Selected quad for the lemma: life_n
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A51436
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Religious meditations on Ecclesiastes, Chap. 12. vers. 13, 14
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Mosse, John.
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1699
(1699)
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Wing M2857A; ESTC R221919
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20,870
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69
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know their duty and more than so they will not be slack to render it in all respects both to God by living to his Glory and to their Neighbours by dwelling in Love and Charity with them For as nothing less than such a Life will bespeak them the servants of God so nothing more is wanting 't is their whole duty comprehensive of Faith Righteousness Charity and all good works the Fruits of the Spirit the fulfilling of the Law one tittle of which shall not pass away or be made void the loving of God with all the heart and their Neighbours as themselves and the effect and product of the Ministry of Jesus Christ Acts 26.18 which proposes a conversion from darkness to light from the power of Satan to God and from a corrupt and repugnant to a clean and regenerate mind as its principal scope whereby the Gospel the Power and Cross of Jesus will be embraced effectual and easie to be bore and the consequence glad tydings reformation and Peace to the Soul witnessed and enjoyed which is the end of all and the crown of all I have fought a good fight saith the Holy Man 2 Tim. 4.8 I have finished my course I have kept the faith henceforth is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness Oh the comfort the joy and cause of rejoycing has that Man which so lives in this world as to answer his end He that offereth Praise glorifieth me Psal 50.23 and to him that ordereth his Conversation aright will I shew the Salvation of God Oh that Men would be perswaded to consider that God shall bring into Judgment every Work with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it be evil surely then there would be something of a concern after this manner If it be so as 't is most certain that the great Judge of the World takes such a strict observance of all my Actions be they never so Secret nay of all my most hidden thoughts as that he will one day cause me to give an account of them all For every Idle word shall Men give an account in the day of Judgment How am I engag'd to be circumspect and watchful in all things not only in actions that have reference to Men and in my words but also in my thoughts and cogitations which none but an al-seeing God can charge with matter of evil In a sense of his al-knowing Power and of my own impotency I 'le beg of him to give me Grace so to Live in this world as that I may not by reason of my neglect be debar'd of those joys in the world to come and further I am sensible upon a most serious and retired examination that 't is by and through the illumination of a Divine Light that I see the evil of my ways and the misery ensuing such an unlimited course of Life I am therefore willing to deny my self and take up a Dayly Cross that I may know the work of Reformation and Regeneration the way to the Kingdom wrought Joh. 3.3 Vnless a Man be Born again he cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven And in the first Place the Fountain of all Defilements and Corruptions being in my Heart Mat. 15.18.20 I 'le cry with the Psalmist Creat in me a new Heart O Lord and renew a right Spirit within me for unless the inside be clean the outside will not be so whilst the principle of hatred and envy is predominant in me 't is impossible I should bring forth works of Love and Charity and whilst I am under the power of the Devil 1 Joh. 3. doing his works I can by no means be the servant of God I cannot serve two Masters if the power of Satan bear rule in me I can be no subject of Jesus I cannot have right to call him Lord Luke 6.46 for I begin to be sensible that not he who says Lord Lord but that does his will is a Servant to him and of the Justice of that rebuke why call ye me Lord and do not the things which I command ye And when I feel the visitation of the love of God to my Soul 2 Cor. 4.6 opening the Eyes of my understanding then shall I see how wretched and miserable I am as also the exclency of the Glory of God who hath for that end caused his Light to appear now and not till now do I perceive the vanity of all Created things and my Soul is effused with breathings to the Lord to give me a further revelation of his will and to create a conformity in my depraved Heart to the same whereby I shall see an absolute necessity of sober and serious consideration of all my doings and the power of Jesus prevailing in my Soul I doubt not of ability to resist all temptations and to walk not as a Fool in my former vicious lewdness but as one that is awaken'd from the sleep of Sin and raised from the grave of Iniquity to redeem the time which I have spent in such an enormous manner as declares I neither endeavour'd to answer the end of my coming into the World nor was sensible of the necessity of the same When such thoughts and considerations have possessed the Hearts of Men they 'l remember that as there is no way to avoid or escape the Judgment of God so also that he will execute his Just and righteous decrees upon all without partiallity or respect of Persons Rom. 2.6.11 as 't is said God will render to every Man according to his works to those that by a patient continuance in well doing seek for Glory Honour and Immortallity Eternal Life but to those that are contentious and do not obey the Truth but obey unrighteousness indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish upon every Soul of Man that doth evil upon the Jew first and also upon the Gentile but Glory Honour and Peace to every Soul of Man that worketh good to the Jew first and also to the Gentile for there is no respect of Persons with God Then none should presume to think that by vertue of any Personal predestination they shall if evil doers be exempted from the Sentence of go ye cursed For 't is apparent that as the Lord is no respecter of Persons so will he bring into Judgment the works of every Man And in vain will it be for any to plead at the Judgment Day after this manner Lord let me into thy Kingdom whom thou Elected'st before the foundation of the World not by my foreseen Holiness but in thy meer pleasure alone as thou didst for the same reason reject the greatest number in the World and as 't was thy pleasure and mercy to make me one of thy Elect so wholly confiding therein I look'd to be taken for a faithful Servant because thou art a faithful Master and so took no care to perform any thing of Service unto thee as believing that the Blood of thy Son being
