Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heaven_n	body_n	glorious_a	vile_a	2,633	5	9.7400	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A87103	A sermon, preached at St. Gregories church by St. Paul's on Sunday the 13th. day of Iune, 1658. Intended for the funeral solemnization of Iohn Hewit, Dr. of divinity, and late minister there	Hardy, Nathaniel, 1618-1670.	1658 (1658)	Wing H747A; ESTC R231880	12,735	26

they must die and perish as well as others but that which the Prophet aimes at is perishing in a violent sense and the phrase taken away hints as much they are taken away and cut of as ' it s spoken of the Messias from the land of the living These candles do not go out of themselves for want of that which should give them life but are blown out by a violent wind and very well it may be so because of their enemies David saith the wicked watch the Righteous and why do they watch him but to take advantage to slay him and this many times befalls the godly ones and that in great wisdome even that the glory of Gods power may appeare his power in sustaining and upholding them when by death he brings them to himself especially strengthning them in the hour of a violent death and his power will appear in raising of their vile bodies that shall be in the dust in raising them when their vile bodies shall be changed and made like the glorious body of Christ he will have it so that their graces may appear that their faith may be more eminent if God should translate them as he did Eliah from earth to heaven there would be something to appear of glory but nothing of strength and therefore that the faith and courage of his servants may appear he thus takes them away and chiefly that they may be conformable to Christ and that he may make the members like unto the head and go as he did by a violent death they must drink of the brook and after lift up their heads therefore this is a just complaint the Righteous perish and mercifull men are taken away The consideration of this may serve partly to inform partly to instruct First to inform us That there is another world and day of judgement that there is a time wherein God will put a difference between the godly and the wicked between him that swears and him that fears an oath between him that serves him and him that rebells against him I say there must be a time of retribution or he could not be a Righteous and mercifull God when there must be a recompence to godly men you see how the Righteous perish as well as the wicked you see the same lot befalls the one as well as the other it assures us therefore that there is another day comming when it will appear that there is a reward to the godly And it should secondly instruct all righteous ones that they should make use of this kind of death for the glory of Gods name and the good of his own brethren How should all of us Magistrates Ministers and People approve our selves in the discharge of our duty and especially mercifull men by shewing mercy multiplying mercy when the mercifull man is taken away then all is taken away there is no more work nor almes nor mercy for us to do in the grave where we are a going and further it should instruct us that we should make use of and make much of the Righteous men that are in the midst of us because they must perish and be taken from us these candles must go out nay they may by a blustering wind be blown out make use of them while you have them Our Saviour bids us walk in the light while you have the light so do you whilst Gods righteous servants and Ministers are amongst you make the best use of them you can as our Saviour said Me you shall not have alwayes with you so these you shall not have alwayes with you therefore endeavour to reap all the benefit and profit from them you can Finally let us not think the worse of them because they are taken away we are ready to be frighted because of the trouble that befalls them but let us remember that the Righteous whatever trouble incompasses them they are delivered from it by death nay that taking away of theirs is a benefit to them for it is a taking away from the evil to come And that leads me to the other branch which mitigateth the complaint in the close of the verse The righteous are taken away from the evil to come Taken away from the evil to come is a phrase which admits of a double construction we may understand it of being taken away from the evil to come upon themselves they are taken away from those future evils that if they had continued longer upon earth should have befallen them thus they are taken away from Criminall evils and Poenall evils 1. From Criminall evils they are taken away and thereby prevented from those sins they might otherwayes have fallen into for the righteous are not altogether free from sin while herebelow and therefore it is that they are delivered from that which is a great grief unto them ever to sin against their Father 2. From Poenall evils from those miseries and troubles that do befall them in this world Many are the afflictions of the righteous but God delivers them out of all Pain penurie aches sicknesse c. and when the righteous is taken away he is taken away from all these But that which is the principal meaning of the word is They are taken away from the evil of the place wherein they live from the common calamitie that is to seize upon the people therefore you find in the 26. Isa. 20. where the Prophet saith Come my people enter thou into thy Chambers and shut thy doors about thee hide thy self as it were for a little moment untill the indignation be overpast some understand those little doors and moments places and Chambers to be meant of the grave yet there God hides his people he puts them in the grave where they are quiet when he intends to send a blustering tempest and a storm upon the earth Thus God prepares a Zoar for Lot when he brings destruction upon Sodom and an Ark for Noah when he brings a deluge upon the world so God prepares a grave for the righteous when he intends to bring evil upon the earth but this is not alwaies so for God will somtimes keep them in the midst of trouble he sets a mark upon their forehead as in the 9. Ezek. 4. And the Lord said unto him go through the midst of the City through the midst of Ierusalem and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof And sometimes God makes them sharers and sufferers in the evils because they have not mourned for the sinnes of the times and places where they live therefore God makes them partakers of the miserie but God many times takes them away from the evil to come Thus Josiah is taken away from the evil that was to come upon the Jews and St. Austin's prayers were heard God taking him away before Hippo was taken whereof he was Bp and Luther was taken out of the world before

