Selected quad for the lemma: saint_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
saint_n	holy_a	pray_v	stephen_n	2,337	5	12.9874	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A63977	Canticum morientis cygni, or, The last dying note of Stephen the first gospel-martyr opened and improved in a sermon preached at Alhallows Barking, London, 17 Septemb. 1658, at the funeral of Mr. Andrew Bassano, gentleman, and since in some particulars enlarged by William Tutty ...	Tutty, William.	1659 (1659)	Wing T3389; ESTC R32882	24,422	34

they were worse than their parents for of the Messias himself that holy and just one they themselves had but lately been the betrayers and murderers 52 verse Last He lays at their dores the guilt of high treason against the Law of Moses in every part and parcel of it though they seemd so much to cry it up and wore broad Phylactories of it upon their Garments in their dayly Garb and he circumstantiates this guilt by their breaking of the Law * Theophilact Occumenius though received by the disposition of Angels Some refer this to Moses and Aron * Lorinus Calvin alii Some to the Angel that appeared to Moses in the burning bush * Lorinus Calvin alii Some to many Angels which were testes internuncii Witnesses and Messengers betwixt God and Moses in giving the Law 2. For the Jewes ill resentment of this close application it is expressed by divers cross and curst gestures 1. they were cut to the heart not savingly prickt but maliciously pierced and gall'd verse 54 2. They gnashed on him with their teeth this stridor dentium the action of damned Friends enraged against the Lord. 3. made a great outcry 57 verse with an unanimous tumultuous rage 4. They stopped their ears to hear no more either of his Counsel or complaints 5. They ran upon him with one accord in the same verse united in malice 6. They cast him out of the City not only out of the Synagogue but they look upon him as such an Anathema not fit for humane society 3. For their cruelty against the Preacher that is fully expressed in the 58 59 verses they stone him to death * Augustine ad dures duriores being more hard with cruelty than the Stones they cast at him a sad course they took and made most vile Application casting stones at the Preacher insteed of casting the first stone at their own hard and stony hearts Thus their rage brings Stephen to his Martyrdome his name in Greek signifies a * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Crown from hence * Lorinus one alluding tells us that he was at this time Crowned with pretious stones lapidibus ' preciosis coronatns est and * Arator another that he was joyned closer to Christ the corner stone Et per tot lapides petrae conjungitur uni But see now the sweet and gratious deportment of this blessed Deacon Saint and Martyr as before he had faithfully preached to them so now he as servently prayes before them and for them as he imitated the death of Christ so Christ in his death Calvia in locum turning himself to God and truly it was now high time satis verborum apud homines perdiderat meritò ad Deum convertit he had lost too much time in speaking to malicious man he therefore now directs himself to the mercifull God by prayer And in his dying supplications he imitates his dying Saviour those 2 petitions which he put up to his Father on the Cross he sends up to God now only inverting Christs Order Luke 23.34.46 Christ prayed first for his enemies then for himself but Stephen first for his own Soul and then for his enemies And surely there may be good reasons given for it 1. The Servant must be below the Master Christs love to enemies was the Copy his the transcript Mat. 5.44 48. In loving enemies and praying for them we must strive to be perfect as our heavenly Father it is honour enough for us to follow 2. Christ and Stephen so other Christians too in this walk by distinct rules we must love our Neighbours so our Enemies as our selves Christ loved them better than himself in this commended his love to us to imitate not equalize Rom. 5.8 3. Christ needed no prayer for himself but Stephen did and so do we as * Calvin one observes Christ prayed but for example sake as to himself but upon a real need for his crucifiers now needfull workes should allwaies be done first and therefore Christ observed this method but not Stephen for it was more needfull for him to secure his own Soul first by prayer and then to intercede for his Enemies These 2 prayers of his proclaimed him a right Christian in his death the first discovers fidei constantiam the constancy of his Faith in his petition for himself the second contains summam charitatis the substance of his love and charity even to enemies which 2 graces and duties contain the marrow of Christian Religion for which and in which he dyed The Text is Stephens first Prayer for himself in which we have part of the last words of the first Martyr after Christ and the holy gratious farewell-breathings of a dying Saint the words may be called morientis cygni cantilena the last sweet note of a milk-white innocent dying Swan his petition is short but sweet when totum pro vulnere Corpus the whole body was but one wound little leisure he hath to speak much and therefore he speaks fully and fervently much in a little as Homers Ileads in a nutshel There are two parts of the Text 1. parts of Text. The great person or Prince petitioned the Lord Jesus 2. The sum and substance of his petition Receive my Spirit * Calvin De corpore minime sollicitus animam in Christimanus deponit he minded not his Body his whole care was for his Soul I shall handle the words two wayes 1. In sensu divise every word by it self for there is a weight in every single word 2. In sensu composito taking the substance of the whole prayer together 1. In a divided sense here are 5 words in the prayer every one is praegnant with holy matter Note 1 1. Lord in death he turns himself to the Lord hence observe Good men should shut up their lives with prayer we should begin and end with it at all times and in all employments this duty should bring up the front lead up the rear in all the actions of our life which is a warfare he who is the Alpha and Omega in himself should be the beginning and the end of all our services but chiefly when we begin to draw to an end of our time and work we should be sure to clasp up the book with most serious calling upon God As the Arabian Phoenix makes her self a nest of spices and is burnt to death in it so should we dy in in the spyced bed of prayer an Emperor should dystanding in the Court of Judicature so Vespatian a Minister should dy Preaching in the pulpit so Doctor Jewel and a Christian should dye praying so holy Stephen in the Text and thus our dear Mediator Note 2 We should dy with prayer to the Lord who is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Master of our Souls and lives to fly to Saints and Angels at any time in this duty is very illegal we ow this homage and debt only to

