Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	witness_v	word_n	year_n	37	3	3.8981	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A12995	A curse become a blessing: or, A sermon preached in the parish church of S. John the Baptist, in the Ile of Thannet, in the country of Kent, at the funerall of that vertuous and worthy gentleman Mr. Paul Cleybrooke Esquire. By William Stone preacher of Gods word: on Tuesday, September 17. 1622	Stone, William, preacher of Gods word.	1623 (1623)	STC 23288; ESTC S106188	46,107	88

of all towards his latter end And this I dare auouch that the Saints of the Lord can be discerned by no one signe better than by a due respect to the Ministers of the Word For our Sauiour saith He that receiueth whomsoeuer I send John 13.20 Luke 10.16 receiueth me and hee that despiseth you despiseth me As he that despiseth a Minister in respect of his calling and faithfull paines in his Ministery doth euidently bewray himselfe neither to haue any grace nor yet to desire any because the grace which either he hath or can desire ordinarily is attained by the Ministery as I could shew at large so hee that loueth and reuerenceth a Minister for his workes sake as this worthy man did he doth shew that he hath found the ministery of the Word to be the power of God to his saluation 5. A louer of the Saints He honoured the Saints and made much of them that were truly religious but vile and naughtie persons in whom was no religion nor knowledge of God were odious in his sight and their fond delights and vaine mirth and pastime were a vexation to his heart Which is one good note of a childe of God as the Holy Ghost doth witnesse saying that he shall abide in Gods Tabernacle Psal 15.1 4. and shall dwell in his holy hill In whose eyes a vile person is contemned but he honoureth them that feare the Lord. 6. A man gracious in his talke He delighted much to conferre of points of Religion and of the present estate and duties of a true Christian And in his conferences hee would often complaine of the rifenesse of sinne of the negligence and bad doings of diuers in the Ministery of the omitting of the due execution of iustice for sundry ordinary offences of the corruption of his owne flesh and of his owne vntowardnesse and dulnesse in Gods seruice and inueigh seriously and to good purpose against excessiue drinking and other vices of the times 7. Patient vnder the Crosse He was patient vnder the crosse of which he hath had much and long experience more waies then one For it pleased the Lord to exercise him certain yeeres before his death with diuers temptations both inwardly and outwardly in all which hee abode constant submitting himselfe quietly to the will of God making vse of all to the glory of his name and being so farre from being discouraged that his zeale his loue of the truth his patience and other vertues encreased still to his dying day 8. Sober and graue He was a sober graue discreet frugall temperate and chaste man Hee contented himselfe with plaine apparrell and neither affected costlinesse nor new fashions therein He went alwaies plainer and a great deale more meane than many others which in estate were farre inferiour to himselfe 9. Without ambition He was not ambitious He coueted no titles of honour nor places of publike seruice but wondred at others what they saw therein to couet and desire the same and contented himselfe with his owne estate 10. Not high minded He was nothing high minded but made himselfe equall to them of the lower sort according to the Apostles rule Rom. 12.16 Be of the same minde one towards another Minde not high things but condescend to men of low estate 11. A louing husband He shewed alwaies great loue and fidelitie to his wife He was a very carefull father for the godly liuing and well-doing of his children 12. A carefull father 13. A vertuous master He banished from among his seruants many horrible vices which as they be vsuall now adaies in great Families so no doubt they will pull downe the fearefull iudgements of God vpon them I meane swearing and swaggering and such other enormities and he so gouerned admonished and ordered them that some haue departed out of his house more godly sober frugall and honester men than they were before they came vnto him 14. A perf●rmer ●●nsel ●●f good duties at home He performed himselfe the ordinary duties of Religion in his house at home if no Preacher were present 15. Prouident in his busin●sses Hee was wise and prouident in managing his affaires and left none of his bu●inesses at six and seuen but was a carefull ouerseer of all himselfe 16. Bountifull to the poore Hee was plentifull in releeuing his poore neighbours a peaceable liuer and one that put vp a great number of trespasses 17. Peaceable 18. Able and willing to giue good aduice He afforded his counsell willingly for their best direction that stood in need of it and especially for the good estate of the place and Parish in which he liued vnto the people whereof and to many others he bare good affection Neither did he manifest his affection in word and tongue onely but by shewing himselfe forward in any good cause for their instruction and profit any manner of way The truth whereof if we did not sufficiently see whilest wee enioyed him I doub● we shall too well feele by wanting of him now he is gone 19. No nouice in vertue Neither was hee a nouice in the practise of any of these things but a well experienced souldier of many yeeres standing 20. Constant to the end in well-doing And vnto all this was added constancie and perseuerance vnto the end His well-doing was not by fits nor for a while only as it hath proued by some but till the end of his daies Witnesse his bountie and liberall contribution to haue the Word often preached Neither was hee weary of that which hee did Nay he was so farre from being weary that notwithstanding both the death of one of them that ioyned with him and that the vnfaithfulnesse of some which haue fallen from their word had caused him to be at more charge than at the first he had thought of yet of his owne accord hee charged himselfe somewhat further than his owne compartners in that businesse did know of And being motioned to some course whereby to be discharged from all he spake no word to approue of it but all to the contrary Then it being signified vnto him that some further course must be taken and what was expected his answer was that it was as little as could be August 5.1622 And all this not long before his last sicknesse By which it appeares how his minde was setled not to faint in well doing but to continue to the end 21. Mindfull to set his house in order before his sicknesse Hee was taken in the night with a dead palsie in halfe his body on August 15. 1622. Before his last sicknesse he had made his will and set his house in order But in the time of that sicknesse which was about the space of nine daies hee had but little vse of his speech neither was he able to expresse himselfe in diuers things to the vnderstanding of his friends which appeared by certaine tokens

