Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A14750
|
The life of faith by Samuel Ward ...
|
Ward, Samuel, 1577-1640.
|
1621
(1621)
|
STC 25049A; ESTC S1745
|
31,215
|
132
|
come from the dead that hath made proofe of this way and life and would speake of his own experience would we heare Behold Paul slaine by the Law reuiued by the Gospell what doe wee thinke of him Did he not from the time of his conuersion to the time of his dissolution enioy a constant tenour of ioy liue if euer any comfortably happily And doth not hee tell vs euen while he liued in the flesh that he liued by the Faith of our Lord Iesus Christ. Surely he must needs be blessed that liueth by the same faith with Bloffed Paul Come therefore you which desire to see good dayes and lay holde on the waies of life Beleeue and liue CHAP. II. Christ the Fountaine and Faith the meane of Life WHat then Commit we sacriledge against Christ in deifying of Faith Rob we the Lord to adorne the seruant with his diuine honours God forbid Let that be giuen to Christ which is Christs and that to Faith which is Faiths Let the power of life and death be intirely reserued euer ascribed to the Lord of life the well of life the light and life of the World the breath of our nosthrils the life of our liues Thy body oh man hath it soule which enliues it and so hath thy soule its soule whereby it liues and that is Christ the quickning spirit Take away the soule from the body and earth becomes earth seuer Christ and the soule what is it but a dead carrion Elementary bodies lighten and darken coole and warme die and reuiue as the Sunne presents or absents it selfe from them Christ is to our soules the Sunne of righteousnesse Sin parts vs Faith reunites vs And so wee liue primarily and properly by Christ as by the soule by Faith secondarily as by the spirits the bond of soule and body by a personall and speciall faith appropriating Christ to the beleeuer as the leg or arme liues by proper sinews arteries and nerues vniting it to the liuer heart and head such an one as Paul had in Christ that dyed for him whereby hee ingrosseth the common God to himselfe as if his and no bodies else Thus saith hee himselfe that is the Truth and the Life I am the Life and Resurrection of the World hee that beleeueth in mee though hee be dead yet shall he liue and not die And this is the testimony of those three heauenly and earthly witnesses God gaue life to the Sonne And he that hath the Sonne hath Life And he that hath Faith hath the Son So that whateuer we lend to Faith it redoundes to the honor of Christ neither haue we any sinister intent to praise the wombe or the paps of Faith but to cast all vpon Christ who giues and works this Faith in vs vivisies and nourishes it yea iustifies the imperfection thereof by the perfection of his merit Nay let Faith knowe that if shee should waxe arrogant towards her Lord or insolent ouer her fellow seruants she should Lucifer-like fall from her dignity and in so doing of the best of graces become the worst of vices Verily what hath the habite of Faith in it selfe considered better or equall with loue Is it not a poorer and meaner Act to beleeue then to loue more like a beggarly receiuing then a working and deseruing hand Haile then oh Faith freely graced graciously exalted aboue all Christs Handmaides Thy Lord hath looked vpon thy meane estate because that hauing nothing of thine owne as other Vertues haue whence thou mightest take occasion to reioyce thou mightest the better exclude that hatefull Law of boasting the more humbly and frankely reflect all vpon thy Lord who willingly emptied himselfe that he might fill thee with honour whiles hee sayes to the cured of the Palsey Goe thy way thy Faith hath saued thee Hence forth cals hee thee no more seruant or friend but stiles thee as Adam his Spouse Chauah the Mother of all Liuing Counts it no iniurie to diuide his praises with thee likes it well that thou which doest nothing but by him shouldest bee said to doe all things which he doth To purifie the heart to ouer come the world to saue men c. And è contra hee to doe nothing without thee which yet does all of himselfe Hee could worke no Miracles in Capernaum because they had no Faith So glorious and wonderfull things are spoken of thee I had almost said so omnipotent is thy strength which hast said to the Sunne and Moone Stand yee still yea if but as big as the least graine canst say to the greatest Mountaines Remoue What can God doe which Faith cannot doe if requisite to bee done Questionlesse Iustifying Faith is not beneath miraculous in the sphere of it owne actiuitie and where it hath the warrant of Gods Word It 's not a lesser power then these to say Thy Sinnes are forgiuen thee thy person is accepted of God what-euer thou askest thou shalt haue c. Wherefore we need not doubt vnder Christ without feare of Praemunire or offence to his Crowne and Dignity to affirme of Faith That it is Gods arme and power to the enliuing and sauing of euery beleeuer as it is written The Iust shall liue by Faith CHAP. III. The third kinde of the Life of Faith BVt least wee seeme to speake swelling thinges whiles we soare in the Cloud of generalities let vs descend to some solide particulars Three thinges there are whence commeth Death to the Soule of Man Sinne with the guilt thereof giues the first deadly blow exposing it to the wrath of God who is a Consuming fire whose anger is the messenger of Death whence came the first Thunderbolt striking thorough the Soule that sentence of God to Adam Thou shalt dye And such as Nathans to Dauid Thou hast sinned and art the childe of Death The second is the spott and corruption of sinne deprauing yea deading all the faculties of man to spirituall actions which made Paul cry out That which I would doe I doe not And wretched man that I am who shall deliuer me from this body of Death Thirdly that swarme of plagues and army of punishments in the re-reward wherof comes first a second death All which made Iob cry out Why is light giuen to him that is in misery and life vnto the bitter in soule which long for death more then for treasures and ioy when they can finde the graue Were it not for these three man might liue fare and doe well but sin hauing entred into the World brought in Death with it which reigneth and triumpheth ouer the sonnes of Adam with this three-forked Scepter of Guilt of Corruption of Punishment Here comes in Faith with a three fould Antidote brings vs to the Tree of Life whose fruit and whose leaues heale vs of the sting and deadly poyson of Sinne working in vs a three-fold life opposite to the forenamed deaths The first is the life of righteousnesse discharging vs
