Selected quad for the lemma: power_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
power_n	death_n	hell_n	key_n	2,731	5	10.4414	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A12177	The Christians end. Or, The sweet soveraignty of Christ, over his members in life and death VVherein is contained the whole scope of the godly mans life, with divers rules, motives and incouragements, to live and die to Iesus Christ. Being the substance of five sermons preached to the honorable society of Grayes Inne, by that learned and faithfull minister of Gods Word, Richard Sibbes, D.D. and sometimes preacher to that honorable societie.	Sibbes, Richard, 1577-1635.	1639 (1639)	STC 22485; ESTC S117259	45,936	138

that is Lord of Lords King of Kings that is Lord Paramount who will not suffer any thing to befall his Church or any particular Christian that shall not bee for their good for he hath all power in heaven and earth for that purpose and for ever What a comfort is it in life and death in the middest of oppositions here or from the powers of hell that we have a Lord that is commander of all Lord of life or death He hath the keyes of hell and death Himselfe hath conquered all and hee will conquer all in us by little and little What happinesse is it Isay to be under such a Lord The end of the fourth Sermon THE FIFTH SERMON ROM 14. 7. 8. 7 For none of us liveth to himselfe and no man dieth to himselfe 8 For whether we live we live unto the Lord and whether we dye we dye unto the Lord whether we live therefore or dye we are the Lords THere is nothing more availeable to the living of a Christians life then to have the eye of the soule on his maine end and scope And then to be furnished with some maximes and principles to direct our lives to that scope Where the parts are most noble and large there the aime and scope is most excellent Now a true Christian being raised above others hath an end and scope above other men And that indeed maketh him a Christian in good earnest When God by his Spirit discovers an higher excellency then the world can affoord and setteth our hearts towards it Now the Apostle setteth downe the scope of out whole condition both of life and death First Negatively No man liveth to himselfe No man dieth to himselfe Then Affirmatively Wee live to the Lord and dye to the Lord. And hee giveth the ground of both Whether we live or dye we are the Lords If we live to the Lord we shall have a being after life A Christian is when hee is not when he is not here he hath a being in heaven and ●uitably to his severall conditions he hath a Lord to owne him in all Now hee liveth yet cannot build on life nor any thing below because life is short and uncertaine But this he may build on Whether he liveth or dyeth he is the Lords Now Christ is said in Scripture to bee Lord oftener then God because God in the second person hath appeared in our Nature overcome all our enemies hath triumphed and is now in heaven in our Nature and because Lord is a word of authority and soveraignty And God hath made him governour of quicke and dead He is a Lord in regard of God the father by Donation God hath given the elect to him before all worlds He is a Lord in regard of himselfe by conquest over the enemies of our salvation And then by Ransome He hath paid a price to divine justice for us For though God gave Christ to us from all eternity and us to Christ yet on these tearmes that he should ransome us God will not have his justice a looser therefore Christ must pay a price to divine justice such was his mercy and the glory of his mercy to find out such a way to satisfie justice that God should dye No attribute of God must be a looser he must have the honour of all his attributes and therefore of his justice and here is the glory of his wisedome in contriving a way that mercy may triumph and justice may be satisfied And then he is Lord by our voluntary submission to him for we set a crowne upon his head when wee subject our s●lves to him He is our Lord in all estates living or dying At all times without limitation In all conditions whether it bee a life of prosperity or adversity let us dy by what manner of death soever And so I shewed wee are the Lords in a double sence In regard of our carriage to him and in regard of his care over us both must be included Wee are not the Lords onely for that hee taketh care of us and without our service nor that wee doe him service without his care of us but hee is so our Lord that wee have grace to acknowledge him and he hath grace and love and mercie to protect and acknowledge us both in life and death It is no prejudice to a Christians estate that hee is anothers it is the happinesse of the weake to be under a stronger of those that bee deficient to bee under fulnesse Now there is all-sufficiencie in Christ therefore to bee under him is our happinesse Give mee leave to illustrate this Every thing is beautifull in its owne place things that are highest it is fit they should bee highest things that are lowest it is fit they should bee lowest If the head were not in its owne place there would bee deformitie in the body And so it is fit Christ should be our Lord being God-man and the glory of our nature And it is our happines our beauty comelines our safety perfection to bee under Christ and to be onely under him Hee is onely larger than the soule he is of equall continuance with the soule hee is onely suitable to the soule being a Spirit he only is eternall and therefore being every way so aboundantly satisfactory to the soule it is the happinesse of the soule to have him for its Lord especially considering what a Lord he is a Lord independant Lord of Lords that hath all other Lords at command a bountifull and gracious Lord. And we are not onely the Lords while we live but when we come to dye therfore wee should bee willing to dye when our time cometh yea to dye any kinde of death because hee is Lord of quicke and dead We should be like David and Moses who were very fruitful towards their ends And as we are not ashamed to live so so good a Lord so we should not be afraid to dye to him as one sayd of himselfe This word Lord implyeth there bee some dut●●s owing by us wee are the Lords in our soules in our bodies in our conditions and therefore wee should wholly give up our selves to him and 〈◊〉 no thoughts to dishonour him give way to no ●isings no desires which become not the subjects and servants of the Lord believe no●hing that wee ●ake up of our selves keepe the chasti●y of our ●aith and underst●●ding not to believe lies and untruths But submit our very understandings and faith to God Wee must not bee servants of men in our judgements or soules no ma●cipium alien● 〈◊〉 as the Philosopher ●ayth But consider what Christ hath revealed and let us submit to that And therefore it is a grand errour in the Church of Rome who would have people to belie●e as ●he Church believeth which is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the first lye that leadeth them into all those erro●●s ●o believe

