Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	wondrous_a	work_n	world_n	24	3	3.8735	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A39659	Divine conduct, or, The mysterie of Providence wherein the being and efficacy of Providence is asserted and vindicated : the methods of Providence as it passes through the several stages of our lives opened : and the proper course of improving all Providences / directed in a treatise upon Psalm 57 ver 2 by John Flavell ...	Flavel, John, 1630?-1691.	1678 (1678)	Wing F1158; ESTC R31515	159,666	301

God saith the Psalmist thou hast taught me from my youth and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works now also when I am old and gray headed O God forsake me not Psal. 71. 17 18. At death the Saints are engaged in the last and one of the most eminent works of faith even the committing themselves into the hands of God when we are lanching forth into that vast Eternity and entring into that new state which will make so great a change upon us in a moment In this Christ sets us a pattern Luke 23. 46. Father into thy hands I commend my spirit and having said thus he gave up the Ghost So Stephen at his death Lord Jesus receive my spirit and immediately fell asleep Act. 7. 59. There be two signal and remarkable acts of faith both exceedingly difficult viz. its first act and its last The first is a great venture that it makes of it self upon Christ and the last is a great venture too to cast it self into the Ocean of Eternity upon the credit of a Promise But yet I know the first adventure of the Soul upon Christ is much more difficult than the last adventure upon death and that which makes it so is in great measure the manifold recorded experiences that the Soul hath been gathering up from the day of its espousals to Christ unto its dying which is in a sense its marriage day Oh with what encouragement may a Soul throw himself into the arms of that God with whom he hath so long conversed and walked in this world Whose visits have been sweet and frequent with whom the soul hath contracted so intimate acquaintance in this world whom it hath committed all its affairs to formerly and still ●ound him a faithful God and now hath no reason to doubt but it shall find him so in this last distress and exigence also At death the people of God receive the last mercies that ever they shall receive in this world by the hand of Providence and are immediately to make up their Accounts with God ●or all the mercies that ever they received from his hand What can be more suitable therefore to a dying person than to recount with himself the mercies of his whole life the manifold receipts of favour for which he is to reckon with God speedily and how shall this be done without a due and serious observation and recording of them now I know there are thousands of mercies forgotten by the best of Christians a memory of brass cannot contain them And I know also that Jesus Christ must make up the Account for us or it will never pass with God yet it is our duty to keep the Accounts of our own mercies and how they have been improv'd by us for we are Stewards and then are to give an Account of our Stewardship At death we owe an Account also to men and stand obliged if there be opportunity for it to make known to them that survive us what we have seen and found of God in this world that we may leave a testimony for God with men and bring up a good report upon his ways Thus dying Jacob when Joseph was come to take his last farewell of him in this world strengthened himself and sate upon the bed and related to him the eminent appearances of God to him and the places where Gen. 48. 2 3. as also an account of his afflictions Verse 7. So Joshua in his last speech to the people makes it his business to vindicate and clear the truth of the Promises by recounting to them how the Providence of God had fulfill'd the same to a tittle in his day Josh. 23. 14. And behold saith he this day I am going the way of all the earth and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you all are come to pass unto you and not one thing hath failed thereof And certainly 't is of great importance to the world to understand the Judgements and hear of the Experiences of dying men They of all men are presumed to be most wise and most serious Besides this is the last opportunity that ever we shall have in this world to speak for God O then what a sweet thing would it be to close up our lives with an honourable Account of the ways of God! to go out of the world blessing him for all the mercies and truth which he hath here performed to us how would this encourage weak Christians and convince the Atheistical world that verily there is a reality and an excellency in the ways and people of God! At death we begin the Angelical life of praise and thanksgiving We then enter upon that everlasting sweet employment and as I doubt not but the Providences in which we were concerned in this world will be a part of that Song which we shall sing in Heaven so certainly it will become us to tune our hearts and tongues for it whil'st we are here and especially when we are ready to enter upon that blessed state O therefore let it be your daily meditation and study what God hath been to you and done for you from the beginning of his way hitherto And thus I have spread before you some encouragements to this blessed work Oh that you would be perswaded to this lovely and every way bene●icial practice This I dare presume to say that whoever finds a careful and a thankful heart to record and treasure up the daily experiences of God's mercy to him shall never want new mercies to record to his dying day It was said of ClaudJan that he wanted matter suitable to the excellency of his parts but where is the head or heart that is suitable to this matter who can utter the mighty works of the Lord who can shew forth all his praise Psal. 106. 2. Thus I have through the aid of Providence dispatched the main design I aimed at in the choice of this subject All that remains will now be speedily finished in some few Corollaries to be brie●ly noted upon the whole and three or four practical Cases to be stated You have heard how Providence per●ormeth all things for you Learn thence First Corollary THat God is therefore to be owned by you in all that befalls you in this world whether it be in ● way of success and comfort or of trouble and afflictJon O 't is your duty to observe his hand and disposal When God gives you comforts 't is your great evil not to observe his hand in them Hence was that charge against Israel ●os 2. 8. She did not know that I gave her Corn and Wine and Oil and multiplJed her Silver and Gold i. e. she did not actually and affectionately consider my care over her and goodness to her in these mercies And so for afflictions 't is a great wickedness when God's hand is listed up not to see it Isa.

