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	worthy_a	31	3	5.4765	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A27062	Two treatises tending to awaken secure sinners viz., 1. The terror of the day of judgment, from 2 Cor. 5. 10, 2. The danger of slighting Christ and his Gospel, from Matth. 22. 5 / by Richard Baxter.	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.; Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691. Terror of the day of judgment.; Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691. Danger of slighting Christ and his gospel.	1696 (1696)	Wing B1443; ESTC R16419	109,733	266

see then that it is not meerly for want of good Preachers that Men make light of Christ and Salvation the first News of such a thing as the Pardon of Sin and the Hopes of Glory and the Danger of everlasting Misery would turn the Hearts of Men within them if they were as tractable in spiritual Matters as in temporal But alas it is far otherwise It must not seem any strange thing nor must it too much discourage the Preachers of the Gospel if when they have said all that they can devise to say to win the Hearts of Men to Christ the most do still slight him and while they bow the Knee to him and honour him with their Lips do yet set so light by him in their Hearts as to prefer every fleshly Pleasure or Commodity before him It will be thus with many let us be glad that it is not thus with all Vse 3. But for closer Application Seeing this is the great condemning Sin before we enquire after it into the Hearts of our Hearers it beseems us to begin at home and see that we who are Preachers of the Gospel be not guilty of it our selves The Lord forbid that they that have undertaken the sacred Office of revealing the Excellencies of Christ to the World should make light of him themselves and slight that Salvation which they do daily preach The Lord knows we are all of us so low in our Estimation of Christ and do this great Work so negligently that we have cause to be ashamed of our best Sermons but should this Sin prevail in us we were the most miserable of all Men. Brethren I love not Censoriousness yet dare not befriend so vile a Sin in my self or others under pretence of avoiding it especially when there is so great Necessity that it should be healed first in them that make it their Work to heal it in others O that there were no cause to complain that Christ and Salvation are made light of by the Preachers of it But 1. Do not the negligent Studies of some speak it out 2. Doth not their dead and drowsy Preaching declare it Do not they make light of the Doctrine they preach that do it as if they were half asleep and feel not what they speak themselves 3. Doth not the Carelesness of some Mens private Endeavours discover it What do they for Souls how slightly do they reprove Sin how little do they when they are out of the Pulpit for the saving of Mens Souls 4. Doth not the continued Neglect of those things wherein the Interest of Christ consisteth discover it 1. The Churches Purity and Reformation 2. It s Unity 5. Doth not the covetous and worldly Lives of too many discover it losing Advantages for Mens Souls for a little Gain to themselves and most of this is because Men are Preachers before they are Christians and tell Men of that which they never felt themselves Of all Men on Earth there are few that are in so sad a Condition as such Ministers and if indeed they do believe that Scripture which they preach methinks it should be terrible to them in their studying and preaching it Vse 4. Beloved Hearers the Office that God hath called us to is by declaring the Glory of his Grace to help under Christ to the saving of Mens Souls I hope you think not that I come hither to Day on any other Errand The Lord knows I had not set a Foot out of Doors but in hope to succeed in this Work for your Souls I have considered and often considered what is the matter that so many thousands should perish when God hath done so much for their Salvation and I find this that is mentioned in my Text is the Cause It is one of the Wonders of the World that when God hathso loved the World as to send his Son aud Christ hath made a Satisfaction by his Death sufficient for them all and offereth the Benefits of it so freely to them even without Money or Price that yet the most of the World should perish yea the most of those that are thus called by his Word Why here is the Reason when Christ hath done all this Men make light of it God hath shewed that he is not unwilling and Christ hath shewed that he is not unwilling that Men should be restored to God's Favour and be saved but Men are actually unwilling themselves God takes not pleasure in the Death of Sinners but rather that they return and live Ezek. 33. 11. But Men take such pleasure in Sin that they will die before they will return The Lord Jesus was content to be their Physician and hath provided them a sufficient Plaister of his own Blood but if Men make light of it and will not apply it what wonder if they perish after all This Scripture giveth us the Reason of their Perdition This sad Experience tells us the most of the World is guilty of It is a most lamentable thing to see how most Men do spend their Care their Time their Pains for known Vanities while God and Glory are cast aside That he who is all should seem to them as nothing and that which is nothing should seem to them as good as all that God should set Mankind in such a Race where Heaven or Hell is their certain End and that they should sit down and loiter or run after the childish Toys of the World and so much forget the Prize that they should run for Were it but possible for one of us to see the whole of this Business as the All-seeing God doth to see at one View both Heaven and Hell which Men are so near and see what most Men in the World are minding and what they are doing every Day it would be the saddest sight that could be imagined O how should we marvel at their Madness and lament their Self-delusion O poor distracted World what is it that you run after and what is it that you neglect If God had never told them what they were sent into the Word to do or whither they were going or what was before them in another World then they had been excusable but he hath told them over and over till they were weary of it Had he left it doubtful there had been some excuse but it is his sealed Word and they profess to believe it and would take it ill of us if we should question whether they do believe it or not Beloved I come not to accuse any of you particularly of this Crime but seeing it is the commonest Cause of Mens Destruction I suppose you will judg it the fittest Matter for our Enquiry and deserving our greatest Care for the Cure To which end I shall 1. Endeavour the Conviction of the Guilty 2. Shall give them such Considerations as may tend to humble and reform them 3. I shall conclude with such Direction as may help them that are willing to escape the destroying Power of this Sin And

