Selected quad for the lemma: saint_n
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A53095
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Ultimum vale, or, The last farewell of a minister of the Gospel to a beloved people by Matthevv Nevvcomen ...
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Newcomen, Matthew, 1610?-1669.
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1663
(1663)
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Wing N914; ESTC R8564
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50,710
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82
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I would fain before wepart commend you to God and leave you in the Arms of His everlasting Mercy and the Bosome of his infaite Love And O that I could do this with comfort and with confidence concerning every one of you Concerning some of you I profess I can and that upon the same account that the Apostles commended the Churches unto God in Acts 14.23 They commended them to the Lord on whom they believed Well might the Apostles and with holy boldness commend these Christians to the Lord whom they knew to be Believers whom they knew not only to have given up their names to Christ in an open and visible profession but to have believed in him by a true and lively Faith and to have received him for their LORD and KING as well as for their Priest and Prophet A Minister may deliver up such a People to God with as much confidence and assurance as a man can deliver up his child into the arms of his own dearest and most indulgent father And such are some of you and through Grace many of you Believers not in name only and profession but indeed and in truth and in power Such I can heartily confidently and confortably commend unto God and leave with him in full assurance that He will never leave you nor forsake you in full assurance that however things go in Dedhaw however things go in England however things go with your selves as to the concernments of this life it shall be well with you to Eternity O that I could think thus and speak thus and hope thus of you all But are there not with you even with you also sinners against the Lord are there not some among you whom if a Minister should deal with according to Gosple Rule he should rather deliver to Satan than commend to God Are there not some among you whose Crime and Character if not Name may be found in that black Bill of men excommunicate in Heaven and from Heaven which the Apostle presents you 1 Cor. 6.9 where he reckons up ten several sorts of sinners that are excluded from the Kingdom of God Neither Fornicators nor Idolaters nor Adulterers nor Effeminate nor Abusers of themselves with mankind nor Thieves nor Coveteous nor Drunkards nor Revilers nor Extortioners shall inherit the Kingdom of God And are there not some such as these amongst you Are there not some that walk of whom I have told you often and now even tell you weeping that they are enemies to the Cross of Christ whose end is destruction whose belly is their god whose glory is their shame who mind earthly things Phil. 3.18 Do you think a poor Minister after above twenty years spent amongsuch a People in fruitless and unsuccesful labours can with confidence commend such unto God O Sirs what shall I say to you what shall I do for you Parents when they lye a dying and are about to commend as their own souls so their children to God put a difference between good and bad between gracious and graceless children Look over Gen. 49. and you shall and that good old Jacob doth not commend Reuben Simeon and Levi to God in such a manner as he commends Judah Joseph and Benjamin and some other of his children And I have heard of a Godly Parent that having several children whereof one was notoriously wicked and prophane when the Parent lay a dying all the Children were called together to attend at his death and there the Parent gave several Prayers and Blessings to the several Children commending them to God But as for you saith the Parent to one that was wicked and graceless Child as for you I can look for no other but to glorifie God in your just condemnation to Hell at the Day of Judgment A sad speech for a dying Parent to leave at his last words to a poor Child which yet God in infinite mercy turned to good Should I speak thus concerning any of you it would be more grievous to my self than to some of you it may be But the Lord knows this will be the portion of many of God's Ministers in that Great Day the Lord grant it be not mine But many of God's Ministers will be called out as bitter witnesses in that Day against their Peoples souls and God will say unto them Did not such and such live under your Ministry did you not warn them of their sins of their drunkenness fornication uncleanness lying swearing worldliness security neglect of holy Duties Did you not remonstrate to them the evil of their wayes did you not call them invite exhort perswaede them to repentance did you not foretel them of this Day and of the Wrath and Vengeance prepared for sinners did you not acquaint them with my Name did you not promise them Pardon and Forgiveness Heaven and Happiness upon condition of their Repentance Faith and new Obedience O my Brethren when God in the presence of his holy Angels and Saints shall put these interrogatories to-us his poor Ministers that have spoken to you in his Name What shall we say what can we say Must we can we dare we think you to excuse or extenuate your wickednesses lye against the Truth and to our own souls and say we have not warned you we have not admonished you exhorted perswaded you when our consciences know we have and your consciences know it too We must say Lord thou knowest all things and thou knowest we have in some measure of truth through Grace though with much human infirmity sought and desired and endeavoured the salvation of these mens souls as of our own We have many and many a time warned them and that with tears but they would not be warned We have perswaded them with all the arguments our reason helped by thy Grace could invent but they would not be perswaded we have entreated them with all the most urgent and affectionate importunity we could use but they would not be entreated Then will the Lord say unto us his poor Ministers I pronounce you pure and innocent from the blood of these men O blessed O joyful Word for us But as for you He will say unto you Your destruction be upon your own heads Go ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels O doleful word for you to hear and doleful for us now to think of while we are in this flesh But let me tell you all creature relations and affections shall in the Saints be so swallowed up in the Glory of God and in the joy of their own Salvation that Saints and Angels shall rejoyce in the condemnation of all wicked and ungodly men and with loud acclamations shall sing Hallelujahs Salvation and Glory and Honour and Power unto the Lord our God for True and Righteous are his Judgments But Ah Brethren my hearts desire and prayer is for you all that you may all be saved Shall I therefore be bold with you yea Brethren let me be bold with you in the Lord. I have heard of a very holy and eminently learned and pious man that lying upon his death-bed and having his Children about him Mr. Bolion among other things he used this remarkable expression I charge you saith he that none of you dare to appear before me in the Day of Judgment in an unconverted condition Intimating that if they did he should be one of the first that should stand up as a witness against them Give me leave to use a like expression unto you I a poor unworthy Minister of Jesus Christ yet his Minister unto you I hope for good that have often heretofore admonished and charged you in his Name being now by His Providence to leave you never more to see you faces nor to speak to you in His Name any more I charge you all from the highest to the lowest from the least to the greatest I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick and the dead at His Appearing and before all the holy Angels who are present and Witnesses to these words I charge you That none of you appear in the Day of Judgment in an unconverted condition lest even these words of mine be brought in on that Day as a Witness against you And now Brethren I commend you to God having thus admonished you thus warned you thus charged you you that are yet in your sins I now commend you to God O that God would make this last Warning this last Admonition this last Charge these last Words more effectual than a thousand others have been That as Sampson slew more Philistines at his death than in all his life so I might be the happy Instrument to save more Souls now at my departure from you than in all my life before I can do no more but commend you to God that God who gives being to things that are not who is able to raise the dead who is able even of stones to raise up children unto Abraham That great and mighty and almighty God shew his Saving Power to you and in you Those that are dead in their sins and trespasses God Almighty quicken you you that are yet hardened in your sins God Almighty humble you soften you change you make you of stones the sons and danghters of Abraham And as for you my dearly beloved Brethren that are converted and in the state of Grace already I commend you to God as unto a gracious reconciled tender merciful indulgent alsufficient Father he will be unto you a little Sanctuary Ezek. 11.16 He will be unto you a place of broad Rivers and Streams Isa 33.21 He hath begun a good Work in you and will perform it to the Day of Christ I am confident Philip. 1.6 Be not anxiously careful what you shall do what shall become of you take heed of Security Luke-warmness leaving your First-Love Remember former Times Do your first Works strengthen the things that remain that are ready to dye And God he is able to keep you and he is faithful and will keep you from falling and present you faultless before the presence of his Glory with exceeding joy Jude 24 25. Now to Him that is able to do this to GOD onely Wise be Glory Majesty Dominion and Power both now and for ever Amen FINIS