Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	work_n	world_n	worthy_a	125	3	6.2266	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A59621	Antapologia, or, A discourse of excuses setting forth the variety and vanity of them, the sin and misery brought in by them, as being the greatest bar in the way to heaven, and the ready high way to hell : being the common snare wherein most of the children of men are intangled and ruined / by Jo. Sheffield ...	Sheffeild, John, d. 1680.	1672 (1672)	Wing S3061; ESTC R11053	145,253	322

Malice as Ananias his lye Acts 5. 9. Not repented of but sin unrepented of as the two Theeves are Examples 10. Not sin confessed but covered and smothered Prov. 28. 13. Lastly Sin forsaken never damns sin not forsaken ever damns Prov. 28. 13. Ezek. 18. 21. Manasseh an example of the one Pharaoh of the other 1. We must distinguish of Righteousness 1. There is a Legal and Evangelical Righteousness 2. A Righteousness before God and before men Before God there is none Righteous according to the strictness of the Law But Zachary Elizabeth Abel and Lot and all truly godly are called and counted righteous by an Evangelical righteousness while they endeavour to fulfil all righteousness though in many things fall short But though they dare not plead their righteousness before God in whose Eyes the Heavens are not pure yet can they before men say Ye are witnesses and God also how holily and justly and unblamably 1 Thess 3. Po. we have had our Conversation among you Whose Oxe or Asse have I taken or whom have I defrauded There are sins Quotidianae Incursionis as Tertullian calls them some over-sights which the best are not free from but bewail and they consist with Grace But there are other gross sins Vastantia Conscientiam which make foul work with Conscience and denominate a man unrighteous in a high measure these shut out of Heaven 1 Cor. 6. 9 10. A third Doctrine much abused to strengthen Doct. 3. Christ died for Sinners men in sin is That Christ dyed to save Sinners which is the most comfortable Doctrine in all the Bible a saying worthy of all acceptation and due consideration But what use doth the presumptuous Sinner make of it Then saith he shall I do well enough though I live in sin for I can't out-sin the Merits of Christ's Blood which is said to cleanse from all sin And thus would he make Christ the Minister and Maintainer of sin as if he came not to destroy the Works of the Devil but to Patronize 1 John 3. 8. them But if thou wilt understand know That Jesus Christ came not to save us in and with but from our sins Matth. 1. 21. that is from the practice love and dominion of sin He gave himself for us to redeem us from all Iniquity and to Tit. 2. 14. purifie to himself a peculiar people zealous of good Works Every word of which Text speaks life to the Sinner but death to his sin Christ came indeed to reconcile God and the Sinner not the Sinner and Sin He pulls down the partition-wall between God and the Believer but sets up a partition-wall between the Believer and his Sin But many deal with Christ said a worthy Dr. Hall Bishop as some do with their Prince or some great noble man they care not how much they take up and how far they run in debt and when payment should be made they get a Protection to elude the course of Justice So do many fly to Christ for his Protection saith he and this is a common cheat 4. There is no Doctrine more abused then Doct. 4. We are saved by grace that of free grace That we are saved by Grace not Merit The Scripture ascribeth all to Grace we are justified by Grace Rom. 3. 28. Saved by Grace not Works Ephes 2. 8. Where Sin aboundeth Grace superaboundeth Rom. 4. 20. Hence the Libertine assumeth I will rely on the Grace of God and not doubt of Salvation though I am such a Sinner The Apostle easily foresaw that such an Antinomian and Antievangelian Inference would be made by some ungodly ones as Jude calls them who would turn grace into wantonness therefore doth twice obviate and refute it in one Chapter Rom. 6. 1. Shall we continue in Sin that Grace may abound And verse 15. Shall we sin because we are not under the Law but under Grace And knocks down both with the same short answer of defiance 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God forbid Shall Grace act against it self and destroy Grace shall gratia gratis data become Ingratum faciens 1. These do quite and clean corrupt the Doctrine of Grace which teacheth to deny Vngodliness and worldly Lusts and to live soberly righteously and godly in this present World Tit. 2. 11. 2. These do pervert the use of Grace set down Rom. 6. 14. Sin shall not have dominion over you because ye are not under the Law but under Grace 3. These frustrate the main end of Grace which is set down Rom. 5. ult That as Sin hath reigned unto Death Grace might reign by Righteousness to eternal life To abuse Grace is the greatest Sin imaginable and to despight the Spirit of Grace is the Sin unpardonable Heb. 10. 