incertiuo and be alwayes in a readinesse that whensoeuer death comes it doe not take vs vnprouided There is nothing more certaine than that death will come nor nothing more vncertaine than at what time it will come By experience we see it true To day a man to morrow none It behoueth vs therefore to bee prouided at all times Wee see as young as healthie as strong as rich as noble and religious Aequa lege necessitas sortitur ir sign●● imos Hor. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mac. Hom. 4. Iob 14.5 as any of vs all are taken away before our eyes And we cannot alwayes liue here Wee must goe the way that this our brother and many thousands more haue gone before vs. And how soone or whose turne may be the next we doe not know Our dayes are determined the number of our moneths are with the Lord hee hath appointed our bounds that we cannot passe And hee that tarrieth longest Iames 4.14 shall not be long behinde For what is our life It is euen a vapour that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away Bee wee therefore ready to depart at all times when the Lord shall call vs. Foure thin●s to be done to be alwayes ready for death And that we may bee alwayes ready first let our houses bee set in order and euerie mans last will written if hee meane to make any that whensoeuer the Lord shall call vs nothing may trouble vs that way Secondly let vs bee continually doing the will of our heauenly Father That whensoeuer hee shall come Matth. 24.46 he may finde vs so doing Blessed is that seruant whom his Lord when he commeth shall finde so doing Thirdly by liuing in continuall expectance of death not flattering our selues with a vaine hope of long life like the rich man in the Gospell Luke 12.18 9. which built him greater barnes perswading himselfe that hee should liue many yeeres about at his owne ease and content but making account that euerie day nay euerie houre may be our last houre and the houre of our death Fourthly by furnishing our selues with sundry Christian resolutions and meditations Six godly meditations against death as namely with these and such like First that it is better and more acceptable to God to offer that for a free will offering vnto God I meane our soule and spirit which otherwise we are bound to restore as a thing that is due and shall bee compelled to restore when the time is come and doe what wee can Eccles 8.8 For there is no man that hath power ouer the spirit to retaine the spirit neither hath he power in the day of death and there is no discharge in that warre neither shall wickednesse deliuer them that are giuen to it And indeed what win the stubborne fort by their desirousnesse of life and loathnesse to die but this to bee ouercome by force when they haue struggled and striuen as if they would sight against God and resist his will Secondly that as God hath set vs here so he ought also to haue the authority to take vs away againe when he listeth himselfe Thirdly that euery child of God ought to be alwaies willing to goe whithersoeuer God calleth him Cum accersitionis propriae dies venerit incunctanter libenter ad Dominum ipso vocante veniamus Cyp. de Mortal sect 17. and whensoeuer God giueth him any token that he will take him out of the world it behooueth him alwaies to haue one foot onward in the way as if he should say loe here I am Lord I am ready to answer thy call and to come vnto thee Fourthly that this world is but a pilgrimage and that we must hold on to passe apace thorow it to come to our inheritance which is in heauen This minde was in those of the ancient Patriarkes of whom the Apostle saith that they confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth Heb. 11.13 Fiftly that in as much as Christ Iesus is our head he will draw vs vp to himselfe into the glory whereinto he himselfe is entred already that we may bee with him Ioh. 17.24 where he is to behold his glory which the Father hath giuen him so we keepe fast hold of him by a true and liuely faith and be not separated from him by growing weary of well doing nor by embracing this present world nor yet by continuance in sinne Sixtly that the Saints of God which haue liued in times past seeing their death to approach haue not resisted it nor beene dismaied but haue put themselues into the hands of God and haue prepared themselues willingly to die As Iacob Gen. 49.33 when he had made an end of commanding his sonnes gathered vp his feet into the bed and yeelded vp the ghost And Moses Deut. 32.48 49 50. 34.1 7. when God sent him vp into the mountaine Abarim vnto mount Nebo and told him that he should die there repined not but shewed all obedience and prepared himselfe vnto it when hee saw it was Gods will that it should bee so And Pauls time drawing neere he speakes of himselfe as if when he were executed he should be offered vp in sacrifice vnto God For I am now ready to be offered 2 Tim. 4.6 and the time of my departure is at hand And before that when Agabus the Prophet had shewed the danger that hee should be in if he went vp to Ierusalem and both they of his owne company and the men of that place that is of Cesarea had besought him earnestly not to goe vp he was much troubled with their teares and with the adoe which they made about him but nothing at all with his owne afflictions and death For he made them this answer Acts 21.13 What meane ye to weepe and to breake mine heart For I am ready not to be bound only but also to die at Ierusalem for the Name of the Lord Iesus I should be long to speake of Aaron of Samuel of Dauid and of a great number of faithfull Martyrs Yet I cannot omit the example of Christ which is the chiefest of all who after he had drunke of the cup of his fathers wrath the bitterest cup that euer man drunke of before his departure commended his soule into his Fathers hands Luke 23.46 and gaue vp the ghost These examples we must beare in minde and ponder vpon them to learne thereby that whensoeuer God shall call vs out of this world we may not sticke to goe willingly vnto him On the one side is misery on the other a Crowne on the one side a pilgrimage on the other our saluation and death is betweene Shall we be afraid of death There is no cause For its sting is gone and when we haue passed thorow it there shall be an end of our misery and we shall haue the crowne of righteousnesse our pilgrimage shall cease and we shall receiue the end of