where thousands of them grow O Reader if thy heart be spiritual and well stockt with experience if thou hast recorded the wayes of Providence towards thee and wilt but allow thy self time to reflect upon them what a life of pleasure maist thou live What an Heaven upon Earth doth this way lead thee into I will not here tell thee what I have met in this path lest it should seem to savour of too much Vanity non est religJo ubi omnJa patent There are some delights and enjoyments in the Christian life which are and must be enclosed But Try it thy self Taste and See and thou wilt need no other inducement thine own Experi●nce will be the most powerful Oratory to perswade thee to the study and search of Providence Histories are usually read with delight when once the fancy is catcht a man knows not how to disengage himself from it I am greatly mistaken if the History of our own lives if it were well drawn up and distinctly perused would not be the pleasantest History that ever we read in our lives The ensuing Treatise is an Essay to that purpose in which thou wilt find some remarques set upon Providence in its passage through the several Stages of our life But Reader thou only art able to compile the History of Providence for thy self because the memorJals that furnish it are only in thine own hands However here thou maist find a pattern and general Rules to direct thee in that great and difficult work which is the very end and design of this Manual I have not had much regard to the dress and ornament in which this Discourse is to go abroad for I am debtor both to the strong and weak the wise and foolish and in all my observation I have not found that ever God hath made much use of laboured periods Rhetorical flowers and Elegancies to improve the power of Religion in the world Yea I have observed how Providence hath sometimes rebuked good men when upon other Subjects they have too much affected those pedantick fooleries in withdrawing from them its usual aids and exposing them to shame and much more may it do so when it self is the Subject Reader if thy stomach be nice and squeasie and nothing will relish with thee but what is spruce and elegant there are store of such composures in the world upon which thou maist even surfeit thy curious fancy mean time there will be found some that will bless God for what thou despisest and make many a sweet meal upon what thou loathest I will add no more but my hearty prayers that Providence will direct this Treatise to such hands in such seasons and so bless and prosper its design that God may have glory thou maist have benefit and my self comfort in the success thereof who am Thine and the Churches servant in the hand of Providence Iohn Flavell Divine Conduct OR THE MYSTERIE OF Providence Opened in a TREATISE Upon PSAL. 57. 2. I will cry unto God most high unto God that performeth all things for me THE greatness of God is a glorious and uns●archable Mysterie The Lord most high is terrible he is a great King over all the Earth Psal. 47. 2. The condescesinon of the most high God to men is also a profound Mysterie Though the Lord be high yet hath he respect unto the lowly Psal. 13 8. 6. But when both these meet together as they do in this Scripture they make up a matchless Mysterie Here we find the most High God performing all things for a poor distressed creature It is the great support and solace of the Saints in all the distresses that befall them here that there is a Wise Spirit sitting in all the wheels of motion and governing the most excentrical Creatures and their most pernicious designs to blessed and happy issues And indeed it were not worth while to live in a world 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 devoid of God and Providence How deeply we are concerned in this matter will appear by that great Instance which this Psalm presents us with It was composed as the Title notes by David prayer-wise when he hid himself from Saul in the Cave And is inscribed with a double Title Al-taschith Michtam of David Altaschith refers to the scope and Michtam to the dignity of the subject matter The former signifies destroy not or let there be no slaughter and may either refer to Saul concerning whom he gave charge to his servants not to destroy him or rather it hath reference to God to whom in this great exigence he poured out his soul in this pathetical ejaculation Al-taschith destroy not The later Title Michtam signi●ies a golden ornament and so is suited to the choice and excellent matter of the Psalm which much more deserves such a Title than Pythagoras his golden Verses did Three things are remarkable in the former part of the Psalm Viz. 1 His extream danger 2 His earnest address to God in that extremity 3 The Arguments he pleads with God in that address His extream danger expressed both in the Title and body of the Psalm The Title tells us this Psalm was composed by him when he hid himself from Saul in the Cave This Cave was in the Wilderness of Engedi among the broken Rocks where the wild Goats inhabited an obscure and desolate hole yet even thither the Envy of Saul pursued him I Sam. 24. 1 2. And now he that had been so long hunted as a Partridge upon the Mountains seems to be enclosed in the net for the place was begirt with his Enemies and having in this place no out-let another way and Saul himself entring into the mouth of this Cave in the sides and creeks whereof he and his men lay hid and saw him judge to how great an extremity and to what a desperate state things were now brought Well might he say as it is ver 4. My soul is among Lyons and I lye even among them that are set on fire What hope now remained What but immediate destruction could be expected Yet this frights him not out of his ●aith and duty but betwixt the Jaws of death he prays and earnestly addresses himself to God for mercy v. 1. Be merciful to me O God be merciful unto me This excellent Psalm was composed by him when there was enough to discompose the best man in the world The repetition notes both the extremity of the danger and the ardency of the Supplicant Mercy Mercy nothing but Mercy and that exerting it self in an extraordinay way can now save him from ●ine The Arguments he pleads for obtaining mercy in this distress are very considerable 1. He pleads his reliance upon God as an Argument to move mercy Be merciful to me O God be merciful unto me for my soul trusteth in thee yea in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge until these calamitJes be overpast v. 1. This his trust and dependance on God though it be