Selected quad for the lemma: sin_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
sin_n	death_n	life_n	wage_n	10,497	5	10.9120	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09387	Deaths knell: or, The sicke mans passing-bell summoning all sicke consciences to pr[e]pare themselues for the comming of the grea[t] day of doome, lest mercies gate be shut against them: fit for all those that desire to arriue at the heauenly Ierusalem. Whereunto are added prayers fit for housholders. The ninth edition. Written by W. Perkins.	Perkins, William, 1558-1602.	1628 (1628)	STC 19684; ESTC S119984	9,405	26

Deaths Knell or The sicke mans Passing-Bell Summoning all sicke Consciences to pr●●pare themselues for the comming of the grea● Day of Doome lest mercies Gate be shut against them Fit for all those that desire to arriue at the heauenly Ierusalem Whereunto are added Prayers fit for Housholders The ninth Edition Written by W. Perkins Printed at London for M. Trundle and are to be at her Shop in Smith-field 1628. Deaths Knell LEt the memory of Death good Christian be euer the Looking-glasse of thy life thy continuall Companion and inseparable Spouse let thy solace be y e sighes of a sorrowfull soule and those the more bitter the better whilest Worme-like thou crawlest heere below fasten all thy faculties vpon the Commandements of thy Creator for those in thy finall passage must be the Pylot to steere thee into the Hauen of Heauen Thinke euery moment thou art in the waning that the date of thy Pilgrimage is wel-nigh expired and that the lampe of thy life lyeth twinckling vpon the snuffe and that now it stands thée vpon to looke toward thy Celestiall home thy forces are enfeebled thy sences impaired and on euery side the tottering and ruinous Cottage of thy faint flesh threatneth fall And méeting so many Harbengers of death how cāst thou but prepare for so gastly a guest The young man may dye quickely but the old cannot liue long the young mans life by casualty may be cut off but the aged by Physicke cannot be preserued Gréene yéeres must resolue to grow to the graue and the meditations of old age must dwell in the same be mindfull of things past carefull of things present and prouident for things to come Use the blessings of nature to the benefit of thy soule be wise in well-doing and watchfull for thy end Serue not the world for that can possesse thee of nothing but pride enuy lust anger malice and infinite follies for it defileth a man with sin disquieteth with troubles oppresseth with labours vexeth with temptations vanquisheth with vaine delights and miserably wrappeth him vp in wofull calamities The world it is an Ambassadour of the euill a scourge of the good a tyrant of the truth a breaker of peace a worker of warre a sweet of vices a gall of vertues a friend of lyes an inuenter of nouelties a trauell to the ignorant a table of Gluttons a furnace of concupiscence a sepulcher of the dead a prison of the liuing a pitfall to the rich a burthen to the poore a Palace of Pilgrims a Den of Deceiuers a slanderer of the good a commender of the wicked and a deluder of all Thou hast no reason to dote vpon the world for at first it affords thee but a wrangling welcome and at last turnes thee off with a fearefull farewell moreouer it doth torment thée abuse thée consume thee and at length expell thee whereas on the contrary Heauen doth comfort thee conserue thée and exalt thée On Earth thou sowest but in a field of Flint which bringeth foorth nothing but a Crop of care and languishing for thy labour it is time therefore to leaue so vnthriuing a husbandry and to sowe in Gods ground the seed of repentant sorrow and water it with the teares of humble contrition so shalt thou reape a plentifull haruest and gather the fruits of euerlasting consolation Imagine thou thy Spring to be spent thy Summer ouer-past and that thou art arriued at the Fall of the Leafe and though thy louing Lord doe long forbeare offenders yet at last he will scourge them and that his patience lends vs but respit to repent not leysure to sinne Hee that is tossed with sturdie stormes and cannot come to his desired Port rids little way but is much turmeiled so hee that passeth many yeeres and purchaseth but small profit to his soule hath had a long being but a short life for life is to be measured by vertuous actions not by number of dayes Some men by many dayes purchase many deaths and others in a short space attaine to life euerlasting What is the body without the soule but a corrupted Carkeise and what is the soule without God but a Sepulcher of sinne Man was made and sent hither to no other purpose but onely to serue God in this life and to enioy Heauen in that