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	world_n	worth_n	31	3	9.2422	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26951	The life of faith in three parts, the first is a sermon on Heb. 11, 1, formerly preached before His Majesty, and published by his command, with another added for the fuller application : the second is instructions for confirming believers in the Christian faith : the third is directions how to live by faith, or how to exercise it upon all occasions / by Richard Baxter.	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1670 (1670)	Wing B1301; ESTC R5103	494,148	660

2. It setteth you at enmity with God and holiness because God controlleth and condemneth your beloved lusts and because it is contrary to the carnal things which have your hearts 2. By this means it maketh men malignant enemies of the godly and persecutors of them because they are of contrary minds and waies As then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit even so it is now Gal. 4.29 The world cannot love us because we are not of the world John 15.19 20. Pride covetousness and sensuality are the matter which the burning Feaver lodgeth in which hath consumed so much of the Church of Christ 4. It is the sin that hath corrupted the sacred Office of the Ministry throughout most of the Christian Churches in the world And thereby caused both the Schisms and Cruelties and the decay of serious godliness among them which is their present deplorable case Ignorant persons are like sick men in a Feaver They lay the blame on this and that and commonly on that which went next before the paroxism and know not the true cause of the disease We are all troubled or should be to see the many minds the many waies the confused state of the Christian Churches and to hear them cry out against each other And one layeth the blame on this party or opinion and another on that But when we come to our selves we shall find that it is The worldly mind that causeth our calamity Many well meaning friends of the Church do think how dishonourable it is to the Ministry to be poor and low and consequently despicable and what an advantage is it to their work to be able to relieve the poor and rather to oblige the people than to depend upo● them and to be above them rather than below them And supposing the Pastors to be mortified holy heavenly men all this is true and the zeal of these thoughts is worthy of commendation But that which good men intend for good hath become the Churches bane So certain is the common saying that Constantines zeal did poison the Church by lifting up the Pastors of it too high and occasioning those contentions for grandure and precedency which to this day separate the East and West When well-meaning Piety hath adorned the office with wealth and honour it is as true as that the Sun shineth that the most proud ambitious worldly men will be the most studious seekers of that office and will make it their plot and trade and business how by friends and observances and wills to attain their ends And usually he that seeks shall find when in the mean time the godly mortified humble man will not do so but will serve God in the state to which he is clearly called And consequently except it be under the Government of an admirably wise and holy Ruler a worthy Pastor in such a wealthy station will be a singular thing and a rarity of the age whilst worldly men whose hearts are habited with that which is utterly contrary to holiness and contrary to the very ends and work of their own office will be the men that must sit in Moses Chair that must have the doing and ruling of the work which their hearts are set against And how it will go with the Church of Christ when the Gospel is to be preached and Preachers chosen and Godliness promoted by the secret enemies of it and when ambiti●us fleshly worldly men are they that must cure the peoples souls under Christ of the love of the flesh and the world it were easie to prognosticate from the causes if the Christian world could not tell by the effects so that except by the wonderful Piety of Princes there is no visible way in the eye of reason to recover the miserable Churches but to retrive the Pastoral Office into such a state as that it may be no bait to a worldly mind but may be desired and chosen purely upon heavenly accounts And then the richer the Pastors are the better when they are the Sons of Nobles whose Piety bringeth with them their honour and their wealth to serve God and his Church with and they do not find it there to be their end or inducement to the work But instead of invitations or encouragements to pride and carnal minds there may be only so much as may not deter or drive away candidates from the sacred Function 5. Worldliness is a sin which maketh the Word of God unprofitable Mat. 13.22 John 12.43 Ezek. 33.31 prepossessing the heart and resisting that Gospel which would extirpate it 6. It hindereth Prayer by corrupting mens desires and by intruding worldly thoughts 7. It hindereth all holy Meditation by turning both the heart and thoughts another way 8. It drieth up all heavenly profitable Conference whilst the world doth fill both mind and mouth 9. It is a great profaner of the Lords Day distracting mens minds and alienating them from God 10. It is a murderous enemy of Love to one another All worldly men being so much for themselves that they are seldom hearty friends to any other 11. Yea it maketh men false and unrighteous in their dealings There being no trust to be put in a worldly man any further than you are sure you suit his interest 12. It is the great cause of discord and divisions in the world It setteth Families Neighbours and Kingdoms together by the ears and setteth the Nations of the earth in bloody wars to the calamity and destruction of each other 13. It causeth cheating stealing robbing oppressions cruelties lying false-witnessing perjury murders and many such other sins 14. It maketh men unfit to suffer for Christ because they love the world above him and consequently it maketh them as Apostates to forsake him in a time of tryal 15. It is a great devourer of precious time That short life which should be spent in preparing for eternity is almost all spent in drudging for the world 16. Lastly It greatly unfitteth men to die and maketh them loth to leave the world And no wonder when there is no entertainment for worldlings in any better place hereafter Direct 6. If you would be saved from the world and the snares of prosperity foresee death and judge of the world 〈◊〉 it will appear and use you at the last Dream not of long life He that looks to stay but a little while in the world will be the less careful of his provisions in it A little will serve for a little t●me The grave is a sufficient disgrace to all the vanities on earth though there must be more to raise the heart to Heaven Direct 7. M●rtifie the flesh and you overcome the world Cure the thirsty disease and you will need none of the worldlings waies to satisfie it When the flesh is mastered there it no use for plenty or pleasures or honours to satisfie its lusts Your daily bread to fit you for your work will then suffice Direct 8.

