Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A32882
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Christ in the clouds, or, God's coming to judgment A short treatise, very necessary in these evil and dangerous times, for all those which desire that the day of the Lord may be their day of joy.
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1686
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Wing C3931AB; ESTC R215217
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and the minds For now if ever is the perfection or rather imperfection of all the sins the Apostle names to be the fore-runners of the end Why doubt we then that the â—nd is not at hand Or why fear we not rather that a sudden end will prevent our procrastinated repentance As bodies are sick before death and as Iufirmities and Sickness are the true forerunners of a separation between the â—ody and the Soul even so fareth it with the World it now languisheth and is corrupt it now lies sick and therefore it must needs come to Confusion and to an end For deadly sickness is a forerunner of death all things now suffer their defect and let no man wonder at it for man is now born in such defect in respect of the birth of man in former times but what is wanting in the present-condition of mans Body is supplyed in the faculties of mind and what is defective in the strength of his Members is compleat in the ripeness of his understanding which is for the most part imployed not in liberal but in devilish Arts not in the study of Learning but in pleasure Only Wit and Maturity is resident in Man the only Idea and representment of the Image of God in Man What can we otherwise but think that the Time is at hand wherein Mortality shall put on Immortality wherein the burthen of the flesh being laid aside the Glorious Body of the Church shall be coupled to her Glorious Head The Communion of Saints shall be consummate and Christ shall enjoy his Spouse in continual Love and Vnion In the mean time with Paul Unhappy men that we are who shall deliver us from the Body of death that we may pass secure to the Body of Life Then let every good Christian in these Wicked times wherein destruction hangs over our heads with good Hezekiah Pray Lord I am oppressed do thou undertake for me and since the day of destruction is so near us we intreat thee since it is expedient for us that thou wouldest teach us So to number our days that we may apply our hearts to Wisdom And since thou hast pronounced that Servant happy whom his Master when he came found Vigilant and Watchful Grant Lord we beseech thee that since it is manifest that long it cannot be before theâ— come that we may be fitted and prepared foâ— thy Coming and may be found with Oyl iâ— our Lamps and so in Holiness enter thâ— Bride-Chamber with Ioy And let us good Lord think the day most near least whilest the Day of Death or Iudgment be thought to bâ—afar off it prevent the improvement and while long life is expected it quickly forsake the Wicked and Guilty persons Our minds are very destrous if we could to know the Day of Death and Desolation But if we could attain to the knowledg thereof what would it profit us Suppose the Consumation of this World to be after Ten Twenty or Forty or an Hundred years what is this material Is not the Term of Life the Consummation of each Man Why then art thou so troubled about the last day of Iudgment Since as thy end leaves thee Iudgment shâ—ll find thee And how suddenly Death shall find thee thou art altogether ignorant For as in other things noâ—regarding things pertaining to our Souls we altogether are busted in things common saying this man is an Adulterer this man a Thief this man a false-hearted fellow that man proud But no man hath a care far feeling his own sins far worse So doth every man neglect his own end he would fain learn when the general day of Dissolution shall be Which Day whether it be near or far off it doth nothing concern us so each man regard his several end for since thou art Born 't is most certain thou must Dye And it is certain after Death cometh Iudgment that may be far off yet thy last day is at hand Therefore prepare thee for this day For if this day find ther unprovided the day of Iudgment shall find thee so likewise when thou shalt rue for it Consider this all ye that forget God least he tear you in pieces and there be none to help For our God shall go and shall not keep silence a Fire shall come before him and it shall be very tempestuous round about him For God himself is Iudge and the day of Iudgment will quickly have an end prevent the speed thereof It will speedily come prevent it I say be thou speedily converted And as the Prophet David adviseth us Let us run before the face of the Iudge with Confession of Our Faults and true Contrition of the same And the reason why thou knowest not his coming is that thou mayest alwaies be prepared for it For it is in thine own power now thou maist expect his Comming He therefore deferrs his Comming that when he comes he may not daunt thée Behold he is not yet conte he is in Heaven thou art on Earth He deferrs his Comming do not thou deferr this time of Repentance lest thou for ever then too late Repent thee of his Comming For in that day it will be too late to Repent Therefore pray not that his Kingdom come which thou fearest comming but rather correct thy self that thou pray not against thy self So dayly he calls upon thee that he may not that day contemn thee He that shall then be thy Iudge is now thy Advocate and he now calls upon thee that thou wouldst lead a Godly Life Let us therefore set the day of Iudgment before our Eyes which way soever we go let us carry the Memory of it with us and it will bring this profit with it that we shall not only meditate on the Horror and Destruction of that day but also wish for the accomplishment of the same which makes the Wicked to tremble when they hear it approaches Thus S. Chrysostom saith Let us from among our selves repeat these things and with others There shall be a Resurrection a day of Iudgment and a Time of Examination of our Works whether good or bad And this will cause the minds both of good and bad be not conversant in the Vanities and Pleasures of this World and be not tempted to any Wickedness but rather to undergo any Thing to be imposed upon them here than to incurr the intolerable punishments of everlasting Fire hereafter This made David cry out Establish my Flesh in thy fear for I have been afraid to hear of thy Judgments To conclude this Point since we must all appear before the Iudgment-Seat of Christ that every one may Receive the things done in his Body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad and knowing the Terror and Iustice of the Iudge of all Men that shall Iudge the world in Righteousness and considering the punishment that then shall be imposed on the Wicked that shall be turned into Hell with them that forget God Let us hear and follow