29. And if any are ungodly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in God's Black-Book as destined to condemnation Jude verse 4. they are such as turn the Grace of God into wantonness A fifth Doctrine much abused is That Doct. 5. That we are saved by Faith we are justified and saved by Faith alone which is most true and consonant to Scripture Rom. 3. 28. Gal. 2. 16. Ephes 2. 8. I will therefore believe saith the careless Christian and then hope I shall do well enough though I have no good works which I hear are excluded in those fore-cited Scriptures in the matter of Justification But know O vain man That Faith and Works are only opposed in the matter of Justification but are never separated and parted As the Eye and Ear are opposed in the matter of seeing the Eye only sees not the Ear but where God gives Eyes he gives Ears also So to whom Grace is given to believe it is given to obey Faith is not an idle but active and operative Grace It works by love Gal. 5. 6. Is of a heart purifying nature Acts 15. 9. It unites the Soul to Christ so that Christ is said to dwell in the Soul by Faith Ephes 3. 16. And to live in the Soul Gal. 2. 20. The right Epithete of true Faith is most holy Faith Jude verse 20. His right property is sanctifying Acts 26. 28. True Faith is never solitary but attended and known by her good many Companions Vertue 2 Pet. 1. 5. Love Ephes 1. 15. Fear Heb. 11. 7. Repentance Mark 1. 15. Righteousness 2 Tim. 2. 22. Obedience Heb. 11. 8. Patience Heb. 6. 12. Sanctification 2 Thess 2. 13. Good Works Tit. 3. 8. Her Exercises are holy Duties Therefore we read of the Prayer of Faith James 5. 15. Living by Faith Heb. 11. 28. Walking by Faith 2 Cor. 5. 7. And as to our spiritual warfare it is of singular use we read of the fight of Faith 1 Tim. 6. 22. Resisting the Devil quenching his fiery Darts overcoming the World and all by Faith So that such know little of the nature of Faith who dream that Faith hath nothing to do but to look on a Promise and sit still Faith hath Promises Conditions Precepts Threats

and sincerity in the Worship Service and Obedience which we do perform to to God The word of God is quick and Heb. 4. 12. powerful piercing to the dividing of the Soul and Spirit and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the Heart Now did men believe and were sensible of the quick and lively Power the Majesty and Authority of the Word and did remember those Rules to walk with God and be upright In all our wayes to acknowledge him That whatsoever we do we should do it as to the Lord and not to Men and Col. 3. ●3 withall consider That by this word we shall be judged in the last day It is not possible Joh. 12. 48. they should study such shifts and flatter themselves in them for there would be no more need of them then for the man that doth well to hide his head and fly from the light when he can make out his Joh. 3. 21. works to be wrought in God 3. Very few have heard the sound of the last 3. Or the day of Judgment Mal. 3. 17. Trumpet sounding in their Ears nor do they believe there is a Book of Remembrance written before God And that a dreadful day of account is coming when these Books shall be brought forth and that Rev. 20. 12. then God will set all in order before the Sons of men with all the circumstances of their evil Actions and then bring every Secret to light and reward all according to their Works For did they so it is not possible there would be so much base dealing and wickedness in the World making Lyes their Refuge as if they had made an Agreement with Hell and a Covenant with Death But there is a world of Atheism in Christendom and of Infidels among Christians that seek ●o dig deep to hide their Counsel from the Lord and their Works are in the dark and they say Who s●eth us and who knoweth us They turn things up side-down saith the Prophet turn a fair side outward and a Esay 29. 15 16. foul side inward 4. In the fourth place There is little 4. Want of Conscience of that we call Conscience in the World and the want of it is a main deficient or efficient I may say of Excuses There is much talk of Conscience every where but where is it to be found almost Right Conscience is Cordis scientia saith Bernard Or cum Deo scientia say others not Scientia simplicis Intelligentiae as I may say a bare speculation but an active practical and uniform Concurrence of Breast and Brain of Profession with Practise yea of Man with God when words deeds agree with the heart and the heart with God But alas there is much of Science in the World little of Conscience much Head-knowledge little Heart-knowledge much studying men little minding of God Were there more of this in the World there would neither be carrying on of Designs nor studying Excuses but Acts 24. 