Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	wonder_n	work_v	world_n	63	3	4.4445	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A68105	The way to well-doing. Or A sermon of faith and good vvorkes Preached in the chappell of Buntingford, in the county of Hartford, at the beginning of their publike lecture. By Iohn Gore, rector of Wenden-lofts in Essex.	Gore, John, Rector of Wendenlofts, Essex.; Gore, John, Rector of Wendenlofts, Essex, Summer sermon. aut; Gore, John, Rector of Wendenlofts, Essex. Winter sermon. aut	1638 (1638)	STC 12087; ESTC S116024	20,619	38

in another kind nevercease but are wrought daily by the Preachers of the Gospell For you must know that the miracles under the Gospell are of a differing nature from the miracles under the Law those were ocularia miracula as I may fitly call them eye-miracles that were visible and outwardly apparent to be seene but these are Auricularia miracula Eare-miracles secret and invisible wrought in the heart by the Word and Spirit of God entring in at the eare and going downe into the soule Though wee cannot command or forbid the raine to water the earth as Eliah did if we can water and mollifie the earthen hearts of men with the supernaturall raine of heavenly Doctrine and make a dry and barren soule beare fruit to God is not this as great a wonder as the other Though we cannot cause nor command the thunder as Samuel did to terrifie the people for their sinnes yet God hath his Boanerges his sons of thunder still that by ratling from heaven the terrible judgements of God against sinne and sinners are able to make the stoutest and the proudest heart upon earth even tremble and quake and fall downe before the presence of God and is not this as great a miracle as that of Samuel to bring an unhumbled sinner upon his knees and make glad to cry God mercy for his sinnes In a word though we cannot cast out devils out of mens bodies as the disciples of Christ could doe if wee can cast the devill out of mens soules by the powerfull Gospell of Iesus Christ is it not as great a wonder Beleeve it brethren the conversion of a sinner to God and bringing of a soule to heaven is absolutely without comparison the greatest miracle the greatest wonder in the world And these be the miracles wherewith it pleaseth God to grace the Ministers of the Gospell therefore ye observe that the Collect for Ministers runs thus Almighty God which only workest great marvels c. When a soule is sicke to the death with a surfeit of sinne is recovered and revived againe by that same healthfull spirit of grace which God together with his Word doth breathe into the soule it is so great a marvell so rare a wonder that the Angels of heaven rejoyce to see it I have held you over-long in the former part of Eliahs prayer which brought the judgement heare now in a word or two the Reversing of the judgement and I have done And hee prayed againe and the heavens gave raine and the earth brought forth her fruit It well becomes the Prophets of God to be mercifull Good Eliah had not the heart to hold the people too long under a judgement when hee saw he had done enough to humble them he desires God to reverse the judgement As it is observed of the good Angels in the old and new Testament when they appeared to any either man or woman their method and manner was this Primo terrent deinde laetificant they first terrified them and put them into feare then presently comforted them and put them out of feare Thus did Eliah with this people thus did Moses with Pharaoh that good man had not the heart to hold wicked Pharaoh alway under a judgement but upon the least entreaty made suite to God to reverse it So dealt the Prophet with Ieroboam 1 Reg. 13. 6. when hee had smitten him with a judgement and had him at the advantage that his hand was witnered Ieroboam was glad to submit and say Intreate now the face of the Lord thy God and pray for me that my hand may be restored me The man of God had not the heart to deny him but immediately besought the Lord and the Kings hand was restored and became as it was before When a judgement comes then Prophet are in season Abraham is better than a King in this case Gen. 20. 7. Restore the man his owne for he is a Prophet and hee shall pray for thee and ver 17. Abraham prayed unto God and God healed Abimelech c. Goe to my servant Iob saith God to his friends Iob 42. 8. and my servant Iob shall pray for you for him will I accept So Act. 8. 24. When Peter had denounced a curse on Simon Magus he was glad to crouch and cry unto him Oh pray yee to the Lord for me that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon mee Thus yee see that judgements and plagues will bring Prophets into request men commonly deale with their Ministers as boyes doe by Walnut-trees and other fruit-trees in faire weather throw cudgels at us in foule runne to us for shelter In the dayes of peace and prosperity wee are past over as superfluous creatures of whom there is little use and lesse neede but when the wrath of God fals on the naked soule when the conscience is wounded within and body pained without then the Minister is thought on I say no more if you desire their prayers and that God should heare them praying for you in your extremity doe not slight them doe not wrong them in prosperity Remember how Ahab and all Israel were glad to be beholden to Eliah to reverse their judgement and you do not know how soone the case may be your owne therefore as you love your soules love those that have charge of them And he prayed againe c. When I looke into the Story 1 Reg. 18. I can finde no direct prayer that Eliah made for raine But I finde there a twofold prayer that he made 1. A vertuall 2. A formall prayer 1. A Vertuall prayer not for raine but for their conversion Oh Lord saith Eliah bring backe or bring home the heart of this people unto thee vers 73. and this includes all other prayers that can be made A prayer for conversion is a prayer for every thing Ier. 31. 18. When Ephraim prayes for conversion Turne thou me and I shall be turned saith God I will surely have mercy upon him c. Such is the goodnesse of God that he will with-hold no good thing be it raine be it plenty be it any thing that is good for them from them that are converted and brought home by true repentance to him Therefore if thou standest in need of any temporall mercy pray first for conversion and all other good things shall be super-added and throwne in unto thee or if thou prayest for any child or for any friend to doe him good indeed pray for his conversion and thou prayest for every thing that one prayer is instar omnium insteed of all the rest If he be in an ill way desire God to bring him backe and for future things take no care 2. A formall prayer when he saw that the people were truely humbled and that their hearts were indeed brought home to God insomuch that they cryed out with an ingemmination The Lord hee is God the Lord he is God then he buckles his head betweene his knees to shew the humble prostration of his soule and fals a praying to God for raine After humiliation any prayer comes in season Esay 1. Wash ye make ye cleane put away the evill of your doings c. And now come saith God and wee will reason together now let us parle now let us confesse now pray and I will heare you Iud. 10. 17. When the Israelites put away their strange gods and turned themselves to the true God by sincere repentance and reformation the Text saith His soule was grieved for the misery of Israel thus the onely way to case our owne soules of griefe or to be rid of any grievous judgement is to grieve the soule of God that is to humble our selves before him to pray and seeke his face and to turne from our wicked wayes and God will be even grieved with himselfe that ever he punished plagued and put us to griefe and he will returne as he saith and have mercy on us and will do us good after he hath done us hurt Here then in a word is the ready way to prevaile with God either for raine or for faire weather or for any temporall blessing whatsoever to doe as Eliah did buckle our very heads betweene our knees I meane prostrate our selves before the face of God in the humblest in the lowliest in the most dejected manner that we can device and if any meanes under heaven will fetch downe mercy from heaven that will doe it Eliah prayed againe and the heavens gave raine and the earth brought forth her fruit Now to God the Father God the Sonne and God the Holy Ghost be ascribed and given all honour and glory be done and performed all service and duty from this time forth for evermore Amen FINIS