life heereafter If our end be the Kingdome of Heauen why are we so much enamoured on the Earth If the end of our Creation be eternall saluation why hunt we after the vanities of this vaine life If our inheritance be to raigne as Kings why liue we like seruile slaues in danger to be diuided from God from Christ our Sauiour from the Angels from the Communion of Saints and from the hope of our celestiall portion If God be the way the truth and the life then he that walketh without him wandreth that is not instructed by him erreth and that liueth without him dyeth to reuolt from him is falling to returne to him is rising to stay vpon him is sure standing Hee it is from whom to depart is to dye to whom to repaire is to reuiue in whom to trust is truly to liue O be not thou like those that beginne not to liue vntill they be ready to dye and then when they deserue an enemies reward come to craue of God a friends entertainement Some thinke to snatch Heauen in a moment which the best can scarce attaine in many yeeres and when they haue glutted themselues with worldly delights would iumpe from the Dyet of Diues to the ioyes of Lazarus from the seruice of Satan to the solace of a Saint But be sure that God is not so penurious to make his Kingdome saleable for the refuse and reuersion of their liues who haue sacrificed the principall and prime thereof to his enemies and their owne brutish appetites then onely ceasing to sinne when the ability of offending is taken from them What thanke is it to pardon our enemies when wee can not hurt them to giue away our goods when we can kéepe them no longer to shake hands with our pleasures when wee can vse them no more to forsake sinne when sinne leaueth vs God may be mercifull at the last gaspe but most miserable is that man who casteth the Anchor of his eternall weale or woe on so vncertaine and sandy a point The thiefe may be saued on the Crosse and mercy found at the last yet it is not likely that hee should finde fauour at his death whose life earned the wages of wrath or that his penitence should be accepted who more for feare of hell and his owne selfe-loue then for the loue of God or lothsomelesse of sinne cryeth out for mercy Put not off repentance therefore to the last point take Dauids early in the morning stay not till to morrow though thou sufferedst the Bud to be blasted the Flowres to fade the Fruit to perish the Leaues to wither the Boughes to dry vp and the body of the Tree to decay yet

still keepe life in the Root for feare lest the whole become fuell for Hell fire for where the tree falleth there it lyeth Imagine that Time hath flied off the better part of thy naturall forces and left thee in the Lees of thy dying dayes and that thou art onword in thy voyage and not farre from the period of thy last harbour bee not therefore disfurnished of necessaries required in so perrillous a iourney O how men doe carefully beginne industriously prosecute and effectually end their labours in attaining to this transitory trash vpon earth but of that great affaire of winning Heauen or falling into hell there is had no respect Nay they doe not so much as remember that there is a Hell for sinners a Heauen for good liuers a dreadfull day of Iudgement or a strict reckoning to be made Death in its owne property is sufficiently fearefull but far more terrible in respect of the Iudgement whereto it summoneth If ●hou wert now laid on thy departing Pillow wearied with waiting pinched with paine drowned in dolour oppressed with the heauy load of thy fore-past committed sinnes wounded with the sting of a guilty crying conscience if thou feltst the force of death cracking thy heart-strings asunder ready to make the sad diuorce of thy soule and body if thou layest panting for shortnesse of breath sweating a fatall sweat and tyred with strugling against deadly pangs O how much then wouldst thou giue for a dayes contrition an houres repentance or a minutes amendment of life Then worlds would be worthlesse in comparison of a little time which now by whole moneths and yeeres thou lauishly mis-spendest How déeply would it wound thy soule when looking backe into thy life thou shouldst espy many faults cōmitted but none amended many good workes omitted but none recouered thy duty to God promised but not performed How disconsolable would thy case bee thy friends being fled thy senses affrighted thy minde amazed thy memory decayed thy thoughts agast and euery part disabled in its proper faculty sauing onely thy guilty conscience crying out against thée What wouldst thou doe when stripped and turned out of thy house of Clay into the World of Wormes the Den of dust and Cabine of corruption from thence to be conuented