Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	death_n	jesus_n	sin_n	17,300	5	4.7228	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44678	A funeral sermon for Mrs. Esther Sampson the late wife of Henry Sampson, Dr. of Physick, who died Nov. 24. 1689 / by John Howe ...	Howe, John, 1630-1705.	1690 (1690)	Wing H3026; ESTC R19694	24,476	33

we should suppose that he may some way or other perniciously agitate the humours in humane Bodies 't is no harder a supposition than that he should so variously from the images in the fancy by which he tempts for herin surely he comes nearer us and is more inward to us 7ly Nor is it less supposable that God should in some instances permit the Devils to follow their inclinations in afflicting his people than wicked men to follow theirs which in the general carry them to the same thing when he knows how to turn the one to after-advantage as well as the other But we have no ground to think notwithstanding all this that the wisdom and goodness of Providence will ordinarily permit that this Agency of the Devil in the mentioned cases should be altogether in a contra-natural way but only by so moving and acting with natural causes that he may be also obviated through the ordinary blessing of God by natural means and causes too Much less is it reasonable that diseases should be themselves reckon'd very Devils as was the opinion of the Gnosticks of old wherein they much concurred with the Manichees and whom together with them the more honest-minded Pagan Plotinus so copiously confutes though that that was more anciently a common Opinion the Septuagints rendring the word that signifies Plague by the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in several places of Scripture seems to intimate But the commonness of such an Opinion in a dark time signifies nothing to sway ours this way or that But whatsoever hand the Devil may be supposed to have in their afflictions or sicknesses that belong to God we are in the 2d place sure That our Lord Jesus has a most kind hand whensoever it is in their release which though it were here in a more extraordinary and immediate way and besides the course of nature the disparity in this case signifies nothing to the lessening of the favour towards those whom he vouchsafes to relieve in other cases for the influence that he has in ordinary cases is as truly divine If the cure of a diseased person be wrought by his blessing upon ordinary natural means his cooperating with nature is less amazing but not less effectual or less kind as also the efflux from God is for his own part as real when he works with second causes as without them and as immediately reaches the effect in both the senses of immediateness whereof so much noise is made in the Schools And we must further know our Lord Christ is now the universal Regent of all Nature even as he is the Christ the world being devolv'd into his hands and all power being given to him both in Heaven and Earth He is Lord of all When therefore any of you are sick it is by his disposal if you are recovered out of that sickness Nor is his Agency less or lower whether it be by blessing a Medicine or working a Miracle His power and love are the same either way And know there is an honour and acknowledgment due from Christians to their great crucifi'd Lord who hath founded a dominion over this world in his blood who died and revived and rose again that he might be Lord of living and dead Therefore you are to reckon you are beholden to Christ for all your recoveries and all your refreshings that you meet with amidst the many infirmities and frailties of this your present mortal state And if the release be by death as the case is which we now have specially to do with that universal power of his over all lives must be understood immediately to reach to that case too It is he that measures lives that lengthens them out and cuts them shorter at his own pleasure And as to those that are more peculiarly his own it is a more peculiar and favourable superintendency that he has over that affair even of their very dying Their death is precious in his sight He with a most gentle tender hand unties the knot of Man releases and receives the dislodging Soul Lord Jesus receive my Spirit as dying Stephen speaks But 3ly We are to consider how far our Lord Jesus his compassion concerns him in such cases or wherein that may move him to interpose in them so as in this case he did And here two things are to be asserted 1st That his compassion has not supream and principal influence in this Case 2ly That yet it hath real influence That it hath not supream or principal influence in such Cases And this doth really require to be more principally insisted on as of greater importance to narrow terrene minds that are apt to measure all things by themselves and in reference to their own little Sphear and compass and to themselves only in their present State as they are inhabitants of this Minute Spot of Earth as if all things ought to bend and yield to their present convenience and accommodation here whereupon they wonder when they are sick and in pain God doth not presently relieve and ease them and think they should do so for any Friend or Neighbour if it were in their Power Know therefore 't was not from compassion as the solitary or as the chief inducement that our Lord did work this release for this Daughter of Abraham That cannot be supposed For he can never be understood to make a creature and the advantages of a Creature his Supream end That would have been to invert the order of things to dethrone God and deifie man and had been it self a real sort of that Idolatry which was one among the many horrid evils which he purposely came to redress and give remedy to in this apostate degenerate World He had a greater inducement i. e. That he might diffuse the Glory of God among the Children of Men and that he might give evidence thereby to the Truth of his own Mission and prove most convincingly that he was the Messiah the Son of God the very Person that was anointed and sent about that great undertaking to recover Gods rights in this lapsed World to bring about a reconciliation between God and Men. And upon this account when he wrought cures upon mens Bodies it was out of an higher compassion to their Souls And tho' even this it self of saving Mens Souls was not his highest design but the Glory of God as we shall see further by and by yet it being truly design'd by him and more principally than their bodily ease and relief this was an apt means to this his lower end For whereas in order to this he was to manifest himself a Divine Saviour 't was requisite he should give a joint and an equal demonstration of the two things which his being so implies his Godlike Power and Love The former alone it did not serve his purpose to shew which he might have shewn as much by inflicting plagues on mens bodies as working cures by striking them with blindness lameness c. as by giving them