the Eyes remain so hearing and the other senses are taken away altho' their proper organs are remaining So is it with respect to the Soul of Man 't is depraved in its senses having Eyes it sees not having Ears it doth not hear and tho' 't is Life to the Body yet it lives not because resting in Adam where all die and under subjection to the principle of disobedience 'T is a most noble truth that as the Soul of man animates the Body so the Spirit of God gives Life to the Soul the Soul is Life to the Body and the Holy Spirit quickens the Soul and as the Body without the Soul is Dead and unable to perform any office so is the Soul of man not enliven'd by the Spirit of God 1 Cor. 15 45 47. the quickning Spirit the Lord from Heaven Dead and unable to perform its office to God which is to fear and obey him To retreive and remedy this disability of the Soul is the Son of God manifest 1 John 3.5.8 even to destroy the works of the Devil which have filled the Soul and bruised the heel of the Womans Seed to bring it from under captivity to Sin and Satan Rom. 8.21 into the Glorious Liberty of the Sons of God which is incomprehensible to the carnal in Heart which the Natural and unrenewed man cannot perceive but to the Spiritually minded man to the Heavenly attracted Soul to the Soul enflamed with a Celestial love with aspiring desires with noble and heroick affections how conâ—enting how ravishing how sweetly consolating is the sensible enjoyment of a restoration to this Glorious Liberty to this unconceivable joy peculiar to the redeemed Souls when the morning Stars sing together and all the Sons of God adopted Children pure peaceable and reconciled in Herrt and Soul do sing for Joy So that 't is not for the carnal mind to pry into these Divine secrets which are disclosed to none but the Spiritually inclin'd to those whose affections are set on things above whose conversation is in Heaven Mat. 6.21 whose treasures and hearts are there these alone shall not only know the means but feel the power of redemption the Blood of Jesus to purge their Consciences from dead works Heb. 9.14 to serve the living God these will know that they must die unto Sin and live unto Righteousness 1 Pet. 2.24.3.18 that the Redeemer came to deliver them from this present evil World and that they are saved according to his mercy Gal. 1.4 Tit. 3.5 6 7. by the washing of Regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost that being Justified by his Grace they may be made heirs of eternal Life Further that they must not live to themselves 1 Cor. 5.15 Ephes 5.25.26 but to him which died for them that he might sanctifie and cleanse them with the washing of Water by the Word to present them to his Father Holy and without Blemish that he might redeem them from all Iniquity Tit. â— 23 2â— and purifie to himself a peculiar people Zealous of good works And that Love Peace Ephes 5.22 Joy Long-suffering Gentleness Goodness Faith Meekness Temperance against which there is no Law may abound amongst them and wherein they that are Christs having Crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts do live and walk Now would'st thou know the means of redemption and would'st thou be blest with the same hearken and hear and thy soul shall Live Thou hast been or still art by Nature a Child of Wrath and thy affections are joyned to Earthly things to Transitory and Perishing objects that disagree to the pure Nature of thy soul but above all that capital Lust of Pride which as t' was most prevalent in the first Man Adam takes up the greatest part of thy heart so that not being yet acquainted with that power of Jesus which redeems from sin thou art Exalted and Puffed up in thy Fleshly mind which covets after this world and thereby art become wholly estranged from any good to thee in this desperate condition Mat. 11.28 29 30 does the Son of God cry Come unto me learn of me I am meek and lowly in heart and if thou wilt be humble I 'le teach thee of my ways my Doctrine shall be as the Diew it shall inspire Life into thy soul man lives not by Bread alone Mat. 4.4 but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God Joh. 6.48.63 the words that I speak unto thee they are Spirit Mt â— 18.11 and they are Life I am come to seek and to save I am come to abase the Proud and to exalt the Humble in soul he that exalts himself shall be abased but he that abases himself will I exalt Take my Yoke upon thee saith Jesus for thou'lt soon find it easie and my burthen to be light and follow me in the way of self-denyal and of Regeneration tho' thou art Blind I will restore thy sight tho' thou art Darkness I 'le make thee light nay tho' thou art dead I will give thee Life It shall come to pass that the Dead shall hear the Voice of the Son of God and those that hear shall live Oh blessed promise God is speaking from Heaven by his Son who is Infusing Life even his own Spirit into the Souls and making it to live Then the Dead cannot praise thee neither can they that go down to the grave celebrate thy Name but the living the living can praise thee and magnifie thy Glorious Name who hast redeemed them by thy mighty Power from Death and destruction from Sin and Satan by thy precious Blood by thy virifying Life by that word of eternal Life by which the World was made Man was created and Man is redeemed again through whom to the alwise and almighty Creator be sounded never ending Anthems and Hallelujah's Glory and everlasting Praise Amen Thus is the redeemed Soul engag'd to fear and obey the great restorer of breaches and of paths to walk in John 13.15 who as he left an example for us to follow his steps not assuming Glory to himself but submitting in all things to his Fathers will and at length laid down his Life for his greatest enemies so 1 Pet. 2.21 must we thereby learn to walk in self denial and newness of Life in meekness and in humiliation in submision and pure obedience to the internal revelation of the Divine word which teaches to love enemies to do good to them which hate us to bless them that curse and dispitefully use us Heb. 12.1 2 3. and to take him for our pattern who endured the Cross and despised the shame for the joy that was set before him who being without Sin bore the punishment due for Sin that Man might Sin no more but be restored by means of that Grace which came by Jesus Joh. 1.17 to such a state of Righteousness and perfection as to be enabled to fear