it {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} men of mercy which may admit of a double construction whether taken in a passive or active sence In a passive sence they are men of mercy or as the Hebrew word will further carrie it men of good will or favour they are men to whom God bears a singular favour an especial love There is a Philanthropie which God hath to all men and though he hates the work of their hands yet he loves the work of his own hands but God here speaks of a favour and good will which he hath to his servants and you have it fully and summarily set down in the 24th Psalme latter end The Lord God is a Sun and a Shield the Lord will give grace and glory c. And according to this construction it may be taken the Prophet Isaiah speaking of the righteous how that they are taken away by men of crueltie intimates though they are hated by the wicked they are men of love in respect of God whilst the world reproches and reviles them yet God loves them though they perish and are taken away we must not think that God hates them they are his favorites Some men think God should not let the wind blow upon his servants but it is not that of a mother but a fatherly love with which God loves his children nor was Benjamin the lesse beloved because the Cup was found with him The righteous they are still men of mercy yet I rather conceive we ought to take it in the active sence they are men that love mercy and shew mercy and to this I encline in regard of that paralell place the 7. Micah 2. The good man is perished from off the earth c. So here men of mercy that is men that are practisers and lovers of mercy Mercy is a condolencie of others misery and withall an endeavour to deliver them out of it so that there is both pittie and bountie bowels of mercy and works of mercy thus a righteous man is a mercifull man the wise man joines them both together Prov. 21. and 21. And indeed they never goe asunder our Saviour hath coupled them together blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled then it followes blessed are the mercifull c. The righteous have bowels of mercy their inwards are troubled at the miserie of others and hence their heads consult which way they may do them good the liberal man devises charritable things upon his bed and their hearts ake for their brethren they inquire how what which way to do them good they are stil going out of their doores in mercy their eyes behold which way they may do acts of mercy their ears listen to their complaints and their hands are ready to relieve it would be too much time spent to let you see how this spiritual River overflowes by giving and forgiving by vouchsafing to our Brethren spiritual and corporal Almes that concerne their souls and bodies by remitting all those injuries they do against us and thus it is true they are men of mercy as for the wicked Solomon saith their very mercies are cruel when they pretend mercy it is in crueltie nay they shew mercy that they may be wicked but the righteous he shews mercy even to his beast it runnes down even unto them and hence it is here called mercifull men or men of mercy but now look upon the complaint it self and that sets forth their seeming miserable condition The one of perishing The other of taking away The righteous perish the mercifull men are taken away the first of these is very strange and hard especially of the Righteous that he is said to perish Perish is capable of various acceptations 1. There is a perishing that neither seaZes on the Righteous nor the wicked 2. There is a perishing befalls the wicked and not the good 3. And there is a perishing befalls both the godly and the wicked 1. There is a perishing that befalls neither the Righteous nor the wicked a perishing of totall destruction and annihilation The Psalmist saith Wicked men are like the beasts that perish Sensuall men are so in their dispositions but not in their natures the beast perishing dissolveth into his first being to nothing and happy were it if it were so with the wicked that there were annihilation 2. And then there is a perishing that befalls the wicked and not the Righteous the memory of the wicked shall not but it shall not be so with the just No dying no marrying can obliterate their names but the wicked their names perish which is worse there is a perishing in the Soul and it is that perishing which is opposed to good to Eternall good the Righteous is scarcely saved it is not almost they do not perish hereafter but the wicked perish Eternally But then 3. There is a perishing that is common to the Righteous with the wicked will you know what it is Understand it either of the miseries of this life as S. Paul saith if I perish I perish Whatever hazard we run or fall into it may be termed a perishing or chiefly perishing by death this is common to all the Prophet Michael tels us the good man is perished out of the Earth that is he dies when he perisheth it is a Relative to perishing in this world in this present life So when the Righteous die he perisheth therefore it was that the Prophet made use of this word to let them see what the wicked thought that the Righteous perisheth it is not so in reallity and that we might not be troubled at the harshness of the phrase in the first clause Go on to the second Taking away God hath given most members double two hands two feet two eyes two eares that if one faile the other may supply so the spirit of God gives two phrases often in Scripture that if the one be obscure the other may make it plain so it is here least the one should be too hard here is another to explain it when he saith Perish he means onely taking away from the society of men that is aIl as we may very well read the words the mercifull men are gathered as the Hebrew will carry it they perish not but rather are gathered to their Fathers as that expression in Ecclesiastes the body goes to the grave and the Soul to heaven or to him that gave it it is that they may be gathered to the innumerable company of Angels to the Spirits of just men made perfect to the beatificall vision all this is meant in this one expression taking away And the Summe is the Righteous ones the mercifull ones were taken away by death perished from the earth And so this is true in respect of a naturall death the Righteous as well as others perish because of the same nature and constitution and also the remainders of the same corruptions that are in them therefore