from the sentence of death restoring the light of Gods countenance appeased in Christ our surty which made Dauid cry out Blessed is the man whose sinne is couered The second is the life of the Spirit or new life regenerating reuiuing euery faculty quickning vs to euery good worke which maks Paul glory that he is able to do al things through Christ inabling him The third is the life of ioy and comfort cheering the soule in the middest of all trials and tribulations which made Iob in the valley of death exult and trust in his liuing Redeemer and Paul insult ouer all kinde of Calamities as more then Conquerour Romaines 8. In these three being contained what-euer accomplisheth the life of the soule may not Faith well be said to supply abundantly all things pertaining to life and godlinesse But what doe I treating of the kindes of life what should I blot paper and tyre my Reader in writing of the kinds of Faith the degrees of Faith or any other motions of Faith things so well known of those that know any thing of Christ That nothing so much vexeth me to see so much spoken and written of faith so little done by it the Theory of it so throughly canuased and cleered in Controuersies and Sermons and the practise of it so obscured and disgraced in the liues of Christians CHAP. IIII. The vse of Faith OH Faith when I read of thee when I meditate of thee when I feele any part of thy vertue I finde thee to be a wonder-worker I conceiue nothing but high and stately things of thee When I looke into the World and vpon the liues euen of such as call themselues beleeuers especially of the common sort I begin to question my thoughts for dreames and to say Faith thou art but a name a sound a meere word no powerfull thing Why are many of thy followers so dead so mopish so melancholly why are worldly men as merry as iocund as they Yea why are many ciuill men as righteous as they whence should this wrong and disparagement proceed Is thy Vertue exhaust thy strength decayed in this old age of the World or is it because men know thee not verily neither of these No drugge no herbe so commonly extolled so famously knowne Paul of old Luther of late with infinite moe euery Catechisme haue blazoned the name described the nature set out the properties and effects to the full Only the miserie is the World either knowes not the vse or forgets the practise of it There wants a practicall Luther which should deale by Faith as Socrates by Phylosophie who brought it out of the Skies and Bookes into Cities and Houses taught and vrged the familiar and quotidian vse of it Doth not all the praise beautie and lustre of Faith as well or more then of other vertues consist in action and not in motion Is not the gaine and benefit of it in sense and feeling not in knowledge or discourse Is not the throne and seat of it rather in the heart then in the head Who knowes not there is a Doctrinall speculation and discourse of Faith easily by reading and hearing attained such in one as Schollers that neuer went out of their Studies and schooles haue of remote Countries of their commodious situation pleasant riuers high mountains costly buildings rich mines iewels and al other commodities which what a frigid and ieiune contemplation is it in comparison of that delight and benefit which the Merchant and Trauiler enioyeth by a reall sight and fruition of them What is the notionall sweetnesse of honey or sugar to the experimentall taste of them And yet this Aery windie stuffe is all the World at this day cares for and hunts after The Schoole-men and Casuists what doe they but languish into vselesse needlesse and endlesse questions spending their thoughts about this magnificent vertue in cold and bloudlesse subtleties of the subiect obiect kindes c. Preachers for the most part inuring themselues to declaime in praise of some morall vertue and to inueigh against some vice of the times happily sometimes finde leisure to weaue a curious spiders webbe in commendation of Faith rarely shewing or pressing the life and vse of it In a word will you see the fashion of the World The Schooles disputes of it the Pulpit Preacheth of it Profession talkes of it prophane men sweare by it two or three few or none liue by it I met with a story of an ancient Hebrew a reuerend Rabby who that he might the more liuely conuince the people in his times of their neglect of practise of this excellent Grace put himself into the habit of a Mountebanke or trauelling Aqua-vitae-man and made Proclamation of a soueraigne cordiall Water of Life he had to sell being called in and demaunded the shew of it Turned them to the Bible the Fountaine of Life and to seuerall places of it as the thirtie foure Psalme c. intimating that if they would make vse and daily drinke of the water they had they might as it should seeme hee did liue farre better and more comfortably then vsually they did And indeede why is there such a price put into the hands of fooles that know not the worth and improuement of it As secrets and misteries in good Artisens that haue sometimes a faculty whereby they can earne tenne or twenty shillings the day and might liue as well as landed men but then they haue another boone withall they loue idlenesse pastime and good fellowship and so liue like beggars or as land and money in the hands of those whom we therefore aptly call misers to Haue and to Hold but neuer make good vse of it Who may well be said to vse the World as if they vsed it not for they put it foorth to vse or locke it from themselues and others goe basely fare hardly liue in debt to backe and belly as if they knew not it would buy them good meate and good cloathes and other necessaries and conueniences for their liues It is possible a man may haue a toole a medecine or an engine and not haue the skill or strength to vse it It is possible a man may haue a gift of God and not the gift to vse it throughly else needed not Paul call on Timothy to stirre vp the gift that was in him Among all the gifts of God there is none more vsefull then Faith others are profitable for some few things this is for this life and the life to come for all parts and purposes of our liues in the vse of it manifold and rich euery manner of way CHAP. V. The first vse of Faith to new-borne Babes AND first let me beginne with thee that art beginning to liue this life thou Embryo that art in hatching that hast so much life as to know thy selfe dead in sinne and to desire to liue in Christ for what should I cast away speech vpon scelets and skulles carnall men I meane