our great Lord and Master and we must not pay it to the servants except they can shew a warrant or letter of Atturney for it from their and our Master as Mr. Herbert hath an excellent poem to this purpose Much less in death should we pay this tribute due only unto God to them for as they are the great Lords menial servants and must not share in their Lords Rents so they are in many offices the Saints Servants too both in life so 1 Heb. last ministring spirits to the heirs of Salvation and in death the bearers of the Saints souls into Abrahams Bosome Luke 16.22 poor Lazarus being dead had these honourable bearers Note 1 2. Lord Jesus Stephen directs his dying prayer to the Lord Jesus rather than to the Lord Jehovah Christ is coaequal with his Father in glory not only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not only in glory the nearest to him but one with him Stephen asserts this clearly in his death not only dying in Christ and for Christ but praying to Christ in his death acknowledging hereby his divinity by giving him divine worship And to avoid this clear demonstration we read of on Franciscus David an Arrian heretique who reads this word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Text in the genitive case insteed of the Vocative and so would fain give us this sense Lord of Jesus insteed of Lord Jesus but this blasphemous shift is sufficiently confuted by the Antients as * Lorinus a Learned man though a Jesuite upon this place discovers All power is given to Christ in Heaven and Earth Math 28.18 and holy Stephen dying virtually in this last prayer acknowleges it Note 2 In the Gospel we must chiefly run to Christ in prayer asking all in the Sons name and this is now the way to speed our selves and to glorifie the Father together John 14.13 These 2 glorious persons in the blessed Trinity have not 2 distinct interests but one and the same the glory of the one is the glory of the other yea now the glory of the Father is chiefly deposited in the hands of Christ at first God was only known by his name of Almighty afterwards by his name Jehovah Exod. 6.3 but now by his name Jesus * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in not at the name In whose name every knee under the Gospel must bow to the Glory of God the Father 2 Phil. 10.11 Augustine tells us how much he did delighted in the works of Tully for the elegancy of the Latine before his conversion but not a whit after because he could not read the name of Jesus there Paul desired to know nothing else but Christ crucified 2 Cor. 2.2 and he discovers God the Father to be only in him the Father of Mercies and God of all Consolations 1 Cor. 1.3 to the Judge of all flesh then by an Advocate we must now run at all times Note 3 We must chiefly run to Jesus Christ by prayer in an hour of death to him who dyed for us we must go when we come to dy for he alone hath the keys of Hell and of Death Revelation 1.18 he alone is the dore and the gate of Heaven John 10.9 He is via vita veritas the Way the Truth and the Life John 14.6 He is our journeys end the Life and he is the way to it and the truth to guide us in the way no man can come to the Father but by him he also is the great reconciler of God and Man Col. 20. he only can make us * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 more than conquerors over all the forerunners of death and over death it self Rom. 8.36 37 38 39. He only can pull out the sting of death and destroy this last Enemy as the Apostle fully shewes 1 Cor. 15. To whom should we go both in life and death but to him who hath the words of eternal life John 6.68 3. Lord Jesus Receive 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It is a relative word Relations as the Logician tels us are double either relata secundum dici or secundum esse in name or in nature this is a relative word in name now omne relatum implicat suum correlatum every relative must have some word or thing to answer it receiving hath 2 usual correlates it implies either giving something or paying it implies both here in the Text. Observe Note 1 We ow our selves and Souls to Christ in life and death when we live to him dy for him he doth but receive his own de jure it should be so it is our sin and shame if de facto it be not so Rom. 14.7 9. For Christ dyed as the Apostle shewes there that he might be the Lord and master both of the dead and of the living When we come to dy then we do nothing else but pay debts we do but pay then 5 debts 1. A debt to nature the corruptible part must put on corruption and worms must feed upon us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as we feed upon other Creatures 2. A debt to sin for the wages of sin is death or the breakfast and food of it Rom 8.23 3. A debt to posterity for one generation must pass away that another may come in its stead Eccless 1.4 the generat on of one must be the corruption of another that the Earth may not be pestered and crowded too much with inhabitants 4. A debt to divine Justice for the same Soul that sins must dym point of equity 5. To Christ and our own Souls when we dy for Christ it is but lex talionis for he dyed for us when we dy naturally by the appointment of Christ we pay a debt to our own Souls which cannot be refined and calcined but by fire by melting down the whole mass of the Body Every righteous man will be willing to pay his debts so should we be to dy our lives are lent to us by God but for a time and must be restored to the lender or owner the Spirit shall return to God that gave it so Solomen Eccles 12.7 the anima animus the natural life and spiritual Soul of due right belong to God Note 2 God will certainly take and receive in death what is sincerely offered up in life Our hearts must be his living if we desire that our Spirits should be his dying so Augustine paraphrases on these words Tibi vixi tibi morior c. accipe spiritum meum è manu eorum qui oderunt tuum he represents Stephen in this prayer thus speaking to his dear Saviour Lord Jesus to thee I have lived and to thee I now dy receive my Spirit from the hands of cruel Enemies who have hated thy spirit Our acquaintance with Christ must not be to begin when we are just at our end To such as have been friends Christ will say Come in my friends I will receive you I will give you house and harbour but to