seek to stop him he goes through them he knows duty is sweet and safe and therefore he will follow it till it bring him to heaven whatever it cost him Tertullian comforts the Martyrs in prison with this That in their close and dark prisons they might see illam viam quae ad Deum ducit that way which leads them to God There is a way to heaven out of prison sick-bed or any other affliction Hence those that come to heaven are said to come out of great tribulation Rev. 7.14 Sometimes a poor Saint comes hot as it were out of the furnace of affliction into heaven from chains and bolts in a prison he is loosed into heaven from gasping and groaning upon a sick-bed to heaven surely when he comes there he findes a strange alteration Well look upon thy self now as standing

all the powers of my soul â—nd members of my body and I can say â—f many things that I do that they come â—ot from my created nature or corrupted â—ature but from Christ that liveth in me â—nd I am convinced of this by such things â—s these 1. I can look on my sins and finde a â—ower within me that loaths them and would crucifie them and be revenged of them and it 's the greatest burden of my â—ge that I have any thing in me against the will and glory of so good a God and which â—s displeasing to him and makes me so unâ—ike unto him 2. I can look at Gods Commandments â—nd finde a power within me agreeing with them so that they are the very law of my minde I account them all holy just and good and they are for that reason precious to me because they are against my sins and I judge it the best work that I can do to be doing the Will of God revealed in these good Commandments 3. I can look upon the world and upon the Kingdoms and Country where I live and I judge it the greatest happiness and glory of a Nation which I most pray for and in my place and calling contend for to have all places filled with the Name and Kingdom and Will of Jesus Christ 4. I look upon men and I see amongst them a company who are separared from the world and differ from the world and are of another spirit who appear and shine in the image and likeness of the most holy God in whom there is a sweet agreement betwixt their lives and the Scriptures and the life of Jesus Christ is manifested in them Now my heart doth judge these the best people in the world and to be far more excellent then their carnal Neighbours I love and delight in them and desire living and dying to be found with my heart joyned to them Poor soul iâ— thou canst finde these things sincerely in thee thou art certainly a part of Christ and shalt go in peace from thy death-bed to thy head to sit together with him in heavenly places Duty 4. If thou finde on Scripture grounds that thy sins are pardoned and thy peace is made with God then improveâ— thy experience in a spiritual triumph over all the enemies of thy Salvation Say to Death that stands daring anâ— staring thee in the face O death where iâ— thy sting And Death must answer in effect thus When Christ laid down his life I lost my sting but Christ took up again his life but I could never take up again my sting Ask the grave O grave where is thy victory The grave must answer I lost the victory when Christ rose again from me and I must needs give up thy precious Body when it is called for at the resurrection of the just Look on the Devils and see how Christ hath spoiled these principalities and powers and triumphed openly over them Col. 2.15 and now rejoyce thou in the spoil Let that be spiritually fulfilled in thee which was spoken Isa 33.23 The lame take the prey Death and Devils are spoiled by Christ and the poor weak sick Christian takes and triumphs in the prey So that because of this Let the weak say I am strong Joel 3.10 This may make thee even to forget thy aches and pains so that thou shalt not say I am sick because the Lord hath forgiven thy iniquities Isa 33.24 Duty 5. Having thus seen a settlement of my soul and body to all eternity make a godly consciencious and seasonable settlement of thy outward estate this ought to be done if it be not done before and if thou art in a capacity to do it This was part of Isaiah his message to Hezekiah on his sick-bed Isai 38.1 Set thy house in order for thou shalt dye and not live Now in making thy Will be ruled by this principle Be sure that thy will be ruled by the Will of God that so thy last Will and Testament which is the signification of thy will may make it appear that thy will is in subjection to the Will of God and that thou doest Gods Will when thou makest thy own will For this purpose observe these three Directions 1. If thou hast got any thing unjustly take order so far as is possible to make restitution do not dye in injustice to go with a curse to hell thy self and to leave the curse of God behind thee upon thy family 2. Be full of love and faithfulness to thy Relations Christ himself is our pattern herein who when he was nigh unto death commended the care of his Mother to his beloved Disciple John 19.27 Then saith he to his disciple Behold thy mother Let thy last Will and Testament witness that thou diest in conjugal love to thy wife Give her of the fruit of her hands Prov. 31. ult endeavour to make thy poor widows life as comfortable as thou canst and although I advise not husbands to leave power in the hands of their wives to wrong and defraud their poor fatherless children for sad experience witnesseth that many widows are so careful to get themselves husbands that they grow careless of their poor children yet however leave no tye upon her to binde her from after-marriage seeing God hath made her free do not thou leave her bound Again provide so for thy children that there be neither want nor strife nor emulation among them and though I advise to nothing to prejudice the first-borns birth-right yet I must witness against it as the great sin of many Parents that are so ambitious to set up their Families that they highly advance the elder brothers and often leave the younger to be as poor as beggars or as bad as thieves 3. Dye in dear love to the Church of God and to the poor that so far as thou art able thy last Will and Testament may savour of good will towards them It is the wickedness of many that they seek to make a Monopoly of the world by ingrossing to themselves and their families and restraining the good and use of it from others but every man keeping to the rules of justice should dispose of his estate so as may make it most useful for Gods glory and to be a blessing unto man And therefore consider that if thou expectest when thou dyest to be received into the everlasting habitation of Gods poor in the other world let their lives be made somewhat more comfortable by thee in this world Duty 6. Use all lawful means to recover thy health though thou art ready to dye yet it 's thy duty to endeavour to live thy life is Gods and he hath bound thee to keep it for him till he call for it and thou art the Churches servant and must not by thy sinful neglect defraud her of her right thou hast yet need to mortifie sin and to grow in grace and to strengthen thy assurance of Salvation and to lay up more treasures in

Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Text snippets containing the quad