neglect and abuse of this they shall be judged and not meerly for sinning against the Law that was given us in pure Innocency so that Christ as Redeemer shall judg them as well as others though they had but one Talent yet must they give an account of that to the Redeemer from whom they received it But if any be unsatisfied in this let them remember that as God hath left the State of such more dark to us and the Terms on which he will judg them so doth it much more concern us to look to the Terms of our own Judgment Obj. But how shall Insants be judged by the Gospel that were uncapable of it Answ For ought I find in Scripture they stand or fall with their Parents and on the same Terms but I leave each to their own Thoughts VII For the seventh Head What will be the Cause of the Day to be enqu●ed after what the Accusation and what the Defence Answ This may be gathered from what was last said The great Cause of the Day will be to enquire and determine who shall die and who shall live who ought to go to Heaven and who to Hell for ever according to the Law by which they must then be judged 1. As there is a twofold Law by which they must be judged so will there then be a twofold Accusation The first will be that they were Sinners and so having violated the Law of God they deserve everlasting Death according to that Law If no Defence could be made this one Accusation would condemn all the World for it is most certain that all are Sinners and as certain that all Sin deserveth Death The only Defence against this Accusation ●ieth in this Plea confessing the Charge we must plead that Christ hath satisfied for Sins and upon that Consideration God hath forgiven us and therefore being forgiven we ought not to be punished To prove this we must shew the Pardon under God's Hand in the Gospel But because this pardoning doning Act of the Gospel doth forgive none but those that repent and believe and so return to God and to sincere Obedience for the time to come therefore the next Accusation will be that we did not perform these Conditions of Forgiveness and therefore being Vnbelievers Impenitent and Rebels against the Redeemer we have no right to Pardon but by the Sentence of the Gospel are liable to a greater Punishment for this Contempt of Christ and Grace This Accusation is either true or false where it is true God and Conscience who speak the Truth may well be said to be the Accusers Where it is false it can be only the Work of Satan the malicious Adversary who as we may see in Job's Case will not stick to bring a false Accusation If any think that the Accuser will not do so vain a Work at least they may see that potentially this is the Accusation that lieth against us and which we must be justified against For all Justification implieth an actual or potential Accusation He that is truly accused of final Impenitency or Unbelief or Rebellion hath no other Defence to make but must needs be condemned He that is falsly accused of such Non-performance of the Condition of Grace must deny the Accusation and plead his own personal Righteousness as against that Accusation and produce that Faith Repentance and sincere Obedience and Perseverance by which he fulfilled that Condition and so is Evangilically Righteous in himself and therefore hath part in the Blood of Christ which is instead of a Legal Righteousness to him in all things else as having procured him a Pardon of all his Sins and a Right to everlasting Glory And thus we must then be justified by Christ's Satisfaction only against the Accusation of being Sinners in general and of deserving God's Wrath for the Breach of the Law of Works but we must be justified by our Faith Repentance and sincere Obedience it self against the Accusation of being Impenitent Vnbelievers and Rebels against Christ and having not performed the Condition of the Promise and so having no part in Christ and his Benefits So that in sum you see that the Cause of the Day will be to enquire whether being all known Sinners we have accepted of Christ upon his Terms and so have Right in him and his Benefits or not whether they have forsaken this vain World for him and loved him so faithfully that they have manifested it in parting with these things at his Command And this is the meaning of Mat. 25. where the Enquiry is made to be whether they have sed and visited him in his Members or not that is whether they have so far loved him as their Redeemer and God by him as that they have manifested this to his Members according to Opportunity though it cost them the Hazard or Loss of all seeing Danger and Labour and Cost are fitter to express Love by than empty Compliments and bare Professions Whether it be particularly enquired after or only taken for granted that Men are Sinners and have deserved Death according to the Law of Works and that Christ hath satisfied by his Death is all one as to the matter in hand seeing God's Enquiry is but the Discovery and Conviction of us But the last Question which must decide the Controversy will be whether we have performed the Condition of the Gospel I have the rather also said all this to shew you in what sense these Words are taken in the Text that every Man shall be judged according to what he hath done in the Flesh whether it be good or bad Though every Man be judged worthy of Death for sinning yet every Man shall not be judged to die for it and no Man shall be judged worthy of Life for his good Works It is therefore according to the Gospel as the Rule of Judgment that this is meant They that have repented and believed and returned to true though imperfect Obedience shall be judged to everlasting Life according to these Works not because these Works deserve it but because the free Gift in the Gospel through the Blood of Christ doth make these things the Condition of our possessing it They that have lived and died Impenitent Unbelievers and Rebels against Christ shall be judged to everlasting Punishment because they have deserved it both by their Sin in general against the the Law and by these Sins in special against the Gospel This is called the Merit of the Cause that is what is a Man's Due according to the true meaning of the Law though the Due may be by free Gift And thus you see what will be the Cause of the Day and the Matter to be enquired after and decided as to our Life or Death VIII The next Point in our Method is to shew you What will be the Evidence of the Cause Answ There is a fivefold Evidence among Men. 1. When the Fact is notorious 2. The Knowledg of an unsuspected competent Judg.