before a most seuere Iudge carrying in thy owne bosome thy Inditement ready written and a perfect Register of all thy mis-deedes when thou shouldest behold the glorious Maiestie of Iesus Christ clothed in white linnen through which his body shining like precious stones his eyes like burning Lampes his face like lightning his Armes and Legs like flaming Brasse and his Uoice as the shout of a multitude prepared to passe the sentence vpon thée when thou shouldest sée the great Iudge offended aboue thee hell open beneath thee the Furnace flaming the Deuils waiting the World burning thy conscience accusing and thy selfe standing as a forlorne wretch to receiue thy fearefull and irrecouerable sentence of condemnation Oh bethinke thy selfe how these visions would affright thee to behold the gnashing of téeth the horrour of the place the rigour of the paine the vglinesse of the company and the eternity of these punishments where the fire is vnquenchable the torments insupportable hopelesse helplesse easelesse and endlesse For our fire may be endured that intolerable ours for comfort that for torment ours if not fed extinguisheth that without féeding neuer goeth out ours giueth light that none ours consumes the matter and ends the paine that torments but neuer wasteth to make the paine perpetuall In Hell the lazie Loyterer must bee pricked with flaming Forkes the Glutton fed with hunger and thirst the Drunkard quaffe bowles of burning Brimstone the Couetous pine in penurie the lustfull embrace vgly Su●●es and the proud apparelled with shame and confusion and further to aggrauate their griefe and vp heape the measure of their vnmeasurable miserie they shall turne vp their affrighted eyes and behold the méeke triumphing the Godly reioycing then shall they perceiue base apparell to bee glorious gawdy attire ●●●amous the humble Cottage commended the guilded Palace despised simple obedience shew fairer then subtill policie a cleere conscience better accepted then profound and abstruce Philosophie zealous prayers farre worthier then fine tales good workes preferred before swéet words Is not he more then mad that will play away his time allotted to preuent these intolerable calamities Is it not a senselesse security to hug in thy bosome so many serpents as sinnes or to foster in thy soule so many malicious accusers as mortall faults wouldst thou not then thinke one life too little to repent for so many iniquities the least whereof is strong enough to hurle thee irrecouerably into these vnspeakable torments Betimes then deuote the residue of thy dayes to make an atonement with Iehouah the generall Iudge and so endeuour to set free thy soule from such confusion as by sinne thou art sure to fall into What canst thou purchase by being so long a customer to the World but false ware sutable to such a Marchants Shop where trafficke is toyle wealth woe gaine losse what interest canst thou recouer that can equall thy detriments in grace and goodnesse or what canst thou find in this vale of vanities that is comparable to the fauour of God Let not thy youthfull affections ouersway thee for time will tell thee they are but bubbling follies Let not temporall feare misleade thee for the force of reason will rather draw thee to feare God then man and to stand more in awe of perpetuall then temporall punishments Who would fasten his eternall affaires vpon the slipperinesse of vncertaine life or who but one of distempered wits would offer to put tricks vpon him who is the strict searcher out of the closest secrets with whom he may dissemble to his cost but to deceiue him t is impossible Wilt thou account it a craft to steale time from God to bestow it on his enemies who keepes tale of the least minute of thy life and at thy ending will call thee to question how thou hast employed euery moment Is it not preposterous policie to fight against God till our weapons bee blunted our forces enfeebled our strength made impotent our best spent and at last when wee are falne into fainting and fought our selues wel-nigh dead then so presume of his mercy whom wee haue to much offended so long opposed Would it not be held an exorbitant course that while the Ship is sound the Pylot well the Saylors strong the Gale fauourable and the Seas calme to lie carelesly idle at rode losing so seasonable weather and then when the Ship leakes the Pilot sicke the Mariners féeble the winds aloft the stormes boysterous and the waues outragious to lanch forth hoist sayle and set out for a farre Iourney Such are our euening-repenters who in the soundnesse of health and perfect vse of reason cannot abide to cut Cables and weigh those Anchors that with-hold them from GOD but when their