Psal 5.4 5. 9.7 James 1.15 By this time methinks you should better know what the use and meaning of the Gospel and Grace and Ministers is and what is the design of Preaching and in what manner it should be done Would you have us silent or talk to you as in jeast while we see such a day as this before us Every true Preacher spaketh to you with Judgment and Eternity in his eye Our work is to prepare you or to help you to prepare to meet the Lord and to be ready for your final sentence O then with what seriousness should we speak and should you bear and should both we and you prepare It 's pitty to see people hear Sermons many years and not so much as know what a Sermon is or what is the use and nature of it If our business were to draw away Disciples after us and to make our selves the admired heads of factions then we would speak those perverse things contrary to the doctrine which you have been taught by which our ends might be carryed on Acts 20.30 Rom. 16.17 Or if our design were to be high and great and rich we would flatter the great ones of the world that we might rule you with violence instead of love Or if we consulted our case we should spare much of this labour and let you silently alone at cheaper rates to the flesh than now we speak to you But O who can be silent who is engaged in this sacred office when he foreseeth what will shortly be the issue of our prevailing or not prevailing with you Now as we love Christ we must feed his sheep and necessity is laid upon us and woe be unto us if we preach not the Gospel 1 Cor. 9.16 Our preaching Christ is to warn every man and teach every man that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus Col. 1.22 And to perswade men as knowing the terrours of the Lord 2 Cor. 9.10 11. Heb. 12.25 29. If it were only that we loved so to hear our selves talk or to be cryed up by many followers we deserved to pay dear indeed for such Preaching But when our Lord loved and pittied souls at the rate of his sufferings and bloody death surely our rates are not above the worth of souls O what a doleful sight is it to us to foresee by faith how loud how earnestly you would knock and cry when the door is shut and hope is gone And what you would then give for one of these daies which you now are a weary of and for a drop of that mercy which now doth beg your entertainment What then remaineth but as ever you believe that day and as ever you care what becometh of your souls and bodies for ever and as ever you would not be charg●d and condemned as final and obstinate refu●ers of mercy and salvation yea and for wronging the Ministers of Christ by making them study and preach in vain That you harden not your hear●s but hear Christs voice to day while it is called to day before the door of grace be shut O cry while crying and begging may do good Meet Christ now as may best prepare you to meet him then Meet him now as the Prodigal met his Father Luke 15. Saying I have sinned and am no more worthy to be called thy Son make me one of thy hired servants Meet God as Abigail met David 1 Sam. 25.32 34. with an offering of peace even Christ apprehended by an obedient faith When she heard from David Except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me all had been destroyed Meet him to enquire of his sacred Oracle what is like to become of thy soul as the King of Syria sent Hazael with a present to Elisha to meet him saying Shall I recover of this disease 2 King 8.8 Or as Paul met with Christ when he humbled and converted him saying Who art thou Lord and what wouldst thou have me do Acts 9. Meet him as the men of Israel and Juda did David their King 2 Sam. 19. striving who should first own and honour him Amos 4.12 Meet God thus n●w when h● ca●●eth you by his Word when he perswadeth you by his M●●●sters when he moveth you by his Spirit when he allureth and obligeth you by his mercies while he driveth you by affliction while he waiteth on you by his patience and by all th●se calleth you to repent to love him and to obey to set your hearts on Heaven if ever you hope it should be your portion Meet him thus now and then you may joyfully meet him in his glory II. And O all you that are true Believers lift up your heads with hope and joy for your final deliverance draweth nigh The world hath but a little while longer to abuse you Satan hath but a little while more to molest you The blinded Sodomites shall not long be groping for your doors You shall not long walk among snares and dangers nor live with enemies nor with troublesome unsuitable friends You have not long to bear the burden of that wearisome body of that seducing flesh of those unruly passions or those disordered thoughts you have not long to groan under the misery of that troubled and doubting conscience that darkened mind those dull affections those remnants of unbelief stupidity and carnality nor to cry out with weariness from day to day O when shall I know God better and love him more Death is coming and quickly after Christ is coming One will begin and the other perfect your full deliverance and put an end to these complaints And remember that though Death hath somewhat in it which to nature is terrible God having made the love of Life to be the pondus or spring of motion to the great engine of the sensitive world yet what is there in the second coming of Christ that should seem unwelcome to you You shall not meet an enemy but a friend your surest and your greatest friend one that hath done more for you than all the world hath done and one that is ready now to do much more and shew his love and friendship to the height One that will be then your surest friend when all the world shall cast you off You go not to be condemned but to be openly justified yea honoured before all the world and sentenced to endless glory You go not to be numbered with the enemies of holiness or with the slothful and unprofitable servants but to be perfectly incorporated into the heavenly society and to see the glorified faces of Henoch Moses and Elias of Peter and John and Paul and Timothy and all the Saints that ever you knew or whose writings you have ever read or whose names you ever heard of millions more You go to be better acquainted with those Angels that rejoyced at your repentance and that ministred for your good and that bore you in their hands and were your continual guard both night and day You go