Selected quad for the lemma: life_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
life_n	body_n	soul_n	unite_v	6,137	5	9.8589	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A66102	Impenitent sinners warned of their misery and summoned to judgment delivered in two sermons, the former on the Sabbath, Nov. 6, the other on the lecture following, Nov. 10, 1698, occasioned by the amazing instance of a miserable creature who stood condemned for murdering her infant begotten in whoredom : to which are subjoyned the solemn words spoken to her on those opportunities, published for the warning of others / by Samuel Willard.	Willard, Samuel, 1640-1707.	1698 (1698)	Wing W2281; ESTC R30203	31,791	66

life while men are in this world conversant in the body they are upon probation for Etetnity they are laying in and making way for their account and all that they do here bears a proper respect thereunto for they are the works which are done in the body which must be called to an after reckoning 2 Cor. 5. 10. hence sinners are said in this time to be treasuring up into themselves wrath against the day of wrath Rom. 2 5. It is evident that neither good men nor evil men are in this life openly distinguished in the observable Providences of God except in some special instances love and hatred cannot be known by all that is before them Eccles 9. 1. yea the wise man hath an observation as if often times the outward face of things look with a contrary aspect Eccles 8. 14. there be just men to whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked there be wicked men to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous What shall we say It is for the present a day of patience forbearance with which God sees meet to treat men even the worst of men withal in which he lets them alone for a while suffers them to go on till they have filled up their measure and though they give him uncountable and very grievous provocations yet he falls not upon them But yet he is brought in laughing at them all the while and we are told the reason of it Psal 37. 13. The Lord shall laugh at him for he seeth that his day is coming Since then men are not called to their reckoning here it remains that they be summoned to it afterwards inasmuch as it is certain that God will sooner or later manifest the glory of his Holiness and Righteousness and make it known that he is the great Potentate and Ruler of Angels and men III. That there is a particular Judgment to which every man shall be called immediately after Death It is true the general Judgment is reserved for the great and last day when after the whole affair of time is wound up God will call all reasonable Creatures to an account and having raised up their dead bodies to life and re united them to their Souls of which Resurrection also the word of God gives us the assurance he will cite them before his Tribunal and dispose of them in their whole persons eternally which day is peculiarly Celebrated in the Book of God which though it also follows after mans death yet it will not be till a long time after a great many have dyed and seen Corruption and that because there were other Generations to be born and live and dy until the whole Series of them according to the Divine appointment be consummated But there is besides this another more particular one which passeth upon the Soul on its departure from the body which though it be not so frequently or expresly spoken of in the Holy Scriptures yet there are also sufficient intimations of it there 〈◊〉 be found enough to confirm our faith in the belief of it This is an indubitable truth that the Soul of man doth not dy a proper natural Death nor is it capable of it The man indeed is said to die by reason of the dissolution of the bond of Union and the separation which is thereupon made between the Soul and Body whereupon the body remains a Carcase and must suffer Corruption after which there must be a powerful Resurrection bestowed on it in order to its being made capable of standing forth in Judgment But it is otherwise with the Soul that in its separate state still retains its Spiritual and Immortal nature which it is in no other way able to lose but by an Anni●ilation and it is accordingly disposed of presently to its unchangable state whether it be of weal or wo. When Lazarus dyeth his Soul is forth with carryed by a Convoy of Angels into Abrabams bosome and that is no other but a place and state of actual Felicity When the Wicked Rich man dyes the next news that we hear of his Soul is in Hell whether it is carried and where it is disposed of and that not only as in a Prison but as a place of Execution where it suffers the penalty which its sin had procured for it for this reason we have him pouting out his doleful complaint Luk. 16. 24. I am tormented in this flame And we have Abraham brought in declaring concerning them both Verse 25. He is comforted and thou art tormented When the penitent Thief dyes he is the same day entertained with his Saviour in Paradise for so Christ himself promised to him Luk. 23. 43. which must needs intend a state of actual blessedness enjoyed in that place And why was Paul in such a strait and so desirous to depart Phil. 1. 23. it was to be with Christ which he saith is best of all which it could not be if he did not presently enter into communion with Christ in blessedness Now certainly mens going actually to receive rewards and punishments necessarily infers a Judgment that is past upon them in order thereunto for those things are beyond all question disposed of by God in the exercise of his Government over the Creature as he is the Judge of all Besides there is such an Indefinite assertion used by the wise man which amounts to an universal and hath a respect to all sorts of men Eccl. 12. 7. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was and ●he Spirit shall return to God who gave it These two returns are put together as contemporary and all Souls do not return to God as their Father to be admitted into his Kingdom and to dwell with him and enjoy his favourable presence for ever that is a priviledge proper only to the Godly and none shall enjoy it but those whom Christ hath Redeemed and Saved As for the ungodly it is said concerning them Psal 9. 17. The wicked shall be turned into Hell and all the nations that forget God It is therefore to God as a Judge to be doomed and disposed of by him according to his righteous Judgment IV. That this is an awfull consideration to men while they live and peculiarly so to such as are just ready to dy I may not tarry at these things to give a distinct and particular account of them but must only give some brief glances at them And there are two asser●ions in this Observation 1. It carryes awe in it to men while they live to put them on the greatest Circumspection to themselves in their whole course If there were no Judgment to come what need would there be for men to take any care how or after what manner they lead their lives The Epecurian Doctrine let us drink and drab let us revel and swagger and give every sensual lust its freest scope to satisfie it self might plead if not reason yet immunity and security

