Selected quad for the lemma: soul_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
soul_n	become_v	life_n	spirit_n	4,234	5	5.0760	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A52013	A sermon in commemoration of the truely vertuous and religious gentlewoman, Mris. Elizabeth Dering wife of Mr. Charles Dering ... she departed this life at Pluckley in Kent the 26 day of July, 1640 / by Robert Marriot.	Marriott, Robert, 1608?-1689.	1641 (1641)	Wing M715; ESTC R28807	26,821	49

deceased Gentlewoman she was a wise Rebecca and a faithful Sarah an amiable Rachel a fruitful Leah a discreet Abigal an obedient Hester a provident Martha and a prudent Mary a charitable Dorcas and a cheerfull Deborah in a word adevoute a pious Elizabeth endeavouring to walk in all the Commandements of God blameles and without reproofe Luke 1.6 The chiefe labour of her life was rightly to learne my Text So to number her dayes as to apply her heart unto wisedome and though she numbred but few to what she might have done in the ordinary course of nature had God so pleased yet she profited in this divine Arithmeticke so well that shee made up a mighty totall and attained to such a portion of heavenly Wisdome that the like is rarely to be found in either her sex or age But because we know it is the end which crownes the action and Vltima semper Expectanda dies homini diciq beatus Ante obitum nemo supremaq funera debet The last day is ever to be expected and happy can no man be said to be till death hath shewed how he departed saith the Philosopher Thereforefore I will leave you to judge more fully of the integrity and uprightnesse of her life by some remarkeable passages before her death the manner whereof I shall declare unto you more particularly She received the sentence of death within her selfe long before the execution thereof by meanes of a lingring Consumption sent from her heavenly Father with the same Message that the Prophet Isaiah brought to Hezekiah Set thy house in order 2 Kin. 20.1 for thou must dye whereby her strength daily decaying and notwithstanding the good use of all lawful meanes possible for prevention the glasse of her life being well nigh run out those motions of grace that were in her like those of nature became now In fine velociores more quicke and lively towards her end mounting up her soule on a swifter wing towards her happinesse the Spirit of God did now fill the sayles of her affections with more then an extraordinary desire of her wished-for heaven But Satan envying that so fure a vessell should arive at the Port without a storme raised a sudden tempest of doubts and distrustfull thoughts in her soule labouring thereby had it beene possible to wracke her faith upon the rocke of despaire and God willing to shew his strength in her weakenesse suffers for a time this Eclipse of his wonted presence being delighted to see her with the Disciples rowing and towing against the streames of Satans temptations whilst himselfe with our Saviour walkes by on the waves ready to succour her in the greatest necessity During which weakenesse both of mind and body her sorrowfull husband with other her choice friends who sincerely loved her being desirous to comply with any course which might be thought conducible to her welfare upon good advise her desire brought her on Tuesday the 14 day of Iuly last past from London towards Pluckley in Kent the residence of her husbands and truely also of her dearest and most tenderly affected kindred and friends Now as she was travelling upon the way there hapned unto her as to Iacob in his journey from Padan-Aram to Canaan a grievous wrestling Gen. 32.24 with a fore and heavy conflict which caused her for the time like him to halt very much not on her feet but in her affections beginning now extreamely to complaine of her want of faith and to doubt of the assurance of her salvation in both which before-time she lived fully confirmed and this tryall was so full of trouble to her selfe and griefe to her loving husband and friends then in company that they were necessitated for that to night lodge her and themselves short of that place whither they intended where having reposed her body with all sit accommodation their chiefe care was how to compose her doubts and to comfort her weake and feeble mind and to this end they requested my assistance the most unworthy pastor of that place where then she rested and considering the office required to be in it selfe both Christian and charitable and an essentiall part of my Ministeriall charge to support the weake And to bind up the broken hearted I was gladly entreated to assist with the best counsels that lay in me for the re-establishing of her peace Being come unto her she began to repeate unto me her former complaints accusing her selfe of a wonderfull dulnesse and deadnesse of heart of a marvellous want of faith that she could not apply the comsorts of God to her soule nor repent as she ought for her sins that she could not feele the comfortable presence of Gods Spirit as she was wont that she had no mind to sue unto him by prayer as before and thereupon concludes against her selfe that certainly the Lord had forsaken her and cast her off and would not restore her to the joy of his salvation which words she uttered with many sighs and groanes with strong cryings which argued truely the anguish and distresse of her soule Whereupon sorrowing to behold her in this extremity of affliction for as Solomon tells us the spirit of a man will sustaine his infirmity But a wounded spirit who can beare Proverb 18.14 I addrest my selfe to apply unto her what comfort God should enable meto Minister Assuring her that these spirituall desertions for a time are familiar to the dearest of Gods Children instancing in David in Iob and in S. Paul with other Saints whose particular tryals I dilated unto her adding moreover that God like a wise Father is not alwayes kissing his sons but many times correcting of them and that his love in their humiliation is as much magnifyed towards them by the saving effects of it as is his mercy in their exaltation I told her farther that the sense of her weakenesse which she complained of was not weakenesse but strength for it comes not from our corruption that we feele our corruption but from Gods grace and that the detestation of sin with a desire to repent is true repentance indeed and a manifest worke of the spirit and though God find many things in us that he likes not yet he ever loves and likes this in us that we doe dislike and loath our selves for God respects not so much our state as our purpose nor regards so much what we are as what we desire to be For a desire to be good is a good step to yea a good part of goodnesse it self I prayd her therefore not to wrong her selfe so much as to imagine she could not repent while she profest she hated sin and desired to repent nor to offer that indignity to Gods mercy as to feare he should be unwilling to forgive and pardon what she was so willing to forgoe and part withall I shewed her also concerning her want of faith and spirituall feeling how that though God might suffer her faith to faint yet