CHRIST IN THE CLOUDS OR GOD's coming to Judgment A short Treatise very necessary in these evil and dangerous times for all those which desire that the day of the LORD may be their day of Joy Mark 13. Ver. 35.36 Watch for ye know not when the Master of the House will come Whether at Evening or at mid-night or at the Cock-crowing or at the Dawning least he come suddenly and find you sleeping LONDON Printed for J. Clark W. Thackeray and T. Passinger Christ in the Clouds OR GOD's coming to Judgment ATheisme and Epicurisme are two Sins most hainous and deadly the Atheist believes there is no God him David confutes Doubtless there is a God that Judgeth the Earth The Epicure believes there is no Judgment after Death him Solomon doth seem to instruct Remember that for all these things you must come to Judgment There is no Christian I think but believes that there shall be a day of Iudgment Mat. 24.30 But when this day shall come none knows for of that day and hour no man knoweth neither the Angels of Heaven but my Father only But although no mans reach is able to determine when that Day and Hour shall be yet may plainly be demonstrated and shown both from the Prophets and Apostles that this Judgment day is near at hand and will most suddenly come upon us It is the mercy of the Holy Ghost to men in Holy Writ to insert these Caveats to put Man in mind of the Iudgment day and that for three special causes 1. That we may be terrified from sin 2. That we might be admonished to the true and sincere worship of God 3. That we might be strengthened in our Faith lest the great terrible day should come upon us unawares and so find us unprovided Since the Foundation of the World we know the time when the Dissolution of the World shall be we are altogether ignorant yet we may justly Prophesie and Presage thus much since Sin and Impiety is now come to that height that it can by no succeeding Ages be aggravated and that Vertue and Godliness are so despised villifyed among impious men that they can never hereafter be less esteemed whe cannot then perceive or is so dust sighted that is not able to apprehend and fore-sée the Dissolution to be at hand Now is that Prophesie of Hosea verifyed There is no truth nor mercy nor knowledg of God in the Land which appeareth by the Cursing Lying Murthers Thefts and Adulterers which now abound So that now as the Prophet Micah hath it The Godly man is perisht from the Earth and there is no just man among the Sons of men Thus Hosea Micah nay all the Prophets do agree in one whereupon saith St. Ambrose When Righteous men perish from off the Face of the Earth the Earth must needs perish also because the godly are the Pith and Marrow of the Earth For as the Trée without Pith and Moisture soon dryeth up so the present World must néeds decay when the Righteous that should uphold it are not to be found in it For this cause as Esay hath it In the City is left Desolation and destruction is in the gates thereof because of their manifold iniquities Christ Iesus himself said As in the Dayes before the Flood they were eating and drinking and Marrying and giving in Marriage till the day of the Flood came and took them away So also shall the Coming of the Son of Man be by reason of the Prophaneness and too much Security Suppose that this Prophesse shall be fulfilled upon our present times and that GOD will say to us as he did to Noah I will destroy you with the World O how unhappy and miserable shall that Man be then that hath not God for his Guide But to the end we may the better discern that we are they upon whom the ends of the World must come there is no better a sign amongst those whom Christ himself gave before them this namely For the Gospel of the Kingdom shall be Preached in all the World for a Witness to all Nations and then shall the end come which is as much as to say according to St. Chrysostom To accuse and reprove those that would not believe the Gospel The same is that of Hilary Then the Apostles being dispersed throughout all the World and the Gospel Preached then shall the Fall of Ierusalem be Nevertheless there are both Learned and unlearned of this opinion that since the World so long after these Prophesies hath continued as before that the end is not near and that the World shall continue still immutable But let them persevere in their opinions for since S. Ambrose Cyprian Chryâ—ostom and S. Gregory were of opinion That since the Gospel in their time was Preached to all Nations long after their time the World could not indure Surely then it is most probable that this is the Age in which the end must come Now that we have some proof that the World cannot endure long because the Gospel is said to be preached to all Nations Here St. Jerome who was of opinion that there was in his time no Nation that was ignorant of the Gospel of Christ For he saith Although they have no Preacher yet they cannot but hear the Opinion of the Faith of their Neighbouring Nations This Prosper confirms No part of the World is without the Gospel of Christ some of all sorts and of all Nations have knowledg of Christ I could induce a Cloud of opinions but let Ambrose serve for them all The Gospel is Preached the World may be destroyed To conclude this point since probably by this great motive we are induced to believe that the end is at hand and that the day and hour thereof is uncertain it shall stir us up to a more holy course of life least that our Desolation and Confusion overtake us unawares But to the end that we may the better understand and believe what hath béen before shewed the Word of God is a most firm Argument to inform us of the truth of Christ's sudden Coming and that this present Age is the last Age of the World For the spirit expresly saith 1 Tim. 4. That in the later end some shall depart from the Faith giving heed to seducing spirits and Doctrine of Devils speaking Lyes in Hypocrisie and having their Conscience seared with a hot Iron c. And again know this also that in the last dayes perilous times shall come for men shall be Lovers of their own selves Covetous Boasters Proud Blasphemers disobedient to Parents unthankful unholy without natural affection truth-breakers false-accusers Innocent despisers of those that are good High-minded Lovers of Pleasure more than God having the form of Godliness but denying the power thereof Thus far the Apostle which-words St. Cyprian handling saith All things that were foretold are fulfilled and the end of the world draweth near the Prophesies are come to pass both in respect of the men