16. a serious and sincere endeavour to be without offence both before God and before men 2. For the ends which Excuses are 2. Ends of Excuses made use of 1. Many fly to them as we say For shame of the World and Speech of 1. To avoid shame the People as did they who took up stones to throw at Christ who plead●d They did it not for any of the goods works John 10. 33. he had done that had been too bad but for Blasphemy Better a bad excuse then none at all People woud have cryed Shame on them it they had not covered their Malice with some plausible pretence So again when Pilate urged his Accusers for Reason Reason as they cryed out to him for Justice Justice why what Evil hath he done I find no faule in him They would have been thought inexcusable if they could not have said We have a Law and by our Law he ought to die But none could they name that he had ever violated So wh●n the Scribes and Pharisees never John 19. 6 7. left pers●cuting Christ John Baptist and the Apostles and all that were better then themselves People would have cryed shame on them for their Impiety But when they could say You see we Reverence the true Prophets Moses Samuel Jeremy Daniel c. We Celebrate their Memorials garnish their Sepulchres and for those Mat. 23. 30. good men we lament their loss Had we been in our Fathers dayes we would have Sainted ●ot Slain them But Jesus and the Baptist we know not whence they are The one hath a Devil the other is a Wine-Bibber a Samaritan Heretick a Mover of Sedition and what not So that now they must not be thought any wayes ill affected to true Piety but honoured as the Pi●lars of the Church the zealous Asserters of Truth Unity and Order and the only Sappressors of Heresie Schism F●ction Sedition and Novelty Just so do the Papists St. Peter St. Paul St. Lawrence c. we keep dayes in their Memory preserve their Reliques pray to them honour them with a kind of Worship shew more Piety towards them then all you Protestants do But if Luther Calvin Cranmer Ridley c. teach the very same Doctrine that Peter and Paul they shall be Anathematized or burnt to Ashes if they can light of them 2. A second end Is to gain a repute of 2. To gain a Repute of Religion Religion And such is the luster and beauty of Religion that though few affect the power of it yet all court the Name and are ambitious of the Reputation of it Thus Machiavel instructs his Prince to put on the Vizor of one Religious yet to scruple nothing mean while whereby he may more enlarge his Dominion or drive on his Designs Thus those very Jews again John 10. 33. make their defence We stone thee not for any Cures or other good Works wrought or thy shews of Sanctimony but thy Blasphemy and Arrogance To make thy self the Son of God and equal to God we cannot bear Very pious Souls Though many have been so wicked as to do it none ever was so weak as to own it that they hated Piety and Virtue for its own sake A fair Pretence is fittest to cover so foul a Disposition Those that hated and cast out their Brethren of old as the Prophet said for owning the Name of God no other Crime yet said Let God be magnified Esay 65. 5. All was done out of zeal to God's Glory and the Churches Peace What do the Papists and other Persecutors pretend less 3. A third end Is to stop the mouth 3. To stop the mouth of conscience of Conscience and still its Clamors Conscience would lead the man an unquiet life and would be clamorous if he had not somewhat to pretend Therefore some grave shews of Religion some form of Godliness some Sins forborn some good Works done some Duties performed must bribe Conscience to let

Idolatrous Service without scruple But observe what follows and you need no other Answer Hold fast that which is good abstain from all appearance of Evil Therefore it is no more but this Try all Doctrines believe not every Spirit but try all by the Word So prove all things that are probable or dubious but lawful and likely to be good not such as have an appearance of Evil. So that this universal Particle All as in many other places is to be taken with a limitation 1. As to Piety All things consistent with it but such are not the Doctrines of the Arrians Socinians the Worship of the Mahumetans Papists Quakers c. The Ephesine Church was commended for Rev. 2. 2. trying such as said they were Apostles but found them to be Lyers but then could not bear them or give allowance to hear them And further is commended that she did not try but perfectly hate and detest the Doctrine of the Nicolaitans a Verse 6. Pestilent and Licentious Sect. 2. To Morality All things consistent with Morality and good Manners not such as are apparently Evil by the light of Nature as the way of Cain the courses of the Ranter Adulterer Libertine c. 3. As to thy outward good civil or natural otherwise thou mightest try all Poysons to see what is the force and operation of them or try all Callings and Professions and so be to day a Tradesman to morrow a Divine next day a Lawyer or Physician to day a Tayler to morrow a Carpenter and so in infinitum as well as take that liberty to tast and make tryal of all Sects and different modes of Religion and Worship And in the last place to name no more 9. Repent and be saved It is but repenting if all fail and all is safe for Christ hath joyned Repentance and Remission of Sins together Luke 24. 