Selected quad for the lemma: sin_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
sin_n	dead_a	death_n	quicken_v	3,267	5	10.4250	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A49757	Christ's power over bodily diseases Preached in several sermons on Mat. 8. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. And published for the instruction especially of the more ignorant people in the great dutie of preparation for sickness and death. By Edward Lawrence, M.A. minister of the gospel at Baschurch in the county of Salop.	Lawrence, Edward, 1623-1695.; Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1672 (1672)	Wing L653; ESTC R223651	140,079	330

wholly turned and set for the service and glory of God So that in this case a man may improve his knowledge and faith by all the advantages both from Scriptures and Creatures and get his soul filled with the highest thoughts of the infinite power and wisdom and goodness of God and then boldly say This is my infinitely great and good Father and all his glorious power and wisdom and love is on my side then he may look into the world and see all things working busily about him and then conclude that this is the greatest work upon the wheels to bring happiness and salvation to me and to that body of which I am a member And then on the other hand he may look in himself and see all the powers of his body and soul united in this great designe to please and praise and enjoy God So that by these things you may learn what it is to be at peace with God whereby you may also see what is the enmity betwixt God and a sinner it is that whereby a sinner is against God so as to be fearfully bent to hate and deny and despite him and God is against the sinner so as to blast and curse and damn him so that this is thy case sinner if thou art not at peace with God all manner of diseases and all kindes of deaths and dangers yea and all the curses of the Bible are against thee because the God of all these is against thee I would therefore seriously perswade you to come to agreement with God which that you may do let me tell you that I am this day sent as an Embassador of peace from the Lord of life and death who hath committed to me the word of reconciliation So that I have authority from him to offer most blessed conditions of peace viz. if you will this day sincerely turn from sin to God and truely receive Jesus Christ as he is offered in the Gospel you shall have the great God to be your Father his onely begotten Son the true God to be your Husband and Saviour the infinite and blessed Spirit to be your Comforter you shall have grace and peace to abide with you here and an everlasting Kingdom of glory to possess and enjoy hereafter Sirs are not these blessed and honourable terms Well where lyes the difference Answ In nothing but sin Now what a fearful case is this that after God the Father hath sent his onely begotten Son and after he hath dyed the most shameful painful and accursed death of the Cross and after so many hundred Sermons and offers of peace Wilt thou now break with God for a base lust canst thou indure hereafter to lye among the Devils and damned in everlasting burnings and to see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of God and hear thy own conscience upbraiding thee to all eternity that thou hast lost heaven and dost lye in hell for loving thy cups oaths whores or the dust of the earth better then Jesus Christ O Sirs repent and believe quickly you have more need to do it then either to eat drink or sleep for ought you know you may be in hell before such another offer be made I am sure there are millions of diseases and deaths waiting at your doors to break up the treaty I shall therefore conclude this in the words of Eliphaz to Job cap. 22.21 22 23. Aquaint now thy self with God and be at peace thereby good shall come unto thee Receive I pray thee the law from his mouth and lay up his words in thy heart If thou return to the Almighty thou shalt be built up thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy Tabernacles Fourthly prize and improve godly Ministers and people whilst you have them seeing it appears by this Doctrine that you know not how soon they may be sent for to heaven where I am sure they will be better respected Now the greatest honour that you can shew to godly Ministers is to be doers of the Word which they are Preachers of Ministers are more honoured by the conversion though of the poorest servants then by the highest commendations which the most able and learned Doctors are able to express for this is their greatest glory to be instruments of Gods glory in the salvation of poor souls for thereby the Word of God is glorified 2 Thes 3.1 By the applause of men Ministers may be cryed up for persons of excellent gifts and parts but this is their greatest glory when by the salvation of souls the excellencie of the power appears to be of God and not of men But Beloved the ignorant unbelieving world knows not the worth of godly Ministers or Christians because they see not the excellencie of God and Christ and Holiness and Heaven which are the causes which make them so precious The world knoweth us not because it knew him not 1 Joh. 3.1 But whatever the men of the world think who can prize nothing but honours and riches and pleasures to which they should be dead and crucified I tell you godly Ministers and Christians are the blessings of their age and those are the best Kingdoms and Countries and Towns and Parishes and Families which have most of them and which love them best Solomon tells us Prov. 10.11 The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life I need not tell you what a necessary publick mercy a well of good and wholesome water is to the Town or Family where it springs Now a righteous man is a Well of Life he is a spring of spiritual Aqua vitae Many a poor sinner or sad swounding Christian receives the spiritual life of grace and strength and comfort from the mouth of a godly Minister or Christian Prov. 15.4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life It 's a Metaphor taken from the Tree of Life in Paradise which was Gods Ordinance to preserve man alive had he continued in innocencie Thus a godly man is a tree of life in this evil world he turns a Family into a Paradise where he grows and is prized so that many a man who was dead in sin and many a fainting childe of God is quickned and revived by feeding on the fruit of his wholesome tongue Now my Brethren the serious consideration that these blessings are by sickness and death ready to be taken from us should cause us to esteem and improve their spiritual and savoury company How did Elisha cleave to Elijah when he knew he was presently to be taken from him and therefore we finde that three times Elijah to try Elisha his constancie seemed to shake him off but Elisha every time answers most solemnly As the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth I will not leave thee 2 Kin. 2.2 3 6. and if you read the story you will finde that it proved well for Elisha that he was so wise and careful to improve that precious opportunity See Acts 20.25 where Paul useth this