wee had sanctified judgements and hearts set at liberty it were an easie thing if we had judgements to see that we are never more our selves than when wee are not our selves that wee have a better being in Christ than in our selves that our selves are our worst enemies If the judgement were thus posse●t and the will and affections made answerable to this judgement it were easie to deny ourselves But selfe hinders the knowledge of it selfe all it can Peccatum impedit sui cognitionem sinne naturally hinders the knowledge of its owne foulenesse That which should discerne sinne is clouded and that which should hate sinne is ingaged to sinne So that under the use of meanes we must labour to know our condition and the foulenesse and danger of that condition And that is the excellency of Gods ordinances and divine truthes that by them we come to know our selves But I will not inlarge my selfe in that What it is to live and di● to the Lord wee have declared That it is to make Christ his chiefe aime and end and doe all in vertue of that end Then is a Christian in his right temper when Gods end Christs end and his end have the same centre A qualification very excellent That that makes God delight in his children so much is that they have the same end the same God the same spirit with Christ. It is so excellent to prefixe a right end to ail our actions that it spirituallizeth common actions As Saint Paul saith of servants They serve the Lord in serving their masters Whatsoever the stuffe of our actions be yet in that aime and spirit in which they bee done they may be services of the Lord. Now life implyeth the whole course of our actions all our actions should be to the Lord immediately and directly or mediately and reductively as they are quickened by the Spirit of God And that is the excellency of a christian hee considers of every thing as it helpeth his last end As on the other side a base worldling considers Religion and all things else as they sute to his worldly aimes but to speake of the next point Whether wee live or dye wee are the Lords This is the inference drawne from the former two generals negative and affirmative None of us liveth to our selves or dyeth to our selves And from thence it is inferred whether we live or dye wee are the Lords And as it is an inference raised from the former So wee may consider it as a cause why we must live to the Lord and dye to the Lord for whether we live or dye we are the Lords The words are a certaine bottome and foundation for a christians comfort in the uncertainty of his condition here being between life death Sure he is of death as of life but when to dye and how long to live he is uncertaine But be that as it will be this is certaine living and dying he is the Lords So that take the whole condition of a christian take him in all estates of life or death which two divide the whole condition of man for all men may be ranked into these two orders of quick and dead I say consider a christian in either of them Christ is Lord of both take him in a condition of life while he liveth he is the Lords When hee giveth up his breath he is the Lords So that come of him what will in this uncertaine condition this is certaine and sure he is the Lords Now a Lord is he that hath Dominium in rem personam right to persons and things and the disposing of them pro arbitrio as it pleaseth himselfe and so Christ is Lord both of life and death First in generall as he is Lord of all creatures by Creation God having given all power into his hands both in heaven and in earth Secondly in a more particular manner and right Hee is Lord of all those that bee his by a peculiar gift from all eternity God hath given us to Christ in his eternall electing love Thine they were and thou gavest them me saith Christ. Thirdly and then we are Christs by his owne purchase we are the price of his bloud wee are bought with a price not of Gold or Silver but with his precious bloud by that price Gods justice is satisfied God so gave us to Christ that he gave him to redeem and shed his bloud for us that his iustice might be no looser Fourthly wee are his by Conquest For he being so excellent a person as God-man hath rescued us from all our enemies Sin Sathan Death Hell and whatsoever else what have they to doe with us when Gods iustice is once satisfied Fifthly those that are true believers are his in regard of a peculiar interest between him and them They give themselves over to him by a contract of marriage and covenant and therefore hee is Lord of them by their yeelding of themselves to him as a Lord they take him for a Lord as well as for a Saviour and that is the foundation of the spirituall marriage and the covenant of grace on both sides Christ giveth himselfe to us and wee by the spirit of Christ have grace to give our selves back againe to him By our owne voluntary Contract wee have given up our selves to him in our effectuall calling which is our answer to Gods call when hee calleth on us to be●lieve to take him and the soule answers Lord I believe and accept thee This by S. Peter is termed the answer of a good conscience 1 Pet. 3. and is when we can say I am thine thou art mine and I yeeld my selfe to thee to be disposed of by thee No Christian can claime Christ hi Lord but this contract hath passed between his soule and Christ. So that if ●ou looke to God the Father we are Christs by donation if you re●gard Christ himselfe wee are his by purchase if wee regard the enemies we have we are Christs by conquest if wee regard our selves we are his by voluntary acceptance of the covenant of grace and by contract past between him and us yea and Christ is so our Lord as that hee is our Husband our Lord as our King our Lord as our Head We owe to him a subjection as subjects a subjection as his Spouse a subjection as his disciples to be taught by him our Lord and Master Now the tearm of Lord is usually given to Christ rather than to God the Father both in the new testament the old too And if there were no other reason for it it is enough that God so stileth him But secondly God in the second person hath done those things that make him our Lord more than the Father or holy Ghost For hee in the second person hath taken our nature and died and rose againe for us and hath conquered all our enemies Hee hath in the second person made us his Spouse