47. So that if Repentance go before Pardon follows of course The Lord hath promised if we repent of the Evil we have done he will repent of the Evil he hath threatned Jer. 18. 8. And I purpose to repent at last and then God will pardon Oh that men should so dally with God's Promises and Threats and Play with the Cockatrice adventuring so near the brink of Hell and think to come off safe Such as these do presumptuously promise themselves two things which God doth no where promise 1. The one is that they will repent as if it were in 2 Tim. 2. 26. their own power which is the pure and peculiar gift of God Repentance is not Acts 11. 18. the work of nature or free-will not in the power of all Purposes Vows Resolutions not in the power of Pain Sickness Death or Hell to work not in the power of Creatures Men or Angels to give not in the power of all Ordinances Fasting Praying Sermons or Sacraments to work 2. The other is they promise themselves to repent at Death and that shall serve their turn as well as if they had repented all their life But God hath made no such promise to late Repentance but threatned the contrary Prov. 1. 26 27 28. Hos 5. 6. There is a memorable Story of St. Austin Lib. 3. De poenitentia quae putatur esse ipsius to this purpose which I have read being once asked What he thought of a man that had lived wickedly but at his Death penitent confessing and bewayling his sins absolved c. What would you have me say said he That he is saved No I will not because I would not deceive thee What then That he is damned No neither because I dare not Judge him What then shall I say O Brother if thou wilt be free from doubting repent whiles thou art in health If thou wilt repent when thou canst not sin thy sins have left thee and not thou thy Sins In another place again it is not to be said how many this vain hope of late Repentance hath deceived and undone Again saith he I have read the Scripture over and over and I find not so much as one in the space of two thousand years saved by his Repentance at his end except the Thief on the Cross To St. Austin I shall joyn a remarkable passage or two of the learned Bishop Andrews who Preaching at Court of Repentance fell to discourse of late Repentance and seeking God and hath these words That that may be said about this is this and it is nothing some one or two of a thousand or ten thousands have how then shall not we therefore seek God before Again this time is the time when all Hypocrites Atheists Tag and Rag come in to seek him in a sort and shall not we be confounded to see our selves in their number Again what is our seeking then Is it not to lie still in our Beds and suffer a few words to be spoken in our Ears and have a little Opiate Divinity ministred to our Souls and so sent away and much more to this purpose To these two so eminent Persons I may add a third of Mr. Greenham St. Greenham Bishop Hall somewhere calls him my Sentence is saith that judicious Divine that a man now lying at the point of death having the fears and terrors of death now upon him in that state of fear and pain may have a sorrow for his life past but because the weakness of the Flesh and the bitterness of Death doth most commonly procure it we ought to suspect c. There is no Promise I said that such Repentance shall be accepted But I know what will be Replyed Though I have no Promise I have an Example The Thief on the Cross And why may not I as well as he Answer This Example as some other passages of Scripture concerning the falls and miscarriage of the Saints is set for the fall and rising again of many and is like some of those Scriptures which the unlearned and inconsiderate persons do wrest to their own destruction But 1. Consider there is but one such Example in all the Bible and this related but once and by one only of the Evangelists all four mentioning the dying of Christ between two Theeves only St. Luke sets Luke 23. 40. down this passage the rest being silent The Holy Ghost easily foresaw how apt we are to surfeit even of a little of this Honey One we say that none might depair But one least any should presume 2. Consider at the same time you have an Example of another that died without Repentance therefore I may with much more reason retort this Argument The one Thief did not nay could not repent for God gave him not Repentance but as he cast off God in his life God cast him off at death As he lived he dyed reviling cursing deriding desparing thou hast therefore more cause to fear to be left with the one then to hope to be taken with the other There was then a Concurrence of a many the most