time to have a name from the doing of it for it is observable that the actions of men give a name to these three things viz. to themselves to the places and to the times wherein they live 1. Then do nothing but what thou wouldst have a name from the doing of it man loves sin but he cannot endure to be called according to his sins but if thou dost abhor the name of a drunkard swearer lyar why dost thou live in the sins of drunkenness swearing and lying 2. Do nothing that thou wouldst not have the land to have a name from for the land hath a name from the practice of the people a holy people make a holy nation a prophane unclean perfidious people make a land of prophaness of whoredoms of treachery c. What sins thou livest in thou dost not onely make thy self but also as much as in thee lies thou makest the land laothsome to God and men 3. Do nothing which thou wouldst not have thy time have a name from it makes thee have sad thoughts to think of the time of drunkenness whoredom lying c. but times of prayer meditation holy conference c. are sweet 4. Take heed of idleness this sin makes empty and unprofitable times and leaves people unprepared for sickness When Calvin was reproved for inordinate labour he gives this savoury answer What saith he would ye have my Lord finde me idle Sirs would you have sickness and death and the day of judgement finde you idle Our Saviour in the Parable having intrusted his servants with their talents he bids them Occupy till I come Luk. 19.13 See Christ's coming and improve your talents for him till he come Now that you may abhor this sin of idleness 1. Consider that if you be not doing good you will be doing hurt man is a busie creature let a man look at any time within himself he can never see his heart stand still We read of some 2 Thess 3.11 Who work not at all and yet are busie-bodies Sirs the soul is quick at work a man may quickly lay up abundance of treasures in heaven or hell For as Bernard saith well If you are not exercised in the labours of men you are in the labours of devils 2. Make the work of Salvation thy main business labour to turn every day into a day of Salvation Sirs it is an excellent thing for a man to live so in his calling relations recreations afflictions duties of Gods worship as if all the powers of his body and soul were set upon the work of Salvation this will keep a man from idleness For that man will never want business that knows he hath a soul to save 3. Consider what little time thou hast for this great work perhaps it may never be done if it be not done now they were fools that said Let us eat and drink for to morrow we dye it had been a wiser speech to have said Let us repent believe and pray for to morrow we dye 4. Consider what thou hast to set thee on work and to keep thee from idleness look into hell and see sin and the world and devils thrusting thee therein and thou wilt finde it business enough to save thee from those unquenchable flames Look into heaven and see God and Christ and Ministers and Christians always calling thee thither and see thy own sins carnal friends men devils a world of stumbling-blocks lying in thy way to stop thee from going into that everlasting happiness and thou wilt finde work enough to go to heaven Look into thy self and see what sins thou hast to conquer and bewail what wants to supply what graces to quicken and ripen what duties to perform what storms and troubles to prepare against Look on God on Christ and see what objects are there for all the powers of thy body and soul to be exercised upon Hast thou any time for idle thoughts or words or affections that hast such a God and Christ to think of and to speak of and to set and fix thy heart and love and delight upon Look into the family and town and place where thou livest and see Christless parents or Christless children or Christless brothers and sisters or Christless servants or Christless neighbours and thou mayst have that in thee to speak or do which may save their souls from hell and shall they perish and be damned by thy idleness Look into the Church and Kingdom where thou livest and consider wherein thou mayst serve them and be a blessing to them and how thou mayst be an instrument to fill them with the Name and Kingdom and Will of Jesus Christ Nay look upon every creature about thee the Heavens Earth Waters Birds Beasts Plants c. see them all filled with the Power Wisdom and goodness of God and as it were bringing their praises to thee that thou mayst be their mouth to honour and exalt God Methinks Sirs these things should keep us from idleness 5. That thou mayst fill up thy time take heed of losing a suffering opportunity Beloved a suffering opportunity is a precious opportunity it 's an opportunity to honour God further the Gospel to save thy own and others souls to be a blessing to thy posterity and to leave thy name as a blessed savour behinde thee I would not tempt men to lust after sufferings I know the Devil would have his servants to serve him by passive as well as active obedience yet I would have none so base as to chuse to sin rather then to suffer and to prefer Apostasie before Martyrdom Sometimes a man may fall into such a nick of time that duty may cost him his life and a sin may save his life This case is implied in the words of our Saviour Mat. 16.25 Whosoever will save his life shall lose it and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall save it Now that is a sad loss of a suffering opportunity when a man saves himself from suffering by sin Consider the fearful consequences of this hereby thou savest thy estate name life and losest thy soul which is clearly implied in the next words vers 26. For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul Remember when thou runnest into a known sin to avoid suffering thou makest a bargain thou makest an exchange thou gettest the world and the Devil and Hell get thy soul Consider further it is the highest improvement of thy name estate and life to sacrifice it to the glory and will of Christ by suffering for him this is the best that thou canst make of thy self Sirs it is more honourable if thou art called to it to be burned at a stake for Christ then to be burned with Fever or to die for Christ in a Prison then to die in a sick bed Consider lastly What a woful case will sickness and death finde thee in