knowing he designs to touch mortally and if he touch to kill If it proceed so far as a solemn league how tragical consequences doth story abound with That of Count Matiscon pluckt away by the Devil from among divers persons of quality whom he was entertaining and at noon-day whirl'd in the air three times about the City in open view of the people to whom he in vain cried for help reported by some Historians and that of an infamous Magician of Saltzburg and divers others are instances both very extraordinary and very monitory But as to a future ruine which he finally aims to involve men in with himself he hath not faster hold of any than those that have learnt to ridicule every thing of this kind and who have put so much Sadducism into their Creed consisting of so many negatives or things they believe not that they scarce leave enough positive to admit that name as to think there is no such creature perhaps as being conscious there can be no worse than themselves But how near is he to them that think him out of the Universe 3. Since it is possible the Devil may bind even those that belong to God with some kind of bodily affliction or other it is the more to be apprehended how much worse bonds they are in which he binds those that do not belong to him Oh! that you would be serious here How many such sad cases are there amongst even them as may be feared that are called Christians concerning which it may be said here is a soul that Satan hath bound not eighteen but it may be thirty forty fifty years Oh! when shall this soul be releast that Satan hath so long bound 4. As from the Devils malice to the bodies of men we may collect his greater malice to their Souls So we may judg proportionably of Christs compassions that as they incline him to give them all sutable relief in their bodily afflictions as far as can consist with those measures which infinite wisdom hath pitcht upon for the government of this present world and as shall fall in with the design of his office of a Redeemer and Saviour to us So they much more incline him to relieve embondag'd souls for this doth most directly fall in with his design and is the proper business of his office the other may be only collateral to it and as it were to be done on the by He came not into this world to procure that men might not be sick or pained or be presently restored to health and ease But he came and died that souls might live to procure for them pardon reconciliation with God all needful assisting influences of grace and eternal life Of these therefore they may be most assured if they duly apply themselves And some encouragement to expect so much they may draw even from this instance This infirm woman in order to bodily cure did apply her self to him She came after him as others did for this purpose and did in a sort put herself in the way of his healing influence Now if any of you find your souls are yet held by the Devil in worse bonds apply your selves to the merciful compassionate Jesus there is hope in the case Oh! will you not say so much to him for a soul in bondage Lord loose this poor soul of mine that Satan hath bound for so many sad years Do but labour to know you are bound to feel your bonds Whatsoever there is of prevailing sin in you it is a bond by which the Devil holds your souls The wicked are held in the cords of their own iniquities Prov. 5. 22. And sins are said to be the works of Satan from which it is the design of the Redeemer to loose us The Son of God was for this purpose manifested that he might destroy we read it is that he might dissolve the works of the Devil q. d. that he might release and unbind souls that the Devil as yet holds in fast bonds And you may find you are so bound when upon self-reflexion you take notice you are ordinarily restrained from what you should do against the light and conviction of your own minds and judgments i. e. you find if you reflect a conviction hath taken place in your consciences you ought to love God but there is with you no such motion of soul no inclination towards him you ought in a stated course to pray and pour out your soul to him but you are bound you cannot offer at it you have no liberty for it your terrene inclination or love to vanity plucks you back you ought to walk in the ways of God but you are fetterred you cannot move a foot you ought to do the works of God but you are manacled you cannot stir and an hand Are you so bound and will you not know it What! never feel your bonds When once they are felt you will soon begin to cry and supplicate And if once you shall be brought seriously and incessantly to supplicate it may be hop't the release will follow Was our Lord so compassionate towards infirm bodies in the days of his flesh in this world and do we think he above is less compassionate to souls Can it be thought heaven hath altered him to your disadvantage Is he less kind benign and less apt to do good now he is inthroned in glory Why should you not believe he will give release unto your captiv'd embondaged souls if you implore his help and mercy with seriousness and insist upon it and do not give him over Say to him Jesus thou Son of God have mercy on me for do you not know it is his office The Spirit of the Lord was upon him to proclaim liberty to the captives and opening of Prisons to them that are bound Isa. 61. 1. What! will you be bound all your days and never lift up a cry to the great Redeemer and Saviour of Souls to give you release How deservedly should these bonds end with you in the chains wherein the Devils themselves shall for ever be bound with you 5. We may collect there is an awful regard due to the Sabbath-day When our Lord justifies the cure now wrought on their Sabbath only on this account that it was an act of mercy towards a daughter of Abraham by the exception of such a case he strengthens the general rule and intimates so holy a day should not upon light occasions be otherwise imploy'd than for the proper end of it's appointment Tho' our day be not the same the business of it in great part is by the reason given in the fourth Commandment which being plac't among the rest of those ten words so many ways remarkably distinguisht from the other laws given the Jews and signifying that these were intended not to them alone but to mankind and given upon a reason common to man the words also not necessarily signifying more than there should be a seventh day kept as sacred to