for if there be no after reckoning there is then no danger at all But this thought if it be rightly entertained will be a strong curb to sin and a sharp spur to duty inasmuch as it must needs lead mens thoughts forward to such meditations as these There is certainly a future Judgment in which I am personally concerned I am Gods Creature and am placed under the Rule of his special Government and interested in the Sanctions of his Holy Law I am now a probationer for that day and all that I am doing in this world hath a reference unto that and must come under the strict examen of it Every thought of mine heart every word of my mouth and every deed that I do will then be called over and tryed whether it be conformable to or dissonant from the Rule by the which I must be either acquitted or condemned and so exact will that scrutiny be that not so much as one idle word shall escape it Math. 12. 36. Every idle word that men shall speak they shall give an account thereof in the day of Judgment I am under the watchful eye of an all-seeing God who keeps an exact account of all my thoughts words and deeds and will certainly in that day bring them into open light and set them in order before me For God will bring every work into Judgment with every secret thing Eccl. 12. 14. I must dy ere long and there is no possible avoidance of it and then to the Judgment I must whether I will or no and it will be utterly in vain for me to tire the Rocks and Mountains to hide me from the presence of the great God or secure me from making my appearance before his Judgment seat There will need no witness then to be produced to prove any of the matters that shall be alledged against me since mine own Conscience is an exact register of all things and will be more than a thousand witnesses I am all the time that I am living in this world laying up treasures for eternity and those either of happiness or of misery which shall be righteously distributed to me according as I have been laying in in this time I have a righteous Judge unto whom I must give up my accounts with whom there is no respect of persons and a vain thing it is to hope to bribe him but according as my true state upon the most exact enquiry shall be found so will he take order about me and pass the sentence either of absolution or condemnation upon me Now what a check would such reflections as these are throughly believed and fixedly entertained give to the mad youngster in the midst of all his frolicks and mar all the mirth of his greedy lusts turning it into bitterness God therefore offers such a memento as this is to these Eccl. 11. 9. Rejoyce O young man in thy youth and let thine heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth and walk in the ways of thine heart and in the sight of thine eyes but know thou that for all these things God wi●l bring thee into Judgment Yea how would it put every one of us upon greater wariness to our selves and make a deep impression of that advice upon our hearts Eph. 5. 15. See that you walk circumspectly not as fools but as wise redeeming the time How would it put us upon pondering our way and living by rule and make us afraid of rash precipitant rushing into any action I am sure that Job tells us that he was awed by such a thought a● this and upon it to look well to himself lest at any time he should expose himself to the danger of not being able to hold up his head when he should be called to a r●ckoning Job 3. 1. 14. What then shall I do when God riseth up and when he visiteth what shall I answer him 2. And what an amazing thought must it needs be to them that are at the point of death except they have made their peace with God As for those indeed who have through grace obtained a pardon acceptance unto life through the New-Covenant this thought must needs afford to them all preciousness and desirableness though still the very nature of the thing will carry in it an holy awe on their hearts But as for all others how can they a● such an hour look upon it without horror Truly the uncertainty of death and the certainty of the following Judgment and Reckoning he must then be called to is enough constantly to fill the sinner with consternation for that he hath reason every moment to be afraid of the arrest though careless men put away the thoughts of this on presumption that the vision is for many days to come But when he perceives that he hath but a very few days or hours to stay death now stares him in the face shews him its Warrant and tells him he must be gone there is no hope of a longer reprieve what a tumult will it raise in him and what pungent thoughts must it needs fill him withal can he but reflect and say my working time is now done my day in which I have been laying up for another world is over and I am now ready to pass into an amazing Eternity and what an unconceivable change will it make with me what little hope have I that this Change is like to be unto me for the better and not for the worse I have indeed been hard at work in my little time and pursued my buisiness with great eagerness but what manner of work is it that I have been doing I have been laying up of vast treasures but where is it they are stored I am now going to appear before my Judge my naked soul must in a very little while be brought before his Tribunal and he will certainly recompence me without all partiality according to what I have done in the body whether it be good or evil If the life I have led in this world hath been wicked how can I expect that my latter end should be peace There is an Heaven and an Hell before me one whereof will receive me as soon as I depart but into which of these am I like to pass the Judge will certainly appoint me to one or the other of them Oh! where shall this Immortal Soul of mine lodge when it shall be called out of this mortal body shall be required at mine hands Have I any good reason to think that it shall be received by the blessed Angles and lodged in Abrahams Bosome or rather fall into the hands of rageful Devils and be hurried to endless torments What manner of life is it that I have been leading in the World Which way is it that I have been going Have I chosen that narrow way that leads unto life which there are but a few that find or have I not rejected it and gone in the broad way that leads to destruction